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Rick's List
President Obama Visits Gulf Coast; Flash Floods Hit Oklahoma City
Aired June 14, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- I saw all the green -- down about 19 points, down on the NASDAQ, down on the S&P.
It's an OK day for Wall Street...
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
HARLOW: ... a pretty bad day for BP, Drew.
GRIFFIN: All right, Poppy, thanks.
It's hour two. Time to pick up the pace of today's LIST for those of you now checking in.
Number one: outrage over the oil spill.
At this hour, President Barack Obama is making his fourth trip to the Gulf. We expect to hear from him very soon. We are going to have that for you live.
This would appear to be another effort by the White House to placate public anger, anger aimed at BP and at the president. But some people are saying that the anger is misplaced, that the American public's outrage would better be directed at the American public.
You and me? We -- what the heck? We, after all, are the world's most prolific consumers of oil. Here's a fresh reminder from BP no less, part of their annual global survey.
See the big red dot? Well, that's us, the United States, in a graphic representation of the oil we consume. In 2009, the United States consumed more than 20 percent of the world's total output, even though we have less than five percent of the world's population.
Some of our friends overseas are saying that, given our outsized habits, our anger over the spill isn't merely misplaced; it's hypocritical.
Speaking of friends overseas, we turn to CNN's Richard Quest in London.
You wouldn't say that about us would you, Richard? Are we hypocritical? RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Drew, I think the first thing that everybody on this side of the Atlantic says that it is simply a horrendous situation being faced by residents of the Gulf.
Where, I think, people are starting to raise eyebrows is by some of the what might be called anti-British rhetoric that is being used. For instance -- now, let me make it clear I'm reflecting what I'm reading in the papers.
(CROSSTALK)
GRIFFIN: We're taking it personally.
QUEST: Well, that's your prerogative.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: I'm reading "The Daily Telegraph," a newspaper on the right wing.
It points out, for example, that Transocean, which actually operated the BP oil rig involved, is an American firm now. Yet, possibly because it does not have the convenient word British in its title, the U.S. president has kept silent.
That's "The Daily Telegraph." This is "The Daily Mail," a paper that is distinctly on the right wing. And it says, "Obama keeps the heat on BP, despite Cameron's plea," a reference.
So, I think what people over here are saying is, by all means, attack BP, but attack BP for the failings in which it has done for the way in which it ran the oil rig and has dealt with just the -- the -- the spill, not for the fact that it is perhaps a British company.
One of the final points, the U.S. ambassador nonetheless to Britain went on television in the U.K. to say there was nothing anti- British about President Obama's comments.
GRIFFIN: Oh. Richard, you know, the -- the -- the heads of the company are going to be brought to task, we're told, to the president and to -- to the Congress. How is that viewed?
You know, we have been through this before, when British officials, politicians only, have been characterized as the lapdogs of the last administration. Is this getting that same feel?
QUEST: No.
I think what's going to happen is that you're going to see just how congressmen treat, first of all, the Swedish chairman, Svanberg, but then, of course, Tony Hayward, the British chief executive. Now, there is no love lost for Tony Hayward in the U.S. And, frankly, people are not that terribly impressed with his performance in the U.K. either.
But I think, if he becomes the public whipping boy for a variety of faults from oil company, from government, from American use of oil, whatever it is, if he becomes the poster child for this crisis, then people will raise their eyebrows over here and say, hang on, it's gone a bit too far.
But, put it in perspective. One is aware -- and, in this country, people are also aware of the horrific fate facing economies, people, livelihoods in the Gulf region at the moment.
The question is, how much do you want to quote the phrase from the U.S. administration? Do you want to put the boot on the throat of BP and its chief executive?
GRIFFIN: That had to sting.
I want to remind our viewers that we're looking at a live picture of where the president is going to speak. It looks like the various local dignitaries have gathered, and he is coming out now.
Richard, just hang on. Let's watch this and see what the president has to say, if you can.
QUEST: Sure. Sure.
(APPLAUSE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon, everybody.
I just had to -- a chance to tour this staging facility here at Theodore, along with Admiral Allen and Governor Riley. I also want to acknowledge that Congressman Jo Bonner and a number of our elected officials are here, and they just received an extensive briefing about what is taking place.
It is from this staging area and 16 others like it all across the Gulf Coast that our response to the oil spill is being carried out. I saw -- and many of you had an opportunity to see -- what is being done to repair and decontaminate boom, to train volunteers, and to help with the clean-up efforts. And their hard work and their sense of purpose on behalf of the people of Alabama, as well as the Gulf Coast, is inspiring.
I had a chance during the discussions with the state and local officials to reiterate to them what I have been saying all across the coast, and that is that we want to coordinate at every level -- federal, state and local -- to make sure that we are leaving no stone unturned in terms of our ability to respond to this crisis.
Now, what I have heard from a number of local officials during my trip today is what I have heard from folks on each of the four visits that I have made to this region since the Deepwater Horizon explosion happened in April. There is a sense that this disaster is not only threatening our fishermen, and our shrimpers, and our oystermen, not only affecting potentially precious marshes and wetlands and estuaries and waters that are part of what makes the Gulf Coast so special, there's also a fear that it could have a long-term impact on a way of life that has been passed on for generations.
And I understand that fear. The leaders and the officials who are with me understand it. Governor Riley understands it. He has been a regular presence on our daily coordinating calls and a relentless advocate for Alabama throughout this process. And we are absolutely committed to working with him and all the local officials who are behind us to do everything in our power to protect the gulf way of life so that it's there for our children and our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren.
Now, everybody here has had experiences dealing with disasters. As we were flying over from Mississippi via helicopter, you could see the footprints of buildings that had been decimated from Katrina.
But in some ways what we're dealing with here is unique, because it's not simply one catastrophic event. It's an ongoing assault whose movements are constantly changing.
That's what makes this crisis so challenging. It means that it has to be constantly watched. It has to be tracked. We're constantly having to redeploy resources to make sure that they're having maximum impact. And we also need to make sure that we are constantly helping folks who have been hurt by it, even as we're stopping the oil from spreading into more and more areas.
So that means that this response effort has to happen on a bunch of different tracks. It means containing as much of the oil as we can as quick as we can. After seeing an initial oil collection plan from BP, we went back to them and said that they need to move faster and more aggressively, and they have now come back with a plan to accelerate steps to contain over 50,000 barrels a day by the end of June, two weeks earlier than they had originally suggested.
The revised plan also includes steps to better prepare against extreme weather events and other unforeseen circumstances in the months ahead, addressing another one of our concerns. And we're going to continue to hold BP and any other responsible parties accountable for the disaster that they created.
Dealing with the aftermath -- aftermath of this spill also means protecting the health and safety of the folks who live and work here in Theodore, here in Alabama, and here on the Gulf Coast. As part of this effort, I'm announcing a comprehensive, coordinated and multi- agency initiative to ensure that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat.
Now, I had some of that seafood for lunch, and it was delicious, but we want to make sure that the food industry down here as much as possible is getting the -- the protection and the certification that they need to continue their business.
So this is important for consumers who need to know that their food is safe, but it's also important for the fishermen and processors who need to be able to sell their products with confidence.
So let me be clear: Seafood from the gulf today is safe to eat, but we need to make sure that it stays that way. That's why, beyond closing off waters that have been or are likely to be exposed to oil, the FDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are increasing inspections of seafood processors, strengthening surveillance programs, and monitoring fish that are caught just outside of restricted areas. We're also coordinating our efforts with the states, which are implementing similar plans.
These safety measures are on top of steps that we've taken to protect workers who are involved in the clean-up efforts. And part of the training that you observed here today involves making sure that workers are sticking to the protocols that are put in place so that when they are out there on the waters or here on land working with potentially toxic materials, that they're taking that seriously and that they're not cutting corners on safety, because we don't want tragedies on top of the tragedy that we're already seeing.
Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are inspecting all the staging areas like this one. They're boarding vessels off the coast to make sure that BP is complying with its safety obligations. If they see a problem, they'll work with BP to resolve it as quickly as possible. And we're also monitoring air and water across the Gulf Coast for hazardous chemicals and pollutants that could endanger oil spill workers or anybody else, so we can act swiftly should any health risks arise.
These health and safety measures are just part of our overall effort to deal with the spill. All in all, we are confronting the largest environmental disaster in our history with the largest environmental response and recovery effort in our history.
Over 27,000 personnel are working to safeguard our coasts and protect endangered wildlife. More than 5,400 skimmers, tugs, barges, and other vessels, some of which you saw as we came into this facility, are currently responding to the spill. Over 2 million feet of containment boom and over 3 million feet of sorbent boom are being used to contain the spill, and millions of more feet are available.
In addition, we have authorized the deployment of 17,500 National Guardsmen and women to assist in the response effort. So far only about 1,600 have been activated, and the rest stand ready to help whenever our governors choose to call on them.
Across the Gulf Coast, Guardsmen are supporting local, state and federal authorities in a number of ways, from reconnaissance to hazardous material training. Guard aircraft are also assisting in the response and helping to coordinate the vessels that are out on the water.
Here in Alabama, in particular, about 200 of roughly 450 Guardsmen who have been activated have received specialized training to assist BP with claims processing. So, put simply, this is a multi- purpose force that's prepared to handle almost any challenge, and I hope our governors put them to good use.
So the full resources of our government are being mobilized to confront this disaster. But it's not only important for everyone from the federal government on down to do all we can, it's also important for us to work together to make sure our efforts are well coordinated.
That's why Governor Riley and the other Gulf Coast governors have been on a daily call with my administration seven days a week since this disaster occurred. That's why we're going to continue to work hand in hand with state and local authorities on every front, from containing as much oil as possible to protecting our coasts, until we put this tragic ordeal behind us.
Now, I can't promise folks here in Theodore or across the Gulf Coast that the oil will be cleaned up overnight. It will not be. It's going to take time for things to return to normal. There's going to be a harmful effect on many local businesses, and it's going to be painful for a lot of folks. Folks are going to be frustrated, and some folks are going to be angry.
But I promise you this, that things are going to return to normal. This region that's known a lot of hardship will bounce back, just like it's bounced back before. We are going to do everything we can, 24/7, to make sure that communities get back on their feet. And in the end, I am confident that we're going to be able to leave the Gulf Coast in better shape than it was before.
So, Governor Riley, I appreciate all your efforts.
To all the local officials here who've been working so hard, we appreciate what you do each and every day.
And let me just make one last comment about our Coast Guard and about our national incident coordinator, Thad Allen. Thad Allen was about to retire, and he has answered the call on behalf of this country and is working as hard as anybody in this country right now to help deal with this crisis.
Members of the Coast Guard have been doing outstanding work each and every day. And so I just want to say to all of them that the country is proud of you, grateful to you. Keep up the good work.
All right? Thank you very much, everybody.
(APPLAUSE)
GRIFFIN: The president speaking in Theodore, Alabama.
And let's bring back in Richard Quest, who has been -- is the president taking questions? Let's go right back.
OBAMA: ... there's been some reports in the news. I'm going to be meeting with the BP chairman and a number of officials on Wednesday. We have begun preliminary conversations about how do we structure a mechanism so that the legitimate claims that are going to be presented not just tomorrow, not just next week, but over the coming months are dealt with justly, fairly, promptly.
So far, we've had a constructive conversation. And my hope is, is that by the time the chairman and I meet on Wednesday that we've made sufficient progress that we can start actually seeing a structure that would be in place. But it's too early now at this point, Major, for me to make an announcement. By Wednesday, though, my hope is, is that we've made some progress on this front. All right?
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
OBAMA: I'm going to let Thad Allen, who's the national incident coordinator, address this very quickly, because we talked about it during our meeting.
ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: First of all, we have a number -- number of different types of skimming equipment. Some are offshore deep draft vessels. The skimming equipment's organically built into it. We have other skimming arrays that are towed with boom systems, and we have shallow water skimmers that are deployed in shore. They become the major resource of effectiveness to try and fight this battle offshore.
And we know what we're doing near the wellhead. We have to push the enemy, if you will, back 20 or 30 miles offshore and do maximum skimming there.
We have over 400 of those skimming vessels that are actually organic -- organically contained skimming equipment. Our goal is to take the smaller equipment that's flexible, put it on vessels of opportunity, and then coordinate better with our local-state partners, including the National Guard over-flights, local fishermen's associations, and so forth, mass our effect, get it pointed up with a command-and-control system that can attack it on all levels.
OBAMA: All right.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
OBAMA: The -- this is an issue -- and you're only going to get two questions -- the -- this is an issue that's come up across the gulf. Keep in mind what we're talking about with vessels of opportunity. That could range from a big shrimp boat to just a little recreation boat that somebody's brought up.
So each of them is going to have different capacity. Some of them are going to be able to take skimming equipment of the sort that Admiral Allen discussed and actually place it on the boat. Some of them aren't going to have that capacity, but maybe they can act as sentinels to spot oil, or maybe some of them are just shuttling supplies back and forth to these ships.
So what we're doing now is we're taking an inventory of all the vessels that have presented themselves to determine which ones can go out -- deep water, they have got radio, they have got full equipment, they can actually lay out boom, they can engage in skimming -- which ones aren't able to do that. And that process is going to be coordinated.
But keep in mind we've got to do this across four states. And what that means is, is that, at any given time, as Thad indicated, the priority might be we just want to get some stuff out 20 miles before it starts coming in closer, which means you're not going to see necessarily a lot of skimmers close in, because every resource that we have is being deployed further out.
But one of the key points that we made was in -- with the -- the regional incident commander, is we've got to make sure that we've got a full inventory, we know exactly what the capacity of each of these boats are, we've made sure that people are being trained and were matched up folks who are trained with these vessels, and we start actually putting them to work as quickly as possible.
All right?
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
OBAMA: Well, look, I have seen a number of beautiful beaches. I saw some in Mississippi. We saw some beaches flying over. But I will be honest with you, that we're going to stop as much of the oil from coming in as possible. That's our number-one job. It turns out that, if the oil hits the beaches, that's actually probably the easiest to clean up.
So it's a concern, obviously, for tourism. It's a concern for an entire gulf region that economically depends on the tourist season, and -- and this period of time when people are out of school.
But those beaches will recover, because those big globs of oil, when they hit the beaches, we can send a bunch of people out there and scoop them up, dispose of it properly, and those beaches will look pretty pristine a year or two years from now.
The biggest concern we have actually are the marshes, the estuaries, the wetlands, where if you start seeing that oil seeping in, that not only can kill oyster beds, other vitally important seafood and ecosystems, but even the repair efforts in those areas can actually destroy the ecology in the region.
So we're having to coordinate with the best scientists we've got available. Thad Allen is working with NOAA and all the other agencies to make sure that we are grading priorities in terms of areas that have to be protected first and foremost, because they may have the most difficult time to recover, and that means that sometimes, for example, in Mississippi, where I just came from, they just made a decision they're not putting any boom in front of the beaches, because the fact of the matter is, if the oil hits there, it's bad, but it's temporary, whereas in some of these other areas, it could end up being permanent.
All right? Thank you, everybody.
GRIFFIN: OK, the press corps doing a good job, grabbing a few questions while they can with the president.
And thanks for hanging in, Richard Quest.
If I heard correctly, there seems to be a possible thaw in some of the icy talk between BP and the government. Number one, BP is going to have some kind of a structured legitimate claims conversation. The -- the president called that constructive. And, also, BP is pushing up by a couple weeks its efforts to get a tighter cap on the well.
Do you read that the same way?
QUEST: Yes. They have been forced into that to -- bringing that forward.
I mean, it's glacial, but there was no major attacks in the way we have seen before.
GRIFFIN: Right.
QUEST: Two things I noticed in what President Obama said. He talked about just, fair, and prompt compensation of dealing with claims, and he said that there had been a constructive conversation with BP.
Now, I can't remember the president actually saying that before, but, also, earlier in his remarks, he said he would hold BP and any other responsible party. Now, these are very minor changes, but they do suggest that perhaps people are now saying there's a lot more blame to go around in this...
GRIFFIN: Yes.
QUEST: ... than just attacking one company.
And one other final point, before we go much further. Don't forget, 40 percent -- 40 percent -- of BP's shareholders are actually in the United States.
GRIFFIN: Richard, real quick because they're giving me a hard wrap on this.
(CROSSTALK)
GRIFFIN: A lot of talk BP could go under at the end of this whole thing. I'm hearing they have got tons of cash on hand. Just yes or no. Do you think that this could sink British Petroleum?
QUEST: The short answer is no...
GRIFFIN: All right.
QUEST: ... at the moment.
GRIFFIN: That's all we have got time for, buddy.
QUEST: And I qualified it with "at the moment."
(LAUGHTER)
GRIFFIN: Thanks a lot, Richard Quest joining us from London, watching the president speak in Theodore, Alabama. A reminder: The president is going to address the entire nation tomorrow at 8:00 Eastern. CNN, of course, will carry that live.
GRIFFIN: And there's flash floods again, but this time in Oklahoma City. Oh, what a dramatic day of rescues. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Now for the roundup of the LIST.
The top story on that LIST, of course, the flooding nightmare that happened today. A young woman trying to save her own life swimming through rushing water in Oklahoma City after almost 10 inches of rain fell in a nine-hour period.
Take a look at her. She's trying to grab on to a tree there, major thunderstorms without any break.
That's how our own meteorologist Jacqui Jeras described it. This whole thing played out on live TV.
Now, here's the good news. The fire chief tells us the first rescue boat sent her way got stuck, but, as you can see, another team made it to her and saved her, along with three other people.
Our iReporters are also helping us tell this flooding story.
And Bonnie Schneider has that -- Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right.
We got some incredible iReports, Drew, coming to us from the Oklahoma City area. Jimmy Enriquez sent one where you could really see the perspective of what it looks like for a car to be completely submerged in water. Take a look at the rush and listen to the sound of the force of that water.
I mean, that car is just completely pushed up against the street, and it just is stuck. And, hopefully, the people got out OK. Jimmy says he shot this from the village section of Oklahoma City, which is in the northwest section of the city. And near north of the city is where they got the heaviest rain. And, boy, did it come fast -- that car completely submerged in water, just like rolling through the windows.
When you look at this graph here, you can see how fast the rain came in, because a lot of people are saying, well, why didn't everybody just get out of the way?
How can you, when the water comes in just four hours? You go from zero to eight inches. That's what our graph is showing here. And, you know, when we're talking about how much rain was received, looking at this, here's Oklahoma City. North of the city, this is where we have eight to nine inches-plus have accumulated since 2:00 this morning. And if you're wondering where does that take us from this point forward, well, unfortunately, we still have that risk for severe weather. A severe thunderstorm watch continues for much of metro Oklahoma City area. Note, areas to the north not under this watch, but, when you take a look at the intensity of these storms, we cannot rule out more downpours.
The worst of it will stay south. That's where you see the brighter orange and the frequent lightning strikes really banding over parts of areas to the south of Norman, Oklahoma for example. But, still, here is Edmond. This is the area where we saw some of the heaviest rain. And it's raining right now.
And a note: We actually can do something pretty unique here. We can show you a future-cast of what it looks like when you take a look at the rain rolling on through. And it looks like, as we look over the next few hours, we are anticipating more rainfall.
So, that's why the flash flood watches stay in effect as we go through the evening hours. I am anticipating some relief tomorrow, I think, as the system slowly moves away, but not until -- not until later on.
GRIFFIN: All right, Bonnie. We will stick with it. Thanks a lot.
Well, laptops, cell phones, most of the gadgets we love run on this stuff: lithium. Guess who is sitting on a trillion-dollar stash of that mineral and more? Afghanistan?
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: We saw this story in "The New York Times" today, senior government officials telling "The New York Times" that Afghanistan may have nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits. A trillion dollars that include iron, copper, gold, and lithium. Lithium being a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys, other gadgets.
The deposits, scattered throughout the country, including the Pakistan border. That border has seen some of the most intense fighting in the American-led war against the Taliban. Afghanistan's gross domestic product, all of it now, is just $12 billion. The economy largely based on opium production and narcotics trafficking.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley talked about the potential effect of this lithium discovery on Afghan's economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
P.J. CROWLEY, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: This is obviously something that we're trying to expand for the benefit of Afghanistan's economy. And if over time, you know, minerals become a growing part of that economy, I think that is -- would be significant. And, of course, there is the issue of a lack of investment capital. So, you know, this is an uphill climb for Afghanistan but, you know, there have been a number of studies that have shown that there is, you know, a great, untapped mineral wealth in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: P.J. Crowley at the State Department. I would call that conditioned enthusiasm, at best.
So, how could this newfound wealth impact the country? Joe Klein, a political columnist for "TIME," been to Afghanistan three times.
I believe you have just come back in May. You're joining me live from New York.
Mr. Klein, I read this, this morning, and I thought oh, great, not so much optimism, but something else to fight about over in Afghanistan.
JOE KLEIN, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, "TIME": Well, it may well be. This has been announced at a moment when the Karzai government seems to be kind of falling apart. But, you know, it's a huge amount of minerals.
It's great news long term for Afghanistan. But it's really difficult to extract this stuff, to mine this stuff, when people are shooting at the miners. And so, you know, this is more of a long-term good news story than anything that's going to help the country immediately.
GRIFFIN: You' really need have a solid government stability. All of those things are so far away from Afghanistan right now, and especially in the regions we're talking about.
Give me an update on how things are right now in Afghanistan in terms of the progress we are making towards getting some kind of a stable government and living for those people.
KLEIN: Well, we're not making progress, and that makes the timing of this announcement kind of interesting because, you know, there have been reports in the past about incredible mineral wealth in Afghanistan. But the fact that it's happening now and is leaked from the U.S. government, it's happening at a moment when there is growing doubt within the Obama administration about the military strategy that we're pursuing on the ground there, the counterinsurgency strategy, because it depends on a reliable partner in the Afghan government.
And, you know, in the areas that I've been to recently down in the south, where a lot of the fighting is taking place, you don't see Any afghan governmental presence at all. Our kids, our troops are having to do it by themselves, and that's, you know, not going to work in the long run.
GRIFFIN: So, let me just delve into that a little bit. I want to make sure I'm understanding what you're saying, that the government is releasing this news kind of as a diversion?
KLEIN: Well, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I think it's an interesting confluence of events, especially since in the last few weeks you've had stories like the American commander on the ground there, General McChrystal, calling the battle of Marjah "a bleeding ulcer," which is a pretty extreme way to describe the situation there. And last week you had Hamid Karzai, the president, sack two of his most important ministers, and these are two ministers who are very close to the United States military effort. And there are reports that Karzai blames the United States and these ministers for attacking his peace meeting last week.
So, things really seem to be getting a little bit out of control. You might even say that the wheels are coming off.
GRIFFIN: What a mess.
Joe Klein, "TIME" magazine.
And you are in Washington today, I guess, not in New York. Thanks for joining us.
KLEIN: Yes, better than Kabul, but still.
GRIFFIN: We won't go there.
I want to show a few tweets that have similar skepticism on this, talking about this.
Here is one that says about this lithium discovery, "Yes, it will change the war. Taliban warlords will be driving Benz to the fight."
I assume Mercedes-Benz to the fight.
"Great! Now the Afghans can buy their own army and we can go home and take care of our own problems."
"$1 trillion minerals in Afghanistan means U.S. can help with community building, end the war, and show them the right direction."
Let's hope so, a positive.
And "Now we have a reason (although not a good one) to be in Afghanistan. Iraq equals oil. Afghanistan equals minerals."
Those are our tweets from you. We appreciate them. Keep them coming on whatever we've been covering today.
Death by firing squad, not something you hear too often. One state is set to do it again despite the inmate's claim he is a changed man.
That's next.
And did a congressman go too far when he (ph) tried to stop him for an interview? We're going to show you the video and let you judge for yourself. It is worth it, folks.
Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Brooke Baldwin, you've got a --
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You like that?
GRIFFIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: My own animation.
GRIFFIN: Trending. You're very trendy. Did anybody ever tell you that?
BALDWIN: No. But I try. I try every day here on the show.
GRIFFIN: You're very trendy.
All right. You've got a couple of wild stories today.
BALDWIN: Yes. Let me start with a 16-year-old, Abby Sunderland, who we've been talking about the past couple of days. She's a 16- year-old -- right? -- who was trying to be the youngest teen to be sailing around the world solo, and a book, it sounds like, might be in her future.
I've been reading her blogs. It sounds like it's something she is thinking about.
But the question is, might there be a reality TV show in the works for the 16-year-old? The production company -- here is their Web site -- this is Magnetic Entertainment. They're promoting two things here.
They're promoting a reality TV show. It's called "Adventures in Sunderland." And according to the Web site, it would chronicle the lives of eight kids, allowing each of them to pursue their dreams of becoming world class adventurers. That's a line we grabbed from the Web site.
They're also promoting a potential documentary about Abby on the Web as well. Of course, we wanted to see if this is in fact the real deal.
I called up the production company. I've reached out to the Sunderlands. I've reached out to their media contacts. Nobody is calling me back or e-mailing me.
So, if you're watching, let me know.
But, in the meantime, another big question, Drew Griffin, about this story is about Abby's age. Right?
She's 16. A lot of parents are saying, hang on a second. What in the world are you doing sending a 16-year-old by herself around the world on a sailboat? Right?
So here's what the dad is saying. Here's what dad said over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURENCE SUNDERLAND, TEEN SAILOR'S FATHER: It's a little frustrating when people without accurate information come out and make statements. I think what they're trying to do is stir up media. She is a remarkable young lady and has done a remarkable job on Wild Eyes, sailing over halfway around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Wild Eyes is her boat, by the way.
She is also blogging about that, in defense of her age. And here's what she says on her blog: "Storms are part of the deal when you set out to sail around the world. As for age, since when does age create gigantic waves and storms?"
Another big question. Who footed the bill for this enormous rescue effort? According to the father, it was the Australian authorities.
Remember, she was in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
GRIFFIN: All over the blogs, this family is in financial trouble.
BALDWIN: That's what we're hearing, yes.
GRIFFIN: And so --
BALDWIN: Almost seven kids -- eight's on the way.
GRIFFIN: It begs me to question, did he kick her into the boat and send her off so he could save the family from financial ruin?
BALDWIN: That's a question I couldn't ask him.
GRIFFIN: That's what I'd like to ask you, sir, if you'd come on.
BALDWIN: Yes. So there you go. Hopefully, Laurence Sunderland is watching.
Story number two, how about this story?
GRIFFIN: Weird. Medieval.
BALDWIN: This kind of gives you the heebie-jeebies.
GRIFFIN: Can't even look at this.
BALDWIN: This is the death by firing squad story, and that's really why it's in the news. We're getting here -- take a look at this. These are the actual pictures of this room in Utah where Ronnie Gardner will be put to death after midnight on Friday.
And these are the pictures that were shared by the Department of Corrections. Apparently, the sandbags, the sandbags are there to make sure there is no -- to prevent any debris. I'm just glancing at my notes.
And also, there is a picture, if we can keep going through the pictures, there's a picture with black rectangles on the wall, if we can get to that one. And there they are.
So, those are actually the windows where the five-member firing squad stands behind that. That's where they place their rifles and execute this man.
The state parole board denied Gardner clemency today. He is convicted for the 1985 murder of an attorney during an escape attempt at the courthouse in Salt Lake City.
By the way, here's a little background. The firing squad option no longer available in the state of Utah to death row inmates. This is actually the last state actually allowing the firing squad. But here is the deal. This is why Gardner is getting this.
Gardner's case was grandfathered in before the law changed six years ago, in 2004. The last time someone was put to death in Utah by firing squad? In 1986 -- '96, excuse me.
There's also, though, a more famous case, right after the Supreme Court of the United States reinstated capital punishment. That was Gary Gilmore who was executed by firing squad in 1977.
Sort of the famous line as he was about to be executed, that "Let's do it." And Norman Mailer, a famous author, won the Pulitzer Prize for his book about Gilmore called "The Executioner's Song."
But making news, because, still, ,here in 2010, firing squad happening.
GRIFFIN: At least they should do it outside. I mean, just something about that is gross.
BALDWIN: I don't know.
GRIFFIN: Got to clean that all up.
Brooke --
BALDWIN: Sorry.
GRIFFIN: -- quite a trend you've got us on there.
BALDWIN: Sorry to leave you with that.
GRIFFIN: Brooke Baldwin trending.
Thanks a lot.
BALDWIN: Yes, thanks.
GRIFFIN: Well, back to our list.
President Obama facing some frustrated Gulf residents as part of his push to show he is on top of the situation. Is he closer to repairing the political damage he has taken on since this disaster?
We're going to ask Wolf Blitzer. Wolf is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: OK. If we had a "What was he thinking?" list, this next piece of video would be number one today. Before I play it, let me set the scene for you.
A Washington sidewalk, a couple of students with cameras trying to approach Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge. He's from North Carolina. Watch what happens when they ask him to answer a question.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman, how are you?
REP. BOB ETHERIDGE (D), NORTH CAROLINA: No thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you fully support the Obama agenda?
ETHERIDGE: Who are you? Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa.
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here for a project, sir.
ETHERIDGE: I don't know who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just here for a project, sir.
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just here for a project.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, would you please let go of my hand?
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just a student, sir.
ETHERIDGE: Well, tell me who you are. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just a student.
ETHERIDGE: I have a right to know who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I'm standing here in a public place.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: At that point you lose the picture, obviously. You can hear though what's going on in the background.
Let's go to another angle of this whole exchange to show you what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here for the project, sir.
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just here for a project, sir.
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just here for a project.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, would you please let go of my hand?
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just a student, sir.
ETHERIDGE: From?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just students. That's all we are.
ETHERIDGE: I have a right to know who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we are is students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, we're in a public place.
ETHERIDGE: So am I. Who are you? Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please let go of my arm, sir.
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, sir, please --
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman, please let go of me.
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Just darned right odd.
Congressman Bob Etheridge has now apologized for his behavior. His press secretary released a statement. Here's what I guess is quoting the congressman.
"I have seen the video posted on several blogs. I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction, and I apologize to all involved. Throughout my many years of service to the people of North Carolina, I have always tried to treat people from all viewpoints with respect."
"No matter how intrusive and partisan our politics can become, this just does not justify a poor response. I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse."
That's the end of the quote.
Of course, we reached out to try to find these students. We haven't been able to get them yet to hear their side of the story, or really who they are, where they come from, and why they were trying to ask these questions.
Wolf Blitzer joining us now.
Wolf, do you know Bob Etheridge? Have you met him before?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: No, I haven't.
But, you know, whatever these students -- they may have had a political agenda, they may have been conservatives, Republicans. He's a Democrat from North Carolina. Nothing justifies that kind of behavior by a congressman.
They were on a public sidewalk and they just asked him if he supports the Obama agenda. And you saw how he reacted.
And I'm sure he deeply regrets how he reacted now that everyone has seen that video out there. It's very, very embarrassing. And nothing justifies that kind of reaction from the congressman.
GRIFFIN: Yes, the congressman says, "I guess just having a bad day." Well, it got a whole lot worse.
BLITZER: Yes.
GRIFFIN: Let's talk about the president, his fourth trip to the Gulf Coast. Earlier this hour, ,we showed the presidents remarks in Theodore, Alabama. And he is also talking about a constructive conversation with British Petroleum.
A little bit of a thaw there to show that he is at least trying to work with BP. The president is trying to look a little more presidential, I think, Wolf.
BLITZER: He is trying to show that he is really, really on top of this issue, what's going on. That's why he's visiting the states today and tomorrow that he hasn't yet visited, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. He spent three other occasions in Louisiana.
And the president is setting the stage now for two important events -- his address to the nation from the Oval Office Tuesday night, and then his summit meeting with the BP leadership on Wednesday. By the way, those guys from BP will testify before Congress on Thursday.
So this is going to be a critical week in learning what's going on. I also suspect we'll know more as the days go by, how much oil is still spewing out of that rig. And probably, the numbers are not going to be very encouraging.
GRIFFIN: Yes, and we did hear from the president that he at least got BP to up the ante on trying to contain some of that oil, at least by two weeks or so. By the end of June, I think he is saying, that that new containment cap will be in place.
Wolf, politically speaking, this has gotten in the way of the president's agenda, his wide-ranging agenda. Perhaps maybe he didn't want to deal with it because he had so much else on his plate, but this is really taking over much the way Katrina did in the Bush administration.
BLITZER: Or even after -- and the president suggested it in that interview he did with Roger Simon at Politico -- this could change his administration the way 9/11 changed President Bush's administration. Everything is going to be a little bit different from now on in the aftermath of this worst oil disaster in American history.
I'm hoping it's not as bad as I fear it will be, but I suspect it's going to be bad. And as bad as it is right now, it could get a whole lot worse.
So, it's just not a good situation, ,because as you correctly point out, he's got other economic issues, jobs, he's got national security issues, including Iran and North Korea. He's already had to postpone a second trip that he had earlier postponed to Indonesia and Australia.
So this is not good timing at all, and this is going to dominate until this crisis winds down.
GRIFFIN: All right.
Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." He'll be here in just a little bit.
Wolf, we'll see you then at 5:00, coming up for your show.
We are following the dirty dozen list of those responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf. Did you guess who was in the top six? Let's see who made the cut.
Number five and six -- this is according to "TIME" magazine -- Dick Cheney and George Bush. For eight years, according to "TIME," they had an administration that was cozy with the oil industry. Not surprising, considering both have personal ties to petroleum.
Number four, Doug Suttles, BP's CEO for exploration and production. He is behind the botched top kill and junk shot. It didn't work.
Number three, Chris Oynes. He oversaw oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico for 12 years before being promoted to an associate director (INAUDIBLE).
Number two, no surprise, Tony Hayward, the BP CEO. He holds the largest share of the blame in this spill, with 760 citations for egregious, willful violations.
Number one, that would be the CEO, John Browne -- former CEO, I should say. He is the guy that came up with that "Beyond Petroleum" thing. Rapid expansion, budget cutbacks during his tenure. Could it be the culprit? We'll probably learn that in some kind of court settlement.
Checking our follow-up list, more tragic news from the Arkansas campground caught in a deadly flash flood.
We're going to have that for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Just hours ago crews recovered another victim, the 20th from Friday's deadly flash floods in Arkansas. Torrential rain pushed through a wall of water down the Little Missouri River, inundating this campground, the Albert Pike recreation area. It tore through the area with intense force, middle of the night, ripped up asphalt from roads.
Many campers still asleep when the floodwaters hit. Those who survived were left to scramble for survival on rugged terrain.
Our Casey Wian is there. He's in Langley, Arkansas.
And let's first get to the news, Casey. Are they still looking for potentially the 21st, 22nd, 23rd victims of this, or do they have a handle on this now?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not clear. They have decided that they are not looking for any specific victims anymore.
They have found this 20th victim described as a little girl who was found underneath a vehicle right next to the banks of the Little Missouri River. They say that they will wait to call off the search until they positively identify this victim. They haven't done that yet. That could come sometime later this evening. Part of the problem is they don't know exactly who was in that campground and who was in the surrounding area on Friday when those flash floods hit this area. They are fairly confident, though, that they have found all of the victims that they are going to find.
Here's what the incident commander had to say earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. MIKE FLETCHER, ARKANSAS STATE POLICE: We did recover another victim. He's not been identified. We're still in the process of making a recovery and getting it out of there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Drew, as you can imagine, this rescue/recovery effort has been very intense. The conditions here, hot, very difficult, dangerous terrain. Rescuers have had to deal with water moccasins, they've seen fresh bear tracks.
They've had more than a hundred people combing this area, a 50- mile stretch. They've been in kayaks, they've been on horseback, they've been on ATVs. They've had divers going into the river. They've really done just about everything you could expect that they could do to find anybody who might still be trapped in that area, or any bodies who might still be trapped in that area.
GRIFFIN: And Casey, let's explain, because people who have been following this, there's been a lot of confusion over missing, who's missing, who's not missing.
The problem has been, number one, there was a registration for that campground that got washed away. And from what I understand, number two is, there may have been a lot of people just camping there without having signed in.
WIAN: Absolutely. And there's different access points to this campground. Some people didn't go through the normal access way and sign in.
So, the initial reports were there may be as many as -- may have been as many as 200 or 300 potential victims of this flash flood. As it turned out, they think the number is now down to 20. Six or seven of those victims believed to be children -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Yes, small, small children. And, in fact, I think the girl found today was just 7 years old. Is that right?
WIAN: We hear 7, 8, or 9. We don't know for sure.
GRIFFIN: All right.
All right. Casey Wian in Arkansas covering that terrible flood.
We're going to take it over now to Washington, D.C., where Wolf Blitzer is standing by for "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
