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Major Oil Spill Off The Coast Of California Could Become Ecological Disaster; After Hectic Week And No Deal, Democrats Go Back To Negotiating Table; Experts See Reason For Optimism As New Cases And Hospitalizations Drop. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 03, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And as fate would have it, Fred, Brady will likely break another record tonight in Foxborough. Eighty thousand plus passing yards in his 22 seasons, and it turns out, he needs just 68 to pass Drew Brees for the most in NFL history.

What are the chances? How will fans react to Brady? How will Brady handle the moment? We've seen him get emotional many times over his career, one of the most highly anticipated regular season matchups in NFL history, Fred, 8:20 Eastern tonight.

[15:00:36]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with this breaking news out of Southern California where a major oil spill off the coast is being called a potential ecological disaster. We're waiting to hear from officials who are expecting to give us an update in the next hour or so.

So the leak is about three miles off the coast of Huntington Beach and experts estimate as much as 126,000 gallons of post-production crude spilled out apparently from an offshore oil production site. The impacts to wildlife are already visible, oil has now started to wash ashore, along with dead fish and birds coated in oil.

We've got Tom Sater in the CNN Weather Center with more on what is already turning out to be a terrible disaster and with currents that you explained earlier, the potential for more damage is great.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. Fredricka, we first heard about this when beach goers and surfers were smelling gasoline fumes. We hear right now, it is overwhelming.

The reason for that, this is not raw crude that we saw getting extracted in the BP oil spill. This is mainly a post-production, oil and gas. So a lot of chemicals are added to it. Therefore the plume is going to be quite oppressive to the nose, but it also makes it less dense.

So the sheen was first notified or noticed about 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning from the U.S. Coast Guard. So let me take you off shore. You can see, we've got Long Beach that's going to be to the far north left hand corner. Laguna Beach is just off the screen here, foreign areas to the east.

But again, we've got a platform out here. There are actually four platforms in an area called the Beta Field. So right now Elly is the platform that does the post production process. I'll show you, so it's about 8.6 miles off the shore. We believe this oil sheen that was noticed by the Coast Guard is roughly 5.8 miles in length, somewhere between three and a half to five miles offshore. So it's not exactly around that platform.

We actually jumped a little bit further, let me go a little bit further and back and to just show you where this is because this is important. There is an area called the Beta Field. The Beta Field is land that is actually owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is then leased by these oil companies. You'll be able to see them here. I'm sorry, we kind of got a little far ahead of ourselves, but you'll get an idea here. Not sure why we're coming back to the same graphic.

But let me explain what's happening. There is a pipeline that runs directly towards shore from this platform. Somewhere along the line, we had ourselves a break, a breach. They told us that they actually have been able to patch it somewhat, although it was leaking throughout the night.

Now the worst we have was in 1969. That was three million. This is 3,000 gallons. In 1969, that oil spill was the worst in history until Exxon Valdez came up, and then we had the BP oil spill. But that plume of oil in 1969 was 35 miles. So, there is a big difference here.

But you'll start to see here, if we can -- I'm not even sure what we're looking at as far as our graphics here, if you can still see this, if we're on the air with us, we're having some graphic problems. But what we have is basically this oil plume making its way toward the shore, we're starting to see now radar derived sea surface waves are pretty much carrying it from the northwest down to the southeast.

The winds, however, are going to be different and they're going to be carrying them on shore. So again, we could see this in Newport. It hasn't been reported at that time, possibly down in Laguna Beach. Because it is post process, Fredricka, it is going to expand in its length as it makes its way to the shoreline.

We'll get these situated and straightened out for you. But again, we should hear something later on, the patching process. How much did it work? We know they have booms in place to try to confine this area. But again, it's just something nobody wants to hear that here we go yet again, a company or platforms that have had fines in the past are seeing yet again another leak.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you're absolutely right about that. We're all bracing.

Tom Sater, your explanation surpasses any graphics, no matter what. So thank you so much. All right, CNN national correspondent, Natasha Chen is live for us now

in Huntington Beach. So Natasha, are we learning anything more about what caused the breach in the first place?

[15:05:00]

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not quite yet, Fred. We are expecting a press conference shortly, so we're hoping to find out some more answers.

What a county supervisor did tell us is that the company responsible, Beta Offshore, their parent company Amplify Energy, they are working with the U.S. Coast Guard and other parties to help clean this up right now. They are also working on repairing the leak.

Now here at Huntington Beach, people are advised not to get in the water. Even so, we just saw a couple of folks that come to one of these stations behind us where you can wash your feet, you know, after you've spent a day on the sand. Well, they've got clumps of oil on the bottom of their feet now and we can show you through our drone shots that you know, there are a number of people on the beach today. That's because there was supposed to be an air show. This was the third day of the air show that got canceled.

Some of the people here did not know that it was canceled. So, a lot of folks out here trying to figure out what's going on and can actually smell the oil as well. Here is Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley talking about some wetlands as well, where they've seen significant damage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATRINA FOLEY, SUPERVISOR, ORANGE COUNTY: Our Talbert wetlands, the oil has infiltrated the entirety of the wetland. There are significant impacts to wildlife there. I was out at the river jetty, you could see -- I like to describe it as like a pancake size cluster of oil up on the shoreline and beading along the shoreline. And so that also oil all in the wetlands.

These are wetlands that we've been working with the Army Corps of Engineers, with the Land Trust, with all the community wildlife partners to make sure to create this beautiful natural habitat for decades and now just in a day, completely destroyed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And so you see some signs here on the beach that tell people -- telling them not to get in the water. Still, we saw a couple of surfers out there anyway today. Our producer talked to them. They said that they felt good about the water again, though, people nearby who live around here, all the people who were excited about this air show coming back for the first time since the pandemic, they will tell you they can smell something out there and it is unknown exactly how long the leak has been going on, Fred, but it's -- we're suspecting that it's been a day or two. WHITFIELD: And I know you brought us some soundbites earlier from

people who thought they had smelled something not just Saturday, but even as early as Friday.

All right. Natasha Chen, thank you so much for that.

All right, let's look further into this. Joining us right now by phone from Newport Beach, Newport Beach City Council woman and former Mayor, Diane Dixon.

All right, Mayor, Councilwoman, let me ask you. So right now, are you seeing any remnants of this oil spill in Newport Beach? Are you seeing any wildlife washed up, you know coated with oil? What are you witnessing?

DIANE DIXON, CITY COUNCILWOMAN, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Well, thank you, Fredricka. It's nice to be able to speak with you this afternoon. I was down there about 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time for about an hour this morning, and I did see the oil spill, the clumps of oil that you've been showing on your broadcast.

Actually, I thought I was far and away. The lifeguards are keeping people away from the shoreline and actually when I got off the sand, my shoes were covered with oil, clumps of oil.

WHITFIELD: Because you're south, right? I mean, I'm not in California, but just I'm thinking about my travels there occasionally. So you're south of Huntington Beach -- Newport is and so you did see and experienced oil on the bottom of your shoes.

DIXON: Oh yes. Oh absolutely. And I've got pictures, in fact, you just showed on your photos, I was there talking about my phone when you were just broadcasting that, when I was there this morning that was an earlier video.

But anyway, yes, it is mild, but we are definitely seeing it on our shoreline and our lifeguards have been out there since last night working to work with the Coast Guard. There's a multi-agency force that is offshore with the booms, as well as trying to clean up as fast as they can.

Actually, I think you mentioned there is going to be a news conference at one o'clock Pacific Time, so I think we will all know more. But when I was out there this morning, I could see the boats way out there beyond the booms. So, I was pleased to see that, and the Animal Control trying to keep the animals off the water as well and people are complying. Everyone seems to be complying.

To address the smell issue, it is clearly strong and I had residents, because I represent the coastline here, most of the coastline and Balboa Peninsula and Newport Beach, residents putting up -- posting on next door Friday -- last Friday night saying, what's the smell? What's the smell? And they started smelling it and it is pervasive and certainly down at the beach.

So if anybody wants to go to the beach, they do not want to stay there long. But we want to protect our wildlife. We must protect ourselves and everybody is working as hard as they can to clean up this mess.

[15:10:03]

WHITFIELD: So we saw some signs and pictures of the, you know, signs "Beach Closed" posted in Huntington Beach. How about where you are in Newport? Have you all done that yet? Or are you going to?

DIXON: Well, I don't know if they've got the signs up yet, but they are -- our lifeguards are up and down the beach all morning as I saw multiple red trucks and they are advising people, educating people to stay away. A lot of people, surfers out there, not even knowing -- I've talked to one young, teenage surfer, and it looks like he just kind of rolled out of bed mat and had his surf board in his hand, I said, I don't think you want to go out there. And he says, well, why not? Well, we have an oil spill.

So people are very cooperative. Clearly, nobody is resisting that. And they want to be out of the way of all the cleanup crews. So the most important is, is keeping our beaches safe and the wildlife concerns and the marine life. And so, we're all concerned about that.

Newport Beach is known for its beautiful beaches and we want to protect our beaches and keep our residents and visitors safe.

WHITFIELD: And how about your concerns about resources? Are you worried at all that there are enough resources to address this because even as we look at these images, we're also seeing those container ships, you know, by the dozens that are offshore. We talked about that story yesterday, and how even a lack of resources is why so many of the container ships are parked where they are.

They can't offload because in part, there isn't enough personnel. So, are you -- do you have or share concerns about enough resources to address what seems to be a growing spill problem?

DIXON: Well, at first, I thought it might have been one of those offshore ships. We can see them all lined up and down the coast from Long Beach to Newport Beach. They're out there. At first, I thought so. But they're not, it was an oil platform as you have reported.

It is not the same agency as the LA and Long Beach Ports that are trying to find people to work to do the offloading. The resources are the multi-agency coordination led by the Coast Guard. I have not heard there's any lack of it.

We've got our own lifeguards and available firefighters and Animal Control people. Right now, we're doing what we can with what's going on offshore. The U.S. government and the Coast Guard that I believe have adequate resources that they will be deploying.

As I was out there, I can -- I could count four cleanup boats who were laying the booms and so there's a lot of resources, physical resources out there and I could only see Newport Beach and I know the same is going on up in Huntington Beach.

So yes, everybody is all hands on deck, literally to protect our beaches and that's what we care most about.

And I am actually going to do -- the Coast Guard is doing a flyover at 2:00 or 2:30 this afternoon coming out of Long Beach. I'm going to go up there and get on that helicopter and see the plume myself.

WHITFIELD: Well, I love Newport Beach. It certainly is a jewel there on the Pacific Coast. Councilwoman of Newport Beach, Diane Dixon, thank you so much. All the best to you and all the residents there, all the way up to Huntington Beach and beyond being impacted now by this spill.

DIXON: Okay, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, divided Democrats in Congress now standing between President Biden and his domestic agenda. He is vowing to get it done. What is the path forward?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:21]

WHITFIELD: All right, Democrats in Congress are back at the negotiating table and facing a new deadline. After a week of frenzied infighting and two delayed votes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now says she wants a deal on a bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by the end of October.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is covering these developments for us on Capitol Hill, and also Arlette Saenz at the White House. Arlette, let's begin with you. With the President's agenda once again, hanging in the balance, what is the White House strategy?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, President Biden is planning to hit the road this week trying to sell his economic agenda directly to the American people.

The White House announced just a short while ago that the President will travel to Howell, Michigan on Tuesday where he will be promoting both that bipartisan infrastructure proposal and also the larger, more sweeping economic package that would expand the social safety net in this country. Both of those measures currently stalled in Congress.

Now, the President has been spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he has been making phone calls to lawmakers. And he is also planning to host Democrats here at the White House this week as he is hoping to push those negotiations along.

And one thing that this White House will have to address is growing frustration among some in the party, particularly moderates when it comes to the delay on that vote for the bipartisan infrastructure proposal. Yesterday, Senator Kyrsten Sinema said that there's been a breach of trust within the Democratic Party. But White House officials like Cedric Richmond are pushing back on that idea, and also saying that people need to give and take a bit when it comes to the negotiations. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: There is enormous amount of trust in the Democratic Party. But more importantly, there's a lot of focus on the American families and look, people will be disappointed, people will not get everything they want. That is the art of legislating.

But the goal here is to get both bills and we're going to fight until we get both bills, and that's the statement from the President. Human infrastructure is important and physical infrastructure is important. So, we're going to do both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And even as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is setting up that Halloween deadline for the bipartisan infrastructure proposal, this White House is not putting any timeframe on this just insisting they will get it done.

WHITFIELD: All right, Arlette, and Susan, having more time, will it be more advantageous?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really depends, Fred, on who you ask. The progressives think that the more time they have, the better. The moderates, of course are very frustrated by this process. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did press pause on these negotiations, very high stake, fast paced negotiations between the warring factions within her own party.

October 31st is the deadline to get that infrastructure bill vote passed and she said in a Dear Colleague letter, just yesterday, very blunt language here about the fact that they needed more time, and that they did not have the votes necessary to get the infrastructure and this bigger package both past and that is a requirement.

[15:20:19]

MALVEAUX: And despite the President's multiple trips with both the moderates and the progressives last week, they are still very much, far apart. We heard Senator Joe Manchin putting out the figure of $1.5 trillion, while we also heard the Chair of the Progressive Caucus saying this morning that that is nowhere close. Take a listen, Fred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): That is too small to get our priorities in, so it's going to be somewhere, you know, between 1.5 and 3.5. And I think the White House is working on that right now. Because remember, what we want to deliver is childcare, paid leave, climate change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And so while this deadline, this extension of the deadline works for some of the Democrats as they try to move through and exercise some of those muscles there, this is really frustrating for some of the moderates, including Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who says, look, the Republican lawmakers who they had on board for this big infrastructure package might disappear.

We did hear from some Republicans who are now using this delay to their advantage to make two points, one that they believe the administration is incompetent. And the second that perhaps they will threaten to pull their support because there's just no more momentum. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): The President lost a lot of political muscle. Now, we're at a point where the President is weak. And really, Bernie Sanders, the far left Democrats are driving the bus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Fred, while progressive Democrats say, look, they're not going to focus on a price tag here, they are going to focus on the issues, what needs to be paid for these programs that may actually take more time and be more difficult than figuring out the dollars and cents -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, ladies. Suzanne Malveaux, Arlette Saenz, appreciate it.

All right, coming up, more than 700,000 white flags to represent each life loss to coronavirus.

CNN spoke to the artists behind this powerful exhibit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:38]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. New cases and COVID hospitalizations have dropped significantly and experts are hailing a new drug as a potential game changer in the future.

Pharmaceutical giant, Merck says its new antiviral pill for COVID patients cuts the risk of hospitalization and death by 50 percent. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he looks forward to seeing the impact this drug could have.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The results are really quite impressive, as you mentioned, it decreases the likelihood of getting hospitalization or dying in people who early in the course of their infection, take this particular medication.

In addition, there's another part of that study that is really impressive. Among the deaths in the study, there were eight deaths among the placebo group and no deaths among those who took the medication. That's very impressive. So, we really look forward to the implementation of this and to its effect on people who are infected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Dr. Fauci says the antiviral pill is not an alternative to getting vaccinated. The pandemic has now claimed more than 700,000 lives in the U.S., and tragically, more than 100,000 of those deaths were recorded after vaccines were widely available for people 18 and over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: Many of those deaths were unavoidable, but many, many are avoidable, were avoidable and will in the future be avoidable. The number itself is staggering, you're absolutely correct, but hopefully that will then spur us to realize that we do have interventions in the form of a vaccine to prevent infection, to prevent severe disease, to prevent death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Dana Bash explains what one artist is doing to honor the lives lost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's hard to capture this (on camera), it's even hard to capture it with your eyes.

SUZANNE FIRSTENBERG, VISUAL ARTIST: Yes.

BASH: When you're here like you and I are because it's so vast. It goes down --

FIRSTENBERG: To the World War II Memorial now.

BASH: To the World war II Memorial.

BASH (voice over): Suzanne Firstenberg is the artist behind In America, Remember, a temporary exhibition on the National Mall. Each flag represents an American life lost to COVID-19.

FIRSTENBERG: When I bought flags in June, I bought 630,000. I thought never would be used that many. I've reordered twice.

BASH (voice over): Visitors come by not just to observe, but to participate. Volunteers write dedications for loved ones submitted online.

FIRSTENBERG: One flag, it was a 99-year-old who died and the flag reads, "He refused a ventilator. He asked that it be used for someone younger."

BASH: When the exhibit opened September 17th, there were 670,032 deaths. Since then, thousands more have died. Each day, she has increased the number to reflect that.

FIRSTENBERG: So I check the numbers every day because it's important that we honor those people whom we just lost the day before.

BASH: And it is a lot of people.

FIRSTENBERG: It's an incredible number of people.

BASH (voice over): This weekend, that number hit an unthinkable milestone, 700,000 American lives lost to COVID-19.

FIRSTENBERG: There are a lot of flags that say, "If only you would have listened" or "I wish you had gotten vaccinated."

[15:30:09]

BASH (on camera): And look at this one here. "Dear Ma-Mom, you're a woman of strength, love and kindness that radiated from you. This period around the holidays is the hardest without you."

FIRSTENBERG: What I didn't realize was just how much emotion people would bring to this. I created the art, but they've brought the content, the stories, the sadness, oftentimes they'll tell me this is the first time I've had a chance to cry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So powerful. Dana Bash, thank you for bringing that story of how that artist was motivated to do that and touch so many.

All right, coming up, R. Kelly facing decades in prison. Ahead, the story about some of the women who brought him to justice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:30]

WHITFIELD: R. Kelly is now facing decades in prison after many accusers have waited decades themselves to see the singer brought to justice. He won't be sentenced until May, but he has been convicted on all nine counts against him including sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

Sonia Moghe has been following these court proceedings for months now, and she is joining us from New York.

So Sonia, you profiled dozens of women involved in this case, and what did you learn?

SONIA MOGHE, CNN REPORTER: Well, you know, Fred, I was sitting in the courtroom as that verdict came down, and couldn't help but think about all of these women who came and made that moment possible.

The prosecution table right in front of me was filled with an all- female prosecution team, these women with very extensive histories, prosecuting mob families, and really complex criminal cases.

I thought of all of the women who organized to mute R. Kelly who really brought a lot of these survivors' voices together, their stories together. Of course, the all-female producer team of "Surviving R. Kelly," who helped elevate these stories, bring them back into the foreground again.

And most importantly, all of these survivors who either spoke to prosecutors, spoke publicly who actually came and testified at this trial. It was very difficult for some of them to testify at the trial. We saw people breaking down on the stand. It was difficult for some of them to face R. Kelly.

Prosecutors told us about one woman who had a mental breakdown before she was supposed to come testify, and that they ended up not having her testify. So one woman who testified in the trial spoke to CBS shortly after that verdict, and she told CBS's Gayle King about just how difficult it was for her to be back there and face R. Kelly once again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZRIEL CLARY, SINGER: It was very disturbing to have to relive those moments, and I don't know, a piece of me was happy because I felt like --

GAYLE KING, ABC NEWS HOST: Happy?

CLARY: Yes. Because I felt like this person no longer has control over me, you know. You don't tell me what to do and what to wear and where to go and how long to be in a room anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOGHE: When she testified, she used a pseudonym because she didn't want her name to be, you know, attached to her testimony at the time, but she did eventually come forward revealing herself to CBS.

And you know, and we heard women who had testified in the previous trial in 2008. One woman, Lisa VanAllen, she said this verdict, you know, the 2008 trial, he was acquitted. But this verdict, this guilty verdict, Lisa VanAllen said was what she had been waiting for all of these years, and she attributed it to all of this collective group of women who came out and spoke out against the singer.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Very personal, personal stories being shared. Sonia Moghe, thank you so much.

MOGHE: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, and now turning to a troubling new report showing the suicide rate among active duty U.S. service members has skyrocketed in recent years. The Defense Department's study found that the suicide rate among active duty service members has increased by more than 41 percent in the five years between 2015 to 2020.

Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber is a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. So good to see you, Doctor. So what is your reaction when you hear these numbers? DR. KELLY POSNER GERSTENHABER, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY: Well, they are very sobering, and what it tells me is that we have a lot of work to do, but here's the good news, Fredricka. We know, you know, as much as this has been our tragic paradox that takes more firemen than fire, more police than crime, more lives than car accidents, more soldiers than combat. We actually know that this is our one preventable cause of death.

And when you step back and look at the big numbers, despite the fact that for over 20 years, the suicide rate kept going up each and every year. In the last two years, we've seen it go down. Last year in 2020, it went down by six percent.

WHITFIELD: And why do you think that is?

GERSTENHABER: I think it's because what we're doing with identification and messaging and addressing stigma is actually working. We know the pieces to the formula and let me tell you what I what they are okay.

We must find the people suffering in silence and connect them to the care they need. Did you know that nearly 50 percent of people who die by suicide have seen their primary care doctor the month before they die?

We need to be asking the way we monitor for blood pressure and do vision testing, but what we've realized we really need to do to move the needle is actually go find people who are suffering in silence where they work, live, and thrive. You know what? Because many people never get to the doctor's office.

[15:40:19]

WHITFIELD: So in order to go find that means you have to equip more people with the information about how to identify when somebody is in trouble, because they're not always going to verbalize it to you.

GERSTENHABER: Exactly. They don't always have the will to come to you. So we have seen, you know, reductions in active duty when we actually implemented a brief screening tool that can be put in everybody's hands, right?

So the legalese is in the custodian, the spouse, and we've seen that really, really make a difference, because we have to find people where they work and live. That's where they want to hurt themselves, right? That's where most people again, never get to the doctor.

So for example, you know, it's often the number one cause of death in construction workers. So safety checks in the morning can be more than the hardhat, it can be these questions. So that's great.

The other piece of it is, we must address the lack of help seeking. You know, the biggest cause of suicide is this treatable medical illness called depression, but we don't think of depression the way we think of cancer. And most people, veterans, active duty, I'm weak if I ask for help, this isn't a real illness. So we must break down those barriers of stigma and misunderstanding that can literally be lethal.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I love the ground that you have laid for us, and you're giving us really instructive information on how we can all help each other come along. Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

GERSTENHABER: Grateful for the opportunity.

WHITFIELD: And if you are thinking about suicide, and if you're worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to this number 741741.

All right, right now, officials are giving an update on this major oil spill in Southern California. Let's listen in right now.

MAYOR KIM CARR, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA: And as most of you know, we are in the midst of a potential ecological disaster here in Huntington Beach, and as the exhibits and pictures here illustrate, the oil spill has significantly impacted our community.

At our last update, we were informed that more than 3,000 barrels of oil or 126,000 gallons have been spilled into the ocean located just off of the Huntington Beach Coast, and our coastal neighbors.

Our wetlands are being degraded and portions of our coastline are now covered in oil. I want to reassure everyone that the overall cleanup effort is being expertly coordinated right now. That cleanup effort is being led by the Incident Management Team or IMT, which includes Federal, state and regional response entities.

In addition, the company responsible for this oil spill, which we understand to be Beta Offshore, a California subsidiary of Houston- based Amplify Energy Corporation is working on the cleanup effort as well.

In the coming days and weeks, we challenge the responsible parties to do everything possible to rectify this environmental catastrophe. Our local teams at the city and at Orange County are working in concert to support the cleanup and recovery efforts.

As everything unfolds, however, there are some important Huntington Beach impacts that we need to share. First, the ocean and shorelines in Huntington Beach are closed. That is from Sea Point -- the Street Sea Point in the north all the way south to the Santa Ana river jetty.

The beach order closure was issued in concert with the Orange County Health Care Agency and the City of Huntington Beach. Of note, the closure means that if individuals are at the beach in the impacted areas, they should not cross into the shoreline or enter the water where we have oil impacts.

The beach closure will be in place until further notice and we will be providing updates regularly.

We also wanted to let everyone know that while the overall cleanup efforts are being led by the Coast Guard, here in Huntington Beach, our local response efforts have been focused on two major priorities.

[15:45:10]

CARR: First, protecting the health and safety of our residents and visitors; and second, preventing an ecological disaster by mitigating the impacts of the oil on our precious wetlands and wildlife.

We urge everyone to stay safe by avoiding the impacts and the areas that are contacted with oil. Please know that protecting our wetlands and wildlife are of utmost importance to us here in Huntington Beach.

To facilitate protecting our most sensitive and ecological locations, the city proactively laid a total of 2,050 feet of protective booms at seven separate locations. Unfortunately, as a result of this oil spill, we are starting to see oil covered fish and birds washing up along our coastline.

The city has set up an oil response hotline, and if anyone in the community has concerns or questions about this situation, please call that hotline number at area code 714-374-1702.

In addition, we know that Huntington Beach residents are a community that care and want to give up their time. And so we are coordinating efforts with our local nonprofits.

We've worked with our local partners at the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, and at the Surfrider Foundation to help support cleanup efforts.

For those of you that have an interest in the animal rescue related efforts, we urge you to contact the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy. That organization needs a wildlife rescue facility on Newland and PCH here in Huntington Beach. They can be reached at area code 714-374-5587.

In addition, at some point, we will need volunteers to help with the beach cleanup efforts. And to help coordinate that effort, we've partnered with the Surfrider Foundation. Anyone interested in helping on that front should go to their website and visit cleanups.surfrider.org. Again, that's cleanups.surfrider.org.

In a year that has been filled with incredibly challenging issues, this oil spill constitutes one of the most devastating situations that our community has dealt with in decades. Rest assured that the team in Huntington Beach mobilized quickly and we are proactively responding.

We are doing everything in our power to protect the health and safety of our residents, our visitors and our natural habitats. We are grateful for the outpouring of support and urgency exhibited by our community.

In Huntington Beach, we come together, especially in times of challenge. Today is no different.

We will face this challenge together and we will come out stronger because we are One HB. And with that, I will be happy to take any questions and I'm also going to ask --

WHITFIELD: All right, you've been listening to Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr there describe how in her words, this is now the most devastating situation that community has faced in decades.

The fact that 3,000 barrels of oil has spilled off the coast there, the Coast Guard she says is leading up the cleanup efforts and then they have others who are now putting their focus on trying to recover and help so much of wildlife that has washed up oil coated. We're going to continue to monitor the press conference there and the situation as all hands on deck to try to now address this oil spill off the coast of Southern California.

We'll have much more right after this.

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[15:54:22]

WHITFIELD: "Saturday Night Live" premiered its 47th season last night. The show's first order of business, poking fun at Democrats who just can't seem to get on the same page to pass key pieces of President Biden's agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On one side, we have the moderate Democrats, Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do I want from this bill? I'll never tell because I didn't come to Congress to make friends. And so far, mission accomplished.

[LAUGHTER]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it just me or does she look like a characters from "Scooby Doo" at the same time?

[LAUGHTER]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And another prick to my keyster, the facto President of the United States Joe Manchin from West Virginia.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that's right. I'm a Democrat from West Virginia. If I vote for electric cars, they're going to kill me.

[15:55:09]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go through this agenda together because we're going to realize, hey, we're all on the same page. We're all seeing the same damn thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right. I'm saying we need at least $300 billion in clean energy tax credits.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm saying zero. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See, same page.

[LAUGHTER]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a lot of good stuff in this bill, 12 weeks of paid family leave --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six whole days of paid --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, unpaid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unpaid six little days --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six nights of unpaid family half -- that's not a bad compromise, right?

Let's get real basic: Roads. Everyone okay with roads?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like roads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me, too. Roads are where trucks live.

[LAUGHTER]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kyrsten?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want no roads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No roads. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chaos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, and this is just the beginning. "SNL" is back.

All right, the winner of the Powerball Jackpot is -- no one.

Saturday's $635 million drawing was the 10th largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history and Powerball's sixth largest ever. So get out and get those tickets. The next drawing is Monday night and the Powerball jackpot expects to grow to at least $670 million.

All right, the record for the largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history is just north of $1.5 billion.

All right, a volcanic eruption in the Canary Islands is still making stunning scenes like this nearly two weeks after the initial burst. Lava snaking its way down to the dark side -- the dark mountain side rather overnight, but the good news is, officials are lifting stay-at- home orders in several towns around the volcano. Poor air quality has been an issue since the eruption began. To date, more than 6,000 people have had to evacuate their homes.

And this quick programming note, the new CNN Original Series "Diana" introduces viewers to the person behind the princess and reveals a life more complicated and fascinating than the world knew. "Diana" premieres Sunday, October 10th at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

All right, thanks for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:00]