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CNN Saturday Morning News

Advances in Fighting Oil Leak Could Come This Weekend; Octopus Oracle Picks Spain To Win World Cup

Aired July 10, 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. I'm T.J. Holmes. Welcome to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING here in Atlanta, Georgia. July 10.

And this is a very weary but a solider I have standing next to me.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: This is Kate Bolduan. Kate, you went through it; we had some rough weather here in Atlanta last night, and you went through it trying to get here from New York.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, trying to get to you. We got here at -- what? -- I think I arrived at midnight.

HOLMES: Uh huh.

BOLDUAN: But look, that's why you have a team of makeup people. You just fake it every time (ph).

HOLMES: And they did a great job this morning, by the way. No.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: But thank you for being here. I know you went through a lot to get here.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Happy to be here.

HOLMES: But -- but good to have you all with you us here as well.

We are now Day 82 -- can you believe it? We're in the 80's now of these days of this oil spill. You see this live picture. Still at this moment, oil continues to gush out into the Gulf. But this is a big day and a big weekend for the recovery effort. We could have some big announcements to be made today or possibly this weekend. We'll explain exactly what's going on on Day 82 throughout the morning.

BOLDUAN: And we're also keeping an eye on the floodwaters in Oklahoma. Entire neighborhoods are under water and the flash floods have already caused one death. We'll get the latest on today's severe weather coming up. HOLMES: But let's give you a look now at some of the stories that are making headlines, including a former San Francisco Bay Area transit officer who is now apologizing to the family for the shooting death of a 22-year-old man.

You see the officer there. His name is Johannes Mehserle. He was convicted this week of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 22- year-old black man, Oscar Grant. He shot Grant, who was unarmed at the time, at a BART station in Oakland. That was on the New Year's Day of 2009.

Now, prosecutors wanted a murder conviction instead of the involuntary manslaughter conviction. Well, Mehserle, the officer, during the jury deliberations, actually sketched out this handwritten letter apologizing, saying -- and I'm quoting here -- "No words can express how truly sorry I am."

Now, he had said the whole time that he actually intended to draw his Taser rather than his gun. So it was a mistake. His sentencing is coming up on August 6.

Take a look at these pictures here now. This was an oil-plant explosion in Mississippi. This happened yesterday. We know that at least one person was seriously injured here, had third-degree burns. People were evacuated as a precaution in a one-mile radius around that particular plant. They're looking into exactly what was the cause here.

Also, they're starting to collect the wreckage now of that duck boat. Look at this here. This was the boat that collided with a barge. This was in the Delaware River on Wednesday. This was in Philadelphia. Two tourists who were aboard that boat were killed. The boat had some mechanical issues and got stuck, and of course the barge couldn't stop in time and crashed into that duck boat. Another 35 passengers who actually had to jump off that duck boat were actually rescued also. They have recovered the bodies of the two people who were killed -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And we are now 82 days into the Gulf oil disaster, and finally BP is talking optimistically, at least a little bit, about shutting down that gusher. The plant -- the plan that BP has in place is, if it works, could stop what you're seeing and what we've been looking at for weeks now.

In "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen laid it all out for us.

Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF ADM. THAD ALLEN (RET.), U.S. COAST GUARD: What we are going to do is put a -- a valve on top of the current well, and our first attempt will be to just close the valve and see if we can shut in the well altogether. If there was a need to actually produce additional oil to relieve the pressure, we certainly are capable of doing that. But our first intent would be to try and put a valve on top of the well that could shut it in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: He is confident they can stop the gusher. They are -- they've given a timeline to kill the well completely. They'll begin to remove the current containment cap as early as today. It's not bolted down, so it can be removed pretty quickly. And after that cap is removed, oil will flow freely from the wellhead as they work to put another cap in place.

At the same time, another recovery vessel called the Helix Producer, will be moved into the Gulf to help scoop up more oil. It could be fully operational by tomorrow. It can actually process as much as 25,000 gallons of oil every day. Every little bit counts, as you know.

On Tuesday, BP will then begin to lower that long-term containment cap. It could take three or four days to get this permanent seal locked down. And if it works the way it's supposed to, the well will be effectively then contained. And that will give BP a better chance of killing the gusher using the bottom-kill method we've -- we've heard a lot about.

BP says the permanent solution to the disaster will still be the completion of a relief well. A lot of if's, a lot of -- we're looking and waiting and waiting, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, if's, and's, but's -- none of these plans seemed to have worked perfectly. But if all as goes as planned -- you're hearing this right, folks -- if all goes to plan, they could effectively be collecting all the oil, just about all of it coming out of that gusher sometime early next week. So we'll keep an eye on that throughout this weekend.

Meanwhile, BP and federal officials hope to fight the massive oil spill with help from above. We're not talking about prayer this time; we're talking about a blimp.

Our Reynolds Wolf is in New Orleans. Reynolds, good morning to you, buddy. Good to see you, as always.

We actually have a blimp and A Whale to talk to you about.

So let's start with this blimp. This thing could actually be quite helpful.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, it -- it could be extremely helpful.

We're talking about something almost like we're going back in time. And we've heard of blimps. Blimps have been part of aviation for a very, very long time. This particular blimp came in from Yuma, Arizona. It is a Navy airship. It's 178 feet long, and has the name of MZ3A.

Now, this is a slow-moving aircraft, and what it's going to do, T.J., is it's going to provide kind of an observation platform from high above, giving people an idea of what they can expect right along that -- the very coastlines. What this thing is also going to do is also act like a -- almost like an air-traffic controller directing ships and other aircraft right along parts of where the oil is making contact with -- with the -- with the coastline itself.

One tremendous advantage of having an airship like this -- I got to tell you that I've flown over the site of the Deepwater Horizon twice, both in helicopter, and as I was flying up in the helicopters, one of the biggest topics of conversation was not the oil itself, but the -- the guys in the helicopter were talking constantly about fuel. How much fuel do we have? Can we make it in? Can we make it back? Obviously, that was a big topic.

With this airship, you're not going to have that situation. Because it uses very, very little fuel. And even a helicopter, which can basically go out and -- and back in about an hour's time, this thing, when it takes off on a mission, is going to be aloft for roughly 12 hours. So it is going to be a tremendous asset. They're going to be using this, again, from about Mobile Bay back over towards portions of Louisiana, just making kind of a reconnaissance right along the coast.

It is going to be retrofit later on this week with a radar, with some other electromagnetic devices that they're going to install. And once they install it next week, then they have to run a series of tests. And then once it gets the thumb -- the thumbs-up, then it will be operational.

But it's just another arsenal, another little tool in the arsenal they're going to be adding.

One bad thing though is, if you happen to have bad weather, it's got to go down.

HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: It's one of those things that cannot stay afloat in -- in bad weather. So, Kate's situation last night, where she had her delays, if this thing were taking Kate or trying to get her to Atlanta -- no, she'd be out of luck. This thing would certainly stay grounded.

But it is one more thing they're using. They've got the flotilla of ships. They're using a lot of brainpower in D.C. and here on the coast, the Gulf Coast. But this is going to be one more tool that they can use to help battle that oil spill.

HOLMES: And good way to put it there, Reynolds. This sounds like kind of a controller, command center and kind of telling everybody where to go. Hey, there's oil here, get the skimmer boats over here and scoop that oil up, and they could have a quicker response.

One more thing before I let you go. I talked about a blimp, but A Whale. We've been talking about this big skimmer ship, billed as the world's largest oil-skimming vessel.

Are they ever going to get this thing out there and working? It seems like they've been testing and testing and testing.

WOLF: Well, it looks like it might be next week. You know, you're talking about this being A Whale, literally. I mean, this is a freak of a boat.

Take a look at that thing. It's over the lengths of three and a half football fields long. It's about the size of a -- of a 10-story building in height, from the water line all the way up to the -- the -- the bridge tower. It is a tremendous, tremendous ship.

And -- and what they're doing is, they've been doing a series of tests. Last week, they had to do it in -- in some fairly rough seas, so it wasn't quite that effective. This week, they do expect that the seas will be a little bit easier to contend with, so they're going to redo the tests. The Coast Guard is going to be watching very carefully.

And it all depends not on whether the -- the -- the ship can actually get out to the spill and back -- that -- they got -- that's handled. It's the amount of water and oil that it releases back into the Gulf of Mexico.

Think of it being like a giant fish, where a fish would bring in water, push it through his gills and then back out. What this does, it brings in that combination of oil and water into the ship. It leaves the oil behind on the ship, and then pushes the water out.

Now, according to the EPA, the water that is released has to be 98 percent pure. It can't have a lot more oil in it than that. What I keep thinking though is, you know, if it's 80 percent pure, if it's 60 percent pure -- isn't that better than the situation we have now? A lot of people have that same belief.

But again, rules are rules, and they're going to watch it very carefully. Hopefully operational by next week.

HOLMES: Reynolds, great job with the analogies this morning, with the -- the fish, and then the air-traffic controls. Great stuff this morning. But a couple of more tools they might have up and working real soon.

Reynolds, buddy, we appreciate you. And live in New Orleans, we'll talk to you ...

WOLF: You bet, man.

HOLMES: ...(INAUDIBLE) throughout the morning.

Well, since the oil-rig disaster on April 20, we've seen countless pictures of oil in the water. We're about to show you now what it looks like underwater.

CNN's Amber Lyon took a deep-sea dive in the Gulf with environmentalist Philippe Cousteau.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOICE OF PHILIPPE COUSTEAU, OCEANOGRAPHER/ENVIRONMENTALIST: This is a little bit of what I expected, actually.

VOICE OF AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. It's taking (ph) -- we're about 48 miles away from the Deepwater Horizon spill, and if you look in the water you can see that it's cloudy right now. All those little pieces in front of us, it just looks like almost like -- you shook a tree or some kind of little (INAUDIBLE). They're just little particles here all across the water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) and that's it. There's -- it's a mixture. It's kind of like there's lots of little bits of red and -- and chunks of what's (INAUDIBLE) chemical dispersant. And that (INAUDIBLE) all this organic material that's floating through the water (INAUDIBLE). Little jellyfish and other creatures.

And that's what's so concerning about this, because the oil isn't adhering to the surface. It is distributing throughout the water column.

It's spring time, this critical time of year, when fish and other organism are -- are breeding and laying eggs into the water, and it's floating through. And as it encounters this oil, oil is toxic down to one part per billion for fish eggs and fish larvae. Deadly toxic.

And so what we're seeing here, even though it's not that thick strip of oil, this is still a big, big problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And it's a scene straight out of "Wild Kingdom," but it was in a Colorado home. What we're talking about is an animal intruder and one man armed with a baseball bat and police armed with guns.

We'll have more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC, TONE LOC, "WILD THING")

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: All right. She brought along her playlist, our -- our resident wild thing, Kate Bolduan here with us this weekend.

And we -- we got a wild thing in your -- in your house. And you're not talking about a family member here. What do you do? There's a bear in your house. Exactly how do you react?

BOLDUAN: I don't know. I probably would try to call someone.

HOLMES: Call someone? You're looking at the bear, and you pick up the phone and make a phone call.

BOLDUAN: Excuse me, could you help? Come over quickly.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: I don't know. I'd probably run. Push the new husband at it.

HOLMES: Ah yes. She is newly married (INAUDIBLE) as well. But the new husband she's trying to feed to a bear already.

But this out in Bailey, Colorado. They were trying to figure out what in the world do they do with this bear.

BOLDUAN: And Jack Hansell -- he heard the bear rummaging around in the kitchen, so he went after him carrying a baseball bat. The bear then bit him on the leg.

Hansell smacked him with the bat, and the bear took off.

HOLMES: So the guy won, actually.

BOLDUAN: Kind of.

HOLMES: Police then showed up, found the bear outside the house. They had to shoot and kill the bear though.

Hansell says it wasn't being aggressive; it just wanted some food. But police say once a bear loses its fear of humans, it can pose a threat to people as well. So -- I mean, what do you do? It's unfortunate maybe, a lot of people would think, you had to shoot and put the bear down, but...

BOLDUAN: I don't know; I feel sad about that.

HOLMES: It's a bear. Not aggressive. I didn't know any bear could ever be described as not being aggressive.

BOLDUAN: Well, Yogi.

HOLMES: I forget about Yogi.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: But here's another pet story for you. A lot different here.

This is out in San Francisco. Officials there debating a law to ban pet sales. You heard me right. They're debating a law that would ban the sale of pets in the city. If this passes, you wouldn't allow to buy any animal. Just a goldfish, maybe.

Supporters say the idea is to stop people from buying puppies, kittens, hamsters, little things, if you will, just on impulse. They say a lot of people buy those pets and then just end up tossing them out, letting them go. They end up in shelters.

The pet-shop owners, as you can imagine, say this would put them out of business. But at the same time, the city officials say it would encourage more adoptions from shelters. So you can imagine, a lot of people out there, certainly, the Bay Area, love their pets.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Love their pets, but we have to -- those are two sad-pet stories. Sorry for the 6 a.m. pet stories.

HOLMES: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: That is...

HOLMES: But still...

BOLDUAN: But still.

HOLMES: You see the point.

BOLDUAN: Let's look for a happier story.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BOLDUAN: So the World Cup -- yes, still happening. It is its final weekend, this weekend. People are talking about the final game; we've been talking about the final game.

HOLMES: Of course.

BOLDUAN: And they're also talking about a sea creature.

HOLMES: Yes, it seems like this has been quite the topic.

This thing is icky, this video of it. This is an octopus in Germany that's making international headlines because it has a knack for picking winners in the World Cup. Really, the thing has an undefeated record right now.

We'll explain and tell you which team it's picking to win it all.

Stay with us here. It's 18 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, coming up on 20 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Give you a look at some of the stories making headlines.

An off-duty Tennessee police officer recovering from head injuries after he tried to break up a bar fight involving members of the University of Tennessee football team. Police say some members of the team now suspects in this.

The star recruit, Da'Rick Rogers, he is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Well, a spy swap between the U.S. and Russia may have been a U.S. idea. An official says the idea of a swap was discussed among the administration's national-security team before the arrests were made. Ten Russian agents pleaded guilty in the United States on Thursday for failing to register as foreign agents and were ordered out of the country.

An attorney also confirms six children of the agents have left the country.

And more than 500 U.S. drug agents and police in Puerto Rico in the middle of the biggest drug-trafficking operation ever conducted. A hundred and fifty-eight people are indicted on drug and gun-related charges. If convicted, they could get life in prison.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC, SCORPIONS, "ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRICANE")

HOLMES: All right. World Cup wrapping up this weekend. Big championship tomorrow.

But today...

BOLDUAN: Your voice just got, like, four octaves deeper.

HOLMES: Deeper because these -- we're talking about sports now. We're talking about man stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

HOLMES: We're talking with Rief (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

HOLMES: But actually today there's another match that -- I don't know. Does anybody care about -- is it third?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

HOLMES: Who gets third though?

BOLDUAN: Yes, I believe people really do care.

HOLMES: OK. Well, if you care, then the third-place game is today -- today, between Germany, Uruguay. Again, we're talking about third place. So I guess they're playing for what, Kate?

BOLDUAN: A trophy?

HOLMES: A trophy. Not no third-place trophy.

BOLDUAN: A ribbon?

HOLMES: There's not even a ribbon.

BOLDUAN: All right. I'm just now embarrassing myself.

HOLMES: Pride.

BOLDUAN: Stop this.

HOLMES: It's pride. They're going for pride.

BOLDUAN: That's right. OK. Moving on.

In the big game -- clearly only T.J. cares about winning -- in tomorrow's championship, Spain vs. the Netherlands, two countries with a golden opportunity to get their names on the World Cup for the first time in its 80-year history. Neither Spain nor the Netherlands has ever won a World Cup. That surprised me.

HOLMES: Yes, very surprising because both of these are considered kind of powerhouses in the world of football.

This the oracle though. Everybody's wondering who is exactly going to win the game. Not a clear favorite, but the oracle has spoken. This oracle happens to have eight legs.

BOLDUAN: We don't call them legs though.

HOLMES: What do we call them?

BOLDUAN: Tentacles.

HOLMES: Tentacles, yes.

BOLDUAN: The octopus, affectionately called 'Paul,' is making quite a name for himself as a World Cup prophet. It's been picking out the winners from its tank since the games started. So far, he's a flawless nine for nine.

So who's the money on for today's game? Paul says Germany will take out Uruguay, and he picks Spain to win it all.

HOLMES: I don't know what to think about that story.

BOLDUAN: I think it's fabulous.

HOLMES: Do you really?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

HOLMES: A lot of people are into that. A lot of people in this country not so much into soccer, but they at least can follow the octopus.

BOLDUAN: An octopus.

HOLMES: All right.

We got something else here a little strange to show you. This is still in the soccer realm though. BOLDUAN: Right. Right. Exactly.

Robots playing soccer. They call it Robocup, and by the year 2050 -- yes, I said 2050, computer experts say a robot team will play and beat humans.

Here's Deborah Feyerick. She's going to explain this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever want to bend it like Beckham? How about like R2D2?

At Robocup, teams from around the world compete in soccer matches using robots. A team from Carnegie Mellon University played in a championship match in Singapore.

STEFAN ZICKLER, CARNEGIE MELLON GRADUATE: People look at these games, and they often ask, you know, 'Why robot soccer?' There are many challenges that actually go to the fundamentals of robotic.

So this concept of friendly competition that really drives research forward.

FEYERICK: So how do the robots play soccer? The students build the robot from scratch and create software to make them think. The robots see through two cameras above the field. These images then feed into an external computer, the robot's brain, to decide the next move.

They can deliver a flat kick and even a chip kick.

ZICKLER: In robot soccer, you have to predict the physics of the world. There's a lot of uncertainty; you don't know what your opponent is going to do.

FEYERICK: Another group of students creates programming for humanoid robots. These robots have cameras and computers inside their head, and they use a wireless system to communicate.

SOMCHAYA LIEMHETCHARAT, CARNEGIE MELLON STUDENT: When the robot kick the ball for example, it will send a message to tell the teammates like, hey, I saw a ball over here. So they'll decide who should be the attacker. They'll approach (ph) the ball.

FEYERICK: At Robocup, the goal is to create a team of robots that can beat a human team by the year 2050.

ZICKLER: Robots, in general, are --are going to be really important over the next decade. And robot soccer is really the domain to -- to develop these theories.

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. That's some interesting stuff there. But still on the -- back to the story we've been covering for 82- plus days almost now, the leak, the Gulf oil disaster. This is a big weekend in the attempt to stop this leak. They have some things in place that they're going to try, and a new cap is going to go on the well. That, coupled with some other efforts, could effectively start collecting just about all of the oil that's coming out.

We'll be explaining what's happening throughout the weekend here for you on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. So stick around for that.

BOLDUAN: And plus, filing a lawsuit against an airline for $25? One man fed up with lost luggage and mounting baggage fees decide to try and prove a point.

Stay with us. We're 28 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hey there, everybody. Welcome back. Top of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks for joining us and staying with us morning.

HOLMES: Give you a look at the stories making headlines this morning.

First, out in California, former San Francisco Bay area transit officer is apologizing now for the shooting death of a young man, Oscar Grant. Johannes Mehserle, you see his picture there. He was convicted of involuntarily manslaughter and shooting and killing Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old unarmed man. This happened at a BART station in Oakland in January of 2009. The family and prosecutors wanted a murder conviction, but instead the jury came back with involuntary manslaughter.

While the jury was deliberating, take a look at this, Mehserle actually made out this handwritten letter apologizing. In it saying no words can express how truly sorry I am. He always said that he had intended to draw his Taser rather than draw his gun.

Take a look at pictures from Mississippi. An oil plant explosion there, this was yesterday. One person seriously injured, that person had third degree burns. Just as a precaution, the people in the area, one-mile radius around the plant, they were evacuated. Investigators now, checking out exactly what happened here, what caused it.

Also, the wreckage is down. The wreckage-look at this. You remember these pictures we saw this week? A barge collided with this boat? Tourists were on this boat. This is the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Two tourists were killed.

What happened, the boat actually had some mechanical issues. Got stuck out in the water. The barge was heading right for it. The barge, of course, could not see it and slow down in time. Ran into it. Many passengers jumped out of the boat in time, and they were rescued, at least 35 of them. But again, another two tourists were killed. The boat was essentially dead in the water when it was struck.

BOLDUAN: The oil disaster in the Gulf has forced us all really to brush up on our high school science as we try to follow what is happening and what continues to unfold. Well, engineers have tried to variety of efforts to fix the oil gushing out for over the past 82 days. The latest plan looked promising and complicated.

CNN's Sanjay Gupta is in New Orleans. Last night he asked our Tom Foreman to explain this latest attempt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now what you have on this well is a containment cap right down here, which is collecting some oil. You have seen the pictures of it all the time with the oil gushing out from around the sides.

That's because there are vents that are open in the sides here to let some oil out so they don't have too much pressure to blow it off because it's just sitting there. That's what's happening right now. That oil is coming up to a ship above here. They also have some oil coming out of a vent on the side here up to another ship.

And this weekend they're trying to move another ship into place. They are hoping to maybe even add a fourth. Overall this will increase the containment of oil here from right now around 23,000 barrels a day to hopefully 50,000 barrels a day. That brings us to another important thing to watch this weekend. They're going to replace the cap here.

I want to show you a close picture of that. Right now the cap is collecting some of the oil. They're going to take this cap away, and that is going to release the oil entirely for a while. So, initially it is going to be an increase of oil from that part of it.

Then they're going to bring in what they hope is a tighter cap that they can bolt into place an really seal down when that happens, Sanjay, they think they might be able to say that they truly get almost complete containment. They've got some vents in that they're going to play with, too. See if they can get complete containment. Those are the major things happening this weekend, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Such an important point, again. Those vents, it's like someone explaining like shaking up a bottle and trying to cap it. The cap will just blow off unless you can slowly vent out. What you're describing sounds promising and the admiral's comments sounded promising today. But is there something that could go wrong with this? Is there a possible concern there?

FOREMAN: Yes, there are several concerns here. First of all, what if you bring this thing down here. This blowout preventer we're dealing with is not perfectly straight. We have shown it here, that it is a little bit crooked. There's always been a worry about how stable this is. This could fall over. You could have an uncontained spill all together. What if you can't get this part to fit? They had a hard time the first time. Then where are you?

Just importantly in all of that, Sanjay, is look at this. What if while you're trying to do this, you have a big storm system come brewing in from the sides. If that happens, all collection has to cut loose, all the ships have to go away. And you wind up with the well just emptying out here maybe for days, maybe for weeks, as long as it takes to get back to the game.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: So again, this could be a big, big weekend in this whole oil disaster. They've got some help as well this weekend from a blimp. They are looking to the skies above for a little help here. Our Reynolds Wolf is in New Orleans for us this morning.

Reynolds, good morning to you once again, buddy. Explain this blimp.

WOLF: Good morning.

HOLMES: We'll go with what's happening up above and then down below. This blimp could help out and help out in a major way.

WOLF: Well, it really could. We're talking about the MZA-3, it came in from Yuma, Arizona, a slow-moving blimp. It's not like a 737 making a flight across the country. This thing is just hop scotching its way across. Finally came over just a few days ago. It's going to makes its way from New Orleans to Mobile Bay, back and forth, and just give us a very good idea of what's happening -- what's been going on from high above.

The best way to put it, T.J., think of this being a floating observation deck where you can have crews that will be on this looking out, not only for the oil but also taking a look at marine life. Able to detect issues that you might have with pods of whales or dolphins, or any other kind of marine life, sea gulls, pelicans.

They're going to be going over some of the pristine wetland where's animals may be susceptible to some of this oil and they are also going to help with many of the skimmers. You have a huge flotilla of ships out there and any eye in the sky that you have to help guide some of these ships is going to be a huge assistance.

One of the ways it will be able to assist, too, T.J., is just the idea that it requires far less fuel. From the moment a helicopter takes off, or even a fixed wing aircraft, and makes its way going all the way out toward the Deepwater Horizon, all the way around, taking a look at the oil spill and all the boats, well, they're going to have that one really -- they have their eye on the fuel gauge. With this, this thing could go out for 12 hours at a time, 12 hours. Plenty of time to get some work done.

HOLMES: Plenty of time to get work done. We are waiting for this big ship, we have been talking about, to even get to work in the first place. We're told this thing could do wonders once it starts working. But this, A Whale, as it's called, this big skimmer ship, is not working just yet. It's not out there being put to use. Why not?

WOLF: Well, the reason why is because the A Whale, this ship you're talking about, that is roughly 1,100 feet long, the size of three football fields, as tall as a 10-story building. This boat has got to work up to EPA specifications.

Now on the bow of this ship, the very front of it, you have 12 vents on each side. Those vents bring in that oil/water combination. It keeps the oil on board and then pushes out all the excess water. But it has to have, the amount of water released, it's got to reach a certain level, it has to be about 98 percent pure. If it's not 98 percent then they can't use it.

If it is operational, if they can fix it, if they can tweak it just so, the company that has the A Whale, TNT out of Taiwan, has got two other boats. They have the A Whale. They have the B Whale. They have the C Whale. They boats are tremendous. And just one of these boats can bring actually in as much oil as all of the other skimmers, out on the Gulf, the 500 skimmers they have, just over the last two and a half months.

It's really an amazing feat-if they can get this thing operational, it could be a huge game changer. That, coupled with the issues on the capping, if we can have that happen, too, we could see the whole outcome of this change very quickly.

HOLMES: Yes, some major developments. This is a big weekend for these efforts. Reynolds, we appreciate you. We'll be talking to you plenty throughout the morning there in New Orleans. Thanks so much.

QUEST: You bet.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, BP is getting tougher on the claims process for businesses affected by the Gulf oil disaster. They're tightening up the restrictions a bit. The company is saying that, yes, in fact, they will pay all legitimate claims, but the payments now have to be more so documented than before. They have to be based on your documented losses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARYL WILLIS, V.P. OF RESOURCES, BP AMERICA: We have a lot of work to do. The spill in the Gulf of Mexico is unprecedented. The response is unprecedented. I wish I could stand before you and tell you that everything has been perfect up to this point. It hasn't. When things don't go well, we're working hard to get them fixed. We have a lot of work to do in this response.

We realize we'll be judged by the quality of the response and we're committed to doing that, we're committed to staying here until we get the oil cleaned up, and we're going to pay the claims that need to be paid to get people the resources they need to continue with their daily lives. we realize we'll be judged by the quality of the response and we're committed to doing that, we're committed to staying here until we get the oil cleaned up and we're going to pay the claims that people need the resources they need to get with their daily lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, previously BP had only required minimum documentation for those who were filing claims. That was early on. But now they're having some tighter restrictions. And you have to show more documentation. They say in fact this could help people get more money. Initially they were giving out $5,000 check to business owners, a $1,000 checks to people who had been laid off, from certain businesses.

They say you could actually get more money if you can show documented losses greater than $5,000, greater than $1,000. But at the same time, other people who aren't able possibly, to show those documented losses could end up with less.

Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service has set up a special hot line for taxpayers who have been affected by the Gulf oil disaster. Let's show you that number now. Again, it is 1-866-562-5227. If you have any questions about the BP payment or you are experiencing filing or payment hardship because of the spill, you can call that number.

The IRS line is open weekdays, again, don't know how well you can see it, I'll repeat it to you again, 866-562-5227. The IRS can sometimes assist oil spill victims by suspending collection.

BOLDUAN: Here's a question for you. Have you ever thought about suing over lost luggage? Well hear from a man who is doing just that. Taking an airline to court to get his $25 baggage fee back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Well, we have all been there. Your flight has landed. You're at baggage claim waiting and waiting and waiting for your bagging. Guess what? No luggage.

HOLMES: You didn't have that problem. You had a late flight yesterday. At least your bags came with you, though.

BOLDUAN: You would not want to see me if I didn't.

HOLMES: Well, a New Hampshire man has sued United Airlines over his lost bags. Charlie Wheelan is the name. He says he waited weeks for the airlines to find his bag. After get nothing where with customer service, well, did what everybody else does. Let's go to court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE WHEELAN, SUED UNITED AIRLINES OVER LOST LUGGAGE: There was this very tangible, very clear margin on which they had failed. That I checked something, it didn't arrive and we could just point to that and say, you know what, you have failed to fulfill what you promised to do for this $25.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Seriously?

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: No, I mean, do they promise -- when I hand a bag over they don't say I promise this will get to you. They just say thank you and toss it about 10 feet.

BOLDUAN: They toss it about 10 feet, and then step on it. No, kidding, kidding. He was proving a point.

HOLMES: But Wheelan, he is proving a point. You can stand on principle, that's fine.

BOLDUAN: Anyone who has lost their bags will agree with this.

HOLMES: Everybody can agree with this. But he's a Dartmouth College economics professor. Yes, he sued for $25, plus court costs. Actually a few days after he filed the suit, United Airlines found the bag, miraculously. They sent him a check for $25, they paid for his court costs as well. He says though he still flies United.

What's the lesson we just learned here, Kate?

BOLDUAN: No harm, no foul? He doesn't hold a grudge?

HOLMES: OK. Maybe that. Don't hold a grudge. Whewee!

BOLDUAN: Hey, 25 bucks, can't get you very far these days.

HOLMES: He's made a point. Stood on principle. He got his fee back.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. Watch out, airlines.

Watch out, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm just glad you made it. With the storms yesterday.

BOLDUAN: I am, too. You guys would not want to talk to me if I had not made it. I would have been, this face ...

SCHNEIDER: Luggage, too, it all came.

BOLDUAN: Yes, we're here. We're ready to go.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: We're going to turn back to the battle over Arizona's controversial immigration law. It's heating up once again with the federal government now suing the state. It happened this week.

BOLDUAN: But it's not just the government heading to court. A Tucson officer who is supposed to be enforcing that law when it takes effect is actually suing to fight it. Hear from him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About 10 minutes to the top of the hour. Taka look at some of the stories making headlines. Off duty Knoxville police officer, recovering from head injuries after he tried to break up a bar fight involving members of the University of Tennessee football team. One of the star recruits is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Another player has been dismissed from the team. Two others have been suspended.

A spy swap between the United States and Russia may have been a U.S. idea. An official says the idea of a swap was discussed among the administration's national security team before the arrests were even made. Ten Russian agents pleaded guilty Thursday for failing to register as foreign agents and were ordered out of the country. An attorney also confirmed that six children of the agents have also left the country.

Also, more than 500 U.S. drug agents and police in Puerto Rico, in the middle of the biggest drug trafficking operation ever conducted on the island; 158 people indicted on drug and gun related charges.

Again, it is 10 until the top of the hour. Stay with us on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: A Tucson police officer is watching the federal government's lawsuit over Arizona's controversial immigration law with great interest.

HOLMES: This officer, Martin Escobar. He was the first person to sue over the law which requires police officers to ask suspected illegal immigrants for documentation.

Our Sandra Endo spoke with him about his lawsuit and the training he now has to undergo to enforce this new law.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For Tucson police officer, Martin Escobar, it's personal.

OFFICER MARTIN ESCOBAR, TUCSON POLICE DEPT.: In grade school I was stopped by a border patrol agent and asked, you know, if I was here legally and the conversation carried. Yeah, I'm here. And I was asked for identification. But I don't have any. I was a kid at that time.

ENDO: Escobar legally immigrated to Arizona from Mexico when he was five years old. He was the first person in Arizona to file suit against the state's recently passed immigration law, which he says would promote the racial profiling he says he's faced before.

Now it's for a judge to decide whether his lawsuit and six others filed against the state will make a difference, including the most recent one filed by the federal government.

(On camera): And now with the department of justice filing suit against Arizona, what do you think of your chances in terms of making sure this law doesn't take effect?

ESCOBAR: You know, I'm so happy. I was hoping that they would step in.

ENDO: Tucson is just 60 miles north of the Mexico border, where 95 percent of illegal immigrant who cross into Arizona are Latino. On the federal level the Justice Department's lawsuit argues immigration policy should not be set by each state.

(Voice over): In Tuesday's filing of the federal suit Attorney General Eric Holder said, seeking to address the issue through a patchwork of state laws will only create more problems than it solves. But Arizona officials claim the federal government isn't doing enough. Mr. Escobar, who is a 15-year police veteran, agrees with the federal suit which also claims Arizona's law would tap already scarce resources from local law enforcement.

ESCOBAR: Now having to enforce a federal law, immigration law, it's going to cut back a lot of our resources where we can do this.

ENDO: Now he's finding himself in a tough position, doing online training for the new law which is set to take effect in a matter of weeks, while waiting for his day in court to fight it.

(On camera): So what are you hoping to see some July 29th?

ESCOBAR: I hope that they put a stop to this law. I hope the injunction goes through and the law doesn't go into effect.

ENDO: Sandra Endo, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Supporters of Arizona's tough new immigration law are putting together a pretty formidable war chest. They have contributed nearly half million dollars so far, to a legal defense fund set up by Republican Governor Jan Brewer. The money will be used to defend the state against an Obama administration lawsuit challenging their law.

It is five to the top of the hour. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello, everybody. Top of the hour here now from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for the 10th of July. Hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes. BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks for starting your day with us. It is 6:00 a.m. in New Orleans. And it is just about 7:00 o'clock here in Atlanta. It is also day 82 of the Gulf oil disaster. A big day today as they're going to begin working on replacing the containment cap by putting another one in place. And there's also a recovery vessel is on its way to the Gulf. It could have a big impact, they hope. We'll take you there live.

HOLMES: Also this morning he has been accused of going on a rant before. Accused of going on another one now, talking about Mel Gibson. There is a tape out there allegedly with his voice on it, and the person is shouting and screaming, at what is purportedly Gibson's ex-girlfriend talking about all kinds of things, including some of her implants, if you will. Also, using the N word. You are going to hear this for yourself this morning.

But first, let me give you a look at some of the stories that are making headlines. We will start out in California. Where a former San Francisco Bay area transit officer is now apologizing to the family for the shooting death. Johannes Mehserle, that's his name, you see him there.

He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Oscar Grant. Oscar Grant is a 22-year-old black man, who was unarmed at the time, who was shot and killed by Mehserle at a BART station in Oakland last year.

Now, the family and prosecutors wanted a murder conviction instead of the involuntary manslaughter.

Well, while the jury was deliberating, Mehserle actually wrote out this note. You're seeing it, a handwritten apology to the family saying, in part, quote, "no words can express how truly sorry I am."

Now, he had said all along during trial that he intended to draw his taser rather than his actual gun. The sentencing is now on August the 6th.

Take a look at this video coming to us out of Mississippi. This was yesterday, an oil plant explosion. One person was seriously injured here, had third-degree burns. Just as a precaution, authorities evacuated a one-mile radius area around that plant. The work is going on right now to find the cause of it.

Also, another picture to show you here. This is of the wreckage. That is the wreckage of that duck boat that was carrying tourists on the Delaware River that collided with a barge on Wednesday. This happened in Philadelphia.

Two tourists were killed. Their bodies have now been recovered. Another 35 passengers also had to be rescued out of that water. What happened here is that that boat the tourists were in had some mechanical problems, got stranded out there, essentially couldn't move so the barge was on its way, didn't see it and couldn't certainly slow down in time and ran smack into it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, T.J.

We are 82 days into the Gulf oil disaster. And, finally, BP is talking confidently of shutting down the gusher. The plan it has in place, if it works, could stop what you're seeing there in a matter of days.

In "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer, retired Coast Guard admiral, Thad Allen, laid it all out for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER (via telephone): What we are going to do is put a valve on top of the current well. And our first attempt will be to just close the valve and see if we can shut the well all together. If there was a need to actually produce additional oil to relieve the pressure, we're certainly capable of doing that. But our first intent would be to try and put a valve on top of the well that could shut it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And now that BP is confident they can stop the gusher, they've given a time line to kill the well completely. Great news, if it works.

They'll begin to move the current containment cap as early as today. It's not bolted down, so it can be removed pretty quickly. But after the cap is removed, oil will flow freely from the wellhead as they work to put another cap in place.

At the same time, another recovery vessel called the Helix Producer will be moved into the Gulf to help scoop up more oil, get more capacity, get it out of the water. It could be fully operational by tomorrow. It can process as much as 25 gallons of oil every day.

And on Tuesday, BP will begin to lower that long term containment cap that could take three or four days to get this permanent seal locked down. If it works the way it's supposed to, the well will be effectively contained. And that will give BP a better chance of killing the gusher using the bottom kill method we've talked so much about.

Bp says the permanent solution to the disaster will still be the completion of a relief well -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. They have thrown just about everything at this Gulf oil disaster. Well, they're throwing something else at it, how about a blimp and also, a Whale?

We'll let our Reynolds Wolf explain this to us. He joins us this morning from New Orleans.

We see you down there on the river and people are starting to come out. We see some joggers behind you. Always beautiful down there and always hot down there on the river, actually.

But let's start with this blimp, first of all. How is this going to help?

WOLF: That's right. A blimp and a whale, it sounds like a weird kid's storybook.

We're going to start off with the blimp. What we're talking about is a 180 -- I'm sorry, 187-foot airship. It actually came from Houma, Arizona. It does belong to the U.S. Navy, made a trip here to the Gulf Coast. Since, it's going to be in operation, it actually starting to work yesterday.

And the goal of this is to be a floating observational platform, to take look at all the operations along parts of the Gulf Coast, trying to contain that oil. This is going to be, I guess, you could say, you were -- I guess, to use a sports parlance -- this is basically the quarterback, the quarterback in the sky, directing skimmers, where they need to go, where they should be deployed.

But something else it's also going to do -- it's going to keep a very sharp eye on some of those pristine wet lands, to sharp eye on nesting grounds of the brown pelican and to also look for pods of dolphins -- any kind of animal that might be in distress. So, it's going to really serve a multitude of purposes.

Something else this thing is going to be doing is it's going to be retrofitting this week for this specific type of electromagnetic radar. It's going to be affixed to the blimp. That's going to be tested. And that will also be used into operation.

How this is going to be great. Once it goes up, it can be deployed for about 12 hours at a time, which is great news. Bad news is that if you have any sign of bad weather, strong winds, thunderstorms -- which do on occasion happen here in the Gulf Coast -- they're going to have to bring the blimp back down.

So, certainly some good aspects, a few minor bad ones. But overall, I would say, the good certainly outweighs the bad -- T.J.

HOLMES: Oh, that's some great news there. The blimp is going to be up and working, the quarterback. Well, one of the maybe receivers down there on the field, in the Gulf, this is a big, massive ship. And we're told it can make such a difference once it's actually up and running.

When is this big skimmer going to be up and running?

WOLF: All right. Let me see. I think you're talking about A Whale of a ship.

HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: We're talking about the mad mamma jamma of all ships. It's unbelievable. I'm going to refer to my notes. I used to take pride on being well-versed. But still, I have to reread these numbers because this still blows me away. Guys, deal with this for a just moment. This ship, when operational, if operational, can process 21 million -- 21 millions gallons of oily water at 75 percent of the total collected in the 2 1/2 months by 500 skimmers. Try to wrap your mind around that. I mean, that's just insane.

But the thing is, before they can actually use this, it has to pass certain steps, certain measures by the EPA. One of the things it has to measure is what is sent back into the Gulf of Mexico. The way this operates, the way the A Whale is going to operate, it's going to move right to the water, it's got vents on either side of the valve. That brings in that watery, oily mix. It keeps the oil on board, but then pushes clean water back out.

So, it's just kind of a separating device. The thing is, though, the amount of the oil that was re-released back into the Gulf has got to be very, very low. In fact, around 2 percent -- which means the clean water has to be at least 98 percent pure. That's a tough thing to do. It's even tougher to measure when you have rough seas. And that was the situation last week.

But why out in the Gulf of Mexico they're expecting much calmer, better conditions. So, testing will resume this week. And, hopefully, those testing will prove fruitful, and they'll be able to deploy this ship.

And get this -- they've got two more. They got the A Whale, and they got the B whale, and C Whale. All three of those put out by TMT, the Taiwanese company. Imagine, three of those out there in the Gulf, that'd be a tremendous, tremendous shot in the arm, certainly help to contain this oil.

HOLMES: Man, we will take the B Whale, the E Whale, the F and so on and so on and so on. But two great ...

WOLF: Let's go Z. Let's go Y.

HOLMES: Let's go get all of them. But two great resources you're telling us about this morning, Reynolds, the blimp and that Whale.

Reynolds, we appreciate you this morning.

We'll be checking in with our Reynolds Wolf plenty down in New Orleans.

Thanks so much, buddy -- Kate.

WOLF: You bet.

BOLDUAN: So, get this. Sell Fido and answer to the law? Well, the city -- there is a city where a trip to the pet store could soon be illegal. You will want to see this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: San Francisco, you can't have a pet there anymore. Just kidding. Not yet. Let me explain here.

San Francisco is debating now. They are debating a law that would ban the sale of pets. If this law passes, you wouldn't be able to buy any animal except for maybe Nemo. Supporters say the idea is to stop people from making those kind of rush decisions about kittens, hamsters, puppies -- they call them "impulse buys," just run out and grab something and then you don't put your heart and soul into it and maybe just let the animal run off.

So, many of those pets end up in shelters as well, end up on the streets, too. Pet shop owners say this would put them out of business. But they say, as well, it would encourage more adoptions from shelters.

BOLDUAN: Adoptions are great. That is something that is important, where they say there are those puppy mills and there are huge problems and these types of things. But ...

HOLMES: They're trying to attack the problem.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

HOLMES: So, you can't buy ...

BOLDUAN: I know you're like, I'm going to keep my mouth shut.

HOLMES: No, no. It's -- because I have two pets who came from shelters. Actually, Bonnie, you didn't know that.

SCHNEIDER: I don't have any pets.

HOLMES: You don't have any pets?

SCHNEIDER: No.

HOLMES: Well, don't move to San Francisco.

It's not implemented yet. They're just discussing it -- let me make that clear. But good morning to you.

SCHNEIDER: Good morning to both of you. Good morning.

Well, we're looking at some rough weather this morning. It's actually welcome rough weather because folks in the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast want the rain, because that will cool it off. Unbelievably hot there.

All right. Let's go and see what's going on. We're looking at temperatures that are finally going to cool down. And a lot of that has to do with the rain coming through. It's been just impressively hot, record breaking heat for places like Baltimore, Maryland, where the temperature climbed to 105 degrees earlier this week.

And, unfortunately, 10 deaths were caused by this heat. It was very serious when you have heat advisories for days and heat wave that lasts almost an entire week. Let's show you what's going on right now. Here's a look at the rain. And we'll zoom in right here at the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area and you'll see some stronger thunderstorms kind of rolling through that region. Then it gets even more intense as you head towards New Jersey and into New England.

These storms, as I said, are all part of a cold front that brought some heavy rains to the Midwest earlier this week. Now, the rain is going to slide off to the east and bring about relief from the heat. So, highs today in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast will be right around 80 degrees -- so much better than 102 degrees.

But it will still be very hot and unfortunately a little stormy for parts of the Gulf Coast. We had some powerful thunderstorms roll through the Atlanta area overnight.

Here's what's happening in New Orleans. This is where our heat advisory is. And it's also for coastal Mississippi. So, Biloxi will be feeling the heat as well.

Check this out, the heat index right here, 104 to 109 degrees. That is how it will feel outside.

And if you're wondering, does this more heat in the future? Well, we can actually show, as you see, our temperature outlook shows you the next two weeks that we're still looking at temperatures above average, all of the way from the Great Lakes to the Northeast, down to the mid-Atlantic.

And we've also talked about the heat in Seattle and Portland this week, temperatures there climb into the 90s. Well, it's not going to last, back to normal or below average temperatures. That means you'll see a lot of days where the high barely gets to 80 in the Pacific Northwest.

It's really been an interesting week for a lot of ups and downs with the thermometer. We'll talk more about that and the rest of the weekend forecast -- coming up.

Back to you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

HOLMES: Well, coming up here, you're going to hear some audio and the speaker on this audio is allegedly Mel Gibson. And he is going off on his ex-girlfriend, in particular, talking about a number of things, including her assets, if you will.

It's 13 minutes past the hour, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. Reminder, 7:13 in the morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back. A quarter after here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

And we are still looking at the live pictures, live feed 5,000 feet below the surface of the water there in the Gulf of Mexico. We told you that a lot of work was going to be going on this weekend. And this is the live feeds we are getting now.

Now, a short time ago, these live pictures were showing us what you're used to seeing, which is the oil gushing into the Gulf. We all are accustomed to seeing over the past month or so that that feed has been available. Well, they are this weekend going to be working to try to put a new cap on top of the well. They're removing the one that was on there, putting another one on. It's going to have a tighter seal that will allow them to collect more oil.

Now, they said they're going to be doing this with robotic arms. Of course, they're having to do this all from the surface, robotically control these things. But, apparently, some work is going on.

And again, we're just making that judgment from our naked eye. No one from BP or the government is exactly giving us a play by play here. But clearly, something in work right now is going on. And we're not seeing the picture anymore of the actual gusher.

So, BP is apparently moved the cameras around and showing now us, showing the world and something there I'm sure using as well to be able to do whatever work they are doing. But again, they said robotically -- this weekend -- these robotic arms are going to have to take the cap off and begin to process of putting another cap on.

Now, again, we are just showing you the picture as we're seeing it when it changed. But, again, we're trying to get someone on the line from BP or possibly the federal government to let us know exactly what we are seeing take place.

BOLDUAN: It shows you at least how intricate the work is. I mean, remember, this is a mile below the surface.

HOLMES: A mile down. Can you imagine trying to control -- do something this precise a mile down?

BOLDUAN: Yes. I know. It's fascinating to watch.

HOLMES: It is. And we'll keep an eye on this live picture for you, again, on this day 82 of the oil disaster.

Meanwhile, "Mad Max" might be really mad right now. I'm talking about the "Braveheart" guy, the "Lethal Weapon" guy, Mel Gibson. He is used to playing leading roles in some memorable movies.

And you remember this shot here, a mug shot. Also, he's played some over the top but likable characters. And one of those roles even earned him best director, best picture Academy nods.

But he's not winning any awards for his bizarre behavior as of late. But do you remember this, a few years ago, he apologized for making some anti-Semitic remarks during a drunk driving arrest? But today, Gibson back in the headlines for another alleged rant.

BOLDUAN: Alleged rant. He's allegedly caught on tape raging at his ex-girlfriend and ...

HOLMES: The mother of his child.

BOLDUAN: ... the mother of his child.

CNN entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not the kind of spotlight Mel Gibson wants. The actor/director is allegedly caught on tape berating and cursing at his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, while hurling a racial epitaph.

Entertainment outlet Radar Online released this explosive audio on its Web site, a shocking conversation purportedly between Gibson and Grigorieva, who is also the mother of his young daughter.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You go out in public and it's a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) embarrassment to me. You look like a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on heat and if you get raped by a pack of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) it will be your fault. All right? Because you provoked it, you are provocatively dressed all the time, with your fake (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you feel you have to show off.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ANDERSON: CNN cannot independently validate the voice is actually Gibson's and the actor's reps have neither confirmed nor denied the tape's existence or authenticity. His publicist simply says, we can't comment due to legal nature of the matter.

But the voice sounds like Gibson's and Grigorieva's publicist tells CNN the female voice is, in fact, Grigorieva's. The publicist, Stephen Jaffe, also tells CNN the transcript of the conversation on Radar Online is accurate but that Grigorieva did not provide the tape to the media and doesn't know how Radar Online obtained it.

In excerpts of unreleased portions of the audio tape, Radar Online reports Gibson angrily claimed Grigorieva lied about having breast implants, saying in part, quote, "They're too big and they look stupid. They look like a Vegas B, like a Vegas whore. And you go around sashaying in your tight clothes and stuff. I won't stand for that anymore."

The vitriol continues as the man purported to be Gibson abusively addresses child custody and their relationship. "Stay in the F-ing house. I'm not giving it to you but I'll let you stay there. OK? And I will take care of my child but I don't want you anymore."

Radar Online claims the source told them Grigorieva recorded the conversation because she feared for her safety. Gibson and Grigorieva are reportedly locked in a custody dispute over their child.

Gibson is currently being investigated by Malibu California authorities for an alleged domestic violence incident involving Grigorieva in January.

And CNN has confirmed entertainment agency William Morris Endeavor no longer represents Gibson.

Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: In response to the audio tape released by Radar Online, Mel Gibson's longtime publicist tells CNN, quote, "We can't comment due to the legal nature of the matter."

HOLMES: All right. We will turn to something you've been hearing about lately and hopefully, you're not getting the notices in the mail, you know, overdraft protection? Your bank wants you to have this and it can do some good, I suppose, but they are making some money off of you.

But do you really want it? We'll explain. Twenty past the hour. Our guy, Clyde Anderson, is here with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. You may have gotten one of these letters recently from your bank, encouraging you to enroll in this overdraft protection. Banks can't automatically sign you up for it anymore. Now you actually have to opt into it.

But before you sign up, you need to read between the lines. And you need to talk to our financial analyst, Clyde Anderson, here with us to explain.

Good morning.

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Good morning.

HOLMES: How are you?

ANDERSON: Doing great. How are you?

HOLMES: I am -- I am well. You have to opt in?

ANDERSON: Yes.

HOLMES: Now, why are they coming at us right now with all of these letters and what not trying to get us to opt in?

ANDERSON: Well, the rules of the game have changed now. And as of July 1st, they had to do this. This was a new law that came into play that say that they have to notify customers and give them the opportunity to opt in, instead of just automatically doing it which they would do in the past.

HOLMES: They want you in it.

ANDERSON: They want you in it.

HOLMES: They're not just doing to it because they're trying to protect you with this overdraft protection.

ANDERSON: Right. And that's what they say.

HOLMES: It's all about the money.

ANDERSON: That's what they say, trying to protect you.

HOLMES: Yes.

ANDERSON: But we're talking about $38 billion business. Last year, they made $38 billion in fees alone. And so, really, what they're giving you in essence is a high interest loan. When we're talking about overdraft protection, they're going to protect.

So, if you write a check and you don't have to money in the account to cover it, they'll play that check for you, but they're going to charge you $35 generally.

HOLMES: That's one thing if you write a check maybe that was for your rent and that was a couple thousand dollars or whatever it may be, a thousand dollars plus. But if you just went to Starbucks and you got a $5 cup of coffee ...

ANDERSON: There you go.

HOLMES: ... and then that's going to end up costing you 40 bucks.

ANDERSON: Forty bucks, a high-cost latte, you know? And that's what it's going to be. And a lot of people don't think about that. Or burger, you're paying $40 for a hamburger just because maybe you didn't monitor the account well and they cost you on some of those overdraft.

HOLMES: Now, who would you recommend this for still? I mean, this -- I guess it could protect some people.

ANDERSON: Well, yes, it definitely can protect you. But, again, you're talking about a high-interest loan. I mean, you're talking about $100 and paying $35 in interest. I mean, that's just ridiculous when you think about it.

So, what you should do, though, is be able to tie your account to your checking -- I mean, to your savings account or to another credit line that you can have. Make your own overdraft protection. And you can tell the bank to do this. So, when the checking account goes to zero, you can then tie it to your savings account and they can pull from that savings account to pay the bill.

HOLMES: They can no longer, though, force you.

Now, what happened if you were already sign up in the overdraft -- nothing changed. If you were already in it before the law came into place, and you were signed up in it. If they automatically signed you up, again, before the law -- you're still in it right now.

ANDERSON: You're still in it right now.

HOLMES: And you can opt out if you want to.

ANDERSON: Yes. And you really need to explore all your options and decide, is this really good for you. I mean, you're talking $1,200 -- three over drafts in a month, you're talking about paying $1,200 a year, you know, to the banks.

And their customers and most profitable customers are the ones keeping this $3,000 in the bank are the ones that have 10 overdrafts a year. And that's the average person. And so, that's what you really got to look out.

HOLMES: Now, how are they coming at us, the customers, these days, asking you to sign up or if you want to sign up. But they're coming with some pretty strong language that kind of scare the mess out of you like -- oh, I need this.

ANDERSON: Yes, yes. Definitely. They're coming at you and saying, hey, you know, beware. They've got interesting verbiage that they're using. I think we have an example right here.

It says, "Your debit card may not work the same way anymore, even if you made a deposit, unless we hear from you. If you don't contact us, your everyday debit transactions that are overdrawn won't be protected." So, what they're really saying is contact us right away, because if you don't contact right away, even if you deposited money in your account, you could have a problem.

So, to me, it's a scare tactic.

HOLMES: A scare tactic. But again, we have this big money, $38 billion business fees.

ANDERSON: Thirty-eight billion dollar business, in fees.

And then even on the ATMs, you got to watch out, because they can charge you that as well. They have some tricks that say that if you go to the ATM and you say, hey, I want to withdraw 100 bucks. They'll put a display out and say, hey, warning, you may not have enough funds in this account to cover the transaction ...

HOLMES: But we'll give it to you anyway.

ANDERSON: ... but we'll give it to you for a $35 fee. Would you like to proceed, yes or no? And at that time, you have a choice to make. You can decide to say yes, I want to proceed and knowing that they're going to charge those fees.

HOLMES: Clyde, that's why we got you here. We appreciate the breakdown. Clyde Anderson, as always, our financial analyst, people need to watch out the fine print, those fees they will get to you all the time.

Good to have you as always.

ANDERSON: Thank you. Pleasure to be here.

HOLMES: We're going to have more top stories as we come back to you live at the top of the hour, Kate and I, for CNN SATURDAY MORNING as it continues.

But, first, "DR. SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." -- it begins here in just a moment.