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CNN Saturday Morning News
Americans Wait To Learn if 'Top Kill' Stops Oil; Honoring Soldiers This Memorial Day Weekend
Aired May 29, 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: Hey there, everybody, and good morning. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Hope your weekend, your holiday weekend, is getting off to a good start so far.
I'm T.J. Holmes. I'm going to take you through the next several hours, let you know what you need to know this weekend, going into the holiday on Monday.
It is 6 a.m. where I am here in Atlanta; 5 a.m. in New Orleans. Also 3 a.m. in Phoenix. Wherever you may be, glad you are right here with us.
This could be a crucial weekend in the fight to stop that gulf oil leak. We could know by tomorrow, according to BP officials, whether or not that "top kill" method is working. So, in essence, we could know sometime as early as today, or maybe -- maybe tomorrow as well, according to BP, if, in fact, they are able to stop that oil from going into the Gulf.
You're seeing what we have been seeing for the past week or so, the live picture of what's happening 5,000 feet below the surface of the water in the Gulf. These pictures have been changing. What's been coming out of these pipes have been changing. And that is a good sign, according to BP. We'll get into more about that here in just a little bit.
Also, the president, he did make a stop in the Gulf yesterday. He was in Louisiana. You see the pictures here. A lot of people happy to see the president there, happy to see the images just of the president there, reaching out, being a part of the entire relief effort.
However, at the same time, a lot of people were critical of this very visit, saying, actually, he wasn't there long enough, saying he didn't meet with the regular folks -- you know, the business owners, the shrimpers, the fishermen, all those folks being affected.
Well, criticism of the president there, but also some criticism of BP on the president's visit. They're being accused of what some are calling -- and I'm quoting here -- "a dog and pony show," of actually shipping in and staging workers during the president's visit. We'll get into that more in just a moment as well.
But first, want to give you some of the stories that are making headlines right now. The House of Representatives has passed the plan that would lead to eventually repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. They passed this as a part of a larger defense-spending bill. The president, meanwhile, has threatened that bill to veto that bill. However, not because of the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal, but because they're a funding in there of another program that he doesn't think should be in there. So if that program is in there, he says he will veto the bill.
Of course, the policy bars people who are gay and lesbian from actually serving openly in the military. The Senate will now take up that defense bill.
Also, some sad news we got yesterday about actor Gary Coleman. He has died of a brain hemorrhage. This was yesterday afternoon we got word. He was 42 years old. A lot of people will remember him as the child star Arnold on the show "Different Strokes." Now, a statement was released by his family saying that he is at peace now, and that his family and friends were at his side.
This comes after what his family and friends was an accident at his home that led to this brain hemorrhage. But again, actor Gary Coleman dead at the age of 42.
Also, a lot of people happy to see May go away, because it was a rough one for the Dow. Actually, the worst one the Dow has seen in 70 years -- the worst May at least. Lost 122 points to close on Friday, but lost some eight percent of its value over the month of May. That is 800-plus points. A lot of what we saw on Friday had to do with fears of what was happening over in Europe with the dead crisis there. And also, Spain had some credit issues, news that come out on Friday as well that sent the Dow plummeting.
Well, here we are now, 40 days later, and still, something, at least, is coming out of the pipe, as we can see. Again, a live picture you're seeing over my shoulder of what's happening 5,000 feet below the surface of the water. This top-kill operation has been going on for the past several days now.
It continues this weekend. Now, what they do with the top kill, they take this thick mud, and they're shoving it down into that well, trying to back it up. And then they're going to put cement in it and trying to cut this thing off altogether.
Now, when they started putting this mud in, the pictures changed from seeing that thick black oil come out, to more -- something with a -- a cloudier and brownish consistency. And you judge for yourself what you're seeing behind me now. But that was a sign, according to BP at least, that this was working. The BP chief of operations, the officer there, Doug Suttles, said they should know sometime this weekend. So this could happen today; we could see it any minute. We could see it at some time tomorrow. But as I said, that's when they'll know, in fact, if this is working.
Also, upwards of 19,000 barrels a day, we're told now, is the average of the oil that has been put out into the Gulf. And this morning in Louisiana, local teams are going to fan out once again and begin cleaning the oil that's impacting the marshes along the coastal areas. BP is hoping that their underwater plug jobs works at some time.
Meantime, President Obama and the BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, they toured the affected Gulf Coast area on Friday. Both are making assurances that everything that can be done is being done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I ultimately take responsibility for solving this crisis. I'm the president, and the buck stops with me.
So I give the people of this community and the entire Gulf my word that we're going to hold ourselves accountable to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to stop this catastrophe, to defend our natural resources, to repair the damage and to keep this region on its feet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: We're doing everything we can to stop the damn leak. And we're going to continue to do everything we can to stop the damn leak. And the reality is that it's a very challenging technological challenge.
It's a mile beneath the seabed. No one can get at it. Everything we have to do is being done by submersible robots. Everything's being done remotely. And it's technology that has never been deployed before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Again, something never been done before. Certainly not at that depth, and that is the trick right now.
But again, this weekend is a critical one, and we could get word at some point, any moment, but certainly by tomorrow, according to BP officials, whether or not this top kill actually worked and stopped the oil from coming out.
Want to turn now to our Reynolds Wolf, who is back in the region. Reynolds making his third trip down to the region.
And do I have it right -- you're in New Orleans this time around, right, buddy?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: New Orleans this time around.
HOLMES: New Orleans.
WOLF: You are correct.
HOLMES: New Orleans. All right. And -- and....
WOLF: It -- it's interesting. Yes.
HOLMES: And like you said, your -- your third trip down. And -- and I'm curious here -- a lot of people saw, and were happy to see the pictures of the president yesterday. But then there were some criticism of him for not being there long enough or not meeting with some of the regular folks as well.
You've been down there several times, like I just said now. So how have you seen the attitudes and the moods change along the way, and what is the reaction to the president's visit yesterday?
WOLF: Well, let's start off with -- with how things have changed since the first three visits that I've been here.
First visit was down in Venice, Louisiana, which is quite a distance from here in New Orleans. And I can tell you that when it first happened, there was kind of this -- this bewilderment, that this happened in the first place. Then the second time, it was a little bit farther off to the east, in Gulfport. You got a little bit of a sense of anger rising.
And then yesterday, it really came to a forefront. Get this -- try to put this in your mind T.J.: We were flying in from Atlanta, and we got a bunch of people on the plane, everyone is just tired and ready to get there. We're about 45 minutes from making a landing, and we had to stop and then we were in a holding pattern for about an hour.
HOLMES: Why?
WOLF: Because Air Force One was taking off.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: So everyone -- that really started the conversation about the president, as you can imagine.
And it seems like there were people that really split into, really, four different camps. You've got people who are very angry at the administration. Then you have another camp of people who are very angry at BP. Then you have group of people that are angry at both. And then the biggest group seems to be the group that -- they don't care; they just want this thing to stop. They're ready to have the leak stopped. And hopefully, we're going to get some news about that, as you mentioned, later on today or possibly tomorrow.
But there's definitely, definitely some frustration. And I will tell you, people are just -- they're very outspoken. A little bit different who they're angry at, but there's definitely a sense of anger here in New Orleans. No question.
HOLMES: And -- and -- and two fronts you kind of hit on there. Some people -- I mean, we got two problems here. One, yes, we need to get the leak stopped. The other problem is, we need to try to find a way to protect these precious lands all up and down the Gulf Coast.
What are you seeing now, and -- and certainly when you first go there -- I mean, several weeks ago, your first trip -- the oil -- of course, the leak was going on, but it hadn't quite made it as far as it's made it now. It's a whole different ballgame down there now.
WOLF: Oh, it really is. Oh, you're absolutely right about that.
You know, it's funny how, since this whole ordeal began, how our verbiage has changed. One of the things we talked about a couple weeks ago was the -- you heard the -- the phrase "emergency booms," which are these floating barriers that they put out. Well, we've seen -- dude, we've seen pictures of those booms now wash up on shore. Those were never a -- a -- a full-time measure. It was just a temporary stopgap.
Now, what Governor Jindal has been doing is creating these berms, which is basically -- you get kind of like a -- like a barrier, trying to create almost like a fortress out of sand, to protect the -- the marshlands in the southern part of the state, and mostly from Grand Isle over to Venice.
They're going to start without about three -- three to about five miles of that protective berm. And that's going to be kind of a test. If it works out really well, they may extend it to about 86 miles. And I wouldn't be surprised if we see that also added in places like Mississippi, maybe Alabama and possibly eventually into Texas or even into -- to Florida.
But yes, they're doing everything they can possibly can. And it -- it's just a -- it's an amazing thing, and they really are kind of going -- kind of making it up as they go along. They've never experienced anything quite like this, so it's definitely frustrating.
HOLMES: And -- and certainly a -- a big part of what they're trying to do, and -- and as I know you've seen since you've been down there, they're trying to protect the wildlife.
WOLF: Absolutely. Yes, no question about it.
And the way they're doing that, T.J., is they've been creating rehab centers, especially in the southeast corner of the state. And I had a chance to go visit one of those yesterday, one of our crews did, and here is what we saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY HOLCOMB, DIR., INTL. BIRD RESCUE RESEARCH CTR.: This a very tiny, little leis bittern (ph). They're a little heron.
WOLF (voice-over): Jay Holcomb's bird-rescue center in Buras, Louisiana, is a 24-hour emergency room.
HOLCOMB: What we're going to do is pre-treat it. This is just kind of (ph) (INAUDIBLE)....
WOLF: It may seem odd to be adding more oil to an already oiled bird, but it's exactly what the doctor has ordered.
HOLCOMB: OK, well this helps loosen it up a little bit, so it kind of loosens oil. You can see it starts to come off. Yes, he's kind of this brown color is what his normal is, but he's got oil under there. And I think he got this from walking through the reeds.
These little guys eat little minnows and frogs and things in the -- in the -- they're in the shallow areas in the grass. And of course, he got oiled in the grass, so...
WOLF: This small bird is actually one of the lucky ones. U.S. Fish and Wildlife says at least 437 birds have died since the spill began. Only 55 have been found oiled and alive, and taken to centers like this one for rehabilitation.
HOLCOMB: We're trying to move him through pretty quick because he is a little bird and he has a very low tolerance.
Jeanine's (ph) just making sure that oil around his eyes and his beak are off so the little bird can eat.
WOLF: Habitats resembling this one we visited off the Louisiana coast provide a nesting ground for all kinds of wildlife. Scenes of broken boom and encroaching oil leave environmental groups furious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People should be outraged, not just throughout the Gulf Coast, but nationwide, that our -- our federal government has a responsibility, given that this is a public resource. This is not BP's Gulf of Mexico; this is America's Gulf of Mexico. And we need to come together as a people, as a nation, to ensure that our resources, number one, cleaned up, but number two, protected.
WOLF: Many of the birds brought to Hammond's rehab center were brown pelicans, which were removed from the endangered-species list only six months ago.
HOLCOMB: This is a shy little group. They like to sit in the corner. But one of the things that these birds experience when they come here is, they're exhausted from struggling in the oil.
This is their rest day. They get to get into the water as they want. Get out and sleep, eat fish.
WOLF: Each bird will stay here for seven to 10 days for plenty of rest, some testing and blood work. And each one is federally tagged before release, to track their progress.
HOLCOMB: This is caused by humans. So at the very base level, we're responsible for cleaning up the oil. Cleaning up these animals is part of the responsibility.
They live out there. It's their home. Anything beyond that is not acceptable to me. It's just about our responsibility.
WOLF: And thanks to Hammond's effort, this small bittern is finally free of oil and will have a second chance. HOLCOMB: You OK, little guy? OK. That's it. He doesn't look so wonderful, but he'll dry off good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: So when they release the birds, they don't just put them right back over the same open water, over the -- the oil. What they do is bring them back a bit farther to the east or to the west, so at least they'll have a chance to get to cleaner, fresher water.
And speaking of that water -- get this, T.J....
HOLMES: Mmm.
WOLF: Right now, in terms of the federally -- federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, a quarter of those waters closed for fishing due to the oil. It's a mess. Back to you.
HOLMES: A quarter closed there. That's -- and it -- it went up from, I believe, it was about 19 percent about a week ago, and they raised it a bit. But so many of the fishermen down there, as you know, they want to remind everybody -- that means that three-quarters of it is still open, folks. And you can still go down, take a lot of those...
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: ...those fishing trips and whatnot.
Reynolds, we appreciate you. We're going to be checking in with you plenty throughout the morning, buddy. Thanks as always. Talk to you here shortly.
Well, stay with us. We're not going to go too far at any point this morning from the oil story, continue to bring the updates as we get them. And it could be a day and a weekend of developments.
Also, I want you to take a look at a picture here that certainly caught all of this morning. Look at that. What in the world was able to cause that big rig to hop over that median and go for a slide? We'll take you exactly -- tell you exactly where this was, why it happened and the resulting injuries.
Stay here. It's 13 minutes, on this SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, ELVIS PRESLEY, "HOUND DOG")
HOLMES: Ah, Elvis. Always good to have some Elvis early in the morning, any morning.
Welcome back. Quarter past the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We're playing that song because that did make the list. The list I'm talking about is "Rolling Stone"'s list of the Top 500 songs of all time. Now, this magazine just hit store shelves yesterday. The "Hound Dog" you heard there -- it was actually 19. So pretty high up on that list.
There is -- everybody's curious about the top, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3. We're going to show all those to you this morning, especially the top three. Now, would you be surprised that in the top three you don't find Michael Jackson; you don't find Elvis; you don't find Prince either. But what you will find is John Lennon, at No. 3. The song, "Imagine." That was No. 3 on the list.
Can you guess what the top two were? You might be surprised by it.
Now, we would love to play the song for you this morning, John Lemon (ph), but -- John Lennon -- by John Lennon. But there's an issue. We don't have the right to play it. So if we played it, we'd get sued, Bonnie, this morning. We'd get fined pretty good, I believe, if we actually...
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: But we all know it though.
HOLMES: We -- we know the -- I do? You have that on your iPod? I don't have that one.
SCHNEIDER: I have it in my head.
HOLMES: You have it in your head? All right.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: But we will reveal the -- the top three throughout the morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And of course, this Memorial Day weekend, as we're talking about here, don't forget the purpose. Yes, it's a long weekend, a holiday weekend for folks. But the whole idea is to honor those who have served and are serving in uniform.
We have a way for you to honor troops who served this country in Iraq and Afghanistan, an interactive we're going to show you coming up.
It's about 20 minutes past the hour. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, MARTINA MCBRIDE, "INDEPENDENCE DAY")
HOLMES: Hi. Welcome back to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
Memorial Day weekend, people are so quick to go out and they're ready to -- to party and enjoy the weekend. But Josh, of course...
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
HOLMES: ...this is to honor -- honor the soldiers. We have a way now for them to do that, an interactive on CNN.com. And they can -- this is something that people could -- actually, it -- it gives them a chance to interact, but also put messages out as well. Do I have that right?
LEVS: Yes. Yes.
It's -- and it's a whole new idea. You know, I mean, the -- the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have happened at the same time that the Internet has taken a whole new role in our lives, right? So it's kind of inevitable that there would be a new, interactive way to pay tribute to them. And that's really what we have here.
Let me talk to you about it. It's CNN.com/homeandaway. Actually, I want to refresh it, because when you start off, what you see originally is this -- sort of numbers appear, and you can see the totals. This is just Afghanistan here. So when we're looking at total casualties, this about 1,800 from around the world. And when we look at this map of America here, you can move it around; you can click on your area. You can zoom into any part of the country.
Or, if you come over here, you can look over here at Afghanistan, and you can see any section of Afghanistan. Where they have been casualties, you can learn more about where troops have died in that area. And it's similar, too, with Iraq, the exact same idea. You have close to 5,000 coalition casualties. You can move around the map of Iraq or the map of the U.S. You can learn all about who these troops are.
And then as part of this, you can also start to look at some of these individuals. We have face by face, every single person, in the entire coalition, who has given his or her life to the war in Iraq or in Afghanistan. And when you click on them, you can get an up-close look. You can learn more about who they are.
And we have an i-Report section here, in which you post messages remembering who these troops are. You can post messages to their families, letting you know -- the families know that you're thinking of them on this Memorial Day weekend. All of it interactive, all of it at CNN.com/homeandaway. All of it brand new, T.J.
And then when you're there, again, you can learn more about all of them. Whether it's your hometown, whether it's the -- a certain part of Iraq or Afghanistan. So, pretty good (ph).
HOLMES: Did I have that right? And this -- this (INAUDIBLE)
LEVS: Yes.
HOLMES: I think it -- it was this one you showed.
LEVS: Yes.
HOLMES: That when you -- you -- you can actually tap on a hometown, and that person will...
LEVS: Go for it.
HOLMES: That -- that person will -- will pop up, if you will.
LEVS: Yes. Yes. Click on it.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: The double click on the dot. Oh, it actually shows the name.
LEVS: There you go.
HOLMES: So you can actually go to particular hometowns and it -- now, that's interesting.
LEVS: Any hometown. And you want to know who's in your state, who's in your city.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE)
LEVS: You can also search by name if there's someone you heard about and you want to learn more about them. Every single troop, without exception, who has given their life in Iraq or Afghanistan.
HOLMES: And we're going to keep this up way past Memorial Day?
LEVS: Oh yes. It's never going away.
HOLMES: Never going away.
LEVS: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: Very nice. Josh, thank you. We'll see you again here shortly.
A quick break. It's about 22 minutes past the hour. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, GRATEFUL DEAD, "TRUCKIN")
HOLMES: Well, couple up on the bottom of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING, on this holiday weekend.
We got some video here we want to show you that certainly jumped out at us as remarkable. You see that 18-wheeler? It crossed that median. It going -- it's going into the traffic that's coming the other direction and slides for quite a bit.
This turned out to be another six cars that were involved in this accident. Now, as we re-rack (ph), you're going to see a simple little bump -- well, I call it a simple bump. But it seemed like that tan vehicle, that tan Nissan, just barely brushed up against the vehicle, brushed up against the 18-wheeler, and sent it off in the other direction.
Now, the remarkable part of this, as always we see in accidents like this sometimes, always scratching our heads, that nobody was seriously hurt in this. But all this was caught on several angles by these traffic cams. This was in Dallas, on a toll way there. But nobody seriously injured. But certainly caused some traffic delays. Hopefully, you won't run into any of those if you are hitting the road on this holiday weekend.
Well, the president -- we know he is in Chicago right now with his family. He's making a visit there. Only his second one, I do believe, to Chicago since he has actually been president. But he's there with his family for the holiday weekend.
He did make a stop in Louisiana. It was the second one he has made since the oil disaster took place about 40 days ago. He was looking at some of the hardest-hit areas in the whole Gulf oil spill.
Not everybody who lives there, however, happy with how the president is handling the crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning again and welcome back to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Bottom of the hour now. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could start your holiday weekend here with us.
Give you an update on some of the stories making headlines right now.
The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would lead to eventual repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy. That policy, of course, bars gay and lesbian soldiers from serving openly in the military. The Senate is going to have to take up the bill now. The repeal would occur only after, however, a military review. Also the approval by the president, secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs chairman would have to be a part of this.
The measure that was passed, repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy, is part of a larger defense authorization bill. The president's actually threatened to veto the bill, not because of don't ask, don't tell, however, but he believes there's other wasteful spending in the legislation.
Also, sad news we got yesterday afternoon that actor Gary Coleman died after a brain hemorrhage. This happened yesterday afternoon. The actor was 42 years old. You will remember, the name, the face and the line, "What you talking about, Willis?" from the "Different Strokes" show that was in the 70s and '80s. His wife and other family members and friends were by his side when he died. He was actually removed from life support. Again, actor Gary Coleman dead at the age of 42.
And May is over. A lot of people hoping that the drop is over, as well. There you see it. The Dow lost some 122 points to close yesterday and this marks the end of a rough month, the toughest month the Dow has seen, the toughest month of May I should say that the Dow has seen in 70 years. Lost about 8 percent of the value, about 800- plus points. The concerns yesterday, the drop yesterday, came after some new news about Spain and its credit rating.
President Obama, as we said, got a firsthand view of the Gulf oil spill disaster yesterday. He was there. This is his second visit to the Gulf since the whole rig explosion, the whole disaster started about 40 days ago, and this comes at a time when the president was getting a whole lot of criticism of how he and the administration are handling this whole crisis. CNN's Reynolds Wolf live for us in New Orleans.
Reynolds, good morning to you, once again. Like we were talking about, the president getting some criticism for how he handled it. He went back to the area but even there is some criticism of the visit he just made yesterday.
WOLF: Absolutely. You know, there were a lot of people here, to be honest, that were very happy he made the effort to come here. There are many people, obviously, just glued to their TV sets when he came to town but as CNN's Ed Henry found out, not everybody was very happy at the president's arrival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You think this is enough to show he's on top of it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh no, it's too little, too late. It's too late, the impact, the destruction.
BILLY WARD, FISHERMAN: This island is people. OK? I hope he hears our yells and screams that we want to preserve this heritage we have. And I'm very, very concerned that this oil is going to take it from us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: The biggest complaint we heard is that he didn't speak to a lot of the common man. That he didn't speak to some of the shrimpers, but maybe just spoke to a few of the officials. There is definitely a growing sense of frustration here. As I mentioned earlier, I think the biggest bit of frustration is people want it over and done with.
You have to remember this is really the epicenter of -- not just Louisiana, but obviously, New Orleans and that was again just ripped apart by Katrina and then it has been going through a recovery phase. And in this economy to have this type of catastrophe unfold is just decimating to the people. Spiritually, obviously, financially, it's a nightmare. Awful situation, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, and Reynolds we are going to be checking in again. Our Reynolds Wolf there. Usually in studio with us, but this is your third trip down to the Gulf Coast Region. And Reynolds will be with us throughout the morning. Reynolds, we'll check in with you plenty. We appreciate it. Talk to you shortly here, buddy.
Talking about the oil spill disaster there. And the president dealing with that, but he is also dealing with another big issue, a big controversy that's brewing back in Washington, D.C. Some are calling this a pretty big blemish for the administration and certainly for an administration that promised to do things differently from the old Washington.
There are allegations that a U.S. Senate candidate was essentially offered a job in the administration, not to run. CNN's Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash has the latest on this dust-up surrounding the Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., Congressman Sestak revealed months ago that he was offered a job by the Democratic establishment to keep out of a divisive Senate primary battle, but he refused to elaborate. Now despite the resistance of top Obama officials, the White House is giving details and it was relayed by a very powerful party figure.
JOE SESTAK, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: Sir, thanks.
BASH: A day after Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak won the Democratic nomination for Senate, he took a congratulatory call from former President Bill Clinton while waiting to appear on CNN.
SESTAKE: Sir, thanks a heck of a lot.
BASH: We now know that wasn't the first call Sestak got form Clinton about the Senate race.
SESTAK: President Clinton had called me last summer and I just didn't feel it was right for me to talk about that conversation with him.
BASH: In that conversation, Clinton acting as an intermediary for Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel urged Sestak not to challenge White House's preferred candidate, Arlen Specter. In return for staying out of the Senate race, Clinton even offered him an unpaid presidential position in the Obama administration, which Sestak declined.
SESTAK: I heard the words presidential board. But that's all I heard. And it didn't matter what it was. I would have not -- wasn't anything else. I said, Mr. President, as I said to you -- I almost interrupted, and said, I'm not, you know, no.
BASH: The White House forced to reveal that explosive account in this two-page report from the president's counsel, amid mounting pressure on both Sestak and the Obama administration to come clean on what happened like on these CNN interviews this week. SESTAK: I have said all I'm going to say on the matter. And I have great respect for you, but others need to explain whatever their role might be.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Either Congressman Sestak is lying, or somebody had some conversation with him about a job.
DAVID AXELROD, PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: John, you are absolutely right. If such things happened they would constitute a serious breach of the law.
BASH: But the White House counsel now insists in his new report that no law was broken and said that the Democratic leadership had a legitimate interest in averting a divisive primary fight. Republicans disagree and insist offering a job for exchange for a political favor, does violate the law.
REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R) CALIFORNIA: And I believe that falls under the statute 600, USC 600 ...
BASH: And the statue, meaning what?
ISSA: Meaning it's a misdemeanor, at least under that statute.
BASH: But Republicans also say the bigger problem for the Obama White House is not the law, it's the political promise he made for a more ethical government.
ISSA: We've been told there's a higher standard. We can no longer trust this administration saying we're more ethical and you should trust us. That trust but verify is gone.
BASH (On camera): Now, one big question is, what did President Obama know about these efforts to keep Sestak out of the Senate race offering him a job in his administration? Well, White House officials insist the president was not aware at the time, and only recently found out as part of the counsel's internal review -- T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Dana Bash, who continues to follow that story.
Well, it's a big weekend, big party weekend, a lot of people hitting a lot of beaches. One of the most popular beaches for Memorial Day weekend, you can go enjoy the sun, the sand, the water. They serve you drinks out there on the beach. Will, that's actually illegal. They were told you can't serve drinks on Miami Beach. And then they changed their mind. We'll explain this controversy coming up. It's 38 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Oh, well, it is about 41 minutes past the hour now. And it's not last call after all on Miami Beach. There was a bit of controversy down there this past week. The drinking laws in and around Miami Beach caused a lot of confusion because the city attorney came out this week and said if you serve alcohol to the people down there on the beach, that's actually in violation of city law. But the hotels, they've been doing this for years. This is just part of it. You go down there. You check into your hotel, they serve you drinks on the beach.
The city said they were going to enforce those laws. So there would be no drinking on the beaches for this big holiday weekend. Well, we had an about face pretty quickly. The city manager said the hotels in fact will be allowed to serve alcoholic drinks, as always, to beachgoers this weekend. It's a busy weekend. Word was going to hurt business. But also the city attorney is going to look into this a little further. Get, maybe, more clarity as they say. But they initially started looking into because there were complaints of littering and rowdiness with all that drinking.
But still, Bonnie, they had to get the problem fixed and fixed quickly before the holiday weekend. Yes, you can enjoy the beach without alcohol, but the alcohol helps for some.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, in Miami Beach, that is surprising. We are going to be seeing, you know, some pretty good weather for those of you planning a holiday to Florida. I want to show you the beach weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, you will remember this catch phrase. Take a listen. You might not have heard it for a while. You will certainly remember.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY COLAMAN, ACTOR: What you talking about, Willis?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The, "What you talking about, Willis?" You probably at some point in your life said that to somebody. But the actor best known for that catch phrase and the work as Arnold on the '70s and '80s sitcom, "Different Strokes" has died. We are taking a look back at the life and some of the difficult times of Gary Coleman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Taking a look at the stories making headlines. Key Republicans are wanting an investigation of exactly what happened with Representative Joe Sestak. Accusations are, and admissions now, from the White House, that in fact he was offered some type of a job in the administration to try to keep him from running in the Senate primary in Pennsylvania.
A lot of people questioning whether or not any laws were broken. The White House and Sestak both have confirmed that he was offered an unpaid position, some kind of presidential or senior executive advisory board position. The White House said that Bill Clinton was actually the one to act as an intermediary between the two.
Protesters also from several cities around the country on their way to Arizona; 50,000 expected at a rally today. They're rallying against that immigration law you have seen so much about. Critics including the U.S. attorney general saying that law promotes racial profiling. The Justice Department has sent officials as well to meet with top Arizona officials on Friday. Holder met this week with law enforcement officials who believe the law will damage relations with the Hispanic community.
Also some pictures here to show you. These from a volcano, a couple of volcanic eruptions have shut down an airport. But we are talking about in Ecuador this time. No deaths or injuries to report in this one in particular. But several injuries reported, some towns had to be evacuated. The volcano, 87 miles south of the town of Quito, that's the capital of that. That is the second major volcanic eruption we have seen in Latin America in a week. Another in Guatemala killed three people on Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And the sad news we have gotten this morning about the former child star Gary Coleman, who played Arnold on the TV sitcom "Different Strokes," he died yesterday at the age of 42. Hospital spokeswoman in Utah says Coleman was removed from life support after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Fame arrived early for this young actor. He was just 10 when "Different Strokes" began, but in more recent years Coleman's life had become a bit of a troubled one.
Here now a look back with our Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY COLMAN, ACTOR: What you talking about, Willis?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That catchphrase made Gary Coleman a child star and '80s icon. Best known for portraying smart aleck kid Arnold Jackson in the TV sitcom "Different Strokes" it was a role that brought Coleman riches and fame.
The series aired from the late '70s to the mid 1980s. For Coleman, life after the show brought a long streak of financial and personal problems. Coleman struggled to find acting work as an adult, due to his short stature. He sued his parents for mismanagement of his finances. Though he won a $1.3 million settlement, he had to file for bankruptcy six years later. In what many saw as a bid for publicity, Coleman ran for California governor along with 134 other candidates in the state's chaotic 2003 recall elections.
COLEMAN: I think I have enough good ideas and enough tenacity, enough go-get spirit to make sure people do what they need to do to make California whole again.
WYNTER: And being whole again is what Coleman seemed to struggle to accomplish in the years that is followed. Citations for disorderly conduct, reckless driving, along with health problems including reports of seizures.
COLMAN: I don't know you and I don't ...
WYNTER: In February, Coleman walked off the set of "The Insider" in a fit of rage after being grilled about a domestic violence incident.
COLMAN: The next thing I'm going to do is leave. So (EXPLETIVE DELETED) all of you.
WYNTER: Coleman's sit-com co-stars Dana Plato, who died from a prescription drug overdose in 1999, and Todd Bridges also had struggled with the law. Bridges recently spoke with CNN's Larry King about the apparent shadows over the "Different Strokes" cast.
TODD BRIDGES, "DIFFERENT STROKES" ACTOR: Gary Coleman, you know, I really loved Gary. But he's suffering from just the whole thing of physical, you know, he's health-wise is not great. And he's very mad at the world.
WYNTER: Coleman battled a lifelong kidney condition and which doctors say can lead to high blood pressure and strokes. Coleman died of a brain hemorrhage Friday at a Utah hospital. A statement released on behalf of Coleman's family prior to his death included in part, "At times, it may not have been apparent, but he always has had fond memories of being an entertainer and appreciates his fans for all their support over the years."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Gary Coleman.
(APPLAUSE)
WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And his family has promised to release more details about the circumstances surrounding his death at a later time. But Gary Coleman dead at the age of 42.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. That song I have a disagreement with this list now. Because if "I Will Survive" is 489 on the list of 500 top songs of all time, there is a problem with this list.
Yes, "Rolling Stone," I'm talking to you. They released a list, the top 500 songs of all time. The magazine just came out. Gloria Gaynor, you are hearing there, was 489 out of 500. Now, we told you we'll be revealing the top three throughout the morning. What was No. 3? We had earlier? I already forgot what I had. It was John Lennon, "Imagine," right? That was earlier. No. 3, was John Lennon, "Imagine".
Now let's got to No. 2 and it is from "The Rolling Stones. "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." You remember that song. You are probably wondering why we are not playing that song for you if we're talking about it. Well, there's a little thing called ASCAP, that allows us the legal right to use some songs. If we use that one, which we don't have the right to use, we'll get sued. We'd have to pay a fine, at least. But anyway you get the point there. That is No. 2.
The No. 1, we'll share with you here in just a few moments.
Of course, here on every Saturday and Sunday mornings, we do our "Faces of Faith" segment. W e are talking about some issue that has to do with religion or faith of some kind and doing an interview for tomorrow's we'll show you. Again, talking about religion and I sat down with someone and the conversation took kind of a turn I didn't expect it to take.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK FRANKLIN, GOSPEL SINGER: When you go and when you find the real deal, they ain't got to sell you on what you can and do, what you have to and have to not buy, what you have to and have to not wear, what you have to and you have to not give. When you get the real deal, something inside of you is going to let you know, it's the real deal right there.
Just like when you find your wife. You can line up all your girlfriends. Line up all of your jump offs, you can line up all your bootie calls. But that soul mate, when you line up, and you feel me, T.J., I see it in your eyes, T.J. you know where I'm going, T.J. I can feel ya. You get the camera on him? You see him turning red? That's what I like about my light-skinned brothers, when they start turning red, you know you got them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: I thought it was supposed to be about church and faith and we ended up with bootie calls and church in the same conversation. Something that has never happened before, but he will explain himself further. That is Kirk Franklin, the gospel recording artist, Grammy winner, man of God with a new book out, as well. He's the feature in our "Faces of Faith." That's tomorrow 8:00 Eastern Time.
Stay with us here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I hope you're getting off to a pretty good Memorial Day week. I'm T.J. Holmes.
It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta where I stand, 6:00 a.m. in New Orleans where a lot of news has coming out of, of course, and then 4:00 a.m. out in Scottsdale, Arizona -- wherever you may be, we're glad you're right here with us.
There it is -- a live look at it. And this could be a very important couple of days. This weekend, this holiday weekend could be the weekend we find out whether or not the latest attempt by B.P. is working to stop that oil from spewing into the Gulf.
You've heard the name top kill an awful lot. We'll explain again in a moment. But we'll know this weekend, according to B.P., whether or not it is working. Meanwhile, we do still have that live feed still up. You still see something coming out there.
But, again, some of the consistency of what's coming out of those pipes is all important. It has changed and that means, according to B.P., that their latest method possibly is working.
Of course, we know the president -- we saw pictures of him yesterday in the Gulf region. A lot of people are criticizing the president about how his administration has been handling this entire crisis. So, a lot of people were, in fact, happy to see the pictures of him -- happy to see him actually in the region.
But at same time, others were critical of the very trip he just made, critical that he wasn't there long enough, critical that didn't meet with some of those regular folks. We'll be getting into all of that throughout this morning.
Now, I want to give a look, though, at some other stories that are making headlines right now, including a story out of Washington. Here's the House. It has pass add bill that could lead to the eventual repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. That policy, of course, keeps gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. It was passed by the House as a part of a larger defense spending bill.
But ironically, the president, Obama, he has threatened to veto that bill. Not because of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy but because he says there's some funding in there, funding of another program, that doesn't need to be in there. And, in fact, he will veto the bill if that language stays in there. But it's going to the Senate now.
Also, the sad news we got yesterday that actor Gary Coleman has died of a brain hemorrhage. He was 42 years old. You will remember the name, the face, and that line, "What you talking about, Willis?" from that "Diff'rent Strokes" was the name of the show of the '70s and '80s. That sitcom. But again, Gary Coleman, we'll be looking back at his life this morning. But dead at the age 42.
Also the Dow, another bad day yesterday, down 122 points as you see there, but this wrapped up what had been the worst May on record in some 70 years. Now, there's concern over the European economic crisis. Dow lost nearly 8 percent for the month of May. That is some 800-plus points.
Well, here we are now, 40 days and apparently still gushing. Or is it? This is the latest now we can give you on the so-called top kill operation being executed on that ruptured wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico. B.P. has resumed pumping that heavy drilling mud into the breached well. They resumed that Friday afternoon. We're waiting at some point to get an update on exactly what's happening at this moment. So, we'll get that in some point today and pass it along.
But what we know, the top kill continues, will continue throughout this day, according to B.P. Their chief of operations officer, Doug Suttles, said they should know if it's working by tomorrow. So, this weekend, an important weekend in this Gulf oil disaster.
We were told originally that estimates from B.P. were that 5,000 barrels a day were going into the Gulf. Well, there had been another study by the government and other scientists that estimated that up to 19,000 barrels a day have been hemorrhaging from that busted wellhead.
And this morning in Louisiana, local teams are going to fan out and actually begin cleaning the oil-impacted marshes and the coastal areas.
B.P. is hoping that this underwater job, of course, works.
The president, as well as the B.P. chief executive officer, Tony Hayward, were both in the Gulf Coast area yesterday, touring the area. Both were making assurances that everything that can be done is being done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I ultimately take responsibility for solving this crisis. I'm the president and the buck stops with me. So, I give the people of this community and the entire Gulf my word that we are going to hold ourselves accountable to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to stop this catastrophe, to defend our natural resources, to repair the damage, and to keep this region on its feet.
HAYWARD: We're doing everything we can to stop the damn leak, and we are going to continue to do everything we can to stop the damn leak. And the reality is that it's a very challenging technological challenge. It's a mile beneath the seabed. No one can get at it. Everything we have to do is being done by submersible robots. Everything is being done remotely and its technology that has never been deployed before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Never been deployed before, but hoping it will work. The officials of B.P. actually said it's a 60 percent or 70 percent chance that this top kill will work. They do have some contingencies to this contingency, but they're hoping that this one will work.
In the meantime, the oil keeps gushing out of there. And also, the suffering continues along the Gulf region. Now, the suffering by a lot of people who are losing business and they're losing it because of tourism.
This is a big weekend for people to come down to the Gulf and enjoy the holiday weekend. People are canceling their trips left and right. We're hearing these stories over and over. People just don't believe that the Gulf is OK to go fish, OK to go to the beaches.
We'll turn to our Reynolds Wolf who's live in New Orleans for us this morning.
Reynolds, I know you're going to talk about some of the wildlife that's being affected. But I think one of the first points to be made here -- and the president wanted to make sure he made it -- every beach along the Gulf Coast is open except three in Louisiana. A lot of people have been canceling trips because they think a lot of these beaches are covered by oil. It's just not the case.
WOLF: Oh, you're absolutely right. I mean, you got to remember that the Florida Panhandle, places like Destin, places like Perdido Key, you take your pick. I mean, they call that area the Emerald Coast with good reason. The water is just absolutely pristine and the conditions are great.
So, if you have plans of going there, thinking about doing it, don't cancel your trips. They can definitely use your business.
One thing we have been seeing, though, again, all kinds of issues out deeper in the Gulf, away from the beaches. We've seen cleanup efforts on the open waters of the Gulf, a lot of the marshes, a lot of the bayous, but also at the rehabilitation centers. The rehabilitation centers, certainly, nothing to honk at.
And at the centers we've seen them help rehabilitate many of the animals. I got a chance to go by and take a look one of those the other day. The work they do is simply amazing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a very tiny little (INAUDIBLE). They're a little heron.
WOLF (voice-over): Jay Holcomb's Bird Rescue Center in Buras, Louisiana, is a 24-hour emergency room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're going to do is pre-treat it. This is just kind of oil.
WOLF: It may seem odd to be adding oil to an already oiled bird, but it's exactly what the doctor has ordered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. This helps loosen it up a little bit and so it kind of loosens away, you can see it starts to come off. He's this kind of brown color normally, but he's got oil under there, and I think he got this from walking through the reeds. These little guys eat little minnows and frogs and things in the -- there in shallow areas in the grass and, of course, he got oiled in the grass.
WOLF: This small bird is actually one of the lucky ones. U.S. Fish and Wildlife says at least 437 birds have died since the spill began. Only 55 have been found oiled and alive -- and taken to centers like this one for rehabilitation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to move him through pretty quick because he is a little bird and he has a very low tolerance. Janine's making sure that the oil around his eyes and his beck are off so that the poor little bird can eat.
WOLF: Habitats resembling this one we visited off the Louisiana coast provide a nesting ground for all kinds of wildlife. Scenes of broken boom and e encroaching oil leave environmental groups outraged.
JILL MASTROTOTARO, SIERRA CLUB: People should be outraged, not just throughout the Gulf Coast but nationwide, that our federal government has a responsibility given that this is a public resource, this is not B.P.'s Gulf of Mexico. This is America's Gulf of Mexico. And we need to come together as a people, as a nation, to ensure that our resources, number one, cleaned up. But number two, protected.
WOLF: Many of the birds brought to Hammond's Rehab Center were brown pelicans which were removed from the endangered species list only six months ago.
JAY HOLCOMB, DIR., INTL. BIRD RESCUE RESEARCH CTR.: This is a shy little group (ph). They like to sit in the corner. But one of the things that these birds experience when they come here is they're exhausted from struggling in the oil. This is their rest day. They get together in the water as they want, get out and sleep, eat fish.
WOLF: Each bird will stay here for seven to 10 days, for plenty of rest, some testing and blood work. And each one is federally tagged before release to track their progress.
HOLCOMB: This was caused by humans. So, at the very base level, we're responsible for cleaning up the oil. Cleaning up these animals is part of the responsibility. They live out there. It's their home. Anything beyond that is not acceptable to me. It is just about our responsibility.
WOLF: And thanks to the Holcomb's efforts, this small bird is finally free of oil and will have a second chance.
HOLCOMB: OK, little guy? OK. That's it. He doesn't look so wonderful but he'll dry off good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: T.J., you also got to think about how these brown pelicans and how they feed. Now, these animals actually dive below the surface of the water to get their fish. Well, add on a good part of the Gulf, you get plenty of the oil.
So when they release these animals, they don't just put them back where they found them. What they do is they actually move them a little bit further down the coast, back over the open waters, say, near Florida, back towards Alabama or much farther to the west, over towards Texas. So -- they give a better and fighting chance and certainly an opportunity to survive. Let's send it back to you.
HOLMES: Like you said, a fighting chance, but some great and very tedious work that those folk have to do, as well. But good that somebody is actually doing it.
Reynolds, we appreciate you. We'll check in with you plenty throughout the morning. Thanks so much, buddy.
Well, a lot of people right now are thinking about summer, thinking about vacation. Well, how are you supposed to take a vacation right now in this economy? A lot of people are hurting, but there's a way to do it for really cheap price. You got to hear this one from our financial analyst, Clyde Anderson. He's in the house. He'll explain.
And also, we've been telling you this morning about the top 500 songs that "Rolling Stone" has listed. We have given you two of the top three. We'll reveal the number one song according to "Rolling Stone" in its list of top 500 of all time. You might be surprised by this one.
It's 10 minutes past the hour. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: OK. That song's on the list.
Welcome back, everybody. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
We're talking about the "Rolling Stone" has put its new magazine, top 500 songs of all time. Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" made the list at 74. Not bad showing there.
We gave you number three earlier. That was "Imagine" by John Lennon. Number two was "Can't Get No Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. Time for us to reveal now the number one song on the list and it is -- go ahead and show it there, D.J.
"Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan. I'm told was out in 1965. No one in our studio has been able to sing that song for me. No one knows this song. It's a classic. It's a goody. It's an oldie but a goody.
Now, you'll notice the top two songs both have "Rolling Stone" in them in some way and this magazine is "Rolling Stone." The number one, "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan and number two was "No Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones.
Some are saying, hey, something's up there, but there you go. Judge for it, you judge it if you will on what you will.
Josh Levs got the "Rolling Stone" Web site up over there as well. And we should explain to the viewers, we haven't played any of the top three songs, it's because we don't have legal rights to actually put it on the air. We'd get sued or fined, I get fired, something bad would happen. So, that's why we couldn't play it.
But, Josh, I didn't want to come to you when that picture came up. I knew that that picture was going to be there as soon as I came to you, with the naked guy.
LEVS: I just went to the Web site. This is what it does. Sorry.
You know what? I agree. It's kind of narcissistic for "Rolling Stone" to be choosing "Rolling Stone" songs. I'm actually surprised they didn't go with a Britney song for the best song of all time.
HOLMES: Britney, as in Spears?
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: Crickets.
HOLMES: OK.
LEVS: So I got some good coming up for you. It's actually not this Web site. I got another one for you. This is pretty cool.
We keep hearing, you know, about the giant size of the oil spill in the Gulf. And what I'm showing you next is right here. It's a whole new way to understand the size and scope of the spill. It's going to let you take that spill, lift it up in the air and compare it to the size of your city or any city, New York, London, Tokyo.
I'll show you bigger than those and how to access it yourself -- and that is coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Back to the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. About a quarter past the hour now.
We've been showing you a lot of pictures of this oil in the Gulf. It's still hard to really get your mind around just how large of an area this is. And again, that's a live picture we have access to.
Again, the top kill method under way right now. We should know at some point, according to B.P., today or tomorrow, maybe tomorrow, if, in fact, that top kill is working and stop this oil from going into the Gulf.
But Josh Levs has his interactive tool for us now that -- to help you kind of put this thing better in perspective of just how massive it is.
Good morning to you again, Josh.
LEVS: Good morning again to you, T.J. Yes, you know, when you're looking at the giant splotch in the ocean, which is what we're seeing right here in this image, it's interesting, but it doesn't really give you the size and scope of it.
What I want to do here is I'm going to start over with this screen. We're going to refresh this. And watch what happens. Let's see if we can zoom way in here.
So, we have an image of the world and I'm going to tell you where to find this yourself online. And what you're seeing here is, as I'm talking about, the giant oil spill right there. And you set it to any size. Basically, you can zoom out a little bit more and see how it fits in.
Now, this is what this allows you to do. You can pick any city in the world, any city in America and compare how this fits in. So, let's, for example, click on Manhattan. Yes, I know Manhattan's not a city, but Manhattan is one of the prepared examples here.
So, take a look at this, all right? I click on Manhattan and the oil spill. If you were to lay it on to the New York area, look how much of a swath of this tri-state area it would take over. It goes all the way up into Connecticut -- you got the islands over there.
Let's jump over here to Paris, a well-known city, one of the best known cities in the world, right? We're zooming east over to Paris and then move this over a little bit. Look at this. It takes over the entire section of France right over there.
Let's do this. I like going over to the nation's capital because, as we know, Washington, D.C., not that big in the first place. If we were to lift this oil spill up in the air and try to give you the scope of it in the United States, this is how it would fit in. Look, it goes all the way up into Baltimore, all the way over into Delaware. Giant section of it right there.
Now, what happened was someone who works at Google Maps actually put this together. It's called a mash-up. Well, it's a Google Earth and then they take something else and they kind of combine these technologies.
I know you're going to want to see how to type in your city. It's a long address that I couldn't ask you to memorize. So, I posted it for you. Go to my graphic. It's up at my Facebook page and at my Twitter page, JoshLevsCNN.
If you go to those right now, what you're going to see is a link that will take you directly to this and then you can fiddle with it yourself. You can type in any city in the world. You can type in your city.
I don't see the graphic showing up. Just go to Facebook.com/JoshLevsCNN. You'll find the image right there, enjoy it, let us know what you think.
And, unfortunately, the spill is going to keep growing. So, the site, T.J., will keep being updated as that keeps happening.
HOLMES: All right. A good tool to help, kind of put this thing in perspective.
Josh, we appreciate you as always. Quick break here on the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-two minutes past the hour now. We give a look at some of the stories making headlines.
Key Republicans want to know if any laws were broken when the White House essentially tried to dissuade Pennsylvania Representative Joe Sestak from running in the Senate primary. The White House and Sestak are confirming that an offer of an unpaid presidential or other senior executive branch advisory board seat offer was made. The White House says that Bill Clinton called Sestak to make that offer on their behalf.
Also in Arizona, 50,000 people are expected to rally against that controversial immigration law expected there today. Critics of the law, including the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, say it promotes racial profiling.
Also, another airport being shut down because of the volcanic eruption. This time we're not talking about over in Europe. This one we're talking about was actually in Ecuador.
No deaths or injuries to report here. Oh, actually, some injuries. No deaths, however, to report. Some towns even had to be evacuated. This volcano is 87 miles south of Quito. That's the capital of that country.
This is the second major volcanic eruption we've seen in Latin America in the past week. Another eruption in Guatemala killed three people on Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. You've been through this before. You've been walking through the airport and people trying to flag you down. Hey, hey. Come sign up for a credit card. You got a free flight, or they just say, hey, you want a free flight? They get your attention. And then they want to come sign up for a credit card or do it when you're actually on the plane.
Do you ever stop and think, is it good to sign up for that credit card? Maybe I could get a couple of free flights.
Well, that's on everybody's mind. It's on our mind. It's on Clyde Anderson's mind this morning, our financial analyst.
Good to see you. Let's start with just a point blank.
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Yes. HOLMES: Some of these, they can be a good thing. Usually we just dismiss them.
ANDERSON: Right. They can be a good thing. You got to keep in mind, it's a credit card that we're talking about. And when you take a hit on your credit report with you get these inquiries. So, inquiries are about 10 percent of your credit report.
So, when you do this, you got to keep in mind, do you have a lot of debt already? Do you need this? And you got to really determine if this is right for you.
HOLMES: Because they make it sound so good, because they say, you want a free flight?
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: And they get your attention, then you get over, and they ask you to sign up.
ANDERSON: Exactly.
HOLMES: All right. I got so many questions about this because I run into this a lot when I travel.
But let's go through a few of them and actually show some examples. Let's go with British Airways first. What they offer, a round trip when you join.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: Another round trip ticket when you spend $2,000. Now, tell me the pros and cons of what we're seeing here.
ANDERSON: Really, you got to think about it. A lot of these cards have high annual fees that you're going to pay. So you can think about it. Most credit cards nowadays, they don't have annual fees.
But when you're having one these credit cards, you're going to pay annual fees a lot of times. And this British Airways, $75 is the annual fee, it's pretty steep. Also, you got to be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for it as well.
HOLMES: So, rules in there you need to keep in mind.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: Let's move on to JetBlue. And again, we want to go through some actual examples to get people something to actually see here. JetBlue, now, this sounds great.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: Two free roundtrip tickets on your first purchase. Sign me up. ANDERSON: Yes. That's it. And it's not bad.
HOLMES: Not bad. All right.
ANDERSON: You got to keep in mind, though, now -- if you travel often, this is good, you know? But just don't get the credit card just to get the free flight.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: That's the key.
HOLMES: Now, a lot of people try that and they want to do that. You're saying that's never a good idea?
ANDERSON: All I'm saying, you know, you're not going to get the full benefit of it. If just really get it or trying to get that one time, you know, you got to pay this annual fee all the time, you're going to have this credit card, you know, just to charge things only to get the free ticket.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: You know? It's not really balanced out there.
HOLMES: I think people forget that. You are actually signing up for a credit card.
ANDERSON: You are signing for a credit card.
HOLMES: It's a credit card.
All right. Let's go with Delta, Atlanta-based company here. A lot of -- a big company. This 20,000 bonus -- this whole mile thing, it drives me crazy. But you go through this, but initially, your first purchase, you get 20,000 bonus miles.
ANDERSON: Right. And it could be confusing sometimes. You just say, what does that mean? What is 20,000 bonus miles means? And a lot of times, you need about 25,000 miles to get a free ticket. And so, you got to keep that in mind.
So, you got, you know, 20,000 bonus miles, a new card membership, and also, you got one bag that you can check free. In this day and age, you know, that's a bonus nowadays, you know, to be able to get the free bag checked. But $95 is the annual fee.
HOLMES: Yes. That's a big con.
ANDERSON: Steep. It's one of the steepest one we're seeing out there.
HOLMES: And also, you need to keep in mind, not everybody's going to be eligible for that card. You got to make a certain amount of money. ANDERSON: You do. Well, and here, talking about the earning limit on the $60,000 earning limit. What they say is that every $10,000 that you spend, you'll get about 2,500 bonus miles.
HOLMES: OK, I got you.
ANDERSON: But they'll only allow you to do that $60,000 in a year. So, every $10,000 you spend, you get 2,500 bonus miles. So, again, you got to be a user, you got to be an active user with the credit card to really get the full benefit of these programs.
HOLMES: OK. Not just getting a credit card, you got to have a credit card you're going to use.
Let's go through Spirit, it's our friends here. We love Spirit Airlines, you know, spirited conversation with their CEO about this. They're charging people for carry-on bags. That's coming later in the summer.
But three free roundtrip tickets?
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Yes, this is one of the best deals I've seen out there.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: Spirit has one of the best deals I've seen out there, with three free roundtrips. The annual fee is not that high and, you know, they got some things where you can even get $9 fares sometimes, you know?
But you got to keep in mind -- some of these have blackout dates and have times that you just can't fly. There are free seats a lot of times that you're getting, you know? So they may offer a companion ticket but you got to read the fine print. The fine print is key.
HOLMES: Isn't that always -- could have started at the top by saying read the fine print? We'll see you next weekend.
ANDERSON: That's it.
HOLMES: All right. Good to see you as always.
A quick break here. We are right back on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: I will be back at the top of the hour. More live news here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. But for now, time to hand it over to my good friend, the good doctor, "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." starts right now.
