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Gulf Coast Cleanup; Getting Around in Alaska; Obama Supports Building Islamic Center Near Ground Zero; Four Dead in Buffalo Restaurant Shooting; On a Mission to Rebuild Trust
Aired August 14, 2010 - 14:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama is weighing into the debate over whether to build an Islamic culture center and mosque near New York's ground zero. He endorsed the plan last night at a White House dinner celebrating Islam's holy month of Ramadan.
This comes as the president and first family visit the Gulf to show their support for that nation's economy in tourism.
Joining us now, Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry who is there with the president. And, Ed, you actually spoke with the president. You have an exclusive interview and this is our first chance to take a look at it.
HENRY: The president in his own words really explaining why he came out so forcefully behind --
KEILAR: All right, we're -- all right, so, we're having a hard time hearing Ed, but we'll try to stabilize his shot here, and let's take a listen to the exclusive interview that Ed Henry had with president Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: You want to go for a swim?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely.
HENRY: You going to go today or tomorrow?
OBAMA: I think we're going to go tomorrow. And, as I just said, Ed, I'm not going to let you guys take a picture of me without my shirt on. You guys will tease me just like the last time. I was on the front page and people commenting.
HENRY: What do you think about the reaction to your speech about the mosque, what about the reaction to your speech?
OBAMA: Well, my intention was to simply let people know what I thought, which was that in this country we treat everybody equally in accordance with the law regardless of race, regardless of religion.
I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right that people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about, and I think it's very important that, you know, as difficult as some of these issues are, that we can stay focused on who we are as the people and what our values are all about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And that was Ed Henry, CNN's senior White House correspondent, who had that exclusive interview with President Obama.
Let's bring Ed back in right now to talk about that. Really interesting, Ed, because he was talking about not just the Gulf Coast, but also this mosque controversy that he has now elevated to this whole new level by weighing in on it. So, talk to us about that.
HENRY: Big time. Yes, you're right. By the president weighing in last night at the White House at this celebration for Muslim Americans, it could end up overshadowing this trip a little bit. The goal here, obviously to come here to Panama City and say it's open for business and that the water is safe to go swimming in and the seafood is good enough to eat, et cetera. But White House officials say the president basically weighed in last night in part because he felt like he could hardly avoid such a big controversy at a Muslim American celebration last night.
His staff, Robert Gibbs and others had said we're not going to weigh in on a local issue but now they say Michael Bloomberg the New York City mayor has weighed in and said that he supports this project. The president felt like it was time for him to weigh in, as well.
It is very interesting if you listen closely to what he was saying. He is trying to draw a distinction and he is trying to walk away from saying I'm not supporting this specific project. I understand the sensitivity, I'm not supporting necessarily the mosque being built there near Ground Zero but he believes there is a fundamental right for all Americans to practice religion, their own religion regardless of what it is, et cetera.
We'll see whether that's good enough for the critics based on the early reaction. A lot of Republicans like that New York Republican Congressman Peter King blasting the president saying it's insensitive for him to support this because of this big, big controversy that has been bubbling up.
In terms of the Gulf Coast on a much lighter note the big question out there about this trip, will the president actually get in the water behind me there at Panama City Beach because some of the locals are saying they want to see him get in. They want him to send a very powerful symbolic symbol around the world that this water is safe. You're not going to get sick if you go swimming.
There was that big tabloid fodder when the president took off his shirt in Hawaii a couple of times and went swimming, people making a lot of notice out of that. Look, it was on the front page and you guys will tease me about all that and taking the shirt off. He's indicating he will go wading in that water tomorrow with his shirt on. He may go swimming without the shirt out of the view of our cameras later on. But he's clearly going to take some sort of a presidential plunge because he wants to send the signal that the administration is behind this region and that the water, the food, et cetera is safe.
KEILAR: Understandably, he doesn't want that image to hijack the White House's message here. But I think also, Ed, the big question for you is, are you going to get in there? I mean, come on. You're there on the Gulf Coast, you have a moment, are you going to enjoy yourself for a second?
HENRY: I think I'm going to try. It has been kind of a busy day already. Maybe I have that excuse not to get into water just yet. Ali Velshi wanted me to bring a Speedo, but I want to assure everybody around Panama City, I decided not to buy one. I don't want to hurt tourism any more than it has already been hurt.
KEILAR: OK, I am saying board shorts. And I'm saying if you file a piece on it, you're technically working and so you should go ahead.
HENRY: Maybe I'll do the board shirts, no Speedo.
KEILAR: Please, Ed, all right. Ed Henry our senior White House correspondent there on the Gulf Coast giving him a hard time there.
HENRY: Thanks.
KEILAR: But the man in charge of the government's response to the BP oil disaster briefed the press last hour on efforts to permanently seal the well. National incident commander Thad Allen says both bottom kill and drilling of a relief well have to go forward. He said that crews are assessing risks associated with that approach.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf, pardon me, Reynolds Wolf, I can say your name, buddy. He's in Gulf Shores, Alabama. You listen to all of his comments. Did it really give you an indication of what to expect going forward from here?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. I mean, certainly an air of determination about him. You could definitely hear it in his voice and you are absolutely right, game play is continue with the relief well digging. Also a couple other things that he had mentioned, one thing is that he is going to order BP to conduct pressure tests and to lay out plans if the pressure were to rise unexpectedly within the well. Once BP conducts those tests and they're going to move on to the next process, which will be basically ordering the resumption of the drilling, if you will.
The interesting thing about that is the results of the testing should come in Monday or Tuesday maybe even Tuesday afternoon and then after that from start to finish by the time they lay everything out and put all the equipment into place and resume the drilling, that could take anywhere from 90 hours to even up to four days or so.
But it really is an amazing endeavor what they're going to do. Roughly 2 1/2 miles down. The target they have to hit and the digging is actually taking place about, they're currently about 3 1/2 feet above the old well line and they have to dig along about 50 feet horizontally before they can hit the target. The target is about the size of a dinner plate. It is amazing stuff. They should proceed with that, again, if all goes well possibly within four days.
KEILAR: And in kind of a small dinner plate, at that, I guess you could say, Reynolds.
WOLF: Absolutely.
KEILAR: But you know one of the big issues for this area is tourism dollars. They have taken an incredible hit and I see people on the beach behind you, but I'm wondering if maybe it's just too late in the season to really help them regain what they lost here.
WOLF: Oh, certainly definitely going to be the case for many places. We talked about the issues they had, say again in parts of Louisiana, obviously, Mississippi. Continues into parts of the portions of the Florida Panhandle and certainly here in Alabama, it has been a very tough time for them.
We are very fortunate today to have the mayor of Gulf Shores with us, Robert Craft is with us and how have things been for you just over the last couple months and that we are no longer seeing the oil coming in out of the well, but, still, many issues remain.
MAYOR ROBERT CRAFT, GULF SHORES, ALABAMA: A lot remains. It's been a tough summer, obviously, but we're getting better. As you can see, we have people on the beach today. Health advisory has been lifted and we're able to swim in the water and that's a clear signal to everybody that we're OK. We're beginning to see people come back and we're gaining a little optimism in hope for the future.
WOLF: Now, really the biggest time for you would have been around the fourth of July.
CRAFT: That's correct.
WOLF: The oil stopped, when was the last time you saw oil on the beach?
CRAFT: Probably three weeks ago, other than just a little bit last Wednesday night, Thursday morning, but that was this surf from the tropical storm kicked up some of the stuff that is buried along the shelf here but oil coming in from off shore, it's been probably three weeks.
WOLF: Three weeks in this town. This is a town that has been around for some 50 years. What's interesting, is I'm sure you have to look, maybe with a measure of frustration when you look back at the history of your town there have been other mayors that had to deal with tropical storms and they had to deal with hurricanes and not so much of a template for you when it comes to dealing with oil spills.
CRAFT: This is brand-new. We don't know what to expect and we certainly have no experience in dial dealing with it. No training, no background and every day is a different day and we had to approach it that way and not really knowing when the end is, it's like you talked earlier about a long-distance race. You're running a marathon and you don't know where the end is and you don't know how far you have to go. So you are trying to figure out what to do each day is different and it's been a real challenge.
But we're doing better and the attitude of the folks is better and we have got some things left to do this fall that we're excited about. We have Labor Day coming up and we have a couple additional concerts as we've had before that are scheduled and the 25th, the weekend of the 25th we have big concerts at the Warf. We have John Mayor coming on the 5th of Labor Day weekend; we have the Shrimp Festival in October so we have some other things to do this year. The beaches are clean and the water is open and we still have hoped to salvage a good portion of this year.
WOLF: So when it comes to the people that have been damaged. A lot of people think of some of the big names of some of the big hotels but there really are some mom and pop industries. A lot of the restaurants and, of course, many bed and breakfasts and the condominium complexes. Have there been any that have been shut down? Did it do any of them in?
CRAFT: Yes. There have been some that have closed their doors. Some more that will, I think there are just hanging on to get through Labor Day Weekend and see how that works because that is also traditionally a pretty good weekend for us and then see what Feinberg is going to do. That's where our next hope lies. Is that he is able to pick up and maybe do things that maybe BP hadn't done. Pay in advance so that we have some reliance that there's money in the bank and we know we can make it from month to month. We'll tell our employees, we have small business that is struggling and I'm fearful that we have some that will not make it through to next season.
WOLF: Well two things, first of all, we thank you for your time very much. We're going to let you go because we know you have a busy day ahead of you. One of the busiest guys in the Gulf Coast. Brianna, let's send it back to you in the studio.
KEILAR: Certainly rough going there in Gulf shores Reynolds. That beautiful beach scene behind you, thanks for that interview. Appreciate it.
WOLF: Absolutely.
KEILAR: Now to Buffalo where a shooting outside a restaurant has left four people dead and four others wounded. This happened around 2:30 this morning in downtown Buffalo and police say the victims had just attended a wedding party. One of the people killed was the groom. He's from Texas and was supposed to be married this afternoon. Police are looking for a suspect or suspects, as well as a motive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMMISSIONER DANIEL DERENDA, BUFFALO POLICE DEPARTMENT: In case we need people to come forward, we cannot go into a lot of detail, but what we do know, again, we know there were many witnesses out there and we need people to come forward immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: One of the people injured remains in serious condition and witnesses say as many as 100 people attended the formal reception at the restaurant.
They are the workhorses of Alaskan skies and in the wake of the deadly crash that killed Senator Ted Stevens, we're taking a look at the role that small planes play in Alaska's way of life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Here are some new pictures that we have of the wreckage of the plane crash that killed former Senator Ted Stevens and four others near Dillingham, Alaska. These are coming to us from the NTSC. Investigators say they recovered the engine from the side of this mountain where this plane crashed. They have also talked to two of the four survivors. One who was asleep until the crash, and the other who said that the plane just stopped flying. Small planes like the one involved in the Ted Stevens crash are considered workhorses in Alaska. These are how most people get to remote areas. Our Casey Wian looks at their history and their importance to this state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of the first things you notice when you arrive in Alaska is how prevalent these so-called float planes are here. We're at Lake Hood which is the largest sea plane base in the world, 40,000 take offs and landing at this lake every year. If you wonder why the planes are so prevalent here, you can see the mountainous terrain behind me and many cities in Alaska are inaccessible by car. You either have to access them by plane or by boat. Float planes have become the method of transportation that is most popular in this state.
Over my left shoulder here you can see an otter, which is the type of plane that was carrying Ted Stevens, the late Senator Ted Stevens and eight others, four of whom perished. It's an occupational hazard, as Ted Stevens once said himself of life in Alaska. These planes, in many cases, are very, very old. People who fly them say they're very, very safe, but that terrain here makes flying often treacherous.
Here at the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, there's an exhibit commemorating one of the most famous float plane fatalities in history. Will Rogers, he perished in a float plane accident 75 years ago this weekend. What's most remarkable about this is looking at the planes then, they don't look much different from the planes that are still in the air here today.
NORM LAGASSE, ALASKA AVIATION HERITAGE MUSEUM: Up here in Alaska, they're still getting the job done. You don't have a lot of new production aircrafts that are being designed and manufactured.
WIAN: Given the terrain and given the age of the aircraft, how worried are pilots here about their safety? LAGASSE: You're always conscious of the environment around you. Here in Alaska, the weather can change quickly. You do have a lot of varied terrain.
WIAN: This is an Al Jones Airways plane from the 1920s, but not all of Alaska's aircraft industry is stuck in time. Al Jones Airways is one of six carriers that merged over the years and became what is known today as Alaska Airlines.
Casey Wian, CNN reporting from Anchorage, Alaska.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Coming up, a story that will give you the heebie-jeebies and intrigue you all in one sitting. In Germany, this is what they're dealing with an insect invasion. We'll be taking you to one small town that is just waiting for these clouds of flies to finish their business.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Every city has its problems, but this one, well, it really stinks. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen takes us right into the middle of a German town's fly invasion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks almost like snowfall in the middle of summer in this town in Buveeria. But take a closer look and you'll see its millions of day flies driving some residents crazy. As you can see, it's just disgusting, this man says, and it smells gross, too. It smells bad because the flies that only live for about three or four days come here to mate and most die after the process. Authorities try to keep the streets as clean as possible, often in vein. If they lie on the street for a while, it becomes really slippery for cars and people walking, says this city worker and they really begin to stink.
The fly spectacle happens every year in the town of Schwandorf as the local river provides a perfect breeding ground. But believe it or not, the town says things have improved this year since authorities installed these powerful lights under a bridge. "Since the flies like to be near the light, many of them stay off the bridge," the city's fire chief says. And that has worked quite well so far. The invasion of the breeding flies goes on for about three weeks, and then the town goes back to normal until mating season next year.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Just makes you want to brush it off of the screen there.
We have more fun ahead, a man in absolute awe of a double rainbow. This is one of the funniest videos to go viral this year. We'll be showing it to you and we also have other top videos after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Checking our top stories. President Obama says he supports the Islamic mosque project near Ground Zero. He says Muslims have the same rights as other Americans, namely, to practice their religious. Some families of the 9/11 victims are against building an Islamic center so close to the sight of the World Trade Center.
President Obama and the first family are visiting Florida today, though. He spoke a short while ago praising cleanup efforts in the Gulf and he encouraged tourists to return to area beaches. Mr. Obama also said BP needs to process oil disaster claims faster and he reassured residents that the government will watch over things to make sure the environment is protected.
The number two Democrat in the U.S. Senate is resting this weekend. Senator Dick Durbin was released from a Chicago hospital last night after surgery this week to remove a tumor from his stomach. The growth was benign but it had the potential to turn cancerous. His office says there's no sign of cancer anywhere in the Senator's body and he's expected to return to work sometime next week.
CNN's Josh Levs usually is the one bringing us the week's hottest viral videos. One of our favorite segments here. Stepping in we have our high-tech guru Marc Saltzman he is joining us via Skype from Toronto, with his picks for the year's best viral videos, and, Marc, we have to start off with the double rainbow man. Explain to us what this is as we take a look at this.
MARC SALTZMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, so, this is one of the funniest videos that actually was uploaded in January, but it wasn't until Jimmy Kimmel tweeted it in July that it became this international phenomenon. This is Paul Vazquez, a gentleman in Yosemite Park videotaping a rainbow, a double rainbow and this is the most euphoric moment the man has ever experienced. It is true bliss and he is just freaking out on the video.
KEILAR: Let's listen as he freaks out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Oh, my gosh. Whoa! Wow! Yeah!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SALTZMAN: He's having a good day. And this video has spawned countless songs and remixes of his elation and it's been a blast. So, that's number one of my top five best viral videos so far.
KEILAR: Now, I can see that. We should only be so happy as to see something like that and sort of experience that euphoria. Our question is, was he on something? That was one of the questions that we had. All right, I want to get to this next one because this is my favorite one personally. This is the sixth grader singing Lady Gaga song "Paparazzi." SALTZMAN: The twelve year old who covered Lady Gaga's bad romance and it was just so well done. He sings and plays piano and you can just see the kids' faces behind them especially the girls.
KEILAR: Let's listen real quickly.
SALTZMAN: Let's take a look.
KEILAR: I got this one confused because there's also another one of a young kid who is sort of performing and dancing to the song "Paparazzi."
SALTZMAN: Oh, right. I stand corrected its "Paparazzi" not bad romance. But this has been seen by nearly 30 million people now. He got invited on to the "Ellen" show and he got a call from the famed monster herself and now allegedly a recording contract. This is a 12- year-old who is amazing at what he does. Good for him.
KEILAR: He's amazing. He gives Lady Gaga a run for her money there. Next one, iPhone 4 revealed by Gizmoto this is because an Apple engineer accidentally left the smart phone prototype in a California beer garden. Let's listen to this real quick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Two volume buttons are now separate. The whole outside is metallic instead of plastic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: But, Marc, he didn't say you have to hold it like theirs, I noticed there is a reception problem. He didn't say that. I tell you that. This is really interesting. Tell us about this?
SALTZMAN: That is right, so this is pre "antennagate." He paid $5,000 for this prototype that, you know, is really proof that alcohol and corporate secrets aren't a good mix. So, we're talking about one of the world's biggest tech companies the most iconic brand having a major slip. Some argue it could have been intentional, I doubt it. This is revealing iPhone 4 to the world before Apple was ready to do it. Steve Jobs kidded when he did officially unveil iPhone 4 a month later he asked the audience, stop me if you've seen this before because this video became a huge hit, not just for tech is but anybody curious about the new smart phone.
KEILAR: OK and the other, this is another one of my favorites. This might tie the kid singing the Lady Gaga song. Old Spice. Have you seen a commercial like this that is so, its main stream, but then it just kind of goes wild? This is, of course, the man your man wants to smell like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): With the man your man can smell like. What's in your hand? Back at me. An oyster with two tickets to the thing you love. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: They're diamonds. This is just great.
Marc, I mean, this is pretty amazing. I wonder if they thought it was going to take off like this.
SALTZMAN: This is the biggest social media story of 2010, without question. This is going to be in the books, in the marketing books for colleges going forward. How Old Spice, what was once a, you know, something your grandfather wore and you roll your eyes over it with a very handsome, shirtless dude promising you the world and it's not just this particular video, which has been seen billions of times on you tube, but many other TV commercials that have also been on YouTube.
And then, in fact, Isaiah Mustaufa (ph), the actor who portrays this Old Spice guy, he started answering questions via twitter in his towel, no less. A huge social viral video campaign that has really done a great job for the brand this year.
KEILAR: Big hit for that actor, of course, as well as you mentioned. The next one we call the McNuggets rampage. Let's roll this and, as we do, tell us what's going on here.
SALTZMAN: That's right. I don't think there is any audio for this and that's probably a good thing. This is security footage taken at a McDonald's drive through where an irate Toledo woman beats up two employees because she was told at the drive through window it was too early to serve McNuggets. This is a woman who is not having a happy meal, let's just say. It is, you know, been making the rounds. Many, many tens of thousands of views, people have seen this video on YouTube and it's really something and this was really big news before Steven Slater's dramatic exit on a JetBlue flight last week. So, just one thing after another. People's bad day caught on video and, you know, I think it's just good. If we're having a bad day at the office to look at something like this and think, OK, well, there's worse out there.
KEILAR: Sure.
SALTZMAN: This is one of those examples.
KEILAR: She's making it a very bad day for all the employees and her bad behavior there. That is kind of her punishment, Marc.
SALTZMAN: This is apparently a year old but hopefully those McDonald's employees are fine and the woman gets what she deserves. Its entertainment, a little sad, but, you know, this is the video that has been making the rounds.
KEILAR: All right, Marc, thank you so much for all of those very funny, some not so funny but mostly funny.
Our next story now, President Obama endorses a plan to build an Islamic cultural Center and Mosque near Ground Zero. How is the announcement playing on the streets of New York and what do the American people think about this mosque in general? We'll have those answers when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: President Obama is stepping in to the contentious debate over whether to build a mosque near Ground Zero. Speaking at a White House dinner yesterday to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the president acknowledged the controversial nature of the project, but he argued that American ideals and the Constitution demand that the project move forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and every culture, drawn from every end of this earth. And that diversity can bring difficult debates. This is not unique to our time. Past eras have seen controversies about the construction of synagogues or Catholic churches. But time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues and stay true to our core values and emerge stronger for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The president's endorsement drew praise from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but many people in New York are split on whether the president should get involved in what some believe is a local matter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad he interjected because the Muslims have the right to pray. It's Ramadan. We have synagogues, churches everywhere. I'm proud of him. I'm proud of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't live in New York, but I understand his point. I know it's controversial that it's close by here, but I also believe that it's right to be able to allow all religions to be able to be in the United States. That's what we are built on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's terrible. It doesn't have anything to do with freedom of religion. It's making a point. There's plenty of realty all over Manhattan, plenty of realty everywhere. It shouldn't be here.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
KEILAR: So, how do the American people feel about this controversy? We ask CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser to look at the latest poll numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTO: Brianna, our poll suggests that Americans are not divided on this issue. This is a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national survey. We conducted it from August 6th to 10th. And it indicates that 68 percent of the public are opposed to that mosque by Ground Zero in New York City, with 29 percent in favor.
And when you break the numbers down, you can see there's no generational divide or partisan divide. Fifty-four percent of Democrats oppose to the mosque. Seven out of 10 independents, jumps to 82 percent of Republicans. It's rare when Democrats and Republicans are on the same side of the issues. Our poll indicates they are here.
And by age, as well. More than six out of 10 people under 50 years old opposed to the building of that mosque. That jumps a little higher, a little more than three-quarters, 50 and older, but not much of a difference.
The mosque, developers say, will be part of a 13-story complex that they term an Islamic center, which will be just two blocks from where the World Trade Center used to stand -- Brianna.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Paul Steinhauser for us.
And the shooting outside of a Buffalo restaurant leaves four people dead, four others wounded. This happened early this morning in downtown Buffalo. And police say the victims have been attending a wedding party. One of the victims was actually the groom.
And joining us by phone is Buffalo police spokesman, Mike DeGeorge.
I mean, Mike, this just sounds horrible. Is this -- is this a rehearsal dinner where this happened? I mean, that's sort of what it sounds like.
MICHAEL DEGEORGE, BUFFALO POLICE SPOKESMAN (via telephone): Brianna, actually, it's been described as some type of pre-wedding party. The actual event was supposed to be today. I don't know if it was the rehearsal dinner, per se. It's just been described to police as some type of pre-wedding party or get together.
KEILAR: But these were all of the guests -- I guess there was more than 100 of them -- who were supposed to be attending the wedding today. And right now, there doesn't appear to be, or there are suspects, but are you close to catching anyone or determining who might have done this?
DEGEORGE: Brianna, all I can say at this point is that the homicide detectives have worked around the clock since the incident occurred at about 2:30 this morning, and what I can say at this point is that the detectives have made progress along the way -- good progress along the way. And hopefully, in the near bit of time here, there will be some type of an announcement. But right now, the investigation continues and there is progress being made.
KEILAR: And I understand you have to be sensitive to the fact that this is a developing situation, but do you get the sense that this is some sort of random act of violence or that this person may have actually been at the gathering, may have had a motive?
DEGEORGE: Well, it appears right now, Brianna, that there was, as we've said, there was some type of large gathering, large party inside the restaurant and police believe that there was a dispute or an argument inside the restaurant. It spilled outside and that's when the shootings began.
KEILAR: And what can you tell us about the groom here and the families and the other victims?
DEGEORGE: Well, of the four dead, two men, two women. The men are 26 and 30 years old and one of them, the 30-year-old male was, in essence, the groom. The two women who were killed are 27 and 32 years old. And then four other individuals were also injured. They're all males and their injuries range from minor to one individual whose injuries are described as very serious.
KEILAR: Can you tell us any more about the dispute, maybe what started it?
DEGEORGE: It's unclear right now. It remains under investigation other than to say that some type of dispute argument or fight.
KEILAR: All right. Mike DeGeorge, the Buffalo police spokesman -- thanks for taking some time out today. We know that investigation continues and we'll continue to follow it here.
In New Orleans, though, they're just rebuilding more than, of course, the buildings after Katrina. The police and the mayor are working to regain the trust of the people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: A check of your top stories now.
President Obama is in Panama City Beach, Florida, along with the first lady or the first family, I should say, the first lady and one of his daughters. He's trying to promote tourism in the Gulf Coast. He met with local leaders and Florida's governor to talk about the effects of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
And flooding in Pakistan is already the worst disaster in the country's 63-year history. But with more rain expected this weekend, it could get even worse. Around 1,400 people have died and 20 million have been affected in one way or another. Pakistan's government canceled many of today's planned Independence Day celebrations because of the devastating floods.
Five years after Hurricane Katrina and the deadly incident on the Danziger Bridge. The new mayor and police chief of New Orleans are walking the city streets trying to regain the trust of the people they serve.
CNN's Drew Griffin has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On this summer evening, not yet three months in office as New Orleans's new mayor, Mitch Landrieu, is getting to know the city's poor neighborhoods.
MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU, NEW ORLEANS: He tackled me! He tackled me. Did you see that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He almost tackled the mayor.
LANDRIEU: Why are you tackling for, you think you are a funny, huh? You think you're funny, don't you?
GRIFFIN: Landrieu and his new police chief, Ronal Serpas, are leading a walk in a show of police presence and support on this crime-riddled street.
This woman appeals for help to stop gunfire in a nearby park so children can play in safety.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Having this big boom, boom, boom. I went down there one day last week with my granddaughter. I had to lay on top of her. She's 5 years old.
GRIFFIN: On this street, guard dogs are no protection against gunshots in the middle of the night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saturday night between 11:00 and 11:30, my mother's house got shot up. There is bullet holes right there. A drive-by.
Come on. Let's go inside. Let's go.
Look. The bullet, it went through that window and went to the third room of my mother's house. Bullet went through here.
GRIFFIN: The new mayor concedes people are reluctant to trust police, with 16 officers now under indictment for pleading guilty in shooting deaths in the week after Hurricane Katrina. Two of the victims killed on this bridge.
(on camera): When you read the revelations in the Danziger Bridge case, not just the crime itself but the cover-up, can people in this city right now have faith in their police department?
LANDRIEU: No, I don't think so. The department is supposed to protect and serve. And right now, it's not doing either of those things well. My top priority as mayor is to make this city safe. It can't be safe without a police department that people trust.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Civil rights attorney, Mary Howell, says police failures have not only fed mistrust but have encouraged crime.
MARY HOWELL, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: At the same time that we're having these terrible problems with corruption and brutality in the department, we also lead the nation in crime and in homicides and in violent crime.
GRIFFIN: In this first year in office for Mayor Landrieu, New Orleans has been averaging a murder every other day. Landrieu asks the Justice Department to come in and help reform his police force.
LANDRIEU: As a kid that grew up in the city of New Orleans, you know, you get very, very frustrated that things have been allowed to get this bad, but you have to acknowledge that, and then you have to right the ship and you have to turn it around and force it to go in the right direction. And that's what we're intent on doing.
GRIFFIN: Drew Griffin, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: CNN tonight, a look at the actions of the New Orleans police in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Did innocent people die at the hands of police officers? CNN investigates whether some overstressed officers took shoot to kill orders too far in "Shoot to Kill" tonight and Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern.
A Scottish fish farmer came up with a way to feed more than 400,000 kids all over the world every single day. Meet this week's CNN's hero -- when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: From a pint in the pub to the poorest places on Earth, this week's CNN hero turned a beer-fueled brainstorm into a feeding program for hundreds of thousands of school kids. Take a look at how a Scottish fish farmer's single act of kindness took on a life of its own.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAGNUS MACFARLANE-BARROW, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: I never expected my life to change in this way.
My brother and I were having a pint in our local pub. We've seen a news report about a refugee camp in Bosnia and we began saying, wouldn't it be wonderful it we could just do one small thing to help.
We gathered food and blankets and clothing and drove them out there.
I'm Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow. I gave out my job and I sold my house to try and help the people in Bosnia. Out of that has grown the organization which today feeds around 412,000 children every day in 15 different countries.
We buy the food locally and then we ask the local community to take responsibility for the daily cooking and the serving of the food.
By far, our biggest project is here in Malawi where we're feeding about 330,000 children every day.
Our part is to allow those young people to realize their potential through feeding them, through keeping them alive and through getting them into the classroom.
We began working in Haiti in 2006. In addition to feeding children, we have been feeding the elderly. Since the earthquake, we've been involved in providing health care. We've been helping with the rebuilding of the schools.
When I think of Mary's Meals, I think of it as a series of lots and lots of little acts of love. I learned every little small act of kindness helps make a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: More than 400,000 kids in 15 countries are getting nutritious meals, thanks to Magnus. To see how he is helping in Haiti or if you want to help him deliver more meals, go to CNNHeroes.com.
Well, check this out. You are watching a tornado here just getting stronger and stronger in Minnesota. And coming up: we will check out the damage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: In parts of the Midwest, some really rough weather over the last few days as you can see in these pictures. This tornado, it swept across farmland and highways near Hayfield, Minnesota. The good thing here, there are no reports of any injuries or major damage, but multiple tornadoes were reported in Minnesota and North Dakota a day earlier.
And Jacqui Jeras is here with us in the CNN weather center.
And this is not the end of severe weather.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, gosh. We even have a tornado, really, anywhere in the United States for the most part, any given month, depending of, you know, what the atmospheric conditions are.
But this is the time of the year that we'd be focusing more on the northern tier of the country as the jet stream kind travels across the area. And that's also what's responsible for all the heat by the way in the south, is that the jet stream is taking more of a northerly track so it's keeping all the heat down here, keeping all of the storms up here. That's going to be the rule for the most part.
Now, it's trying to make a little progress and trying to make its way more toward the Central Plains and maybe into the Ohio Valley. So, it's trying to push that heat down just a little bit more. Unfortunately, it's a very slow process and it hasn't been terribly successful as of late. So, hopefully, we'll get a little bit of this relief by early next week.
In the meantime, what do we have here for severe thunderstorms? Take a look at the line here that's been developing across parts of Ohio, down into western Kentucky. The primary threat I think here is going to be wind damage, and the potential for that as well as a lot of lightning. So, if you're heading out for dinner, you got picnic plans, something like that, an evening barbecue, make sure you watch out and follow the safety rules as a result as well.
Now, across the Southeast, we've got a lot of action here, too. Some heavy downpours, lots of lightning, and we've got our area of low pressure which used to be a tropical depression number 5.
Take a look at the little swirl on the radar here. This is just enshrouding the Southeast with cloud cover making for a pretty lousy weekend, lots of humidity. So, of course, it's feeling very uncomfortable out there and lots of showers and thunderstorms, just kind of sporadic. You're not going to have them all day and all night, but they will pop up and ruin a bit of your plans.
For tomorrow though, we're expecting the focus to be across parts of the Great Lakes for severe weather, and there you can see that heat trying to shrink a little bit further on down towards the South. I want to show you where we've got the heat advisories in effect for today and it still, you know, covers 17 states. So, this is a lot of folks.
And it's not just the nation's midsection either. Take a look at this. We've got a few problems out West. Where the West has been -- oh, my little pin button doesn't want to work. Sorry about that.
I just wanted to mention that places in Arizona, including the Phoenix area, Seattle, and Portland, and a little ridge of high pressure in place in the Pacific Northwest where they've been crazy cool, Brianna. We've had record lows across parts of the West. Now, they're going to be dealing with potential record heat this weekend. It's going to be feeling -- pushing 100 degrees in Portland.
KEILAR: This is that time where you say, what can I do? I think going to the movies is really there on the top. It's almost too hot to even go to a water park or something. You're just too exposed, pooling.
JERAS: I hear you. The library is good?
KEILAR: The library.
JERAS: Yes, watch CNN.
KEILAR: I can see you at the library. I would be at the movies. That might be the difference between us.
JERAS: Either/or.
KEILAR: Either/or, a cool place. Jacqui, thank you so much for that.
JERAS: Sure.
KEILAR: Well, check this out: lucky number seven. Can you believe this for one Florida man? And, boy, do I mean really lucky. Richard Lustig just cashed in his seventh winning lottery ticket. This one was worth a 100 grand, chump change to the $843,000 jackpot, the biggest out of his seven wins. And he says he has a special lucky system which he'll be happy to reveal for a price. He's also working on a book.
But now, he has to change his title from "six time lottery winner" to seven. I don't know if I really feel all that sorry for him about that.
Well, feeling the pain of the oil disaster. Louisiana seafood producers are trying to get back on track. Coming up: we'll show you how they're putting seafood to the test.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: The president, the first lady, and their youngest daughter, Sasha, are spending part of the weekend in the Gulf Coast. They arrived today in Panama City Beach, Florida, where Mr. Obama said he will take a dip in the water, off-camera he did say. He also heard from people directly affected by the oil spill.
The president praised those who have been by their side leading the cleanup effort, and he and First Lady Michelle Obama also took part in a round table discussion with business owners and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
The Gulf Coast seafood industry -- well, it's taken a huge hit with this oil disaster. One local businessman says his business has gone down over 50 percent since the spill. But Harlon Pearce says it will bounce back simply because nothing beats Louisiana seafood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARLON PEARCE, SEAFOOD BUSINESS OWNER: We're going to unload the truck.
ADMIRAL PAUL ZUKUNFT, U.S. COAST GUARD: We've already pulled a couple of that supply drum.
PEARCE: I prefer black drum to red fish. I think there's moisture. Red fish can dry out.
ZUKUNFT: Yes.
PEARCE: Now, that's Louisiana shrimp.
ZUKUNFT: Holy smokes. Look at the size of this shrimp.
PEARCE: Louisiana whites.
ZUKUNFT: Yes.
PEARCE: Our brand has been desperately challenged.
We really couldn't work on the brand until the spill was stopped. Normally, I have 30,000 pounds my cooler. If I've got 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 right now, I'm lucky and that's a lot. It's been to where I had 200 pounds in this cooler the last five or 10 days every day.
With the areas that we got closed (ph) right now and it's time of year it's just been very, very difficult.
We've probably had a hundred dozen soft crabs come in this morning and most of them are already delivered.
People don't come here to eat steak. They come here to eat seafood.
Most tested product in the world right now -- nothing tested more than what's coming out of the Gulf. So, you should feel very comfortable about Gulf seafood right now.
He's got red fish he's cutting over there. That's snapper they're cutting there. He's going to do some tuna for you in a second.
ZUKUNFT: This seafood is safe to eat and I fish these waters and I know how much getting this market re-established is to this community.
PEARCE: I walk into the office and when something is not right, I know it.
We're fine. We're looking good.
Walking to the plant, I know it. Back of the truck opens up, I know it. I don't want one piece of product getting out of here that has any problem at all. What I love about the seafood industry is something comes in like those shrimp, I got to eat it. It's so pretty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
