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CNN Sunday Morning

Storm Complicates Gulf Oil Disaster; Unrest at the G-20 Summit; Kagan Confirmation Hearings to Start Monday

Aired June 27, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, and good morning to you, and welcome to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING for June 27th. I'm T.J. Holmes, live in New Orleans, where it's 7:00 a.m.

Good morning to you, Kate, back in Atlanta.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, my dear. I am Kate Bolduan, here in Atlanta, where it's an hour later. We've now hit the 8:00 hour.

Thanks for joining us, everybody. Great to have you here.

HOLMES: All right. Well, here in New Orleans, all eyes have been on tropical storm Alex this weekend. The forecast, right now, looks like it could avoid the main area where the oil is, and it could possibly not hamper the recovery effort. Still, there are some concerns it could shift. Reynolds Wolf will have details for us in just a moment.

BOLDUAN: And we'll 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 check those headlines.

Checking top stories now: Six NATO soldiers were killed yesterday in Afghanistan, breaking this month's death toll to 91, and making June the deadliest month for allied troops since the war began almost nine years ago.

And police in Toronto say they are getting ready for more expected demonstrators and protests on the second day of the G-20 economic summit. More than 300 protesters have been arrested so far this weekend.

And former Vice President Dick Cheney is still hospitalized in Washington, D.C., this morning. Cheney is 69 years old and has a long history of heart attacks, although doctors have not yet said exactly what's ailing the former vice president -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, Kate, here we are, day 69 of this Gulf oil disaster. We are a full 2 1/2 months almost now into this and we knew this was a possibility. It is, of course, hurricane season, and now, we got our first named storm of the hurricane season. It's tropical storm Alex, and a lot of questions of where it's going to go and what it's going to do. A lot of uncertainty here, and the main issue is how is it going to hamper the oil recovery efforts?

Some Gulf oil companies, in particular BP and Shell, have actually begun pulling out some nonessential personnel. They pulled hundreds of them, but these workers -- let me be clear -- were a little further south in the Gulf and they were not, in particular, pulled anywhere away from the Deepwater Horizon area. It's not hampering, not pulling out any people affiliated with the recovery effort just yet. That's important to note.

Now, Alex, we're not exactly sure what it's going to do, could intensify. Some forecast have it becoming a hurricane later in the week. Now, if that happens, we could still see some kind of effect if it makes a move one way or the other and possibly makes more a beeline towards the Gulf oil disaster area.

Still, the storm could be -- you see some of the video here now, it's hitting some areas. It's going across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at this point, and still drenching a lot of areas right now.

Reynolds Wolf is coming up in just a couple seconds to tell us exactly where it's going.

About the Gulf oil disaster, the whole recovery effort here on day 69, a lot of people have, for two months, have been trying to a lot of things, to clean up and to cap that well. Well, they're trying something else today, another strategy: prayer. The governors of Gulf Coast states -- Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama -- have all declared today a day of prayer in their respective states.

Meanwhile, something we saw yesterday, someone else trying to get their message out. Thousands of people across the country took part in what's called Hands across the Sands. This was a protest against deep water drilling. The organization put this together -- and we talked to one of the organizers here live yesterday -- but they were trying to get the message out against deepwater drilling and trying to push people more towards more efforts for clean energy.

Like I said, our Reynolds Wolf standing by for us now.

Reynolds, you got a close eye on this storm, tropical storm Alex, all weekend. What is it telling us now?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: What it is telling us right now is it looks it's beginning just to weaken just a tiny bit. If you'll notice, there's like an area of convection of this. You'll notice the purple and reds that are popping up as it crosses the Yucatan Peninsula. But it looks like it's weakening just, maybe a little bit at least the northwest quadrant -- northwest part of this storm.

However, what we do anticipate is as it makes its way across the Yucatan Peninsula, what it has in front of it, some very warm water into the Gulf of Mexico and into the Bay of Campeche. Now, if it moves in that particular direction, there's something else that it's going to encounter, and rather, it will not encounter, and that will be strong upper level winds.

If you have strong upper level winds, which we refer to as shear, it can rip this thing apart, which is actually would be kind of a good thing. It would be definitely a great thing. It would actually save us a lot of problems and a lot of heartache, no doubt in parts of the Gulf. However, it does appear that it will be moving into the warm water, but shear is going to be something that we will not be seeing.

So, if that happens, very weak shear. And it moves across. That means it's ripe for developing. It could get a bit stronger, could become a hurricane.

In fact, as we take a look at this rundown, as we go into Wednesday and into Thursday, the forecast brings winds of 85 miles per hour, and remember, 73 is the threshold. Once the maximum sustained winds go over 73 into 74, it becomes a category one storm as it get to Thursday, of winds of 100 expected, possibly making landfall near Tampico, Mexico. With winds of 100 miles per hour, I'd say, by Thursday afternoon, perhaps around 2:00 or so.

Now, if it follows this path, the affect will be minimal on the oil spill and the workers. However, there are a lot of things that can change. The cone of uncertainty shows the storm may move will to the north, perhaps in Texas. Again, it could deviate from this path altogether, so it really does bear watching, especially over the next 12 to 24 to 48 hours.

That is a wrap on your forecast, T.J. Skycam there -- skycam shows a very muggy day that can be expected, a lot of sunshine, a few scattered clouds, you might get lucky with a few rain drops. But I'm telling you, biggest thing, high humidity and heat.

Back to you.

HOLMES: We are feeling it already this morning, Reynolds, here in New Orleans. Thank you so much.

I want to remind our viewers what's at stake here with this storm and why everyone is on edge about it. They have been collecting about 25,000 barrels a day of oil, siphoning it up from that well. That's pretty good. Next week or this week actually, they were expecting to add more capacity and possibly get to the point they could siphon 53,000 barrels of oil. That would be good news in a lot of ways.

But Thad Allen says, if a storm came and it would have to evacuate and shut down those efforts, first of all, it would mean the oil would then be going unabated, and so the Gulf once again -- and again some estimates 35,000 to 60,000 barrels going into the Gulf. But Thad Allen, it would take them 14 days, two weeks to, to get everybody back out, if they had to evacuate, back out there and get the efforts going again to start the disaster and the whole oil recovery once again.

So, that is what's at stake, and why everybody, Kate, has such a close eye on Alex and any other storm that could be coming after it during this hurricane season, which is expected to be a busy one. BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Operation is already difficult enough, let alone when you bring in this type of weather. It's amazing. Everyone is keeping on it.

Thanks so much, T.J.

Looking north -- police in Toronto are bracing for more security troubles at the G-20 Summit today.

Groups of protesters burned cars, hurled bricks and even smashed in windows of some local businesses. Tear-gas was used to disburse crowds. A lot is going on in Toronto today.

Now, let's bring in our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, who has been there amongst all of that kind of action.

It looks kind dangerous actually, Jeanne. What's the latest in terms of what's going on and how many arrests have been made?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this morning, the city looks peaceful from this vantage point, but in the city, you can already see roving bands of police going through the street, because of what's been happening. There had been, police say, 412 arrests since June 18th, when protest activities began, and there were more than 300 of those arrests made yesterday -- arrests were being made into the night and police say we can expect to see more of them today.

There are -- there are a few rallies and marches scheduled for today, but it's also a day where organizers have called for direct action, which means they want people to go out on their own and express what they want to express. That means we might see what's called flash mob activity around the city, popping up here and there. That is why the police are being deployed the way they are -- some of them on foot, some of them on bike, throughout the downtown core, trying to detect any trouble early on and trying to detour any trouble.

This, of course, after a very, very much of a day of upheaval yesterday at the midst of the G-20. As you say, thousands of demonstrators were in downtown. Some of them broke away and engaged in destructive behavior. There were broken windows. There were police cars that were torched. There was graffiti that was painted.

And that's you saw all those arrests. Police they have photographs of many of those people they know who many of the others are. Police said last night they believe the intention of the protesters was to divert police activity from its primary mission, which is, of course, to guard the G-20 meeting. They say they had to do that. That was their primary responsibility. And some of that destruction was simply not preventable.

The mayor said he was profoundly disappointed. He had never seen such wanton criminality and destruction in the city's midst.

Now, police did use some tear-gas and some other techniques. They are coming under some criticism, particularly from the protest groups, for being to harsh, and they say they acted with restraint and appropriately.

Kate, back to you.

BOLDUAN: Well, Jeanne, a lot going on. You are watching all of these security concerns for us in Toronto. Jeanne Meserve, our homeland security correspondent -- thank you so much, Jeanne.

So, things are clearly, a lot of going on outside. But things were a lot calmer inside the summit up there in Toronto where world financial leaders are trying to prevent another global recession. Not an easy task.

Our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, is also live from Toronto with the latest on G-20 Summit.

A lot of action outside, Ali, but also, some action is going on inside. What are you -- what are you hearing?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, not to play too much second fiddle to Jeanne, we're both from the same city. She's seeing a very different action than I am, but I am seeing a little disagreement, not the same sort she's seeing. Mine is between countries like the United States that want to take one approach to ensuring that there's economic growth and we come out of this financial crisis that we've been in by continuing government spending and not pulling out too quickly. And countries like Great Britain or Germany, who feel that their debt is getting out of control and it's time to start cutting that down by raising taxes and cutting spending.

So, I had a little chance to spend time with treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, yesterday, and then with the head of E.U., the E.U. chief commissioner Jose Barroso.

Listen to my conversation with both of them about their own differences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

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.

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 CLIPS)

VELSHI: So, Barroso not prepared to rule out the fact that something like Greece can't happen again, not in Greece but maybe in Portugal or Spain. But they are seeing that they are ready, to stand ready to get involved again with government money in case there's a problem in Europe.

So, you know, a bit of difference in opinion on the inside as well, Kate, this weekend. Nobody is torching any police cars inside the G-20, though.

BOLDUAN: That would have been our headline, of course.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much. The work is going to be wrapping up for the G-20 this weekend, but that no mean is going to over and trying to get out of the global session, as usually. We're leaning heavily on Ali Velshi to explain it all.

Our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi -- thanks so much.

VELSHI: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: T.J.?

HOLMES: All right. Kate, we're going to have a whole lot more hear from New Orleans, and here in the Gulf, including some heartbreaking consequences of this oil disaster and the impact it's having on so many people here, including so many people who work on the fishing industry. We got a company we want to tell you about that was literally at the top of its game, just two months ago. Now, it's shut down. And for some of its employees, they fear it could be the last good job they'll ever have.

I have that for you here in just a moment, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Wow. Also ahead, troops reach a tragic milestone in Afghanistan, just as General David Petraeus gets ready to assume command there. We'll take a look at the conditions we'll be facing. You want to see that.

And for those who still need a World Cup fix despite Team USA's loss yesterday, we'll show you how to take the fun of the game with you no matter where you go.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: So, Google is part of almost everyone's life at this point, and Google voicemail is now open to the public. It used to be only invite-only affair. But selected -- for selected Google accounts, it's features are expected to now revolutionize the way we use voicemail.

So, what kind of service does it offer and what does this mean for you, tech expert Katie Linendoll is joining me to explain this, because I can't.

Katie, what is Google Voice, what services that it offer? Why should somebody get onboard with it?

KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH GURU: Yes, if you are somebody that has a home phone, an office phone or a mobile phone, Google Voice is a service that probably you can benefit from. And as you said, this was once a private invite-only type of service. And now, it's rolled out to the public earlier this week.

And what it does is it basically allows you to manage and organize all your calls and voicemail on line. And the first they do is they allow you to pick your number. And this is awesome, Kate, let me you. You get to put in words or numbers that you want, so, for example, my phone number, now the back four digits spell out nerd. So, you get to put it on your business card which is just brilliant.

But let me remind of some of the features, they're actually pretty remarkable. So, again, you get that single number that manages all your calls, but also you get to decide which phone rings depending on who's calling. Your voicemail will be transcribed to email. You can set up personalized greetings for specific context. You can also listen into somebody's message when they're leaving it and you can come in at anytime.

You can video a voice conference by hitting "five" when you're on a call. You can actually record a call and archive it by hitting four anytime during that call. And also, free text messaging, low international rates, and you get to keep the same number for life, which is good.

So, if you leave an office number or you leave your cell phone number, you can you always have that Google voice number. And remember, this is a free service, so it's remarkable.

BOLDUAN: Free, but I believe, even with you ticking off the highlights, I need a manual in order --

(CROSSTALK)

LINENDOLL: -- how to use this thing. But anyway.

BOLDUAN: OK. Let's quick turn -- let's quick turn to World Cup soccer. I know you and I have now become soccer fans, like most of America.

LINENDOLL: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Ghana did the same thing they did four years ago -- we're not bitter -- knocking us out of the tournament. But have no worries, even though the U.S. no longer in the game, you can still take that beautiful vuvuzela sound with you wherever you go.

Our wonderful team put together a little preview of what we're talking about. Let's get a little listen, and then we can figure out what this all means -- if we can bring that up.

Do we have that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: You can see the Washington Monument there. When it was whiteout conditions, like it was earlier today, you could not see it at all. So (INAUDIBLE) it is still bitterly cold and windy and a big problem --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So, that is not some random helicopter flying over top of one of my reports clearly from the snow back in February. There is now a button on YouTube that you can bring that beautiful vuvuzela into any YouTube video.

Pretty much, why, oh, why, Katie, would somebody want to do that?

LINENDOLL: It's totally unnecessary and that is the best part. Yes, the vuvuzela. If there's one thing we've learned about the World Cup, it is the horns are completely annoying but it's one thing that we'll never forget.

So, yes, that little button right next to the closed captioning button is a completely utterly, useless button. But you can add it, just most of the clips on YouTube, have that little soccer ball. So, you can sound off the vuvuzela at anytime for no reason. It's just awesome that the horn has now made its way to YouTube.

And, actually, I just want to know, too, if you use Google street maps and you pull over that little orange pegman, if you're traveling in South Africa, that little orange pegman also has a vuvuzela. So, we've seen it makes its way into Google street maps and you see it makes its way to YouTube.

And I just want to note that the guy who has the vuvuzela to the mass market in South Africa also has an investment in ear plugs. So he is hitting this from angle. It's classic.

BOLDUAN: Smart businessman. Some of the useless things in the world can still be some of the most fun. I'm sure this one, that a lot of people want to push a vuvuzela button whenever I'm on TV, but anyway -- Katie, thank you so much.

LINENDOLL: Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Our tech expert Katie Linendoll, thanks so much for joining us this weekend. --T.J.

HOLMES: Kate, I assure you, I have thought about hitting some kind of button every time you speak.

I'm teasing. I love working with you, Kate. Look forward to working with you again next weekend. Hope to be back with you.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

HOLMES: I will be back to work with you next weekend, if duty does not call once again.

But we're here, of course, here in New Orleans where all eyes have been this weekend on tropical storm Alex, the storm -- the first named storm of the hurricane season is still a bit of a threat right now. A lot of people are keeping an eye on it to see where it might go and also to see if personnel might be pulled out of the Gulf, people who are, right now, having to do with that oil disaster. We'll be looking at that here in a moment with our other top stories.

Also, a family friend of Dick Cheney tells CNN what sent the former vice president to the hospital on Friday.

All the latest coming up next here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 20 minutes past the hour here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Take a look at some of the stories making headlines.

Certainly here in the Gulf Coast region, tropical storm Alex is the headline. It's heading for a warmer Gulf waters right now, expected to gain hurricane strength at some point later today. Forecasters right now are saying it is going to avoid the oil-affected areas. But still, they have not ruled out at the National Hurricane Center, some kind of an easterly shift, that could go more towards where the oil is. Right now, Alex, it's soaking Belize.

Meanwhile, doctors at George Washington University hospital are s still keeping an eye on former Vice President Dick Cheney, keeping an eye on his condition. Doctors sent him to the hospital for a weekend of tests after he complained he didn't feel so well. He's 69. He has survived five heart attacks, you may remember. The most recent one he had in February -- Kate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: The political stage is being set for the Senate confirmation hearings of the Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. The White House is confident that 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 (voice-over): 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: Republican 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 the Harvard 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 will just continue that in the bench, and continue to just be a rubberstamp 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 view points and assets some analyst think will benefit her on a divided high court.

THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, FOUNDER, SCOTUSBLOG.COM: President Obama couldn't really hope to appoint somebody who's going to really change the views of the conservatives on the Supreme Court. They have strongly held opinions on lots of important legal questions. What he could hope four and what he may well have gotten is a nominee who has a skill set to find accommodations between the left and right, to find the common ground for them, and then in that way maybe pull the court a little to the left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: As a backdrop, as a very big back drop to the drama unfolding on Capitol Hill, the Supreme Court itself will be issuing its final opinions Monday. The justices will be ruling on a blockbuster case over the right to bear arms with shaky conservative majority set to overturn a strict handgun ban in Chicago.

And you want to stay with CNN. CNN's live coverage of the confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan, President Obama's second Supreme Court nominee, begins tomorrow, noon Eastern, right here on CNN.

We'll be right back right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Good morning. It's 8:30, Eastern. Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I am Kate Bolduan in Atlanta. Thanks so much for joining us.

Good morning, T.J.

HOLMES: And good morning to you there Kate. Thank you so much for being with us holding things down there in Atlanta for us this weekend.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

HOLMES: It's 7:30 Central time where I'm here in New Orleans, where we are live and keeping an eye on what everybody else in the region is keeping an eye on, tropical storm Alex. We'll keep you updated about that storm.

But in our "Faces of Faith" today, we are keeping the faith while staring down a disaster. A reassuring hum of prayer may resound across much of the Gulf Coast today. The governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, as well as Texas have all declared this day a day of prayer.

Now certainly they are praying for better times but they are also praying in honor of the 11 lives lost in the DeepWater Horizon explosion. That was back on April 20th. And also they are praying about this subsequent economic impact the oil spill has had on this entire region.

And we continue in our "Faces of Faith" segment this morning. I'm going to take you to New York where the annual gay pride march is happening today. And this year one church that has been part of that event for years is doing things a little differently this time around that's because the new archbishop asked them not to use the church name on a banner. Some people are not too happy about that decision.

And here now our Susan Candiotti with today's "Faces of faith".

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For more than a dozen years St. Francis Xavier Catholic church has participated proudly in New York's annual gay pride march.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The parish's mainly gay church goers in Greenwich Village use the parade as an opportunity to reach out to gay Catholics who may have fallen away from the faith to say come back, our parish welcomes you. But this year the new archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, ask that the group not carry a banner with the church's name on it because it might leave the impression that the church supports, quote, "promiscuity". Gay parishioners said, "You know this is not right."

STEPHANIE SAMOY, CATHOLIC LESBIAN GROUP: What did I think? Well, the hell no. So -- and I was angry, angry, and how dare you? For me, the blank banner stands for we have been silenced, you know, we're silenced. This year we are silenced. We've been stripped of our identity.

CANDIOTTI: So how will the church's gay parishioners and their supporters handle the situation? And what's the archbishop's reaction?

(on camera): And what does this say about an ongoing dilemma in the Catholic Church about ministering to gay Catholics? We'll let you know what happens during our live coverage of this year's New York Gay Pride March later today.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, it's tough to keep up. You need a scorecard out there these days to keep up with all the political players shuffling around. We've got McChrystal first of all he's out and Petraeus now in. We've got another round of Congressional primaries coming up right around the corner.

How are we going to keep this straight? Well, we've got Candy. And that means we're going to pass Candy Crowley now (INAUDIBLE) to you as well. She's going to be along as she always is on Sunday to help us sort things out.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. A big week in politics and seems like every week is a big week. We saw the change in command in Afghanistan as well. A very complicated situation with General Petraeus and a very complicated situation he inherited in Afghanistan.

So like we say, a big week in politics and so it's nice to have two ladies here with me here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, who do politics for a living -- Kate and Candy.

BOLDUAN: I think he wants something, and I'm not sure, because he seems way too nice.

HOLMES: No.

BOLDUAN: And those are clearly are just the few of the topics on the rundown this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY" coming up at 9:00 Eastern. And thank goodness, Candy is here to give us a preview.

So Candy, first you can -- I can imagine that the fallout from the McChrystal departure, if that's what we want to call it, it's going to be a huge topic. And also now what General Petraeus is facing and all right, he needs to be confirmed still, right?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Exactly and his confirmation is not in question at this point, but what's interesting to me about the story this week is with McChrystal out and Petraeus in, it has cast a new spotlight on Afghanistan as a whole. And people are looking and going whoa, wait a minute, what's happening there?

You saw the President over and over again this week saying this is a personnel change, this is not a policy change, but there are a lot of people who think the policy ought to change, and Afghanistan is looking more and more like something that really can't be won.

So we're going to talk about that with Senator Jack Reed and Senator Saxby Chambliss -- who both will be around for the Petraeus hearings. But I just talk about is there a way to win in Afghanistan because increasingly, and I'm sure you see that we are getting reports that sound pretty awful.

We've had the Defense Secretary saying we need some more time. But that will be the subject -- the big subject of conversation outside of. We're also are going to have a big conversation about politics looking ahead in November.

HOLMES: All right, Candy. Something that has been kind of strange here, with the story here going on in the Gulf where I am, and also the story with McChrystal last week, and so many big topics on the President's plate, it seems like something has been a little under the radar.

We have, oh, yes, a Supreme Court confirmation hearing that's starting tomorrow. We didn't forget about this, did we?

CROWLEY: No, we didn't forget about it. What's -- what happened though, is that she was first announced and then a lot of things began to happen and also she didn't seem all that controversial.

So the story kind of went downward in terms of being on the front pages, but you've notice it started to kick up a little in the past week or so. There are some Republicans saying wait a minute, there's a lot of issues. We want to talk to her about them. And I hate saying this because people hate hearing it, but the fact of the matter is, that in an election year, all things have a political tinge to them, if not downright colored by politics.

And for Republicans the Supreme Court and who gets nominated to the Supreme Court is a huge rallying cry. So you can expect, that the nominee, Elena Kagan, will in fact, get a rough going over, some really fierce questions, but nothing right now that seems to endanger her nomination. She looks like she'll win pretty handedly, but I suspect she will get some pretty tough questions from the Republican side.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely and I mean, T.J. is right there in the Gulf, Candy, and I can only imagine that the oil spill and everything that's going on down there are also have to be a topic, because it's kind of permeating every bit of news that is going on right now.

CROWLEY: It is and the Senate is beginning to work on an energy bill, of course, prompted by what's going on in the Gulf. There is a huge fight over changing a bill that currently caps the liability of oil companies when there are accidents such as this. So, lots going on with that.

Plus, it really is one of the things that the American public is looking at and watching the government and thinking the government is not doing a very good job. So there are many levels where the Gulf story hits into Washington.

BOLDUAN: Yes, that is a very interesting point, exactly. Thank you so much, Candy.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

BOLDUAN: And we will be seeing you --

CROWLEY: Ok.

BOLDUAN: -- in a few short minutes. Keep it here for "STATE OF THE UNION" --

HOLMES: Thanks Candy.

BOLDUAN: -- with Candy Crowley. It starts in about 15 minutes at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific, right here on CNN. You'll want to see it.

We're back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, these things are always unpredictable, so much uncertainty and that's why so many people here in the Gulf are on edge about what this tropical storm Alex is going to do.

Let's bring in Reynolds Wolf. Reynolds, so many different forecasts and different tracks so what is the official forecast for what it's going to do now?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Ok the official forecast of what we believe it's going to do right now is possibly strengthen. Once it leaves the Yucatan peninsula -- right now I'm telling you man, it's really hard to see the Yucatan peninsula. Let me try to outline it a little bit right here; it kind of hard to shade -- to really see it because of the cloud cover obscuring it on this enhanced satellite imagery.

But what we can expect is for this convection to really heighten once it moves back out over open water. And that's what the latest forecast from National Hurricane Center indicates that the storm might do. Possibly making its way back onshore or rather offshore and then back into the open waters, and increasing to at least a Category 1 hurricane and then maybe a Category 2 as we fast forward into Thursday potentially making land fall near Tampico, Mexico, by let's say, Thursday afternoon, as it does. So again, it could some bring heavy waves along the coastline in Mexico.

But keep in mind T.J. that we've got a big stretch here for that cone of uncertainty. The storm could go farther to the south in Mexico and perhaps even farther to the north in, say, Texas, and maybe in Corpus Christi, or it could die out altogether.

But let me tell you a very brief history lesson. In Florida, back in 2005, we had a storm in, a hurricane called Hurricane Charlie. And all indications were this storm was going to make its way up right towards Tampa Bay.

Well, although it had again beat on Tampa Bay, it made a quick right turn near (INAUDIBLE) and went right across the Florida -- the state of Florida, in fact almost right on top of the I-4 corridor which was again, against what every single model was showing.

So this will give you an idea that these wobbling (ph) rotating storms on a spinning planet can be very unpredictable. We have to watch them very carefully. And it's really especially going to be interesting to see what happens over the next 12 to 24 hours. In fact the next update that's going to come out 11:00 Eastern time should be very interesting to watch.

And of course, we're going to deliver the goods on that coming up later today. Let's send it back to you, T.J.

HOLMES: All right Reynolds. Thank you for that. Good to show some historical perspective about what these things can do and they don't always do what they are predicted to do. Reynolds, thank you so much for that.

WOLF: You bet.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, Afghanistan, for quite some time has been a dangerous place for NATO troops, but never more so than this month.

We'll take you there live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: June is now the deadliest month for NATO forces in Afghanistan since the war started. Senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is joining me live from Islamabad, Pakistan. Six troops died yesterday, Nic. That makes it 91 to die this month alone.

What is behind these attacks? I mean what does it mean? Is there any reason that June is such a deadly month for NATO forces? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you could look at it that the Taliban are really coming online about now. They generally sort of fall back, their attacks go down for the winter and then in the summer they pick up. The reason that happens is it's hard for them to resupply over the mountains.

What we saw this winter was a quite a high level of attack compared to the past few years, and that's an indication that the Taliban are getting more skilled at what they are doing. They're becoming more affective. They've got more trained fighters and more people who can put IEDs in the roads.

They're also getting perhaps more skilled at looking at the routines the troops get into, those routines that they try and avoid, where they go on foot patrol, where their vehicles go on patrol. So the Taliban are perhaps getting better at targeting those.

And this sort of numbers that we're seeing about now and we've heard, just heard that another 2 soldiers had been killed in a shoot- out in the east of Afghanistan today bringing the total now to 93.

We've just learned that when this happens -- when you get these numbers in June, you can expect this high toll, looking at the past few years, to go on almost into October -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: That is not news we want to hear. At the very same time of this tragic news about this deadly month, you know, there was a very big visit. They say it was a scheduled visit from Admiral Mike Mullen to Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan.

What message is this top admiral to the United States, what message is he bringing to the troops and the leaders there?

ROBERTSON: Well, what the leadership here in Pakistan and Afghanistan, want to hear is the United States' commitment and the coalition's commitment to Afghanistan is going to continue. Their biggest fear is that the U.S. and its NATO allies walk away or drawdown significantly in a year or so's time.

And they both know -- both the Pakistan and Afghan governments know that that would leave them in a huge mess. The insurgencies that are going on in both countries would the cripple the countries and perhaps bring down the government. So they are both looking to Admiral Mullen to hear that the current plans and strategy in Afghanistan are not going to change, that the commitment is there and the commitment is there for some time.

And while Admiral Mullen was here in Pakistan very significantly, three of 18 F-16 fighter aircraft built in the U.S. were delivered to Pakistan for their air force. The rest of those aircraft will arrive before the end of the year.

It's that kind of commitment that Pakistan's leaders and Afghan leaders are looking for -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: It's a commitment that is definitely a big topic of conversation here in the States among lawmakers and that's all starting to come up right now. But thanks so much, our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson. Thanks so much -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, it was just 69 days ago, an oyster company here in Louisiana was turning a profit and employing dozens of people. Today, a much different story and people are scared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A man of my age, you know, you got a chance, but my chance is over with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: His plant completely shut down, and some of the workers like the one you just heard from are out of a job all because of this oil disaster, and their story is certainly not the only one.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: At this point, a little over 32 percent of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico closed to fishermen because of this oil disaster. And it's starting to cost people their jobs. It's costing oyster workers their jobs but it's not because necessarily that any of the oysters are contaminated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK FEAY, CO-OWNER, AMRIPURE OYSTERS: On a typical Monday morning here before the spill, I would open that door and find 800 to 1,000 sacks of oysters. To be reduced to this in a matter of 60 days because of something that we have no control over, it's very sad. Very sad. What can you say?

HOLMES: This was one of the largest post harvest processing plants in the Gulf. The co-owner Patrick Feay says last year the company did $8 million in sales, but the oil spill in the Gulf has forced the company to cease operations, a move that cost 48 employees their jobs.

FEAY: They are part of your family, and you have to tell them to go away.

ANDREW STEWART, FORMER OYSTER WORKER: When they come back around, I will probably be too old to do it. So it's hurting. I can tell you that. It really hurt me.

HOLMES: Andrew Stewart has been shucking oysters since 1958. The last 7 years spent time behind this table.

STEWART: A man of my age -- you know, he's got a chance. My chances are over with. If they don't come back soon, it's all over, man.

HOLMES: Ashley Gibson is a single mom with three children. She worked here for several years, and is angry with BP.

ASHLEY GIBSON, FORMER OYSTER WORKER: I wonder from day to day how I am going to take of them, and how I'm going to make it, all the money that I'm getting home. This is right around school time. I have school stuff to buy and everything. So I am trying to figure out all that.

HOLMES: But it wasn't oil that directly impacted the oyster harvest and shut this facility down.

FEAY: We have not seen oil on any oysters since it began. Not a drop, not a scent, nothing. What caused it, is because of the affects of the spill, because of the multiple harvest area closures and because so many boats have now been retained by BP to help fight the spill, which we understand, we -- our ability to procure oysters and satisfy the business footprint was taken away from us.

HOLMES: Many of the workers laid off filed complaints with BP and quickly got compensation checks. A skeleton crew will continue to clean the plant and maintains the pasteurization tanks, a process patented here. But now the 7,500 gallon tanks are bone dry.

Feay hopes one day soon he'll be able to get the family of workers together again and back to work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: He has no idea when or if that will ever take place. Just one of many stories we are hearing of companies literally going from profitability just a few months ago to literally having to shut down.

And Kate, once again, it's not a matter of everything coming out of the Gulf with oil soaked all over the oysters or the fish. It's a matter of so many of the waters being shut down; there are fewer places to go fish. And for some of these guys they have specific areas they have to go or can fish. If they can't -- they literally cannot fish, then places like that literally have to shut down.

Just a few of the stories we're hearing here but it is heartbreaking and it continues. And it looks like it's going to continue for quite some time -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And you said something yesterday that I think really rings true here. Some of these stories may sound similar, but they are also unique. This is each individual livelihood that is being put on hold and it's so difficult to watch, but so important.

You are down there in the Gulf doing a fabulous job -- doing a fabulous job. Thank you so much my dear for having me here.

HOLMES: Well, I do appreciate the compliment. Thank you, Kate. Yes. Thank you for being there. I think you're going to be back with us another weekend or two, so I hope to be there with you in Atlanta. But thanks for hanging out with us this weekend.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And I think that will be really wrapping it up for us here in the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Thank you guys so much for having me.

Right about now, we're going to head on over to Washington with "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY"; it starts right now.