Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Tropical Storm Poses Threat to Oil-Spill Efforts; NATO Soldier's Death Marks Record Fatalities for NATO forces in Afghanistan; Violent Anti-G-20 Protests Rock Toronto; Ghana Ends U.S. World Cup Run
Aired June 27, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody, and welcome to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this June the 27th. I am T.J. Holmes, coming to you live in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it's 5 a.m.
Good morning to you, Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, T.J. I am Kate Bolduan here in Atlanta, where it is 6 a.m. Thank you so much, everybody, for joining us this morning.
HOLMES: Now, of course, we are here in New Orleans keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Alex. Everybody's wondering still exactly where it's going to go, how it's going to affect the oil-spill efforts.
It looks like maybe it's going to veer away. But at the same time, some oil companies starting to pull out some of their workers. We'll explain that, and of course, Reynolds Wolf will be along to tell us exactly where this storm is headed now.
BOLDUAN: And a disappointing end for the U.S. soccer team. It was painful to watch; I watched it all yesterday. We're backing up and coming home. Ghana knocked us out of the World Cup 2-1 in extra time. We'll take you live to Johannesburg, South Africa.
But first, let's get a check of the headlines.
Checking the top stories, six more soldiers have died in bombing attacks in Afghanistan. More NATO troops have now died in June than any other month in the nine-year war: 91 so far. Of the six killed Saturday, four died in a bombing in southern Afghanistan. An IED killed the other two in the eastern part of the country.
And doctors at George Washington University Hospital are still monitoring former Vice President Dick Cheney's condition. When he fell sick Friday, doctors sent him to the hospital for a weekend of tests. Cheney is 69 years old and has survived five attacks, the most recent in February. Still no word though on whether this problem is heart- related.
And security forces in Toronto are getting ready for another day of protests at the G-20 summit. The demonstrations got pretty intense yesterday. At one point, protesters set fire to police cars and damaged buildings. Police arrested at least 180 people - T.J. HOLMES: And here we are now, Day 69. We are a full two-plus months into this Gulf oil disaster, and now the new problem. There's been a problem it seems like every day, every week almost.
This one is weather-related. This is Tropical Storm Alex that we're keeping an eye on. It's the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Not exactly sure where it's going. We're starting to get a better idea. More models coming out - more forecast models telling us where it's going and maybe it's going to go away from the oil spill, but could still cause some problems.
No matter where it's going, some oil companies still believe it poses enough of a threat that they're starting to pull some of their oil workers away from the area. And particularly, it's a little further south in the Gulf, but BP and Shell have already started to pull hundreds of their people, their non-essentials off some of their rigs there as a precaution.
This storm could intensify at some point later into this week, could become a hurricane at some point. We don't exactly know how that's going to affect the oil. But BP, it was very important for them to note, for them to tell us, in fact, that they had not pulling anyone away from the Deepwater Horizon well area. So the disaster- relief efforts have not been hampered, none of the people working on the response have been pulled away.
Also, some possibly better prospects. Reynolds is going to be along to give us more details. But right now, it looks like the storm, as it hits Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, is starting to weaken a bit. It could intensity a little later, but at least for right now, it's starting to weaken a bit, and it looks like it may be going a little further south.
Meanwhile, they have tried so many things to try to cap this well, to try to clean all this up. So they're trying something else today: prayer. Governors of Gulf Coast states: Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, have declared today a day of prayer in their respective states, asking people to pray for the recovery and response, and of course, the lives that were lost when that rig exploded, and also the lives being affected now.
Also something we saw yesterday - hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, across the country took part in what was called a "Hands Across the Sand" event. We told you about this yesterday and interviewed one of the organizers. They got folks together on the beaches to hold hands to just - to have a symbolic gesture and to push for more clean energy and to really kind of make a statement that we should not be doing this deep-water drilling.
That's the update on the very latest here on this Day 69.
Let me bring in Reynolds Wolf.
Reynolds, you know, you've been keeping a close eye on this storm the past 24 hours. It looks like maybe making a turn away from the oil, but still, these things can turn on a dime sometimes. REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, they really can.
I mean, just for a perfect example would be back in 2005, Hurricane Charley is a great example, where every computer model on the planet showed the storm going right towards Tampa Bay. Then at the last second, it made a quick right, unexpected turn right towards Punta Gorda and ripped right across the state. It was not expected, but it happens. And these things do happen with these kind of spinning storms.
Right now, the storm basically obscuring all of the Yucatan peninsula. It's already made landfall right near Belize. Now, it's going to cross over, and the latest forecast we have from the National Hurricane Center, T.J., indicates the storm should actually maintain its intensity, with winds around 40 miles per hour, gusting to 50, but then pause - passing over the Bay - into the Bay of Campeche, which is this area of water right here in the Gulf, and then into the Gulf of Mexico.
And then as we get into Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, increasing in speed to about 85 miles per hour. That makes it a Category 1 hurricane.
Then as we get into Thursday and then possibly into Thursday afternoon, we're looking at landfall near Tampico, Mexico, by 2:00 at the afternoon, as a - again, a - a fairly - not a major hurricane, but still up - with winds of 100 miles per hour, gusts up to 120. One thing you have to remember though is, although the storm, if it moves in this forecast, moves in this direction, its effect on the spill - here me now - the effects on the spill will be minimal, which is great.
However, you have to look at that cone of uncertainty. Texas is still in play. This storm still could move to the north and possibly affect places like, say, Corpus Christi, perhaps even into Padre Island or even Brownsville, for that matter. So, you know, by all means, if you have happen to live along the Gulf Coast, remember, this is the season. You have to have that hurricane-preparedness kit ready.
This storm may not pan out, but there will be others to follow. We have a long season, all the way from now up through November, possibly beyond that. So certainly keep that in mind.
That's the latest we have got. T.J., again, the storm expected to strengthen. But in terms of its effect on the oil spill, things are looking pretty good this morning.
Let's send it back to you.
HOLMES: Pretty good.
One thing, Reynolds, before I let you go, can you reminds us of - what is gale-force winds? What would that qualify as, because the Admiral Thad Allen here, who is in charge of the response, said that if they got gale-force winds where they're doing the recovery, out there at the Deepwater Horizon, then they would have to evacuate people out and we'd have to shut down the response and that siphoning of the oil.
So reminds us what a gale-force wind is.
WOLF: Well, it's basically some of the same specification that you'll find right along the Intercoastal Waterway, when you have bridges that are going out to the barrier islands.
Basically, the way it works is, if winds exceed 39 miles per hour, they don't allow traffic to go right across it. Basically, it's a threshold around 39, but it can be really different depending on the size and the type of craft. So whatever the specifications are, say, for that specific oil - oil platform, there's going to be a threshold for each of those. And that is basically the - the limitation of what it can withstand with - in terms of winds.
I would say probably tropical-storm force is when they'd stop people working on those. Tropical-storm force winds, 39 miles per hour, all the way up to about 73 miles per hour. And then beyond that, you get into a Category 1 hurricane.
So I would say once you get up to, say, tropical-storm force, that's when they'd probably start shutting things down.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, appreciate that. That was the key that Admiral Allen is talking about. They would have to evacuate people. He said it would take 14 days to get people back out there and to get the whole operation up and running again.
WOLF: Wow.
HOLMES: So the last thing they want is to have to shut down their response at all.
Reynolds, thank you so much. We'll be talking to you throughout. And of course, Reynolds tracking the storm.
We are tracking things here in New Orleans. Much more to come from here.
For now, Kate, let me hand it back to you.
BOLDUAN: Thank you (INAUDIBLE).
Let's turn to some other important news going on.
June is now the deadliest for NATO forces in Afghanistan since the war in Afghanistan started.
Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is joining me live now from Islamabad, Pakistan.
Hey there, Nic. Six troops died yesterday. That makes it 91 dead this month alone.
What are you hearing about the circumstances surrounding these - these most recent tragic deaths? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Most of the deaths are coming as a result of improvised explosive devices, these bombs that are placed in the ground. And if you look at these fatalities yesterday, most of them were the death - involved the deaths of single soldiers. So soldiers perhaps on patrol, we've seen them where the IEDs, these bombs are placed where the patrol has to go through, perhaps a gap in the fields, over a small bridge, through a gap in a wall, something like that.
And typically, we're seeing the bulk of the attacks in the south of the country and the east of the country, which are the two most volatile areas, areas where there are many, many U.S. troops deployed.
And the other way soldiers are being killed in numbers are gunfire attacks, insurgent gun attacks, often killing just one soldier at a time.
This month, there have been two helicopter crashes, a MedEvac helicopter shot down by a rocket; four soldiers killed there. Another helicopter with four soldiers killed; the circumstances of that crash under investigation.
But these are the - these are the typical ways that the Taliban is fighting right now, Kate.
BOLDUAN: And as we were just mentioning, June has been a terrible month for NATO forces, Nic.
Are you hearing anything on the ground, or what are you hearing in terms of what the reasoning - reasoning is of this? Is the momentum shifting? Is this an indicator of how - how tough this summer's going to be in the fight against the Taliban?
ROBERTSON: I think what we're seeing year on year, since about 2006, is the Taliban stepping up their campaign, steadily increasing the death toll of coalition forces inside Afghanistan. Three hundred and seven British troops killed now; a hundred and - more than 180 Canadian troops killed as well in action.
And one of the principal reasons that you see a higher number right now is because it's the summer, and typically the Taliban have a harder time fighting a campaign in the winter. It used to be that the death toll would fall right off in the middle of winter. Now, it's much lower perhaps in the sort of 20s per month.
In the summer, they can get their - they can - they can cross the mountains, they can get their supplies in more readily. But last summer, when we talked to a Taliban spokesman, he told us, 'Look, if there's going to be a surge of coalition forces here, we will meet it with fire.' And it does seem that they're making good on their word, that slowly, not in a huge way - but slowly, they're able to increase the number of attacks. They're able to increase the lethality of those attacks, and get perhaps wiser about where better to place these types of weapons.
But all those troops you put on the ground, if you can't resupply them by helicopter, you have to resupply them by road. And that's the weak point for having so many troops on the ground. And that's what the Taliban, over the past two or three years, have made the principal point of their attack, Kate.
BOLDUAN: And real quickly, Nic, Admiral Mike Mullen, he was in Afghanistan just yesterday for a scheduled visit, which took on different meaning, especially with the news of - of a change in command of - of the Afghan war.
What did Admiral Mullen say, meeting with troops, meeting with the Afghan leaders? Was he really there reassuring that U.S. strategy hasn't changed? What was - what was his visit for?
ROBERTSON: That's right, and that's what he was hearing from President Karzai as well, that President Karzai supports General Petraeus' nomination to take over command of forces in Afghanistan. He's someone that the - that the Afghan leadership knows well.
And they've also had General Mullen here in Pakistan as well, making the same points that the leadership here - this sort of steady flow-through of military - very senior military commanders and senior diplomats is really symptomatic with the amount of energy and effort that's being put in to keep both Afghan leadership and the Pakistan leadership on track with what the U.S. and the coalition is trying to achieve in Afghanistan.
So it really was billed as a planned trip, but that would have taken up a lot of - a lot of Admiral Mullen's time, just going over that ground, reassuring people - Kate.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely.
Thanks so much. Fabulous reporting, as always. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. Thanks so much, Nic.
And CNN has a website that tells the story, as we were mentioning, this horrible month of deaths in Afghanistan. CNN has a website that tells the story of those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, CNN's "Home and Away." You can post photos, videos and share stories of our fallen heroes. It also matches service members' hometowns against a map of where they died.
Go to CNN.com/homeandaway.
And taking a turn to Canada as well as to Africa, President Obama and world leaders are in Toronto to talk world finance.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And outside of those meetings at the G-20 summit, it was screams and batons swinging.
Plus, the U.S. World Cup team's - our World Cup team's disappointing loss to Ghana. We'll go live to South Africa to find out what's next for Team USA and for its fans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: It's a far more civil tone inside than outside the G-8 and G-20 summits. Police in Toronto say they're preparing for more demonstration and disruptions today after protesters squared off against police yesterday.
And some really startling photos if you see this. This - inside, the world financial leaders tried taking care of business. President Obama talking with British Prime Minister David Cameron about the BP oil spill and other issues both leaders are worried about, like job creation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There are going to be differentiated responses between the two countries because of our different positions, but we are aiming at the same direction, which is long-term, sustainable growth that puts people to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE) security at the G-20 summit in Toronto have got to be a little bit apprehensive about what today will bring, quite honestly.
They arrested at least 180 protesters yesterday. The clashes between police and protesters really turned increasingly violent. Cars set on fire, as you saw in the video; buildings damaged, and people were even hurt.
Here's homeland-security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND-SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The protests and arrests continued into the evening, as demonstrators against the G-20 clashed repeatedly with the police protecting it. More than one police car went up in flames and smoke during hours and hours of confrontation - confrontation with flashes of violence, anger and destruction.
Some protesters were injured.
(CHANTING)
MESERVE: The crowd moved from intersection to intersection to try to circumvent police and get to the security fence protecting the summit meeting. ROLF GERSTENBERGER, PROTESTER: And the fence is a symbol of - that they can build a fence and spend a billion dollars to make sure that they get their - their agenda works. So that's what the symbol - the fence is a symbol of what's wrong with this country.
MESERVE: But everywhere the protesters went, police were waiting to head the off, in some cases with individual blasts of pepper spray and tear gas and bean-bag pellets. The fence was not breached.
Protesters proceed through downtown streets, leaving behind broken windows, graffiti, a few smashed cars. But some demonstrators said the destruction they caused was nothing compared to the economic and environmental crimes of the G-20 leaders meeting just a few blocks away.
Despite the flashes of anger, despite the destruction, not all encounters between the police and protesters were hostile. At one intersection, the crowd danced...
(SINGING)
MESERVE: ...and chanted "you're sexy, you're cute, take off your riot suit."
But the crowd would move, the mood would morph and again the tone would grow threatening.
(on camera): There's one day left in the G-20 meeting, and that means one more day of this.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Toronto.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: That's our homeland-security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
So in Canada, it's clearly a lot of business between world leaders. And President Obama, he's been very busy with many bilateral meetings with leaders of many countries.
But there's always time to take a few moments to take things like the World Cup. We were able to get some video of the president and some of the U.S. delegation watching the U.S.-Ghana soccer game at the World Cup yesterday. I believe from the video - we looked really close, we believe that the president in this video is reacting to, unfortunately, one of the goals by Ghana.
U.S. - the U.S., of course, loses 2-1. So you see, he clearly didn't leave the room with a smile on his face, T.J.
And I don't know about you, but I was at one point jumping up and down on the bed in my hotel room, yelling for us to score a goal in the final minutes. But that's just me.
HOLMES: It was a great - it really was a great, great game to watch. Not the outcome a lot of people here wanted. But it's amazing how big of a deal this is, when the world leaders - the G-20 gets together, but they will still take a break to watch the World Cup. That's how you know it's a big deal.
BOLDUAN: It is a big deal.
HOLMES: So we are going to talk about what happened - yes - we're going to talk about what happened in South Africa yesterday.
We're going to be going back live to Johannesburg with more on the broken dreams of the USA soccer team. Some of these pictures are hard to watch.
Stay with us here. It's about 20 minutes past the hour, here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it was fun while it lasted. It didn't last as long as some might have hoped, that everybody here, of course, in the U.S. hoped.
Team USA is coming home. Their World Cup run is done. Ghana got them yesterday in extraordinary fashion. It was an extra-time game. You cannot - you're not going to see a better soccer match, quite frankly.
Pedro Pinto was at that game yesterday, joining us now live from Johannesburg.
Hello to you there. And you know, we know how the U.S. reacted, and everybody here in America that was watching, how they reacted.
But quite frankly, how did the continent of Africa react to seeing Ghana, the only team left - the only African team left - how did they react to seeing this team move on?
PEDRO PINTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to tell you, maybe they're still reacting right now. I'm not sure that anyone on this continent that cares about football was able to get to sleep after seeing the Black Stars beat the United States in Rustenburg.
You know, the party atmosphere was already there before the game started. The Ghana supporters leave this game with more passions than I have ever seen before. I have traveled around the world, covering football, covering soccer. But the way these fans are, and the - the relationship they have with their soccer team, it - it's like they completely idolize them. And to see them make history by reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time in their nation's history at the World Cup, was just simply amazing.
It's only the third time an African team has made the quarterfinals of a World Cup, so it's a truly momentous occasion for this continent that they had to deal with the pain of five of their teams eliminated in the group stage, they have the elation now of celebrating Ghana moving past the United States. For the American team, I have to tell you, it was another solid performance. They battled, they fought, they were motivated. But again, conceding an early goal for the third time in this World Cup was just too much. And they didn't do it just once at the beginning of the game, they did it again in the beginning of extra time. It was just asking too much out of these players, after 90 minutes, conceding a goal right in the beginning of extra time, to go out and chase that goal and get another equalizer. I think they were drained.
We talked to a few players after the game, and they said they felt they could have done more, but they just couldn't get that break. They maybe even were missing that last piece of luck to beat Ghana and make it to the quarterfinals, T.J.
HOLMES: Pedro, was there any sense - you talked about them. I mean, it was a long game. You had to go into extra time. That's a lot.
But you talked about them being physically gassed. But what about emotionally gassed as well, after that high they came off of in the previous game, having to score last minute - and this game against Ghana, if it wasn't for that actual penalty kick, they wouldn't have scored against Ghana either?
PINTO: You're - you're absolutely right.
But I think the United States deserved to score. Whether they did it from the penalty spot or not, they had enough chances, they had enough shots.
I don't think they were sharp enough up-front. I think Jozy Altidore needs to have a long look in the mirror because he hasn't scored at a World Cup yet. Bob Bradley said that he was expecting more from his forwards. He didn't get it. He didn't get it on this night.
But it - it was emotionally draining. And looking at the faces of a Landon Donovan, of a Michael Bradley, of a Tim Howard in the "mixed zone," which is the area where the players talk to the media after the game, they were more emotionally drained than physically drained, I think. And when they conceded that goal in the beginning of extra time, I think it was also an emotional thing. They - they thought to themselves, 'Oh no, we've got to go back and chase this.'
And considering the pressure that's on these players - this is the world stage, the biggest sporting event on the planet. They know the pressure that's on them. They're representing their country.
And they were also fighting a whole continent, T.J. Like you said, this is huge for Africa. This - this sport here, far and beyond above any other sport you can imagine. So the South Africans were pulling for Ghana; the Nigerians were pulling for Ghana; the whole continent was trying to push them forward. And I think the Ghanaian players really felt that, and they will certainly have felt that after the game, with all their flags waving high. And this continent is going to continue to party for a long time while these Black Stars are still in the competition. HOLMES: Yes, it's hard. And certainly it hurts everybody's hear to see the U.S. - at least here in the U.S., it's hard - hard to see the team lose. But you can't help but be a little proud, to be happy for Ghana and, really, the whole continent of Africa.
Pedro Pinto, great, great color this morning about what happened yesterday. Enjoy the rest of the World Cup. We will be watching here as well. Thanks so much.
And like we just saw a short time ago, we saw the president - even the G-20 leaders took a moment out to enjoy some of the - the soccer match yesterday. And the people here in New Orleans and around the Gulf, they needed a little break, a - a - away from reality, quite frankly, for awhile.
Everybody here - all the bars were full, everybody was in the - in front of a TV yesterday here in New Orleans watching the game.
But now, we are back to reality. People here on the Gulf still on alert this morning because of this Tropical Storm Alex. It's still on the move. Still getting a better idea now of where it might be headed. We'll let you know where the track, the forecast, has it going now.
Also, a former mayor of this city, New Orleans, coming back to his city to get an up-close view of damage done by the BP oil disaster. And he has a message he wants to get out.
Twenty-five minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Welcome back. Let's get a check of your top stories this morning.
June is now the deadliest month for NATO forces since the war began in Afghanistan. Six NATO troops died yesterday, and that brings the total dead to 91.
And as well we're looking at, all eyes being on Alex. Officials monitoring the tropical storm say it will most likely miss the oil disaster area in the Gulf. It's expected to follow a southwest trajectory making landfall in Mexico.
And it never hurts to say a little prayer especially for the Gulf, the governors of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama declared a today a day of prayer in the respective states as efforts to cap the massive gusher continue.
Hey, there, T.J.
HOLMES: Kate, if nothing else it seems has been working so, yes, they are resorting to prayer. Today officially a day of prayer across the Gulf Coast.
Reynolds, though, he is going to see if some of the prayers are going to be answered. Because a lot folks hoping the tropical storm, the first of the Atlantic hurricane season is going to veer away from the Gulf Coast, away from the oil spill disaster area. Reynolds will tell us exactly where Alex is slated to go next.
Also with so much happening in the news this past week some things went below the radar, it will be right back on the radar and in the spotlight tomorrow, that being the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan, going face-to-face with senators who will decide the fate of her career, that starts up on Monday. We've got a preview for you today on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Bottom of the hour here now.
Reynolds, we woke up to news this morning, hearing that BP and Shell had actually started pulling some non-essential workers out of a couple of rigs in the Gulf that, sounded like the worst. But still these were non-essential workers. And they didn't have to do with the clean up.
Where is Alex now? Is it going to affect the oil spill disaster area?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It might in terms of bringing enhanced wave action but in terms of having an absolute direct effect, I'd say the effect is going to be minimal for the time being. Right now if you are curious as to where Alex happens to be it is just rattling parts of the Yucatan like a jackhammer. You can see it right here, obscuring the entire peninsula. Very hard to see with the enhanced satellite. The areas with the bright purple and even the reds, that is the areas where you with your deepest convection, heaviest rainfall, and thickest areas in the atmosphere.
We anticipate the storm the storm to do is make its way a little bit more to the west and northwest. It should gain strength over the open waters, moving into the Gulf with winds increasing to 85 miles per hour by 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday. That will make it a minimal hurricane. Winds then going up to 100 miles per hour, with gusts at 120 as we get into Thursday morning and possibly making landfall, I'd say, probably about Thursday afternoon near Tampico, Mexico.
One thing that's very difficult in terms of hurricanes is not just following where it may be going but also forecasting strength. It may actually be a bit stronger, could be a bit weaker and also keep in mind when you have this cone uncertainty there's still a very good chance, T.J., the storm could veer well to the north, or well to the south, possibly affecting parts of Texas. Again, you have to watch it moment by moment. We'll do that here at CNN, your hurricane headquarters. Back to you.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, appreciate you. We'll be talking to you plenty throughout the morning.
And important to note here is-well for our viewers-that BP says they have not pulled out any workers who are part of the actual oil disaster response. BP and Shell, some of their further south-some of their rigs out there in the Gulf they have pulled some nonessential workers out just as a precaution.
A lot of people wondering now, is enough being done to help the minority communities who are also struggling just like everybody else with this oil disaster in the Gulf? We'll be hearing from one former New Orleans mayor who says, maybe not (sic) is being done. And he's trying to give a voice to some of those. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Day 69 here of this Gulf oil disaster, and here in New Orleans some believe even in the days and all the coverage you have seen in this oil disaster that some people's stories still aren't being heard. A former New Orleans mayor came home. He's a New Orleans native, came back yesterday at the invitation of some locals, because they say they have a message that needs to get out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice over): Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial says he had to see it for himself. He got his own up close and personal tour of the waters off the coast of Louisiana this weekend. He called it a fact-finding mission.
MARC MORIAL, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE: Sometimes I think as this tragedy is unfolded here in southeastern Louisiana not enough emphasis is placed on why this region is important to the nation.
HOLMES: Morial was invited by local oystermen and Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser.
BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUIMINES PARISH, LA.: How are you doing, buddy?
HOLMES: They want him to, as they put it, "elevate the awareness" of some of their concerns.
MORIAL: We heard some concerns from the black and Vietnamese fishermen that they have not been listened to and did not have the opportunity to participate in the cleanup activity.
HOLMES: Morial calls the Gulf a multiethnic melting pot, and he's here to remind people of what's at stake.
MORIAL: I want people across the nation to know how important this region is to the nation. It's 25 percent of our domestic production of oil and gas. It's 40 percent of the seafood we eat comes from the Gulf, and comes from Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Mississippi, this entire region. And people sitting at home watching who may be on the West Coast, the East Coast, or the North Coast, or somewhere in the midlands of America need to understand that this affects them.
HOLMES: You're a New Orleans guy, former mayor. Since you were mayor we've seen Katrina and now we are seeing this oil disaster. What is it like for you as a New Orleans guy to see your situation?
MORIAL: It's hard it's like successive kicks in the gut, to see your city and your region go through this. But when I come down, what regenerates me is this incredible passion and spirit that the people of this region have. They're going to fight back. They're not going to give up, and all they need is some help.
HOLMES: How much more can a city take?
MORIAL: You know what? This city's got great spirit. It's got incredible resilience. Its people have been knocked down before. The people of this region are going to get back up. They're not going to be stopped.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Morial, you heard him there, say in the piece that actually so many of the concerns about the Vietnamese and black fishermen. He said there has been movement, now and he was happy to report that in fact more are being able to get involved in the cleanup effort. He said in some cases there were language barriers when it comes to the Vietnamese and Cambodians work in the fishing industry here and the Gulf. They just needed some one to advocate on their behalf, so he was happy to report some movement had been made there.
Also a lot of people don't realize here in this community, here in the Gulf about a third of everyone involved in the fishing industry, Vietnamese. They depend on this for their livelihood. They depend on the seafood industry for their livelihood. But the Gulf disaster has put a strain on so many of them.
We're going to introduce you to a Vietnamese family that is also dealing with the language and cultural barriers; and they are fighting to keep their business going you it may be a fight they're about to lose. Stay with us here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING>
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Take a quick look at the top stories right now.
Six more soldiers have died in bombing attacks in Afghanistan. More NATO troops have now died in June than any other month in the nine-year war, 91 so far. Of the six killed Saturday, four died in a bombing in southern Afghanistan, an IED killed the other two in the eastern part of the country.
And doctors at George Washington University hospital are still monitoring former Vice President Dick Cheney's condition. Doctors sent him to the hospital for a weekend after complaining Friday that he didn't feel well. Cheney is 69 years old and survived five heart attacks, the most recent in February.
And the U.S. dream of a World Cup evaporated with yesterday's loss to Ghana, 2-1 in extra time. Ghana, the lone remaining African team, now advances to the quarterfinals. U.S Coach Bob Bradley said he is proud but disappointed. What's up next for tropical storm Alex? We'll get the latest projected path and whether Gulf residents can relax, coming up and we'll preview an important week ahead for Elena Kagan as her Supreme Court confirmation hearings get started. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: The political stage is being set for the Senate confirm hearings of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The White House is confident Kagan will get the votes necessary to be confirmed. But the fact that she has no judicial experience and her political history has some concerned.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENA KAGAN, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I look forward to working with the Senate in the next stage of this process.
BOLDUAN: Elena Kagan has been quietly working with White House lawyers to prepare for her big moment in the political spotlight. Every aspect of her academic career and government service scrutinized for clues about the kind of justice she would become. The president who nominated her last month thinks he knows.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That understanding of law not as an intellectual exercise or words on a page but as it affects the lives of ordinary people, has animated every step of Elena's career.
BOLDUAN: Republicans senators, for their part, promise a fair but tough examination of her record in two Democratic administrations, past and present. Possible areas of concern, her resistance to allowing military recruiters on campus when she was dean of Harvard's Law School, this because of the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military. Kagan called the policy a, quote, "profound wrong." Also her often politically focused views as a top aide in the Clinton White House on a range of hot button issues like abortion, gun rights and executive power. Then there's Kagan's lack of judicial experience, which worries both liberals and conservatives.
CARRIE SEVERINO, JUDICIAL CRISIS NETWORK: The only thing she's ever done is politics. And so the concern is that she'll just continue that on the bench. She'll just continue to be a rubber stamp for the agenda of the administration she works for now.
BOLDUAN: The White House publicly insists Kagan will be a fair and impartial judge and has quietly assured liberals she will be a reliable vote on the left. Bipartisan praise, as well, for her consensus building skills with those of differing viewpoints, an asset some analysts think will benefit her on a divided high court.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, FOUNDDER, SCOTUSBLOG.COM: President Obama couldn't hope to appoint somebody who is going to change the views of the conservatives on the Supreme Court. They have very strongly held opinions on lots of important legal questions. What he could hope for, and what he may well have gotten, is a nominee who has the skill set to find accommodations between the left and the right, to find the common ground for them, and in that way maybe pull the court a little bit to the left
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: As a backdrop to the drama that is sure to be going on in Capitol Hill the Supreme Court will issue its final opinions Monday and the justices will rule on a blockbuster case, over the right to bear arms with the shaky conservative majority on the court set to overturn a strict handgun ban in Chicago. You'll want to stay tuned for that.
Coming up in the 7:00 o'clock hour you will also want to stay tuned, we'll be talking to blogger and Supreme Court analyst Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSBLOG.com. To get his thoughts on what is ahead for Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, meanwhile CNN's live coverage of the confirmation hearings for President Obama's second Supreme Court nominee begins tomorrow, Noon Eastern, right here on CNN. You'll want to see it.
Hey there, T.J.
HOLMES: There is a significant Vietnamese population here in the Gulf Coast area, and would you believe it, to hear that 80 percent of them are tied to the seafood industry, some kind of way to the fishing industry. But right now there are struggles of language and also some cultural barriers that are really making this whole Gulf oil disaster even more difficult. Going to introduce you to a Vietnamese family that is trying to survive in the wake of the Gulf Coast oil disaster, that's up next. We'll let you know if they will be able to survive. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Language and cultural barriers have complicated the Gulf oil disaster for Vietnamese-Americans who are working in the seafood industry. That is how 80 percent of them make their living here in the Gulf Coast. They account for a third of all people who work in the industry here. I spoke with one family whose business is literally now on the line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice over): First of all, the business itself, your dad and you told me that your business is going to go away, when?
THI VAN LE, JENNIFER LE SEAFOOD: Tomorrow, tomorrow, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I don't buy anything new.
HOLMES: He's saying that by tomorrow, the business is going to go away, why?
JENNIFER LE, JENNIFER LE SEAFOOD: Because all the waters in Biloxi, and also in New Orleans where we also get our crabs, they are going to be closed also, so without our main supply, we can't run a business at all. HOLMES: How long have you been in business?
J. LE: Eleven years.
HOLMES: Eleven years, and you-it's strange to know, that it is one thing if business starts getting bad, but he knows tomorrow is going to be the day that this is going to be over.
J. LE: He says he's going to shut down.
HOLMES: What are you going to do now?
(SCOFF, SHRUGS)
I guess you don't have to translate that. You have no idea?
J. LE: Ever since he came here all he's been doing is shrimping, he started a business doing crab and everything has been based on seafood, so without seafood, he really doesn't have anything at all.
HOLMES: I know he said he's gotten a couple of BP checks, a couple of them, I guess that helps a little bit, but what are the plans for the future now? What do you do if you know your business is going to shut down, where do you go from here?
J. LE: He said he doesn't really know what other career he could really be successful in. And he's saying that he gets the money from BP but that doesn't, that's not enough.
HOLMES: What, and again these were two checks, we've been hearing about, and he got once, and then two, I believe.
J. LE: Yes.
HOLMES: How much were those checks?
J. LE: It's also $5,000; it is just once a month.
HOLMES: What about employees? I know he had a couple of employees, or several employees? What happens to them?
J. LE: They have to sign up for a claim, which they only get $1,000 a month.
HOLMES: Will he have to-and he has already laid off many of those workers?
T. LE: Yes.
HOLMES: It was 11 and he's down to how many?
J. LE: Two, but then eventually by tomorrow, we're not hiring.
HOLMES: By tomorrow they're not hiring. Well, at this point I guess, the question for you, you're here translating but, what is this like for you, your dad, you've seen go through years of working hard in this industry. Now you know the day you're going to have to shut a business down and you know your dad this is all he knows to do. What is it like for you to see your dad going through this? You're a young college student.
J. LE: It's very stressful, because I really don't, I don't know what to do. I mean, I would like to help him, but all his job was based on seafood. I mean, everything was based on the waters, and now it's just-hah, it's just gone.
HOLMES: Again, Thi Van Le and daughter Jennifer Le, good luck to you and so many others in this area.
We are-I mean it is heart-wrenching to hear some of these stories, but to know that it is what you have been doing, literally, since you came to this country, it's going to be taken away from you like that. We appreciate you spending some time sharing your story with our audience. Good luck to you.
T. LE: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thank you so much. Good luck to you. Thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Good morning to you all. Welcome to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is 6:00 a.m. where I stand, here in New Orleans, Louisiana, this Sunday morning, June the 27th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Good morning to you, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Good morning, T.J., doing great work in the Gulf. I am here in Atlanta where it is 7:00 a.m., thank you, everyone for joining us this morning
T.J.
HOLMES: And, yes, Kate, what we're doing here in the Gulf, we were here, of course, to cover it, now on this day 69 of the Gulf oil disaster. And just this weekend, we heard about the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It's tropical storm Alex. A lot of people are still on edge about where it may go.
Reynolds Wolf is going to tell us exactly what the forecast is saying, he's coming up -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Having to keep a close eye on that and we're also keeping a close eye on Capitol Hill. We're going to be previewing an important week ahead for Elena Kagan as her Supreme Court confirmation hearings get started. Will it be smooth-sailing or is she in for an uphill battle? We'll take a close look.
But, first, let's get a check of the headlines.
Checking the top stories: Six NATO soldiers were killed yesterday in Afghanistan, bringing this month's death toll to 91 -- and making June the deadliest month for allied troops since the war began nearly nine years ago.
And former Vice President Dick Cheney is still hospitalized in Washington, D.C., today. Cheney is 69 years old and has survived five heart attacks, the most recent in February.
And the World Cup heartbreak from South Africa -- the U.S. soccer team loses in the closing minutes of their match against Ghana, 2-1, the final score that no one here in the U.S. really wants to say or talk about anymore. Ghana becoming just the third African team to ever reach the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, that's not us, T.J.
HOLMES: No, it's not. But a lot of people are still happy and certainly the continent of Africa happy to see Ghana moving on.
Here on the Gulf Coast, everyone took a break yesterday and took a break to watch the game as well. But now, we're back to the reality.
It's day 69 of this Gulf oil disaster. And what we've been keeping an eye on this weekend is that we saw yesterday the first named storm developed, first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It's tropical storm Alex. We're keeping a close eye on this thing. Don't exactly know for sure where it's going.
We're starting to see more of these computer models to give us a better idea maybe. But we will continue to learn more over the next 24, 48-plus hours and, of course, these things can turn on a dime. But we're wondering how this could affect possibly the oil cleanup and recovery. In fact, some workers -- some oil workers -- in the area being evacuated from those offshore facilities. BP and Shell have evacuated hundreds of non-essential people as a precautionary measure.
Alex, of course, could intensify still. It's predicted possibly to become a hurricane later in the week. The oil cleanup efforts, if they would happen, if the storm would happen to go right to where this oil is, this could hamper the efforts for some time. Thad Allen is actually saying it would make 14 days if they had to evacuate, to get everybody back out there and starts the whole cleanup and recovery once again.
Still, the storm, like we're saying, we're watching this thing closely. We don't exactly know what it's going to do. It could pick up some steam as it hits Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as it gets over there.
Reynolds is going to be along to give us specifics here in just a moment.
Meanwhile, a lot of people have, of course, been looking for any kind of methods that could possibly work, cap the leak, and clean up some of the oil. Well, governors of the Gulf Coast states, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, they're trying something else today, prayer -- officially declared a day of prayer today in their states. They say it's about honoring those lost in the Deepwater Horizon explosion, also those lives and livelihoods that are still being lost because of this disaster.
Also yesterday, we saw something else. People are taking a stand against offshore drilling. Thousands of people were expected out coast to coast to take part in this effort called hands across the sand.
You see some of the video here. We told you about it yesterday and talked to one of the organizers live. They gathered people all over the place on the beaches to hold hands to really take a stand against offshore drilling and trying to push for more clean energy.
Let me turn now to Reynolds Wolf.
Reynolds, we're learning more and more these forecast models I guess as far as the oil goes, starting to look a little more favorable possibly, but still, these things are by their nature unpredictable.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, there are actually a few of the models, a few of them. We don't have a whole lot of confidence in them, but a few of them are actually starting to shift towards the north and we're going to watch this very carefully.
Something else is very weird with this particular storm, is we're seeing some things in parts of the northeast quadrant of the storm that are kind of unusual. And just to give you a little bit of hurricane 101 -- when I say quieter, and you guys are saying what kind of geek speak is that.
Well, let me tell you, you're an area of low pressure, say, a hurricane, it moves in counterclockwise rotation. And what we have when you have a situation like a hurricane, let's stay it is your hurricane. You kind of cut it in slices. A big "X" your storm would be right here.
Your northeast quadrant is going to be right here in this section. That is what we're seeing. Now, take a look at this, when you look at the northeast quadrant of this particular storm, it's not getting weaker but rather getting stronger.
Look at this explosion right about in the last couple of frames -- boom right there. You're going to notice a little bit of that purple and that red coming up, that's really, really deep convection that we're seeing as this thing is crossing the peninsula. Now, if this were to move over open water, it would strengthen once again, it gets perhaps even much stronger becoming a hurricane. That is the scenario that we are going to see as we get into Wednesday and into Thursday -- at least according to the National Hurricane Center.
It shows it re-strengthening over the warm water, possibly coming onshore, I'd say, around 2:00 in the afternoon near Tampico, Mexico. With winds in excess of 100 miles per hour, some gust could be stronger. Now, if this storm were to slow down and stay out over open water, it could become a major hurricane, if it goes a bit faster, well, there's a chance that it could make its way onshore and not really gain a whole lot of strength. Or at the same time, hopefully, it will just die out all together.
So, there are a lot of scenarios. But if plays out -- that this is the way it's going to go, it should have minimal effect on the oil spill. So, that is certainly some good news. Let's hope this thing just dies out.
But I'm telling you, T.J., this is the time of the year that things get really active in the Tropics, hurricane season runs all the way through November 30th. We have to be on our under guard. This is going to be a long summer.
That is the latest we got. We also have a tower cam in New Orleans where conditions there, T.J., for folks that are going to be on the Gulf Coast, a very steamy day.
Yesterday, T.J., you had to change your shirt, wouldn't be surprised if you had to do it again -- same story for many people up and down the coast line. Let's send it back to you.
HOLMES: Well, I started off right today so I wouldn't have to change. I just put on a t-shirt, hoping this will hold me. But the sun comes up and it is brutal, starting first thing in the morning.
WOLF: Hey, you have more costume changes than Beyonce. Absolutely.
HOLMES: Wouldn't want to go that far, but leave it to you to point it out. But appreciate you, as always.
To our viewer, we need to want to make sure I clear up and let you know that all the workers that have been pulled out so far, BP wanted people to know, Kate, that, in fact, they weren't a part of any of the Deepwater Horizon, that area where the oil is being cleaned up. So, none of those oil workers, cleanup workers, have been pulled out yet, just some nonessentials for the south. We're keeping an eye on it -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Keeping an eye on it. Nonessentials just as a precaution. Thanks so much, T.J.
Big protests playing out at the G-20 Summit. Will they overshadow the message? That story -- next.
Plus, expect some heated moments on Capitol Hill tomorrow, with a very strong spotlight all on the eyes -- and all eyes on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back. About 10 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Riot police in Toronto started rounding up suspects they believe are responsible for this. Take a look. (VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, a little riot breaking out at the G-20 Summit. These clashes broke out early Saturday morning. Estimated 10,000 demonstrators hit the street.
Most of the protests were, in fact, peaceful, though, despite some of the pictures we just show you. A smaller group did more serious damage, including setting police cars on fire.
Toronto has spent close to $1 billion on the security for this G- 20. It's a far more civil discussion inside, of course, the summit than some of the stuff we saw outside. The world's financial leaders are trying not to repeat the global meltdown we saw in 2008.
Our chief business correspondent and my friend, Ali Velshi, live for us from Toronto with more on day two of the G-20 Summit.
Good morning to you, Ali. Oftentimes, we see these big leaders, everybody gets together, so we're expecting big things -- any big news just yet?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big news is probably the news that's not going to happen. They're all meeting right downtown right now. This was on the heels, this is the G-20 today on the heels of the G-8, where leaders of eight industrialized nations came together.
And, really, you know, what's been going on over the last couple of years, T.J., is that these countries and their central banks and their finance ministers have come together with this idea the government put lots and lots of money into fixing these economies until consumers come back.
Now, there's a bit of divergence in the path. The U.S. feels that countries should continue to stimulate their economies until consumers step to the plate and they're feeling healthy and they take their traditional role as spenders. In European countries, they're very, very worried about the degree of debt that they have, so they're thinking it's time to cut back on government spending and increase taxes.
Two people we spoke to yesterday who outlined these positions very well -- the first one is U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: When you look at how governments have acted in the past in past crises, you know, history is riddled with mistakes and the -- and the two most important types of mistakes you see are governments waiting too long to escalate, hoping it won't be as severe as people fear, waiting too tentative, too early, not doing enough soon enough. Those mistakes are extremely costly and devastating. But this group of people recognized that mistake the beginning of last year and they did act with a lot of financial force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, Geithner warned that the second mistake is pulling out too quickly, after you put that money in to save the economy and that he sort of hinted -- he didn't say it -- but he sort of hinted that that's what he's concerned, that Great Britain and Germany are planning to do.
So, later in the day, I sat down with Luis Manuel Barroso. He is head of the European Union. He's the head of the European Union Commission. And I put that question to him and listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Are you feeling like we've seen the worst of it, we're not going to go through another Greece?
MANUEL BARROSO, EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSION: Look, if there was another case like the one you mentioned, we would be more than prepared to face it, because now, the mechanism is ready. The mechanism is established to act. When the Greek problem came, frankly speaking, it was an unprecedented problem. It was the first time we had this question of solving a debt crisis in one member of your area. So, we have to invent the response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: So, interestingly, T.J., Barroso is not saying -- he's not ruling out the possibility of another Greece type of problem in Europe. He's just saying, this time, they're prepared.
So that's -- you know, nobody's really agreeing on how you deal with stuff, but they're all saying they're ready. They're not looking for another financial crisis and they stand ready to fix it -- T.J.
HOLMES: We can only hope they stand ready to fix it.
VELSHI: Yes.
HOLMES: Ali Velshi, our chief business correspondent -- Ali, good to have you here with us here on our CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
VELSHI: Thank you, my friend.
HOLMES: We should make this a regular segment. We'll see you every Sunday.
VELSHI: I would love that.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks so much, buddy.
VELSHI: Thanks.
HOLMES: Kate, let me hand it back over to you and probably not a chance of that happening.
BOLDUAN: Yes, I was going to say -- that would be him working maybe eight days a week. So, we could work on it. We could work on it.
All right. Thanks, T.J.
(LAUGHTER)
BOLDUAN: Senate confirmation hearings begin tomorrow for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The White House doesn't think it will be much of a fight but President Obama's pick doesn't have judicial experience and has served in two Democratic administrations, that is concerning to some.
So, joining me by phone to discuss the president's nominee to the Supreme Court is Supreme Court analyst and creator of SCOTUSblog.com, Tom Goldstein.
Good morning, Tom. Thanks so much for joining us.
TOM GOLDSTEIN, SCOTUSBLOG.COM (via telephone): Thanks so much for having me.
BOLDUAN: I always go to you for all things SCOTUS. So, you can really help me out here. What should we -- what do you expect from the hearings, any fireworks?
GOLDSTEIN: I expect that the Republicans are going to make their objections known. It's a political process. They want to make sure their views about what a good Supreme Court justice is are out there.
But they know that they just don't have the blocks to vote. Democrats have 59 votes in the Senate; they have a 12-7 majority in the Senate Judiciary Committee. So, there's not a real prospect that she's going to be stopped from moving on to the court.
BOLDUAN: What aspects of her past record, her past career, are likely to be, you know, strong in the focus come these hearings? I mean, is there any Achilles heel to her prospect for confirmation at this point?
GOLDSTEIN: Well, the Democrats supporting her are going to point to the fact that she was the dean of the Harvard Law School. She was the solicitor general. She has experience in the Clinton administration, so she's seen the political side of the world as well.
Republicans, for their part, are going to point out, as you said, that she hasn't been a judge before so you don't know as much about how she'd be -- as a neutral arbiter of decisions, you don't know about her constitutional philosophy.
So, each has something to point to.
BOLDUAN: And you actually said in a conversation that we had last week is that she actually is not the favorite choice for conservatives and not the favorite choice maybe for some liberals. So, she's pretty middle of the road.
One last quick question: what is the best advice -- what advice is the White House giving Elena Kagan at this point and how to make it through these confirmation hearings? They try to have it as choreographed as possible.
GOLDSTEIN: Well, I think they're telling her to have balance in how much detail she gives. You can't reveal how you would rule in individual cases, but if you aren't respectful to the senators, if you aren't really reasonably forthcoming in trying to answer their questions, then Democrats and Republicans alike, they really can get their backs up.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Tom. I know you're going to have a very busy beginning of the week and we'll be talking to you, I'm sure, a lot more. Thanks so much.
Tom Goldstein, the Supreme Court analyst and the creator of SCOTUSblog.com -- thanks so much.
And just a note, confirming hearings begin for President Obama's second Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, as we've been talking about, as she goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That all starts live coverage beginning tomorrow, noon Eastern, right here on CNN.
And here are some numbers you may find hard to believe. Up to $1 billion in gift cards never used every year, $10 billion. Tips on what to do with a card you won't use -- next.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA DAWN JOHNSON, BRANDMELIVE.COM: Good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to another brand-tastic edition of morning motivation. I am Melissa Dawn Johnson, your global branding and personal transformation strategist.
Well, music has the power to evoke all kinds of emotions. For me, music is one of my favorite motivators. Why? Because in those times when I'm in a slump or when I feel a little bit discouraged, music has the power to empower me and keep me going.
So it is for you. Think about your favorite artist, maybe your favorite song. How does it inspire you and keep you going in those times that you need a little bit encouragement?
So, this week I encourage you to create a success songs playlist. Find those songs that keep you motivated and inspire you and play them in those moments when you need a little bit of motivation to keep moving forward.
Listen, visit us at brandnewlive.com. I'd love to hear from you. Share with us your songs on our brand me playlist. We'd love to share with our community how you stay motivated.
Until next week, keep moving forward and make every single day brand-tastic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Welcome back.
More Americans are buying into the easy convenience of handing out gift cards. It's now the most popular gift given or received across the country. That's pretty interesting.
But what do you do if you don't want them and you don't like them? I don't know.
Tech expert Katie Linendoll is joining me with ways to cash them in.
And good morning, Katie. So, what is the best advice here?
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: Good morning.
BOLDUAN: You get, you know, a gift card from a wonderful person, who has good intention, maybe just doesn't know what to buy you. But you don't need, you don't want it.
What do you with them?
LINENDOLL: Yes. And you don't want to sound ungrateful but how many of us get the gift card that we just don't want? So, there's actually some very easy solutions because I want you to understand that $5 billion to $10 billion are not redeemed annually, which is pretty a large number.
So, here's what you do. You go to one of these three sites: cardpool.com, plasticjungle.com or giftcardrescue.com. And what these sites do is they allow you to cash it up to 90 percent of the value in case, or you can actually buy gift cards that are already used for up to 30 percent off. So, a pretty reliable source right there in terms of new technology.
BOLDUAN: That's really interesting. So, is there -- is there a time period within which you need to wash these in? Is it within a year? Within sometime? Because I know -- one thing that I always found interesting is -- with some gift cards -- if you have them for a certain period of time, they actually start deducting money from that gift card.
So, do you have to use -- do this within a certain time period?
LINENDOLL: Yes. What's great about these sites is they are making sure that these are gift cards that never expire and you deal directly with the sites. This isn't like eBay type of thing where you're dealing with randoms and you're like, wow, I hope I get my payment.
They always pay you within 24 hours, which is beneficial. And they make sure that they're getting and receiving gift card that are never going to expire within 12 to 24 months. So, they have you covered.
And it's really a brilliant idea. I mean, the average American is receiving 3.8 gift cards a year and 98 percent of consumer are going to give or receive a gift card. So, these numbers are pretty amazing, because know that $80 billion to $100 billion are spent on gift cards. I mean, it's a total copout, and we all receive gift cards we don't what. So, it's a really nice laid-back solution early this morning.
BOLDUAN: And you can return almost anything at this point, you know, any kind of clothes, shoes, whatever -- why can't you return your gift cards or cash in on them?
Are there any, I guess --
LINENDOLL: Exactly.
BOLDUAN: -- one final question is: are there any penalties or fees that go along with cashing in on these are they're kind of like a user's fee or something that you need to know about?
LINENDOLL: No, it's the same thing. It's just like getting a brand new gift card and cashing in an old one.
BOLDUAN: OK.
LINDELL: Which is pretty good, again, about using these sites. And remember, I mean, these numbers blow my mind, to know that $5 billion to $10 billion are not cashed in a year. I mean, you don't want to be wasteful and you don't want to be ungrateful for the gift you're receiving. So, go ahead and use -- again cardpool or plasticjungle.com or giftcardrescue.com.
BOLDUAN: There you go. I know where a lot are going to be going because I've been one of those people that gave the gift card. Sorry, everyone. Now, you can cash them in.
Tech expert Katie Linendoll -- thank you so much for being with us this morning. We're going to talk to you a little later about some other interesting tech topics.
Stay with us. We'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Coming up at the top of the hour: a church controversy is upsetting gay parishioners of a Catholic congregation. The archbishop is asking them not to put the church's name on a gay pride banner. That is ahead in our "Faces of Faith" at the top of the 8:00 hour here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And, T.J., and, Reynolds, we've got a lot going on. I think basically, on top of everyone's mind is what's going on with Alex, which you've been, in the Gulf which you've handling a lot of -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, and you talk about "Faces of Faith" there. Well, everybody is trying to keep the faith today especially. They have declared today, officially, a day of prayer across all the Gulf States. So, today, nothing else is working, so maybe prayer will.
But some of the prayers, some are thinking, Reynolds, maybe starting to be answered and maybe this tropical storm, the first of the Atlantic hurricane season, may not be as damaging and debilitating to all of the efforts as maybe when initially once thought.
WOLF: Well, at least for this first one. Right now, all signs seem to point that it's going to be moving a bit farther south, away from the spill area. We're still hoping this thing just falls apart altogether.
But just let's keep in mind and stay on our guard that we've got a very long season. And there's a lot of that can change with this particular storm. So, it's always best to be pretty much on guard. And after this storm fizzles out, it eventually will, there will be others that will development. As you guys both know, the Gulf of Mexico tends to be a hotbed for these tropical systems.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds. I appreciate you. Thank you so much.
We're going to be checking in with Reynolds plenty throughout the day. So, still, stay with us here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
I'm going to hand it over now to Dr. Sanjay Gupta. But we'll be back at the top of the hour with more live news.
