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Campbell Brown
Disaster in the Gulf Day 88; Apple iPhone Fix?
Aired July 16, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. I'm Candy Crowley. Campbell Brown is off tonight.
Day eight of the disaster in the Gulf, and the good news is, the well is holding, the pressure is rising, and as you can see on the live camera, there is still no oil leaking into the Gulf. But everybody, from President Obama to BP, is warning, don't break out that champagne just yet. We have got a live report from the Gulf with the latest on that ongoing well integrity test.
Also tonight, questions about the deal that set the convicted Lockerbie bomber free and home to Libya. The Brits now say that was a mistake, and the U.S. Senate wants to investigate. But questions on everyone's mind, was BP involved behind the scenes?
And later, the big problem with the iPhone 4. Is antenna-gate a chink in the armor of the Apple's mighty Steve Jobs?
We have got a lot to get to tonight, but we begin with our number-one story, which, of course, oil. The watch word today, cautious optimism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE COURIC, HOST, "CBS EVENING NEWS": Day 88. The pressure is on. Can the cap hold back the oil? So far so good. But the president says don't forget, there is still a huge cleanup to do.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, HOST, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS": Tonight, the prognosis is being described as muted optimism.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: There is still some concern that the pressure levels are not where they should be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a short time ago, retired Admiral Thad Allen said the pressure stands at 6,700 PSI. That's pounds per square inch. To the left of the dial, you can see that red area. That is trouble, because low pressure could mean other leaks in the well. Much further to the right would be ideal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: So what are those pressure readings telling us? Is there cause for concern there?
That's why we have David Mattingly. We want to bring him in here now. He has been following this for us all day long. He is live tonight in New Orleans.
David, thanks for being with us. I know you had a little over an hour another update on the status of these tests. It sounds like good news and then we get all these caveats. What can you tell us?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a technical briefing from BP sort of laid it out in a better fashion than what we heard from Admiral Thad Allen. They say that they're acknowledging that the pressure isn't as high as what they thought it would be when they started this test. But they did have a model that they looked at before this started, under the idea that since this well has been spewing oil out into the Gulf for 88 days now, that possibly it has lost some of its pressure.
And they're looking at that now, thinking that this might be the scenario. Of course, until they know for sure, they have to also assume there is the possibility this well could be leaking under this pressure test, even though, and this is the good news, that they have seen no evidence of any leak so far.
CROWLEY: So is there a timeline here? When will we know that it's -- just maybe it's running out of oil pressure or there is a leak?
MATTINGLY: Well, we were looking at a 48-hour test, but Thad Allen saying now that we need to move conditionally based on what we learn along the way.
He authorized another six-hour test. They're going to look at the results on that, and then decide what they're going to do next. This is open-ended, and they're just making it up as they go, based on what they learn. But, again, so far, everything they have seen tells them that this well is in good shape. They were hoping to see higher pressure here that tells them the well is in great shape, and it would help them make those decisions earlier, but right now they're just going along, seeing what they can, and learning as much about this well as they possibly can.
CROWLEY: David, you know, once bit, twice shy. And we have seen a lot of these things that look like they might work, and then they didn't.
They did give us odds earlier on when they tried something new. What are the odds now? I mean, does this really look as though we're in the final stages of this until they get the permanent wells, relief wells?
MATTINGLY: Well, no one is giving any odds on anything. That's the big lesson that they have learned is that they cannot predict what is going to happen with each step forward that they take with this. They're taking the fact that they were able to put that cap on and close off this well as a great sign.
There is a sense of optimism we haven't seen in a long time, since before actually they tried the top kill. But now they're taking it a step at a time, not making any promises, but just saying, so far, so good. Let's see where this goes.
CROWLEY: David Mattingly in New Orleans -- thank you so much, David. Really appreciate it.
So, all eyes are on the Gulf tonight watching and waiting for the well to finally be shut down once and for all. But that will not be the end of the story. Here is what President Obama said earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's still going to be an enormous cleanup job to do, and there's still going to be the whole set of issues surrounding making sure people are compensated properly, that the $20 billion fund is set up and is acting expeditiously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: The task of handing out compensation to the victims of the disaster in the Gulf could end up being the hottest of hot potatoes.
So, how is it going to work?
Amber Lyon has that for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far, BP has been handling the claims process. Well, now Kenneth Feinberg, AKA the $20 billion man, says three weeks from now, he is going to be taking over. He is also going to start digging into that $20 billion escrow account.
Feinberg made three stops across Louisiana yesterday to reassure fishermen and local business owners that $20 billion is there, also that he is working independently of the U.S. government and BP. He also says he is going to make this process more efficient. In the past, BP was cutting checks on a month-by-month basis.
Feinberg says he is going to cut checks covering six months of losses, also that he is going to try to get these payments made out within 24 to 48 hours of filing a claim.
We caught up with Feinberg as he was speaking to a standing-room- only group of fishermen in Lafitte, Louisiana. This was around the same time that news broke that that well was capped. There was a feeling of cautious optimism.
KENNETH FEINBERG, INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATOR, GULF SPILL INDEPENDENT CLAIMS FUND: It's fabulous, because if the oil has stopped flowing, that makes it easier for us to begin to corral the type of claims, because we will know better where the oil is going to go.
LYON: As you can imagine, Feinberg is a very popular guy right now. He is literally holding a blank checkbook filled with $20 billion of BP's bucks. This guy has a lot of experience. He is the same one who handled the September 11 victims defense fund.
Amber Lyon, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Up next: The containment cap is working, but will President Obama be able to cap his falling poll numbers? Our political panel takes the question.
Also tonight: BP under fire from lawmakers, not just for the oil spill, but over the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Could a terrorist really have been freed as part of an oil deal?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Our number-one political story tonight: the disaster in the Gulf and how the president is handling it. He is walking a fine line, on the one hand, cautious, on the other, underscoring the progress being made toward plugging the well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: But there's no doubt that we have made progress as a consequence of this new cap fitting on, and that even if it turns out that we can't keep the containment cap on to completely stop the oil, it's going to allow us to capture much more oil and we'll see less oil flowing into the Gulf.
I think it's important that we don't get ahead of ourselves here. You know, one of the problems with having this camera down there is that when the oil stops gushing, everybody feels like we're done, and we're not.
The new cap is containing the oil right now, but scientists are doing a number of tests. What they want to make sure of is that by putting this cap on, the oil isn't seeping out elsewhere in ways that could be even more catastrophic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: So will the encouraging news from the Gulf give the president some much -needed political relief?
Here to make sense of it all, CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist James Carville, and Tony Blankley, who was press secretary for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Gentlemen, thank you all so much.
Let me start with the Gulf. I think we can all understand why the president wouldn't want to declare victory over this oil spill just now, because if something -- if it came back out and starts gushing again, he would look foolish. So, I think we get that. But can we talk about sort of down the line? Let's say this is the beginning of the end of the leak. The president sustained some early damage politically when people didn't think he was on his game, that he let BP take care of it, didn't seem interested.
Does that all go away once the hole is plugged?
Go ahead, James.
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Yes, if unemployment goes down to 6 percent, it will go away pretty fast.
(LAUGHTER)
CARVILLE: But as long as unemployment stays high -- you know, I can't find a headline in history that says unemployment 9.5 percent, incumbent sweeps back into office.
But, yes, I think what he said today, I think that -- much better. I think they understand that, you know, you are dealing with some pretty volatile stuff down there on the Florida Gulf of Mexico, and that it's much better. But the heartening thing to people here in the Gulf region is that he said this just doesn't signal that anything stops when people stop seeing this.
The great fear that we have is that people will forget about us. And so, we're encouraged to hear that.
CROWLEY: And, Tony, would you -- I'm assuming you would probably agree with James that it's a good thing if they can get this leak plugged, but it doesn't really help the president politically while you're staring at a 9.5 percent unemployment rate and bankruptcies -- or mortgage defaults at historic levels?
TONY BLANKLEY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes.
Well, look, it's a good thing that the leak is plugged, if it is. I wish James and everybody down on the coast the best wishes that it stays plugged. For the president, it's been a bad news story. And for any politician, when you have a bad news story, the sooner it's no longer on the front page, the better.
It really doesn't matter whether he performs well now in discussing the aftermath. The public has made a judgment, just as by the way I think the end of the story is bad news for the governors of Louisiana and Florida, who have thrived politically during this crisis.
So, you know, I don't think going to -- it's better for the president that the issue is over. I don't know whether it's better for the folks on the coast that the president stops talking about it. But that's a separate matter, I think.
CROWLEY: Let me move you both to something we have watched for the past couple of days, and that is the back and forth between the NAACP and the Tea Party, NAACP passing a resolution, calling on Tea Party leaders to condemn racism in -- some signs of which have -- literally signs of which -- have show upped at some of their rallies.
Let's take the 50,000-foot view. Who is getting what out of this, James?
CARVILLE: Well, I had the Tea Party, to the extent there is such a thing in Louisiana, come talk to my class at Tulane. And they strike me that, from 50,000 feet, as not like a very organized thing. They're not like the United States Marine Corps or something.
(LAUGHTER)
CARVILLE: They're just sort of out there. And there is no doubt that they have some people that have said some pretty rough things and have had some pretty rough signs.
And if you look at what the NAACP said, I think they actually have a point. But I guess that the Tea Party people would say, look, we're -- these people don't pay much attention to authority. So, I don't know what -- but I do know I have seen, and like I say, some pretty rough stuff. And there is not much place for this in American politics.
CROWLEY: And, Tony, doesn't James have a point? When we talk about the Tea Party, this is not like the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. This is a bunch of little groups, in some cases groups of one, who claim to be members of the party that actually doesn't exist officially, at least as a national party. And yet they're fighting what is a very real feeling on the part of the NAACP that they have sanctioned racism.
BLANKLEY: Well, of course, remember, the original Tea Party wasn't a political party. It was a group of people who came together to protest. And that's what this is. It's a group of people who are coming forward, not necessarily together.
They are meeting in different places all over the country to protest. Look, I think there has been an effort to try to tar them with these charges since the beginning. It hasn't worked. About a third of the country, between 25 and 30-some percent of the public, identifies with the party. They don't think they're racist.
So, when they hear themselves being accused as racists, it just gets them angrier. And I think that this -- every time this issue is raised, it probably hurts the president and helps the Tea Party and the candidates the Tea Parties are going to support, which is primarily, but not exclusively, Republicans.
CROWLEY: And let me just ask you in general about the upcoming elections. We have heard so much about how the Republicans are going to get -- I'm sorry -- the Democrats are going to get clocked, that they're going to lose seats, and it's only a matter of whether it will be some big blowout or a tiny blowout.
Is there a way, Tony, that Republicans could blow this? BLANKLEY: Look, I have been a Republican for too long not to think there is a way we couldn't blow a lead.
I think it's pretty -- at this point, I don't think the Republican Party is well enough organized to systematically destroy the lucky position they find themselves in. I think it's not...
CARVILLE: Yes.
BLANKLEY: Anything can happen. And we have three months left. But the chances are, the Democrats are going to lose a lot of seats in the House and probably quite a fair number in the Senate. This is not about the Republicans.
If it's about the Republicans, the Democrats have a real chance. But I think it's about the president. And that's why the Republicans are likely to do well.
CROWLEY: James, I love the look on your face. You love this question. So, tell me.
CARVILLE: No, no.
Look, if the Democrats pick up seats, then the Republican Party, they ought to, like, all collectively drown themselves or something.
(LAUGHTER)
CARVILLE: But that's not going to happen.
It's just -- even the Republicans couldn't lose seats in this cycle.
(LAUGHTER)
CARVILLE: But, look, there is a lot of difference between losing 20 seats and losing 50 seats. And that's what people ought to focus on, is Democrats can run better than they have been running.
And, you know, the Democrats picked up significant seats in 2006 and 2008. They're not going to have -- 9.5 percent unemployment, they're not about to pick up seats in 2010. But it doesn't necessarily have to be as bad a year as some people think.
And, you know, when I -- my message is, you're not sending -- when you vote for somebody, you're not sending a message to Washington. You're sending a Republican to Washington, and you better be sure that you really want to do that.
(LAUGHTER)
CROWLEY: James Carville, Tony Blankley, always fun. Thank you, guys, so much.
(CROSSTALK)
CARVILLE: You bet. Appreciate it.
CROWLEY: Tonight, we will look at a stunning new admission by the British government surrounding the release of the Lockerbie bomber.
An, later, Apple fights back after its reputation takes a hit over the new iPhone. Today, they pulled back the curtain of one of America's most popular and most secretive companies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: The British government is apologizing for releasing the Lockerbie bomber, a terrorist that some suspect may have walked out of prison with the help of oil giant BP.
Abdel al-Megrahi served only eight years of a life sentence for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 -- 270 people died in the 1988 attack, 189 of them Americans.
Just yesterday, BP admitted discussing a prisoner transfer agreement with the U.K. in order to further its oil interests in Libya.
So, was a terrorist released because it was good for business?
Brianna Keilar reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three months to live, that's how long Scottish authorities said convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi had to live when they released him on compassionate grounds. Megrahi went home to Libya, received a hero's welcome, and almost a year later is still alive. Did the Libyan government pay off the doctors who examined Megrahi?
SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D) NEW JERSEY: And they fabricated, fabricated a doctor who was paid, it is said, to change his analysis, his examination of what this man's condition was like. So they said, maybe three months to live and here now he's saying this guy could live ten years.
So he was released so he could join his family while he took away other people's family members. It's outrageous.
KEILAR: Citing British reports, New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg says the real reason Megrahi was released, to smooth over an offshore oil drilling agreement between Libya and British oil giant, BP.
KEILAR (on camera): You are convinced there was a deal struck here.
LAUTENBERG: Oh, absolutely. I smelled a rat. We now see that BP had spoken to the U.K., talk about this enormous $20 billion deal that might go on with Libya and it might be soured if this man was returned.
KEILAR (voice-over): Lautenberg and three other Democratic senators are demanding investigations by the British government, the U.S. State Department, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
KEILAR (on camera): And you're not a fan of offshore oil drilling, certainly deepwater drilling and BP. I mean these are not --
LAUTENBERG: Right. They're not my choices. That has nothing to do -- the fact that it's BP is coincidence.
KEILAR (on camera): The State Department said it will look at the senator's request for an investigation but it seems not much can be done at this point about al-Megrahi's release.
We also checked with BP. A spokesman said it is a matter of public record that in 2007 the company spoke with its government and said slow progress on a Libyan prisoner release could hurt BP's business with Libya, but that spokesman insisted there were no specific discussions about al-Megrahi's release.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Let's try to sort out this mind-boggling nexus of terrorism, business, and politics.
I talked to Richard Quest in our London bureau a short while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Richard, thanks for joining us.
There are so many moving parts to this story, it's hard to know where to begin. But let's begin with the doctors. We first had doctors saying that al-Megrahi had three months left to live. We're now a year later, and another doctor says, well, it may be 10 years. What happened here?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is a very good question. We always knew it was going to be a bit dicey and dodgy and imprecise in terms of working out when or if he was going to succumb to his cancer.
But the doctor -- one of the doctors now says that he could live for 10 years, having previously said that he was over in three months. When you then look at that from the Libyan point of view, what we're hearing there is that he is ailing, that a bad cold or flu could polish him off.
But they also say that one of the reasons that perhaps Megrahi has lasted so long or lived so long is because, since he has been back, there is the psychological benefits of seeing his children and the enhanced and superb medical care that he has received. But my understanding from looking at the reports and reading around the subject is that he is not exactly bouncing around. He is still very much a sick man.
CROWLEY: Well, being with family is one explanation. But, as you know, there are great suspicions in the U.S. that perhaps the doctors were paid off. Any chance of that?
QUEST: The allegation -- let's get right down to the base of this, Candy. The allegation is fundamentally that there was some sort of quid pro quo. BP got rights to offshore drilling, a billion dollars worth, off Libyan coast. And in return, the Libyans got some form of Prisoner transfer agreement, with al-Megrahi at the head of it.
That is the core of this allegation. The truth is, we don't know. BP says they were worried that their commercial interests were being hurt. The British government at the time said, it's up to the Scottish, not up to us. The Libyans say there was no agreement. But going any further and finding the smoking gun, that has proved elusive.
CROWLEY: So, let me talk to you. You today talked to the head of Libya's oil operations and talked to him about BP and the deals with BP. And he totally denies there was any deal. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Do you deny that you spoke to BP about any form of connection?
DR. SHOKRI GHANEM, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL OIL CORPORATION LIBYA: Will I tell you something?
QUEST: Sir.
GHANEM: I was leading the negotiation on BP. I was the person who was negotiating the technical and the whole agreement. I never spoke any political, nor I accept any political interference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Here is the problem, Richard. Moammar Gadhafi's son said al-Megrahi's release was a constant part of the trade talks. So, who is telling the truth?
QUEST: Well, now we get into the -- pardon the awful pun -- the really murky waters.
Yes, what the Libyan minister said to me was -- later on -- of course, we knew, everybody knew that the issue was on the table. But he said that is the same with any negotiation with any country. There are always external issues between two countries, between individuals that swirl about, but that does not mean that it was part of some deal. So, you're left with this feeling that there is something happening. The way I put it to the minister was, there is a lot of smoke. And some people say there is a fire nearby or there must be a fire nearby. He still denies that there was a direct linkage between Megrahi's release and BP ultimately being granted permission to drill.
CROWLEY: You're right. There sure is a lot of smoke there.
But another bottom line here is the British government now says, hey, releasing him was a mistake. And they're planning here in the United States Senate to hold hearings on this. But, in reality, is anything -- can anything be done to get this guy back in prison?
QUEST: No, no, no. The British government has said quite clearly -- the British ambassador to the United States said there is no provision for recalling after a release on compassionate grounds. So, that is a given and over and done with.
CROWLEY: Well, I have this feeling this won't be the last we talk about this.
Richard Quest, thanks so much for joining us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Tonight: the chilling tale of an American reporter who went after a story and ended up a prisoner of the Taliban. How did he survive? He will tell us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Our number one international story tonight, escalating drug violence in Mexico. For the first time, a car bomb was used to attack federal police in Juarez last night. It was the fourth major incident in the past few weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dramatic new video of the moment a car bomb exploded in Juarez, Mexico last night. Two police officers, a paramedic, and a civilian were killed in the blast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police officials say the blast went off just as authorities were responding to an emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities say gang members set a trap for police, and then used a cell phone to set off the bomb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: A counterterrorism expert said there is some confusion about exactly what caused the car to explode.
Tonight, we have an amazing story of an American reporter who dared to go into the heart of Taliban country in Pakistan and barely escaped with his life. He was the second U.S. journalist to be abducted in Pakistan. The first, Daniel Pearl of "The Wall Street Journal," was beheaded. In his new book, "Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban," Jere Van Dyk describes how he survived 456 days in captivity. He sat down recently with Campbell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Jere, you decided to head into one of the most dangerous regions, the most dangerous areas in all of the world. First, did you know what you were getting yourself into? I mean, this is tribal territory where the Pakistani government has very little control.
JERE VAN DYK, AUTHOR, "CAPTIVE": Right.
BROWN: And then, second, what were you really hoping to find out?
VAN DYK: I didn't think that what I was doing was suicidal.
BROWN: You didn't think it was suicidal?
VAN DYK: I didn't think. I had been with the Taliban four times already. I was living along that region for months and months. I was deeply part of that culture.
BROWN: And what was driving you to go in there?
VAN DYK: I wanted to do on one hand what no one else I felt could do.
BROWN: You wanted to find bin Laden.
VAN DYK: Well --
BROWN: Or at least find out where he was?
VAN DYK: No. It's valid. Yes, and I'll tell you the stuff about bin Laden.
In the early 1980s, when I was there, an Egyptian army major came and stayed with us. He hated me because I was an American. I went to see this man in 2002, went again to see him in 2003. I began to hear that this man's sons had helped bin Laden escape from Tora Bora down into the tribal areas.
BROWN: All right.
VAN DYK: So I put all of that together, I thought maybe, just maybe, just maybe one thing would lead to another and I could find out about Al Qaeda.
BROWN: Right. So the day you got kidnapped, take me through the day. What happened?
VAN DYK: We got up. My driver came. We took off. Made a quick u-turn so no one would follow us. Drove about an hour on the main two-lane paved road towards the Afghan-Pakistani border. We turned off on to a track, worked our way up into the foothills. Then we got out of the car, and I remember it very clearly. I could hear a bird sing. There was a tree.
BROWN: Right.
VAN DYK: And my interpreter asked me to give some gas money to my driver. I took some Pakistani money out. I went over to him, gave him the money. And he came up to me, and I could see that his eyes were watery. And he hugged me, and he kissed me. I have been in Afghanistan and worked over there since 1973. All of my years with Pashtun men, with Afghans, never once has anyone kissed me. I knew at that point.
BROWN: You knew.
VAN DYK: I was either I said to myself, what I'm about to do is extremely dangerous. I didn't think that I might have been receiving a Judas kiss, or that he was saying goodbye forever.
BROWN: Right.
VAN DYK: I still don't know.
BROWN: Talk to me about these political conversations you said you were having with them during your captivity. I mean, what were you talking about?
VAN DYK: You're always thinking, one, how you can survive, besides how can I escape, what can I do? One thing you try to do is to draw people in so that they don't hate you, to try and find something that's common between you.
BROWN: Right.
VAN DYK: I didn't start with political things. Very innocent things about family or the most common things that exist among all people throughout the world, that's what I started with. But they began to tell me things. I think they realized that they had information deep inside of them that they wanted to impart.
BROWN: So after all of this, well, let me ask you first. Explain how your release came about.
VAN DYK: The Taliban commander came in the room and he said congratulations on escaping death. They blindfolded me again. They put a shadari (ph), which we call a burqa in the West, over me. They put me in a car, took me outside, put me in this car and then we drove for about two hours. Paved road, gravel road, dirt road, I don't know what. Finally, we got to a field. They took the blindfold off. We hiked for hours. I was passed from one Taliban group to the next. Each time I wondered if the next group is going to kill me. Finally, brought back to Afghanistan. And it was a tribal leader that brought me back, which is important, because the Taliban are opposed to the tribal codes.
BROWN: Right.
VAN DYK: They're trying to install Sharia and Islamic law. But what I found, and this is another example, is that blood is stronger than faith.
BROWN: It is an incredible story. And wow, very glad I'm sure, a lot of people are very glad that you are home and safe. Really appreciate you being here. Jere Van Dyk, good to have you here.
VAN DYK: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Coming up, Apple's iPhone problem. Today, we saw damage control Steve-style. But is it problem solved for the computer giant?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Rising up from the ruins, a story of desperation, survival, and hope. The story of some of Haiti's children, images you haven't seen and images you're unlikely to forget. We return to Haiti for a firsthand look at some of the earthquake's youngest victims. That's ahead.
But first, look who's here. It is Joe Johns with some of the other stories we're following tonight.
Hey, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Candy. So far so good in the gulf. It looks like BP's new containment cap is working. This afternoon, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said pressure is rising in the well, and that's a good sign, meaning the well is not leaking. Robots patrolling the seafloor in the area of the well did not detect any leaks today. The oil stopped gushing yesterday afternoon some three months after the explosion that triggered that massive oil spill.
Utah state officials say two employees may have been involved in leaking that list of people believed to be in this country illegally, that list that included everything from social security numbers to pregnancy due dates. It was anonymously leaked to media and government officials across the state. The two state workers implicated in the scandal are on administrative leave. Distributing that kind of personal information is a violation of federal law.
A hotel fire in northern Iraq today killed at least 28 people. Government officials blame the fire on a short circuit. During the summer, hotels in the region are usually packed with tourists because northern Iraq is considered to be safe from terrorist attacks. The deadly fire does appear to be an accident.
And an earthquake of all things rattled parts of suburban Washington, D.C. this morning. The rare quake, and I do mean rare, was centered about 20 miles northwest of the nation's capital. The U.S. Geological Survey says it was relatively mild, but still the strongest quake to shake the region in the past 35 years.
I got to tell you, I live out there, Candy, and about 5:00 this morning, my bed started shaking. The first thing I thought was am I back in Haiti. And then the second thing was oh, it's a nightmare, but no. It was a real earthquake. It's nothing like L.A.
CROWLEY: No. As a matter of fact, I was talking to some people from L.A. this morning, some radio folks who were laughing at the size of our earthquake.
JOHNS: Exactly.
CROWLEY: Listen, if you wouldn't mind going by my house tonight, Joe, on your way home, just check out the damage, give me a call.
JOHNS: Yes, no problem. It won't be much.
CROWLEY: OK. Thanks, Joe, very much.
Coming up, a turning point for Apple. Millions love the tech company for its new gadgets, but a problem with the new iPhone could force a culture change for consumers and for Apple.
And six months after 200,000 died in Haiti's earthquake, we focus on the plight of one orphanage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: A different kind of performance from Apple's CEO Steve Jobs today. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE JOBS, APPLE CEO: We're not perfect. We know that. You know that. And phones aren't perfect. But we want to make it -- make all of our users happy. And if you don't know that about Apple, you don't know Apple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Why is Steve Jobs on the defensive? It's the big problem with Apple's new iPhone 4. Many customers complain about signal drops, and even Consumer Reports refused to recommend the phone until the problem is fixed. Steve jobs promised that fix today. But was his announcement a turning point for Apple's culture and a turn away from being a tech innovator?
We want to bring in tech expert Katie Linendoll. Katie, first, what's the fix? Why don't we start with that. These have reception problems in these phones.
KATIE LINENDOL, TECH EXPERT: Right.
CROWLEY: How are they fixing it.
LINENDOLL: Right. Well, the first thing you have to know, too, is three million people have already purchased the iPhone 4. And this is really a testament to the brand. We're talking about Apple here. If this was Boost Mobile, we would not be having this conversation. The brand loyalty and the brand recognition behind Apple is unparalleled. But what's unique about the iPhone 4 is the antenna is on the exterior. So right out of the box, a few hours after they launched the product, we started seeing that there was very significant reception issues, and calls are being dropped consistently. So everybody was like, what's the deal here? Apple come out and give us an answer.
Twenty-two days later, Apple came out. And really the catalyst behind this was Consumer Reports came out and said we cannot recommend the iPhone 4. We can, however, recommend it if you put on a bumper. And the bumper looks like this. It's a $29.99 fix. And apparently it really helps with the reception.
Now, understand that Consumer Reports is a brand that a lot of people trust and value.
CROWLEY: Absolutely, yes.
LINENDOLL: So as soon as Consumer Reports came out and said that, Apple stepped up to the plate and today at the press conference, Apple announced that everybody would now be getting a free bumper to solve this antenna problem.
CROWLEY: The question is whether that will do it. I don't know. If I bought a brand-new phone --
LINENDOLL: Yes.
CROWLEY: -- and there was something wrong with it and they fixed it with a plastic frame, I'd be like not happy.
LINENDOLL: We're talking about the Apple brand and a lot of people don't assume that they're going to make a virgin 1.0 mistake. We're talking about the most powerful brand in a household name.
CROWLEY: Does it hurt the brand then?
LINENDOLL: It doesn't. You know, a lot of people have sent a barrage of criticism towards Apple. But really this is just a hiccup. And I've got to tell you, you go into that Apple store for five minutes, you can't find them anywhere in New York. People are taking these phones back.
And just to give you a statistic today that Steve Jobs released, 0.55 percent of people called about an antenna or a reception issue. And 1.7 percent have returned the phone. Clearly, people are not flooding into the Apple store to take back their iPhone 4. This is a phone that is jam-packed full of features. The problem here is, really, it's not across the board. Some people are having antenna issues. Some people are not. The best thing that they can do was come out and give everybody this free bumper and just clear up and band-aid the situation.
CROWLEY: So basically, what they're banking on is this is not that big a problem. Right?
LINENDOLL: We've seen, again, a barrage of criticisms from tech experts to press and media. And was it blown a little out of proportion? Sure. Absolutely. Again, if we were talking about a Samsung Omnia, we wouldn't be having that problem.
Is this going to hurt the brand in the long run? I don't think so. And as soon as they started to release those free bumpers for the phone, we saw the stock go back up. Of course, it has dropped a little since. But are people going to still buy this phone? Is this going to be the most popular smartphone of the year? Hands down.
CROWLEY: So they seemed to have survived all this.
LINENDOLL: Oh, my goodness.
CROWLEY: Amazing. Amazing. Katie Linendoll, thank you so much.
LINENDOLL: Thanks.
CROWLEY: Appreciate it.
Every so often, an event is so compelling to us it begs us to listen and to watch. And for some of us to try to make a difference, we return to Haiti where the kids are still suffering. No parents, no home, but a glimmer of hope. One man's journey to make a difference, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Haiti is a nation still shattered six months after an earthquake left 200,000 people dead. Tonight, more than a million and a half people remain in overcrowded camps and the children are still forced to live in makeshift orphanages. The plight of one Haitian orphanage dug at the heart of one of our producers, Leinz Vales, who traveled to Haiti last week to lend a hand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEINZ VALEES, CNN ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Well, I went down with a nonprofit called Hope Worldwide. And a member of our group heard about this orphanage and the help that they needed. And we decided to say hey, let's do it. Let's go down there and help out.
And one of the ways that we were able to help out was just bring bags and bags of clothing. And on our second day there, we provided all these clothes for these children. The third day, imagine this, all their parents, their family members, cousins, aunts and uncles at our door, waiting to get in for the clothes that we had.
MARLENE BERTHELOT, RUNS AN ORPHANAGE IN HAITI: My name is Marlene Berthelot. I am the co-founder of Haitian Mission Par La Foi.
VALES: Well, Marlene is Haitian. She was born and raised in Haiti.
BERTHELOT: The Haitian Mission Par La Foi is an orphanage in Gressier, Haiti, which is about 30 miles outside of Port-au-Prince.
VALES: And what's impressive about her is that she's getting it done. If you think about it, she is not waiting for the Haitian government or any other international body, governmental body to help.
BERTHELOT: My first reaction was oh, my gosh. What am I going to do? Because I basically -- we basically spent our life-saving to put this together. And I know I have no more money to do it again. And the children, they all came around me and say Mama Marlene, we're going to rebuild this. We can do it again.
VALES: These kids are amazing. Because they know that they're poor. They know that they've lost family members during the earthquake.
BERTHELOT: Wanda (ph) is a sweet wonderful precious 3 1/2-year- old who loves her mom right after she was born.
VALES: They know all of this. But that doesn't hold them back from being hungry to learn. And hungry to actually just play and be children.
BERTHELOT: So we had at that time 20 children. Some days 90 or more kids will come within the neighborhood, of course. And when you look at them, they were clearly hungry. OK, we are starting tomorrow. We'll start feeding every kid that will walk in.
This is a kind of a makeshift house we're trying to put together to beat the -- to weather the storm. We should have a storm.
VALES: So this is a house that would house how many kids?
BERTHELOT: As many as it can fit. And right now, we have to go pick up a couple dozen more kids.
VALES: I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, but my family is from Haiti. I speak the language. I speak Creole. And when the earthquake happened, I lost my cousin during the earthquake.
Being a member of CNN, I'm able to kind of see all the images coming out of Haiti. And being down there just brought me to a different level, to a level of OK, this is how I can be involved, by volunteering, by helping out the orphans of Haiti, and just by being there and giving them the support as a Haitian American.
BERTHELOT: Even if we can't help, do big things, but just coming in and put your arms around the people, like you guys are doing, to really let them know that they are people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Wow.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes, but up next, tonight's "Punch Line." Here's a taste.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": You know, before they capped it, BP had to test the integrity of the well. That's what they said, which I believe is the first time BP and integrity have ever been used in the same sentence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: It's Friday night, and time for a few laughs after a long week. Here's tonight's "Punch Line."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Well, this week, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston revealed exclusively to "Us Weekly," my bible, that they are getting married. Sarah Palin allegedly not happy about this because she feels they barely know each other and they're making a big commitment. You know, kind of like when John McCain picked her for vice president.
GEORGE LOPEZ, HOST, "THE GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW": I understand why Mel Gibson is broke. You hear those tapes? One positive thing about all of these tapes. Everyone else in America is using it as a reference. They're starting to think hey, maybe my relationship isn't that bad.
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": There's a new recording of Mel today where he demanded oral sex and threatens to burn the house down. And the weird part is it was actually just a call he made to get tech support on his computer.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": I knew it was going to be a bad day on Wall Street because you know they have the opening bell every morning. And when the opening bell went off, that thing on Donald Trump's head? Jumped off and hid under the couch. I knew it was going to be bad. Awful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: That is all for now. Join me Sunday morning for "STATE OF THE UNION" starting at 9:00 Eastern. My guests will include two of the most powerful men on Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, along with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. I will see you Sunday.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
