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Rick's List
Drilling Could Resume in Gulf; Arizona Wildfire Grows to Nearly 9,000 Acres; Obama Criticized for Golf Outing
Aired June 21, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, thank you. Very well said there to you, Richard.
And that's a reason that some folks down in Louisiana -- they have filed this suit. This is the briefings that case. They don't want a moratorium on deepwater drilling. They want it to continue.
Also, this note from the governor's office. He's jumped on the bandwagon. A judge now has 24 to 48 hours to decide if we will keep the drilling going deep underwater in the Gulf of Mexico.
Plus this:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over). Here's what's making THE LIST today:
Tony Hayward -- out to sea and out of touch. With BP's clean- up at $2 billion and counting, who's handling the public relations part of this? Do you trust anyone to tell you the truth?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot believe you.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEMON: Off duty and out of control.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the gun, Kelly.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEMON: What happened next when police were called to handle one of their own?
Joran van der Sloot in court -- he says he was tricked, signed a murder confession in a blind panic. Now, his mother brings his mental health into question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): If they want to kill me for saying this, then here I am. They killed me when they killed my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A mother blames police for taking her son too soon. Karl Penhaul with a special report on the war raging across the border in Mexico.
The list you need to know about, who's most intriguing, who's making news on Twitter. It's why we keep a list, pioneering tomorrow's news -- right now.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Rick is off today.
Topping the list right now, it is the 63rd day of the Gulf oil disaster. BP still hasn't stopped the spill and deepwater drilling could resume in the next 24 to 48 hours. A federal judge says he'll decide within that time frame whether to lift the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on that kind of drilling.
Several companies have filed suit to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and they say the feds have no evidence it poses a threat. Their suit is supposed -- supported, I should say, by a brief signed by Governor Bobby Jindal. He sent out this press release just a short time ago saying he is in support of getting drilling started as soon as possible.
Meantime, the Deepwater Horizon worker says he warned supervisors about a leak in the oil rig's safety equipment weeks before the explosion killed 11 workers and triggered the spill. Tyrone Benton tells the BBC the leak in the blowout preventer was not fixed at the time. It is a very important piece of equipment. He says it could have prevented the Gulf oil disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYRONE BENTON, BP DEEPWATER HORIZON WORKER: We saw a leak on the pod. So, by seeing the leak, we informed the company men. They have a control room where they could turn off that pod and turn on the other one so that they don't have to stop production.
REPORTER: So, they found a problem, and instead of fixing it, they just shut down the broken bit?
BENTON: Yes. They just shut it down and worked off another pod.
REPORTER: Is it acceptable, in your view, to just shut down the broken part, in this case, the control pod and operate on just one control pod?
TAD PATZEK: As an engineer, I would say that's unacceptable.
REPORTER: So, what would you have to do if you wanted to really fix the blowout preventer?
BENTON: You'll have to start production, bring the BOP completely up and start working on it.
REPORTER: But they didn't do that?
BENTON: No, ma'am.
REPORTER: Why not? Would that cost a lot of money?
BENTON: My guess, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We've been hearing the same a lot lately.
Kenneth Feinberg, he is the government's claims czar. He says he wants the payment process to be accelerated and more transparent. Feinberg oversees BP's $20 billion claims fund. He tells CNN, "We've got to ease the burden on these folks in the Gulf."
Our Soledad O'Brien has been speaking with members of a minority fishing community who have been severely impacted by the Gulf oil disaster. She joins us live from New Orleans.
Hey, Soledad, it's good to see you. Would the fishermen that you spoke with agree with Feinberg, that BP's payments need to start sooner rather than later?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think, actually, everybody would agree with that. We've been talking to Vietnamese fishermen who are based, for the most part, their home in east New Orleans.
And where we were, we saw a relief center where they're getting help filling out those claims. But they already have this language barrier. -- Vietnamese community whose families have this long history and ties to the fishing community. So, it's been a real struggle for them because in many case, some of the older members do not speak English fluently.
So, they would like to see things speed up. They would like to see more interpreters, more translators. Just more help. They're feeling very disconnected, in addition to, of course, I think a lot of people who are in the same boat feel very much the same way. It's a real struggle.
We've also seen folks lining up from relief, not just from BP. We're seeing Catholic charities where they are handing out food. And also, there's a place where people can register to get food stamps right there, and the translators, of course, centered there as well to help out.
LEMON: Hey, Soledad, I want to ask you this: we have seen how the economy -- minorities in the economy have been hit hardest by this downturn. Has the impact -- and this is like insult on top of injury -- the impact of the Gulf oil spill, has it been harder on this particular group, on minority fishermen?
O'BRIEN: Well, I think people here would tell you it's hard overall. It's hard on everybody. But when you're talking about something like a language barrier, that means that basic things -- basic navigating becomes even more complicated. And we've seen a number of children -- adult children -- coming in to help out their parents really navigate through the system because they're very perplexed.
There's been a lot of questions, too. For example, some people have gotten checks, which is good news. But they're unclear if and when there's another check coming. And if you're trying to run a business, if you've got a boat and you need to make your payments, you don't really know if that means you're OK for the long term or if you're just fine but just for the short term. The language barrier can complicate all of that.
We spoke to a guy named Keillen Williams. He is African- American, comes from four generations, the 1800s, four generations of oystermen and shrimpers. And he says the plight of minority fishermen and oystermen has really flown under the radar.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEILLEN WILLIAMS, LOUISIANA SHRIMPER: We had our own economy. We didn't need the stimulus money. You know, Bobby Jindal turned down the stimulus money. Do you know why? Because we're self-sufficient.
Now, we're BP-dependent. And we don't even -- we're not getting anything. So this hurry up and get nothing, hurry up and stress out, and I don't hear anyone talking about the pain and suffering paying for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So, he's feeling very frustrated. Clearly, language barrier is not a problem there. But he says he feels like some minority fishermen are being cut out of some of the processes and that's been really frustrating at a time when things are very frustrating across the board for everybody who's trying to making a living in the Gulf -- Don.
LEMON: Soledad O'Brien in New Orleans -- thank you, Soledad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kelly, drop the gun! Drop the gun, Kelly! Drop the gun!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What do the chaos is about? She was off duty when her police co-workers were called to take her home from a bar. What was going on? Well, that's when all the trouble started, and then the gun came out. That is ahead.
Also, a wildfire is raging out of control in Arizona. Thousands of acres right up in flames. The smoke is so thick you can barely see the sun. That's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Eight to 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight, "LARRY KING LIVE," a big benefit for the Gulf oil disaster. They're going to be raising money trying to help people down there. And we've got people, some of the folks who are going to be on, lots of stars tonight.
This was coming from county music star Trace Adkins. He's saying, "Watch @KingsThings -- meaning our very own Larry King on Monday night -- on the star-studded Disaster in the Gulf: How you can Help." And there's a link to show how you can help, #CNNHelpGulf" -- or as we say, hashtag CNNHelpGulf.
We're going to talk about that a little bit later on in the broadcast and show you some of the other big names who are going to be helping out tonight -- 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., "LARRY KING LIVE," right here on CNN.
In the meantime, 24 hours after it ignited, a wildfire has now burned nearly 9,000 acres in northern Arizona. And there are no signs of it slowing down any time soon. The forest service and local fire departments have sent in air tankers, helicopters and more than 300 firefighters.
The smoke has been so bad officials have had to close a major highway north of Flagstaff. Hundreds have been forced to evacuate the area. And that includes two neighborhoods and two national monuments. More strong winds are expected through tomorrow.
We're going to check in with our meteorologist in just a little bit. But, first, to the ground now and our affiliate reporter Stacey Delikat of KTVK in Flagstaff.
Hey, the winds aren't letting up. And so, there's no help in sight, it seems, any time soon.
STACEY DELIKAT, KTVK TV: That is right, Don. I mean, these winds are really gusting through. And that's what on camera here, you probably see it.
I want to, first, pan over so you can see the huge, thick some of -- the huge, thick cloud of smoke from this fire literally hanging over the neighborhood. This has been here since yesterday afternoon. No sign of it moving, just growing, in fact.
As you mentioned, some 9,000 acres charred by this blaze, 1,000 homes evacuated, and the wind is only adding fuel to the fire. Now, air tankers flew all over the area in an attempt to get this thing under control. So far, no luck.
As of this morning, a federal incident management team took over to try to, you know, help get this under control. Winds here are not going to make this easy for the firefighters.
LEMON: Yes.
DELIKAT: But full crews on scene and everyone is certainly hoping for the best, particularly the people who have had to leave their homes.
LEMON: All right. Stacey Delikat, thanks for that look from the ground.
Let's talk to our meteorologist now about all those strong winds.
Hey, when's the relief if they're going to get any in sight, Chad Myers?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A little bit tonight and into tomorrow. But winds are gusting to 34 miles per hour right now. Everybody knows the town of Phoenix -- by the time I get to Phoenix -- and all the way up I-17. Here's where Flagstaff is, north of there.
Go ahead and take it away. We're going to zoom in and we'll show you what's going on -- not so much for the town of Flagstaff because the winds are blowing from the southwest, 20 to 30 miles per hour, away from the city. But up here in the mountains, to the north of Flagstaff -- we'll fly you around to show you the topography.
As it kind of flattens out, you'll notice that there's a mountain range here. In fact, I've skied right back here at snow bowl. They play golf and sky at nighttime here. All the way around this entire area, this mountain range, this is where the fire is burning now. Every little spot you see there, that's a hot spot that has been found by the satellite.
So, here's the town, wind blowing away from Flagstaff, so no real threat there. But certainly, the people that live up here and there are beautiful mountain little communities up here in the way of this wind and in the way of the fire in the next coming days.
Tonight, the winds are down to about 20 and tomorrow only 10. When we get less than 15 miles per hour, sparks don't fly very much.
Today, Don, sparks are flying. Containment is essentially zero.
LEMON: All right. And Chad will be watching it.
Chad Myers, thank you very much. We appreciate that, sir.
Imagine this, stuck outside a building nearly 45 stories up in a big city. Just look at that. How does this end? Well, that's ahead on THE LIST.
Plus, a weekend yacht race perfect for some R&R. But what would you say if told you BP chief Tony Hayward was on one of those yachts? By the way, he owns part of one of those expensive yachts. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Rick, (INAUDIBLE) since Tony's out there doing his yacht race today, we need to fill up all of our airplanes with his oil and go over there and dump it on him.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
LEMON: Why don't you tell us how you really feel, huh?
Well, BP chief Tony Hayward called off his appearance at tomorrow's oil industry meeting in London. A company spokesman says it's because the CEO is committed to the disaster in the Gulf, perhaps a wise move. But is it too little too late really?
For more, we turn now to senior political analyst Gloria Borger.
Hi, Gloria. Good to see you.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: How are you? Good to see you, Don.
LEMON: I want to talk to you about this, because this Saturday, Hayward was spotted on a sailboat that he owns. He was attending a yachting event off the English coast, the Isle of Wight, as oil still pours into the Gulf of Mexico. It really set off a firestorm of criticism, didn't it?
BORGER: Yes, and, you know -- I mean, look at the optics of that. Come on. There are people suffering in the Gulf. This is a yacht on the water. This is a rich man's sport, one would argue yachting.
I guarantee you that whoever is doing his public relations probably did not say to him, oh, yes, you know, that's a really good idea, go to a yacht race over the weekend while BP's well is spewing oil into the Gulf. Not a good idea.
LEMON: All right. But, you know, some people have said the president has been out vacationing this weekend as well. This weekend, the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, noting the yachting appearance was a bad idea, but he didn't, you know, he didn't want to come down too hard.
And then today --
BORGER: Right.
LEMON: The White House deputy press secretary, Bill Burton, I should say, had this to say about Obama's Father's Day golfing event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL BURTON, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think there's a person in this country that doesn't think that their president ought to have a little time to clear his mind. And so, after a week where the president was taking on the oil spill, got an historic agreement with BP to put aside $20 billion to pay claims, after a day on Friday when he strengthened lobbying and ethnics rules in the White House, after going to Ohio to talk about the economy and see the progress that's being made in some of those stimulus projects happening around the country -- all the different issues the president is dealing with, I think that a little bit of time to himself on Father's Day weekend probably does us all good as American citizens that our president is taking that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, Gloria, you heard Bill Burton there. We know that the president's approval ratings --
BORGER: Yes.
LEMON: -- have taken a dip during this. Is it -- is this --
BORGER: Yes, a little bit.
LEMON: -- is this a way of fixing their P.R. right here? Or can you compare this to Tony Hayward?
BORGER: No, no. It's -- you know, it's an apple and an orange, as far as I'm concerned. I think what Bill Burton was saying is completely accurate, the president deserves a few hours to himself. I would point out, however, that we don't have pictures of the president golfing. And that is not any coincidence. You know, we don't see a picture of the president golfing out there.
So, you know, it's clear they didn't want us to have the pictures. They felt they need to defend it. But it's an apple and an orange.
LEMON: Well, you know, Michael Steele -- and we can put out Michael Steele's statement basically. I just read the first one, he says, "While it is fitting and appropriate to look at the yachting activities of BP CEO -- the BP CEO with incredulity, it is equally incredible that President Obama finds himself on yet another golf course as oil continue to spew into the Gulf" and then and on and on.
But you say it's not the same thing.
BORGER: Yes.
LEMON: Is this sort of you break it, you bought it?
BORGER: No, I don't -- I don't think -- yes. But -- yes -- but also, you know, why would Michael Steele -- I was talking to a couple of Republicans today who were kind of scratching their heads, saying, look, why would Michael Steele want to be out there doing anything to defend Hayward after the weeks that Hayward has had and after, you know, Hayward had said famously, you know, I want to get my life back and all the rest? And after Joe Barton last week apologizing to BP, why would the chairman of the Republican Party think that it's good public relations for him in any way, shape or form --
LEMON: Yes.
BORGER: -- to be out there comparing Hayward to the president of the United States?
LEMON: OK. So, listen, Joe Barton, last week, we were going -- oh, my gosh, what was he thinking? Everybody. Hey, I want you -- I want you to listen to what Rahm Emanuel had to say and then we'll talk about it.
BORGER: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAHM EMANUEL, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: That's not a political gaffe. Those were prepared remarks. That is a philosophy. That is an approach to what they see. They see the grief party here is BP, not the fishermen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So, listen, Sarah Palin said that his comments were -- Emanuel's comments were shallow, narrow-minded and irresponsible.
Listen -- is this the gift for Democrats that keeps on giving?
BORGER: Oh! You know, the best thing the Democrats have going for them are the Republicans sometimes. And this was a gift, and Rahm Emanuel made the most of it. And those of us who know Rahm know that he's a pretty political guy and he was going to make the most of this.
And what they're trying to do, Don, is frame the midterm elections. As the folks -- if you love the Republicans, well, they're the folks who apologized to BP. And if you like the Democrat, we're the ones who set up the $20 billion escrow account to help the folks in the Gulf.
I don't think it's going to be enough to help them that much in the midterm elections. But, you know, Rahm's a political guy and they took this and they jumped on it. I have to give the Republican leadership in the House some credit here, though --
LEMON: Yes.
BORGER: -- because it took them about a nanosecond to try and get this guy --
LEMON: Before it almost out of his mouth, right?
BORGER: Yes, absolutely. As soon as he got it out of his mouth, they said, you're going to lose your chairmanship, buddy, so you better apologize. And by the way, he still to lose his chairmanship.
LEMON: We got to run. But great talk, as usual. Thank you, Gloria.
BORGER: Sure. Sure. Thanks, Don.
LEMON: All right.
Police were called to a bar to pick up one of their own. But why in the world would she start shooting off a gun in a police cruiser? That's what the department is trying to figure out and so are we. That is ahead.
BP is doing everything in their power to clean up the spill, everything. That's what our most intriguing person in the news says. That's next on THE LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Time now to check the list of the most intriguing people in the news today. And here you go.
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LEMON: You know, it's a pretty awful time to be associated with BP, not the most popular company in the world these days. But our most intriguing today says, "We should ease up on BP, that they're doing everything to stop the Gulf oil leak and attack the mess." Lots of people listened to him. He's considered one of America's most experienced oil experts.
OK. Let's reveal it. Let's see him. That is Alan A. Allen, AAA for initials.
Alan A. Allen -- he has spent nearly 40 years helping clean up and control hundreds of oil spills all over the world. He's now being hired by BP to aim that expertise at the Gulf of Mexico. Tough gig, though, but he is the kind of guy BP needs.
Alan A. Allen -- one of today's most intriguing people in the news.
(MUSIC)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were on a journey with Michael that was going to return him to the stage, you know, that he loved so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: They were eight days from leaving on their big tour, eight days from the biggest comeback of all time. I'm talking to Michael Jackson's choreographer, his musical director, and exclusively with his brother, Tito Jackson, the people closest to M.J. in the hours before his death. That is straight ahead.
And doing your laundry can be dangerous. Check out this video. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Everybody has to do laundry. Well, almost everybody. Washing laundry isn't too much fun if you have to do it. But sometimes you know, it's downright scary. Time for our video list "Fotos del Dia."
This patron in New Hampshire almost got take to the cleaners permanently. John Masambo (ph) jumped out of the way just in time. A minivan plowed right through the landro-mat wall next to him. The driver says she was on the phone. Police say she didn't put her van into park and her foot slipped off the brake.
No charges were filed, however. Masambo (ph), who was not injured, told reporters he would, quote, "finish his laundry elsewhere." Perhaps that's a wise decision.
And another close call to tell you about, this time window washers left high and dry in downtown Houston. Look at that. That would leave a mark. One of the scaffolds broke and plummeted 44 stories. Luckily, no one was hurt. Rescuers knocked out windows on the 45th floor and pulled the workers to safety. Talk about a stressful day at work.
OK, this video is both amazing and terrifying. Before you cringe, I have to tell you that no one was killed. Watch and listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
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LEMON: Unbelievable video there. That is the Metro-park entertainment complex in Billings, Montana. The twister ripped the roof right off and other buildings, causing millions of dollars of damage.
You can see all of our "Fotos del Dia" on CNN.com/RickSanchez.
The infamous Joran Van Der Sloot is in court today, and now he's come up with a new one, saying he was tricked into signing a murder confession. And why is his mothering suddenly weighing in, saying he was supposed to go into a mental hospital? That is ahead on "The List." And there is an all-star telethon to help people along the Gulf coast impacted by the oil spill. Ms. Brooke Baldwin has the details on that next as she approaches the bench to tell us what's going on.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Don Lemon.
LEMON: After the break, as they say in the big telethon. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Rick, this is Pat in Georgia. Why in the world do we have to have telethons to raise money for this oil spill? BP should pay for every last penny. I can see giving time, but why ask the American people to dig in their pockets and give any more money?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wow! I guess that's a good question. Brooke is here to talk about the big Larry King telethon. I want to show you this before we talk about it. Alyssa Milano is tweeting about it.
BALDWIN: She will be there, so many people. We're trying to get that to be trending. I know you're a big twitter dude. Maybe you can help us.
LEMON: I've got it right here on my trusty iPad. Tell us about this big event tonight.
BALDWIN: It starts tonight, 8:00 eastern out of New Orleans. It's star-studded cast, of course. It's Larry King running the show. We expect everyone to be there.
In fact, we decided who best to talk to about this telethon tonight than Larry King himself? We've got him on the phone. Larry, you raised the bar on yourself with that Haiti telethon back in January, raising like $5 million.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": I know. We raised $10 million.
BALDWIN: How do you top that?
KING: First, I can't believe it takes two hosts to replace Sanchez.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: He's still on vacation, Larry.
KING: I know. Oh, he'll never forget that.
That twitter asked a good question, that caller, and it was the first question I asked. If BP is supposed to pay $20 billion and the government is supposed to clean up, how can you ask for a telethon? The problem was described to me is all the red tape it's going to take. And there are people right now out of work. They don't have the money to get groceries. The government will do a good job and they've got a good guy handling it, but it's going to take months.
And so we are we're basically calling this help now. We're guaranteeing this money will get to the people that need it, and you can earmark it. You can say I want it to go to people out of work. I want it to go for wildlife. We're going to help clean up wildlife. I want it to go to help beaches.
If you leave it up to BP, and in some cases, government, it's going to take a while. And a while won't work.
BALDWIN: Right. It's more about the immediacy. And you mentioned, which is so lovely, is you're giving essentially these callers a choice. You can either give to united way, which would help the families along the Gulf. You can give to national wildlife federation, and then the nature conservancy, that big push, long-term helping restore the gulf.
But I'm just curious, Larry, which of the charities may be most near and dear to your heart?
KING: It would be the united way. I love animals. I have a little dog. I like taking my kids to SeaWorld. But I'm more a people person. So I would give to that guy down on the corner who through no fault of his own can't go out fishing, and has been cost a livelihood by the simple misuse or accidental malfeasance of a huge company that could have done more.
So I know it's easier said, why should I -- I could go down and give to my hospital on the corner. You're right. But these people are in need.
It's not Haiti. It's not an earthquake. It's not a hurricane.
BALDWIN: It's manmade.
KING: This is manmade. But that doesn't mean if you're out of work, what caused it. What caused it to you is you need help and that's what we're going to try to do.
And $10 million was an enormous figure. We didn't set a goal when we raised $10 million. I don't think we're setting a goal tonight. But a lot of people are sure involved.
LEMON: Larry, I would say a better way of putting that question is why not, especially if you have the means to give? Why not help your fellow neighbors? You're going to have a lot of big celebrities there, including our Larry King. Larry, are you excited about doing this?
KING: Yes, I like doing this. I used to do telethons back in the old days in Miami. Remember the PBS telethons?
LEMON: Yes, on the phone.
KING: That's a tough call. Call in to keep your TV going.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Times have changed, Larry King.
KING: We'll be there tonight. We've got Ryan Seacrest who's going to co-host with me. A lot of wonderful people are helping me. Robert Redford, Sting is singing. We hope to do the best job we can. And basically, it's there to help people.
BALDWIN: And have fun all at once in those two hours. Larry King, thanks for calling in. I know you have a busy night ahead of you. Again, the telethon, 8:00 to 10:00 eastern time. Too bad we can't hop a flight, Mr. Lemon.
LEMON: Hash tag CNN/helpgulf. We could still get there in time.
BALDWIN: A direct flight to Nola. I'm there. Thanks.
LEMON: Thanks a lot. We'll see you in just a little bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they want to kill me for saying this, then here I am. They killed me when they killed my son. I'm already dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A mother blames police for her son's death. She says police are in cahoots with one of the Mexican cartels. Our Karl Penhaul with a special report on the war raging just across the border in Mexico. That's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Rick's off. I'm Don Lemon.
A dairy farmer is making money by using more than just milk from his cows. Would you believe his cows are powering the farm? The farmer is converting their manure into electricity for him and some of his neighbors as well. Reynolds Wolf has the story in this week's "Solutions."
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REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Milking a profit from a dairy farm is not easy. The price of milk is dropping, but the cost of running a farm isn't getting any cheaper.
WOLF (on camera): How about one of those cows like 3095? What is her day going to be like?
SHAWN SAYLOR, HILLCREST SAYLOR DAIRY FARM: She's going to need to eat about 100 to 110 pounds of food.
WOLF: Sean Saylor owns this fourth-generation farm in Pennsylvania. And he's finding creative ways to make ends meet.
SAYLOR: That's one of the mechanical scrapers.
WOLF (on camera): What's it scraping there?
SAYLOR: A large pile of manure.
WOLF: All for power.
SAYLOR: Yes.
WOLF (voice-over): That's right, Sailor's 600 milking cows help power the farm. Their waste is flushed into a big digester and stored for about 16 days converted to high-ethane gas. And the gas created inside of it generates enough electricity to power Hillcrest Sailor Dairy Farm and does neighboring homes.
Converting waste to power saves Sailor almost $200,000 a year.
SAYLOR: You're talking a system project cost of over $1 million to build the system, but a payback in less than five years.
WOLF (on camera): If you're great grandfather were alive today and you were to say we're powering our farm with cow waste.
SAYLOR: Probably disbelief. It would be more like science fiction to him.
WOLF: Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kelly, drop the gun! Drop the gun, Kelly!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Those are fellow police officers begging, saying, "Drop the gun, Kelly!" They're begging one of their own to put down the gun after a call to pick her up at a bar. That's next on "The List."
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LEMON: So listen, most of us know someone who's had one too many. Let's just be honest. And we wouldn't hesitate to help them get home safely.
But what if that friend was an officer with a gun? Watch what happened in Dallas when one of the city's finest, well, wasn't really at her very finest hour. See what a woman being propped up by the two police officers. She is also an officer. You can hear her crying right there in the video. She was off duty and the department says she had a few drinks. She's going, come on, guys, don't do this. What happened on the ride home has all three in trouble. It's clear the off-duty officer doesn't understand what's going on. Look at this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't believe this for a second. I can't believe that you are doing this to me. I don't believe you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just wanted to make sure you're OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So a few minutes later, things really got out of hand. The off-duty officer allegedly pulls out her gun and shoots into the floorboard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. You need to stop now. I [ bleep ] left and right. You need to stop [ bleep ] now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kelly! Please drop the gun, Kelly. Kelly, drop the gun! Kelly, drop the gun! Kelly, drop the gun. Drop the gun, Kelly!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What in the world? No one was hurt. The off duty officer's badge and gun have been taken away while police investigate, and she could lose both permanently. The department has restricted the duties of the two officers who gave her a ride.
Andy Hill is a retired sergeant with the Phoenix police department. Andy, thanks for joining us. What was she thinking?
ANDY HILL, RET. SERGEANT, PHOENIX POLICE: First of all my condolences to Chief Brown in Dallas and the other tragedies they're dealing with. In situation, obviously, this gal is drunk, and she's spouting all kinds of words that indicate she's drunk, and then she's talking sexy to the officer, and then she gets violent.
So when you combine alcohol and romance and a gun, you have a formula for tragedy and trouble. They avoided the tragedy but they sure had trouble.
LEMON: I don't know if there's that much alcohol in the world that would make me shoot off a gun especially into the floor of a police cruiser when I'm a police officer. It's just crazy.
Before you move on to other stuff, I want you to talk about the chief there, because our viewers may be wondering what's going on, Andy.
HILL: Unfortunately I read online about the son of the Dallas police chief being involved in a homicide where it's alleged that he shot and killed somebody, and an officer responded, and his son shot the officer and other officers shot the chief's son. So that's a horrible tragedy that they're dealing with also on top of this.
So my condolences to the family and all of those that are suffering in that particular circumstance.
LEMON: Let's talk about the other officers in this case, because they're in trouble as well. She put them in a bad position. But I'm not sure if they handled it correctly, because they said she was too drunk. She wasn't in a position to be interviewed, so they didn't take her to jail. She ended up being arrested the next day.
HILL: Everybody's judgment was off here. When officers respond to a scene, when you have a problem, they've got to go ahead and respond by using good officer safety. They never handcuffed her. They didn't search her.
Everything they did was in a relaxed environment because probably what's reported as a personal relationship between one of the officers and this woman. So they blew everything in terms of judgment.
LEMON: I have to say we mentioned Chief David Brown earlier from Dallas police. He said this about the drunken officer, "The recklessness she displayed is unacceptable conduct for a Dallas police officer. The officers were trying to do the right thing but it turned into the wrong way."
So anyway, it's a tragic situation there. You would think the officers would know better on both sides here, but I guess we'll figure it all out soon.
HILL: Yes. Officers are just human.
LEMON: Thank you. Andy Hill, we appreciate you joining us here today on CNN.
HILL: Thank you, don.
LEMON: We're going to move on and talk about Joran Van Der Sloot before a judge today. Now he is saying he was tricked into confessing, and all of a sudden his mother is calling his mental condition into question. That's ahead.
And Michael called it his final curtain call. We'll speak with some who knew Michael Jackson well and get details into what his final days were like. That's next right here on "The List."
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LEMON: Can you believe Friday will be one year since Michael Jackson died? CNN led much of the coverage of the story and we're doing it again with a Special Report.
Over the last year I have been talking with close Jackson associates and family members who describe the entertainer's state of mind and what happened the hours before the world lost the king of pop.
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LEMON: As the sun rose above the exclusive Los Angeles hills, inside Michael Jackson's mansion the entertainer began the morning of June 24th, 2009, doing what he loved -- preparing for a show.
TRAVIS PAYNE, "THIS IS IT" CHOREOGRAPHER: He and I would start about noon or 1:00 at his home. We'd dance a few hours and stretch.
You have to have a full attitude. You have a half attitude. Do the full one.
LEMON: Travis Payne was Michael Jackson's long-time choreographer.
PAYNE: We were, you know, on a journey with Michael that was going to return him to the stage, you know, that he loved so much. And I know we were eight days away from leaving for London.
LEMON: The stage is where Michael was most at ease. On stage there was no one better. Since age five, he'd electrified audiences around the world with hit songs like "I want you back." And the world appeared ready to welcome him back. It had been 12 years since Jackson's last major performance. The king of pop was poised to regain his throne.
PAYNE: This is it. I mean, this is really it. This is the final. This goes the final curtain call.
LEMON: On the afternoon of June 24th Jackson arrived at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Rehearsals for "This is It" often ran late into the night. On the surface, the man many say was born to perform never looked better.
LEMON (on camera): Was his voice getting stronger?
PAYNE: Absolutely.
LEMON: Was his dancing getting stronger?
PAYNE: Absolutely.
LEMON: His body, everything?
PAYNE: Absolutely.
LEMON (voice-over): Michael Bearden, the musical director for "This is It," was onstage that last night.
MICHAEL BEARDEN, "THIS IS IT" MUSIC DIRECTOR: He looked back at me and after we did one number he looked at me as if to say, yes, I'm Michael Jackson. I got this. You know, he looked really good and I tease some of the dancers when I see them, because M.J. was 50 years old, and they're half his age and he's still wearing them out.
LEMON (on camera): Was anything out of the ordinary that night?
BEARDEN: The only thing that might have been was that Michael had a serious glow about him that night. You could see his confidence growing and you could see physically he was able to do the things that he wanted to do that was just coming out naturally.
The stage is where he grew up and I think he was feeling more comfortable every day.
LEMON: Jackson left the staples center around midnight and headed to his rented mansion in a posh L.A. neighborhood. Just 12 hours later, however, nothing would ever be the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mom said get down here, doesn't look good. I said oh, my gosh. What's going on?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And we also talked with Michael Jackson's brothers Jermaine and Tito and their unanswered questions about how he died and who they think is responsible. Be sure to watch my special report "Michael Jackson, The Final Days" this Friday June 25th at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.
It is day 63 of the Gulf oil disaster. Every move made by BP and the White House coming under fire, even casual weekend getaways. What about the people struggling on the shore line? We'll show you how you can help.
And there is this.
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LEMON: Here is what is making the list today. Tony Hayward -- out to sea and out of touch?
