Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20100630

in pressure, so there are indications that alex could be strengthening before land fall. it is a slow-moving storm system. so this will be a long, drawnout day for you folks. take a look at the radar picture here. this really tells you how much of the gulf this encam passes. you also see right there, the eye, the center of rotation. there's about 135 or maybe 40 miles. let's put a little distance. about 130 to maybe 140 miles from the coast. looks like i missed the center off a little bit. we expect to say land fall maybe over night tonight or early tomorrow morning but the tropical storm force winds are beginning to push in. just in gusts, not sustained just yet. in south padre, 52-mile-per-hour gusts, 33 miles per hour here in corpus christi and galveston, 20-mile-per-hour gusts. so as the lines move through, we watch that increase as the storm continues to get closer. rainfall totals will be incredible with this, especially to the right and center of this storm. we could see a foot of rain in northern parts of mexico and southern texas. 3 to 6 inches widespread and 2 to 4 in san antonio and austin. that flood threat widespread. coastal flooding will be a bigger concern, over here in louisiana and mississippi. we could see waves and tides one to four feet above the average and that could move some of that oil farther inland than it normally would and push it farther off to the west. let's talk about the forecast track. you see the projected path and we talk about the cone of uncertainty. it's small. all of this is in mexico, not texas. this is a huge storm. this has tropical storm force winds that extend out about 200 miles from the center of storm and less than that from the center away from brownsville. we expect to see the impact and texas. we will continue to monitor this situation, conditions just guying downhill as we speak. >> appreciate it. thank you. got to tell you, the strong winds and high waves from hurricane alex are complicating efforts to clean up the oil leak in the gulf. day 72 of the disaster, and boats that would be skimming oil are back in port today. josh levs has that part of the story for us. >> yeah, tony, this is one of the big problems because of the storm. the skimmers have had to be idled. let's look at the video because sadly, every day we are getting more and more video showing the devastation in the gulf. this is the live pictures under water there. you can see it continues to pour out. what we keep getting here over the weeks and months, some of what we look at is from june or may or the last couple of days and we keep seeing similar pictures all of the time. this is what continues to happen in the gulf. when you look at the surface pictures, you see what the skimmers should be doing but can't do because they have to be idle during the storm. i have new numbers that we got from bp this morning. about 25,000 barrels of oil collected yesterday. those numbers have stayed about the same for a couple weeks now. about 25,000 barrels every day. i want you to know that there is a third ship due to arrive next week. i have a picture here to help explain that. what's been going on in general is there is a major ship called the enterprise ship and the q-4000 flaring over here and there is another ship coming next weem to hold onto more. there are the relief wells that are making head way. keep in mind, the goal -- you have the main problem here, the original well. you have the two relief wells they're building on either side. they say they are on track for august or maybe ahead. one is 17,000 feet and one at 12,000 feet and there is more to go. once they get in there, there's a lot of stuff they have to do to make it come over. let's look at this. his is pretty cool imagery here at cnn.com. it started in april and you can continue to see it grow as it aflikts this region. even with the recovery efforts, it is reaching a large mass. the skimmers need to be out there doing work as soon as they can. >> josh, if yufb's been away and enjoyed the weekend and yesterday was dominated by the kagan hearings, that's a good reset on where we are. he has promised to speed up the way bp pays claims. right now, kenneth feinberg is testifying before the house panel about the process. president obama appointed feinberg as claims administrator. he explained his role to the house small business committee. >> this is an entirely independent facility. it is not beholden to the administration. it is not beholden to bp. by agreement they decided let's establish and fund a truly credible, independent facility that will process eligible claims and pay them promptly. second, understand, please, that i am not the administrator of the $20 billion escrow fund. i am the administrator of the gulf coast claims facility which will draw on part of that $20 billion fund. >> duh. good clarification there. that's exactly what the folks affected by this want to hear. a senate vote confirming general petraeus as the top u.s. commander in afghanistan is expected next hour. the armed services committee has given his recommendation. if confirmed, petraeus says he will look into whether rules limiting u.s. fire power in afghanistan are placing troops at greater risk. taliban militants attacked an air field used by forces near the border with pakistan. he hit the entrance with a car bomb, rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire. nato says the air field was not breached and several insurgents died in the attack. supreme court nominee elena kagan facing another round of questioning before the senate judiciary committee right now. yesterday she managed to fend off attacks and scored points with her sense of humor. she is two hours into today's hearings. dana bash, how is it going today? >> reporter: so far what she's had are questions from the most junior members of the committee, those who didn't get a chance to ask their questions yesterday, a lot of questions about dense legal issues, but also one interesting moment when the senator from minnesota asked the potential justice, the solicitor general, about what chief justice john roberts said in his hearing, and specifically what is now famous in legal circles about him saying that the role of the justice is slik an empire, to call balls and strikes as he or she sees them. she asked whether or not she agrees with that metaphor, and kagan says, yes, but with an amendment. >> the metaphor might suggest to some people that law is a kind of robotic enterprise, that there's a kind of automatic quality to it, that it's easy. we stand there and go ball and strike and everything is clear cut and that there's no judgment in the process. and i do think that's not right, and it's especially not right at the supreme court level where the hardest cases go, and the cases that have been the subject of most dispute. >> reporter: so, you see there an example. how senators, even democrats, are trying to get to the heart of what kind of justice she would be on the supreme court, tony. >> so, dana, how effective has elena kagan's charm been with this committee? >> reporter: it has been fascinating to watch. she really, particularly all day yesterday really did -- i think she took some senators by surprise where she interjected in places where normally a nominee would not do, when senators were having conversations among themselves. as the day went on, when senators, her most ardent intear gators on the republican side followed her lead and when tom coburn was frustrated she wasn't answering questions, instead of going at her, he said, you're dancing. you might as well be on "dancing with the stars," the tone she set for herself. i have to show you this. it is so cold in this room. they turned the air conditioning down so no one sweats. i have my winter coat because everyone is absolutely freezing here, just to give you a sense of the theatrics and all the actual feel of this room here. >> maybe we'll get some hot questions during the hearing today. good to see you. stay warm. >> okay. still to come, more than 1,800 veterans possibly, underline this, possibly exposed to hiv or hepatitis at a va hospital. our medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins me shortly to tell us how it happened. >> let's look at the numbers on the stock exchange. we're flat. we will take flat after yesterday's ride. wow. we will follow the numbers throughout the day for you. there aren't many of us who use a cellphone just to make phone calls. but when at&t or verizon offer you an unlimited plan for $69.99, that's all it's good for -- phone calls. with sprint, for the same price, you get unlimited text, unlimited web and unlimited calling to every mobile phone in america. now that's more like it. [ male announcer ] $69.99 for unlimited text, web and calling to any mobile in america. only from sprint. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. so, think about this for a moment. you got a letter saying you may have been exposed to hiv or hepatitis during your dental visit. that's exactly what happened to 1,800 veterans in missouri. elizabeth cohen joining me now. do you know what happened here? >> we're told that in dental offices you clean the equipment that gets used on people's mouths. what they did is hand washed it and then put it in the sterilizer. i was told by one expert, if your hands are dirty and the touch the equipment even if it goes in the sterile slizer, it's not a good practice. we're told that people have dirty stuff on your hands and you don't want hands all over those pieces of equipment. that's not the standard operating procedure. >> you're starting to suggest something really nasty here. >> i am, and i won't go into detail, but i think you get it. >> i do get it. these people possibly, possibly have been exposed? >> possibly. these people may all be fine, and often in these situations, people are fine but what's worrisome about this is this is not the first time something like this happened at a va hospital. unfortunately, the list goes on. today in missouri, 1800 veterans warned about possible contamination. earlier this year in california, veterans got letters about contamination in a different way, and in march of last year, tennessee and georgia, more veterans got letters like this. why can't they get it right? >> you see the numbers, and what's important to point out is we know about this because this is a va facility, a federal facility, and it has to report this information. >> yes. you are so right. >> connection here. >> the connection here is that this could be happening and is happening in hospitals around the country but they don't necessarily write a press release about it. the infections that people get in the hospital kill tens of thousands of people a year. you don't have to be a veteran. >> that's an important piece of context in all of this. next hour, you are going to tackle what question for us? >> we're going to tackle the question, what do do you about this? you hear tens of thousands of people die from infects in hops and you can get them from doctor's offices. what do you do? it's not an easy problem to solve. >> missouri congressman, russ carnahan is calling for a full investigation at what went wrong at the vat hospital. . he expressed outrage last hour right here. >> it makes your blood boil. the va has a solemn responsibility to take care of our veterans. this is not the battle they need to be fighting now, and we have to get to the bottom of this so this cannot happen again and to be sure that the people that were put at risk are evaluated quickly. the military is having to answer for another deeply troubling revelation, mismanagement at arlg national cemetery. an army report confirms that huns of the nation's fallen heroes have been mismanaged. burial markers incorrectly marked. chris lawrence has reported of on the army's reaction. >> i deeply apologize to the families of the honored fallen resting in that hallowed ground who question the care of their loved ones. >> reporter: no one is getting fired. the army placed the number two man on administrative leave, and the superintendent was allowed to stay on in a lesser role with reduced benefits and a letter of rep plimt. giving your decision to retire, i have elected not to initiate more severe disciplinary action, and this derogatory information will likely overshadow your 19 years of dedicated, faithful is selfless service as superintendent. >> i don't know what it's going to take to get them fired over there. >> the house armed services committee is demanding answers on a hearing right now. they told them that the army has resolved 26 of the 211 graves identified. a sure bet in washington? never happens. a deal done on the financial try form bill threatens now to unravel. ut bars... they're made from whole roasted nuts and dipped in creamy peanut butter, making your craving for a sweet & salty bar irresistible, by nature valley. late details on the gulf oil disaster, day 72. big waves whipped up by hurricane alex are interrupting cleanup along the gulf coast. skimming boats have been called back to shore because of 12-foot surf. other top stories -- president obama is heading for wisconsin this hour. he will hold a town hall in race seen about the lack of jobs. here's proof soccer is serious stuff in france. parliament is holding hearings into the world cup meltdown. the situation made worse by player boycotts and insults from coaches. the team's head coach is blaming the debacle on the media. another less than hoped for jobs report is blunting stock momentum today. right now the dow is at least positive, right? after yesterday's 268 point plunge. we're up 22 points. payroll processor adp reported of that the economy created 13,000 private sector jobs in june. five times that amount was predicted. where do those predictions come from? june's unemployment rate is due on friday. the historic financial reform bill looked on track for finalproochl before congress breaks for the fourth. now the democrats find themselves two votes short in the senate. the death of senator robert byrd cost them one vote and robert brown withdrew his support because a bank fee was tacked on at the last minute. they scrapped the fee and replaced it with money from the federal bailout but brown hasn't said if it's enough to get him back on board. the house is set to vote tomorrow but the bill will probably wait until after the fourth recess in the senate. job openings in china. the only requirement? you got to be white. are you kidding? chinese companies are renting white people as window dressing. it's about perception. they want to make people believe the company can hire westerners. that means the company has lots of money and prestige. this american played the role of a jewelry company executive. >> for me, i thought i was standing in for somebody who because of time commitments wasn't able to participate. it didn't bother me as i found out and became more suspicious of the company, i decided not to do it again and haven't done it since. >> i had no idea what we were doing. we were sent there and after we found out it was them trying to con themselves, i don't mind what they do to themselves, the government people trying to con the government people. >> white women are also in demand, but usually they play the role of the girlfriend. the oil spill is forcing the community to rely on handouts. they are not happy about it and we will hear from them. boss: come a long way, that's for sure. and so have you since you started working here way back when. gecko: ah, i still have nightmares. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. to the seekers of things which are one of a kind. the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those who'd climb mountains or sail across seas... for the perfect vanilla or honey from bees. to the lovers of orchards where simple is grown, who treat every bite as a world of its own. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real... from we who believe... we know just how you feel. häagen-dazs. you go next if you had a ould hoveround power chair? . two women whose husbands died in the gulf oil rig explosion are calling for accountability and fairness. they are testifying before a senate committee. they want changes in legislation that limits liability for accidents more than three miles off shore. one woman tells her story about her conversation with her husband before the explosion. >> we talked about our future together, what he wanted for the kids. we talked about how to plan. we made plans together and now i have to plan for a future without my soulmate, without my husband. >> many gulf families are living paycheck to paycheck before the oil disaster, and now for those who make their living in the seafood industry, those checks have stopped come, in all together. lisa sylvester reporting they are struggling to meet basic needs. >> reporter: at the bay area food bank, some 12,000 pounds of food are loaded up. the mobile food pantry is headed out. an alabama food community with fishing was in the blood. charlie's family has been at it for more than three generations. for a man used to catching his own fish, it's hard to accept a handout. >> things in the bayou ain't what it used to be. all my friends have been put out of business and stuff. their livelihoods, fish, shrimp and oyster we do what we can. >> reporter: the boats sit idle. it was a decent season last year, but not this year. this area was battered by hurricane katrina but this is a different kind of licking because as of now it's hard to see an end. >> if you have a hurricane, you can clean it up, you know, but this is just like a -- you can clean it up, but it still keeps coming and coming. a hurricane, you can go every day and do something, but the oil, it just keeps coming. >> reporter: they are joined by some 300 looking for food to put on the table, eggs, chowder. one-third of asian immigrants. this woman picks crab for a living. she was making as much as $500 a week. now it's down to $150. >> the truck is not coming. we have no work today. >> when you look at our service area, alabama and mississippi, in particular, i think they're number one and number three in the highest poverty levels in america. so you have already communities that have a lot of people in need, and the support structure, because of the recession, it didn't grow. >> reporter: despite the uncertainty, not knowing when the oil leak will stop and having to go without, folks like charlie have no desire to pack up and leave. >> i've been around the world but this is home. we always come back to it. come back to it. president obama has a lot on his plate already. now he is pushing for immigration reform. why the issue is emerging as a priority for the president. ♪ people say i'm forgetful. maybe that's why we go to so many memorable places. love the road you're on. the subaru outback. motor trend's 2010 sport/utility of the year. . president obama now pushing for immigration reform. he is set to give a speech tomorrow and it is emerging as a priority for the president. details from white house correspondent dan loathian. >> reporter: juggling the global economic crisis, a supreme court nomination and the disastrous gulf oil spill, president obama is now pushing hard on immigration reform, meeting face to face with immigration advocates. the message he got, get comprehensive reform done this year. >> this far into the obama administration, we were not expecting 1,000 people a day to be deported. we are seeing a continuation of the bush administration enforcement policies. as a candidate, he promised to move immigration reform. as a president, he's run into a republican wall of obstruction. >> reporter: in his monday meets with grass roots groups, he recommitted to fixing the broken immigration system and said his administration will continue to work with congress to act at the earliest possible opportunity but earliest depends on political hurdles, which the president acknowledged in a may speech. >> of course it's going to be tough. that's the truth. anyone who says it's going to be easier or i can wave a magic wand and make it happen hasn't been paying attention to how this town works. >> reporter: the arizona law is a new problem. the obama administration is considering a legal challenge to that law which could be filed next week. meeting with the president, they urge quick action. >> is immigration getting traction? i don't think we can avoid this problem anymore. i think that's clear thot president. >> reporter: president obama also met with members of the congressional hispanic caucus. there is another issue, hispanics voted for then candidate obama on this issue, and if it doesn't happen soon, they may not be there for him in the future. dan loathian, cnn, the white house. cold war style intrigue. we will take a look at some of the people accused in the russian spy ring make, headlines next in the cnn newsroom. and if you named your own price on car insurance, you could be picking up this tab yourself. so get allstate. 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[ male announcer ] give yourself an edge. a complete multivitamin with more magnesium to help support healthy muscle function. more b vitamins to help convert food to fuel. more confidence in a healthy you. new one a day men's pro edge. let's see here. 11 accused russian spies fueling instreeg in leafy cul-de-sacs today from bloor to washington. deep cover agents americanized themselves over the years to blend in and feed info to moscow. deborah feyerick has been looking into the backgrounds, and they are quite a group. >> reporter: talking on youtube, anna chapman says she's inspired by the quantity and quality of people she met in new york, successful in business. >> translator: i'm working on a project that will connect two capitals, new york and moscow, from my point of view, the two major cities for me to look for most talented people. >> reporter: the pren you're peers to have started a search engine for russian real estate but chapman says an acquaintance is not so much james bond as she is james bond's girlfriend. the fbi says she's a highly trained intelligence operative, a spy sophisticated enough to elude detection until now. an fbi agent says she was inside this coffee shop when a van driven by a russian government official drove by and fbi agents detected a wireless signal and say anna was transferring data from her computer to a computer inside that vehicle. whether real estate was her real career another woman was also involved in real estate. ann folly is described as a native of canada and was educated in switzerland, canada and france. her alibi on a trip to russian was she was working as a business consultant. her husband, donald howard heathfield, a sales consultant for an energy company is also under arrest. prosecutors say a birth certificates with his name was found in a safe deposit box and although it appears genuine, the real donald heathfield passed away five years ago. one spy worked as a journalist for the new york based spanish newspaper el diario. vicky pal lez traveled to south america where she received $76,000 for recruiting sources and her husband juan lazaro was herd telling his wife he and his parents moved to siberia when the war started. >> most reporters are like you guys, innocent. . it's very scary. >> reporter: the reason fbi agents stepped in when they did, one of the suspects was getting ready to leave the united states, so agents had to arrest everyone connected to this decade long investigation. deborah feyerick, cnn, new york. a cnn oil alert on day 72 of the disaster. hurricane alex is complicating efforts to contain the cleanup of the leak. a 12-foot wave stirred up by the storm sends skimming ships back to port. in afghanistan, an attack on a key base. insurgents attacked an air field in jalalabad and killed at least 32 people. nato says several taliban fighters died. more questions today for supreme court nominee elena kagan. it is the third day of her confirmation hearings before the committee. she expressed respect for judicial restraint and precedent. a king ending his reign after 25 years on television. my auto policy's just getting a little too expensive. with progressive, you get the "name your price" option, so we build a policy to fit your budget. wow! the price gun. ♪ ah! wish we had this. we'd just tell people what to pay. yeah, we're the only ones that do. i love your insurance! bill? tom? hey! it's an office party! the freedom to name your price. only from progressive. call or click today. 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[ male announcer ] discover the accu-chek aviva system and save with a prescription discount card. start your discovery today. so during his broadcast last night, the great one, larry king, announced he was hanging up his suspenders after 25 years on television. >> 25 years ago i at across this table for new york governor mario cuomo for the first broadcast of "larry king live." decades later i talked to the guys here at cnn and told them i would like to end the nightly show on cnn. they have graciously agreed to, giving me and my wife more time to get to the kids' little league games. i will still be a part of the family hosting several specials on major national and international subjects. >> 25 years and more than 50,000 interviews. that adds up to a lot of memorable moments with "larry king live." here's some with reflects from the man himself. >> i name is larry king and this is the premiere edition of "larry king live." every night at this time, we will be here for one hour. at the time turner called me and said, larry, do you want to work for my you work from 9:00 to 10:00. bob wolf, my about, called me up and said, it's nice money, doubling your pay. if at the end of the year you're unhappy, you can bail out. i said, i'll try it. i tried it. the favorite guests are those who can do four things, and that would be, have passion, a sense of humor, anger, and an ability to explain what you do very well. >> larry, all of the interviews, what's been your favorite? >> if i had to pick one -- there's so many, it would probably be brando because he's so hard to get. he was sweet and funny. at the end of the interview he kissed me. he was responsive. i like live tv. i like unpredictability. there's nothing wrong with that. >> you're being inappropriate. >> inappropriate king live continues. ahmadinejad. that was something. are you denying that a holocaust existed? >> you can not violate the rights of the audience. >> i understand that, but all i want to know is do you agree there was a holocaust. >> hello, larry king. >> hello, priscilla. >> of that the most expensive "larry king live" done, the expense of going there, the crews setting up grace land, renting the cadillacs. >> i like presidents. you can't get any higher than that. do you still like this job. >> it's the best job on earth. >> george bush the first, one of the regular guys of all time. being a former president, seeing your name on buildings. what's that like? >> when i see these things, it's great. >> is it hard to drive by the watergate? >> i have never been in there. >> never been in. >> no, other people were in there unfortunately. >> i live to be on top of the story in the middle of things. he's on route 5, 405, and i'm following a map. he's driven through two counties, and we fold them all of the way. america under attack. >> this is the north tower. that was the south tower pep. >> i knew my life would change. ♪ got an angel beside me ♪ an angel to guide me ♪ got a date with an angel and i'm on my way to heaven ♪ ♪ when the chapel bells ring out ♪ ♪ i'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse ♪ darling, good-bye. >> and i am young enough to remember larry's great radio show back in the day. larry is not done yet. tonight he has a primetime exclusive with elizabeth edwards and here's a preview. >> she said your relationship was dysfunctional, toxic way before she came along. >> if that were true, why would john and i have worked so hard under such difficult and public circumstances to make the relationship work? we really -- i really think we both worked hard in the end to make it work. i did not think -- and i suppose there are a lot of women in her position who like to justify their behavior. >> rationalize? >> right, that this relationship in which they are putting themselves wasn't valuable. it was clearly valuable to both of us and something we tried hard to save. tonight a "larry king live" primetime exclusive, elizabeth edwards on his split in john edwards, her battle with terminal cancer. "larry king live" tonight 9:00 eastern. to the seekers of things which are one of a kind. the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those who'd climb mountains or sail across seas... for the perfect vanilla or honey from bees. to the lovers of orchards where simple is grown, who treat every bite as a world of its own. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real... from we who believe... we know just how you feel. häagen-dazs. we're looking at the churning. that's alex here. and we're always concerned that we're going to get some kind of tornado, tornadic activity. >> right. >> and that's coming to pass, isn't it? >> yeah, that happens when it gets closer to land, a lot of spin with hurricanes, and so it's the right front quadrant. and so now the storm prediction center has issued a tornado watch which includes southern parts of texas at this time. in addition to that, we just got a tornado warning, which has been issued, and this includes you in brownsville, texas. so cameron county, florida doppler radar is reporting towards brownsville, and so you can see the warning right there. these outer bands will continue to make their way on shore, so this threat will be ongoing as we head through the rest of the afternoon and evening. those winds have been increasing in speed along the coast. we have been seeing gusts now beyond 50 miles per hour. so we'll also look for heavy rainfall and some flooding in this area. we could see over a foot, as well. the latest advisory showing you those maximum winds, 80 miles per hour. but this still could strengthen before landfall and teen tony, we think could happen late tomorrow. >> we want to get you to the best financial website on the web. cnnmoney.com. take a look at the lead story here. credit card traps here to stay. even after the final phase of the government's card goes into effect this summer. credit card companies will be able to sidestep the rules and hit you with those hated, dreaded fees. let's look at the new york stock exchange, big number here. and we are trading in positive territory. how about that? as opposed to what we did yesterday, which was to essentially tank 268 points. we're up 35. nasdaq right now is in positive territory, as well, up 17 points. on wall street, got to tell you, it is a big week for jobs week at new reports on the labor market today, tomorrow and friday. the headline today is that the private sector added 13,000 jobs this month. let's get on over here to alison kosik. she is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. great to see you. tease this out. the good, the bad. it's a positive number, but it's not a huge number. >> yeah, i mean, tony, at this point, think of it as a baby step forward. it's really not going to be enough to bring down the unemployment rate. and let me explain why that is. by looking at the jobs picture in a broader sense. as far as adp goes, adp says jobs were added in the private sector. and that's good news. but the problem is, those gains are small. we really need to be adding 100,000 jobs every month, just to keep up with population growth. but it looks good compared to where we have been, if you look back in july, tony, we lost 369,000 jobs in one month. so any job gain, even if it's that 13,000, is really a bonus. >> all right. how is this playing out with markets? >> well, we are at the end of the third quarter, the april, may and june quarter. and it's been a painful three months. look where things are now. the dow is down 9% for the second quarter. we're trading below 10,000 for the dow industrials. and who can forget the flash crash? we saw the dow industrials plunge almost 1,000 points, only to bounce back a little bit. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 have each lost 11%. look, we have got a couple things weighing on the markets. first of all, we've got those debt problems overseas. and if asia and europe fall back into a recession, that could hit us really hard. also, we're being plagued here in the united states by high unemployment. and it's expected that high unemployment is going to last. and that will wind up dragging on the economy as a whole, pretty much touching everything, including consumer spending, the housing market, really touching everything in the economy. but i've got a little bit of a silver lining for you, tony, to leave on a hope note here. there usually is a pause when there is a recovery under way. so hopefully this is just a little brief pause, right? let's try to stay positive. >> it's been a recovery in fits and starts. see you next hour. remember the $180 billion of your taxpayer dollars that went to bail out insurance giant aig? well, a house oversight committee is actually holding a hearing right now on the role of derivatives in the nation's credit crunch. we will bring you a live report. maybe we need to explain derivatives, as well. plus, we will take you live to afghanistan for an update on the taliban attack on an air field used by international troops. those stories and much more next hour right here in the cnn "newsroom." through good times , when our clients' needs changed we changed to meet them. through the years, when some lost their way, we led the way with new ideas for the financial challenges we knew would lie ahead. this rock has never stood still. and there's one thing that will never change. we are, the rock you can rely on. prudential. ies who need we are, the rock you can rely on. assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little or no cost to you. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. hi i'm doug harrison. we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. in fact, if we qualify you for medicare reimbursement and medicare denies your claim, we'll give you your new power chair or scooter free. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today. on day 72 of the massive oil spill in the gulf, and is some are acting on their outrage by boycotting bp gas stations, as you know. we have been following this developing story. mary snow reporting now, bp is helping independent owners and operators who are taking a blow aimed at the company. >> reporter: owning this chicago bp station, bob jukness is spending a lot of his time explaining to customers bp doesn't own the station, that he's an independent owner. >> every time something happens, where they try to stop the leak, and it fails, they're coming in the next day, saying, well now what are you gonna do? >> reporter: as a result, he says business at his ten stations has dropped 20%. the backlash has been building. >> boycott bp! >> reporter: along with protests across the country, more than 700,000 people have signed up to the boycott bp fan page on facebook. and public citizen is calling on consumers to boycott bp products for three months. but what about independent bp gas station owners? we asked the president of the advocacy group. >> there's no question that a boycott is going to hurt some innocent victims. that's true for any boycott. whether or not bp owns the stations. people will be hurt. and that's something that has to be taken into account for anyone who calls a boycott at any time. but we do need a way to hold bp accountable, and this is one way to do it. >> reporter: of the 10,000-plus bp stations, the vast majority are independently owned, and owners have been turning up pressure on bp for help. the company is now offering help to the tune of an estimated $60 million. cash is being offered to some owners, many wanted to be able to cut the price of gasoline to bring back customers. owners are also being offered a reduction in credit card fees and marketing and advertising. and in a statement the company left the door open, saying bp will continue to evaluate the programs and offers as the situation and environment evolves. also reaching out to gas station owners, public citizen. it wants gas station owners to speak out publicly against bp. bob jukness, for one, says he's not signing up. >> am i frustrated with some of the things that have occurred in the gulf? yes. am i disappointed in the clean-up efforts to date? yes. but at the end of the day, i'm still associated with the bp brand, and i have to do what i can to salvage my business. >> reporter: mary snow, cnn, new york. hello again, everyone, i'm tony harris. top of the hour in the cnn "newsroom," where anything can happen. here are the big stories and the people behind them. hurricane alex steers toward the mexico/texas coast this hour. the storm stirs big waves that interrupt oil clean-up in the gulf. oyster boats get a green light to return to one stretch of gulf water. but fishermen worry about what the oil and chemical dispersants may have done to the crop. >> that's the big question mark. will it have an impact? yes. to what extent? we don't know. >> you're online right now, and we are too. ines ferre is following the top stories trending on the internet. ines? >> tony, it's called car surfing and some teens are doing it in california, causing a lot of controversy. also turning on google and on cnn, larry king announcing he'll be hanging up his suspenseders, soon. let's get to our lead story now. stocks are trending a little higher today, right? up and down and then up again. one day after fears of a double dip recession spooked investors, reresulted in a big 268-point loss. right now stocks are in positive territory, up 28 points. in the last five days, the dow jones industrial average is off 4%. for the year, 6%. past executives from meltdown firm aig are the guests of honor today. the president's financial crisis commission wants to know all about those super risky derivatives at the heart of the collapse. the cnn money team is all over this. christine romans is covering this story. christine, let's start with something of an explainer. what's a derivative? >> what is a derivative? oh, tony. please. derivative is at the heart of this whole mess we have ourselves in, and the derivative we're talking about here, it's not like a stock, something that's a shared company that you can buy and sell. and you're buying and selling actual stake in the company. this is -- this is a derivative of a stake in a company. or a stake in a certain financial instrument. it is basically a bet. a contract between two people. of if something goes up, i'll pay you this, if something goes down, i'll take this or pay you this. so these derivatives got so complicated tony, and were the heart of the insurance and banking crisis that nearly took down the global economy. >> so what is happening today? what's happening with capitol hill, and what do lawmakers -- what questions are they asking and wanting answers to? >> well, what they're trying to find out is the relationship between aig, goldman sachs and complicated derivatives. and the man who ran the division that was at the heart of the problem for aig, a man named joe cast anno who we will hear from today. he has been the subject of two federal investigations, cleared of any wrongdoing, but in the eyes of many, he is the one who ran the division that ran aig into the ground because of some of its risky bets. he in his prepared testimony vigorously defending himself, tony. but the bottom line here is that when he was running the financial products division of aig, aig was getting itself in a whole lot of trouble. trouble that resulted in a total bailout of $182 billion and a projected loss to taxpayers of $36 billion. he has not started speaking, tony, but he will be the star today of this hearing as will an executive from goldman sachs. >> so we need some real fact-finding today. and if the questioning is good and strong and insightful, we will learn a lot about what happened with aig. right? >> we could. and here's the thing. this hearing, this financial crisis inquiry commission, it's not -- this is not a political commission. these are not congress members who are facing -- right? they're not facing re-election or they're not facing midterm elections. these are people who their only job is to get to the bottom of it, and present the president with a fair report about what went wrong and recommendations to make sure it doesn't happen again. that report by december 15th. so you're seeing a very pointed and smart questioning. of not that other congressional hearings aren't pointed and smart. but you're seeing pointed and smart questioning to get the bottom of all of this. and to date, the probing of -- you know, they have talked to warn buffett, they have talked to other executives of different companies involved in this whole crisis. to date, the probing has been pretty fair balanced and they're smart. they're smart getting to the bottom of what's been going on. so i'm hoping that we're going to have some good stuff later this afternoon. >> yeah, let's do pointed and smart without the political posturing. that would be a welcome change. all right, christine, good to see you. thank you. you know, a compromise has sort of stumbled a bit here. the senate democrats are skrm belling right now to save the historic financial reform bill. they're two votes short after the death of senator robert byrd and a revolt by massachusetts republican scott brown. he forced lawmakers to come up with another way to pay for wall street reform. brown balked at a last-minute tax on big banks and hedge funds. what exactly would the reform mean to you, the consumer, if congress ever gets it finally approved. ines ferre is here with that story. ines. >> yeah, tony, it deals with so many things that you as a consumer get your hands on, like a loan, like a mortgage. so let's take a look. one of the things that this reform would do is create a consumer agency inside the federal reserve, and that agency would set rules against unfair practices dealing with consumer loans and credit card. now, this wouldn't apply, though, to auto loans. you'll also be able to see your credit card score for free, if it impacts you negatively. and what that would do is, if, for example, you can't get a loan, you'll be able to see that credit score for free. and now also, when you go to a store and merchants love for you to pay in cash, that way we don't have to pay what are called interchange fees when you use a credit card or debit card. and with this bill, the fed would put a cap on debit card swipe fees. and what it will also do is, speaking of fees, $10 minimum on purchases with your credit card. so let's say you're one of those people that goes to the store and likes to buy a pack of gum with a credit card. well, merchants will be able to set a minimum, no more than $10 for purchases. and also, a ban on liar loans. and these are those loans that got the banks in trouble. now lenders will have to verify incomes and assets, as simple as it sounds, tony. >> all right. there is a lot there that can impact you. ines, appreciate it. thank you. the texas coast getting ready for a hurricane. alex is expected to slam ashore along the texas/mexican border. just hours from now, ahead of the atlantic season's first hurricane. tourists and texas coast residents are heading for higher ground. south padre island, as you know, a popular tourist spot, is pretty much deserted now. the storm has also disrupted efforts to clean up and contain the oil leak in the gulf. chad myers is tracking hurricane alex for us. and chad, if you would, sir, what's the latest? >> i think it wobld to the right. and i think it might take longer to get to the coast. and these things do wobble back and forth. that does not mean that the storm turned to the right and it's going head to corpus christi or new orleans. okay, that just doesn't happen. if you look at the center of the circulation which would be considered an eye, i believe most of the night it was traveling almost due west, and just in the past couple hours, it has turned a little bit off to the -- just to the north here, just a little bit. let me zoom in here. we do have this tornado watch here, and the texans are saying, that ain't a tornado. that's a water spout. get over it. okay? so we're not going to see f-3, 4, 5s with this. but you could see a water spout on shore, and a 100 miles an hour water spout over your house ruins your day. we see a little northward drift, and i expect the westward drift will continue in landfall and will still be south of brownsville, texas. look at the size of this, tony. this has filled up the gulf of mexico here. we had showers in atlanta from one of the kind of outer feeder bands yesterday and into baton rouge and seeing heavier showers, all the way from the yucatan peninsula with this bright banding all the way to new orleans. and winds now are 80 miles per hour, gusts could still get higher before we get to the landfall. and storms only get bigger when they are over water. closer they get to land, and the closer they get to land, not only when the eye goes over does it start to dry, but from the mountains can also begin to die off. >> thank you, sir. on capitol hill this hour, the senate is set to vote on confirming general david petraeus as the top u.s. military commander in afghanistan. of and i understand the vote is under way right now. petraeus would replace general stanley mcchrystal. mcchrystal, as you know, resigned after he and his staff were quoted in an article, criticizing and mocking administration officials. the hearing on confirming petraeus was dominated by debate over plans to begin with drawing u.s. troops from afghanistan in 2011. expect general petraeus to be confirmed. more than 1,800 veterans possibly exposed to hiv or hepatitis at a va hospital. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins me shortly to explain how this happened and how you can protect yourself if you received one of those letters. first, though, a random moment. a tribute in 90 seconds. our random moment. six-time champ, roger federer, the great one, the sweet swiss. classy in defeat. and our random moment of the day. check player. thom thomas burdich, right? none if this as much of a stunner as many want to believe. but he beat the number one all-time. dismissing roger federer in the wimbledon quarterfinals. score is not important here. as you know, federer has won 16 grand slam titles, the record for men. he is currently ranked number two in the world. yeah, this has been a wimbledon of upsets. with federer nearing his 30th birthday, we may be seeing the end of a golden era in tennis. live pictures now, capitol hill, the vote to confirm general david petraeus to be the top u.s. commander in afghanistan. we understand is going on right now. you know, there are a few certainties in life, isn't that right, elizabeth cohen? >> a few. >> a few. >> this is one of them. >> okay. >> that general petraeus will be confirmed. we will watch this vote expected to come in shortly. the military is having to answer for mismanagement at arlington national cemetery. an army report early this month confirmed remains of hundreds of the nation's fallen heroes have been mishandled. burial records are missing, graves unmarked, and urns put in a spillage pile. the house armed services committee is hearing from army secretary john mccue. he testified that the military is doing everything possible to right the wrongs. but the process is difficult. >> we don't know what we don't know, but we are working hard every day to find out everything that is possible as to the who, why and what behind the failures, particularly in procurement and particularly in contract and contract management. >> i've got to tell you, when this story broke, i spoke to the sister of an air force master sergeant whose burial urn whose grave had already been occupied. >> we had never been notified that this mishap had occurred. we were never given a new subsequent grave site number identification information. nobody consulted us for permission. and i do understand that the hierarchy there had stated that they had indeed done that, when, in fact, they had not. >> the military will have to answer for another outrage story happening right now. some 1,800 veterans are being told they may have been -- may have been -- may have been exposed to hiv or hepatitis during a dental visit to a va hospital in missouri. elizabeth cohen told us about the story last hour. she is back with more information, an update and a new question to answer. >> yes. >> but what do we know about what happened here? >> well, what it seems happened is that these dental instruments were not supposed to be hand-washed and then put in the sterilizer. they were supposed to be put in some kind of a solution, not sort of hand-washed like -- like this. >> yeah. >> and so because then you can take whatever might be dirty on your hands and put them on the utensils. the details are not in great abundance at this point. they have not come out with a graphic description of what happened. but from what best we can tell, that appears to be possibly the case here. but what's clear is that some protocol was not followed. and when you talk about dental instruments that go in your mouth, you would like protocol to be followed. >> so wrong, absolutely wrong here to assume that the sterilizer takes care of everything. >> correct. you don't want it to be filthy dirty when it goes into the sterilizer. i'm not saying that's what happened. but there is a protocol that is supposed to happen beforehand. now, we want to reinforce here, nobody may be sick at this point. just because rules weren't followed doesn't mean anyone got infected. it just means it increased the risk that someone could get infected. >> and we're even learning about this, because the government requires a kind of different reporting standard than what we see at other hospitals. >> right. this could be happening in private hospitals, and they don't have to put out a press release. they don't have to tell anyone, really. so the cdc estimates that 99,000 people die each year from infections. they get in the hospital. they didn't come in with them. they got the infection in the hospital. and came out in a body bag. >> all right. so, you know, it behooves you to think about this, even if you're not a veteran. >> make us an empowered patient. >> that's what i try to do here. >> so you get the note, you get the letter. what do you do now? >> even if it you don't get the note or the letter, you don't want to become one of those 99,000 people who die in the hospital from an infection. now, some of this is beyond your control. however, there are some things that you can do. and if you go to cnn.com/newsroom, we have lots of links to places. but online, there are places you can check out your hospital. you can see ratings for infection control and for safety and for all of those things. and you know, a lot of people tell me, it's time that we as patients start demanding that hospitals do a better job. don't go to the hospital that has a bad rating. go to the hospital that has a good rating. another thing you could do, and i know i have done this with loved ones in the hospital. i can't tell you how many times i've seen doctors and nurses walk into a hospital room and touch the patient without washing their hands first. it's happened to me, it's happened to people in my family, and you have to say -- you have to empower yourself to say stop, you look like a very nice, clean person. but really, i would appreciate it if you would wash your hands. >> and if you're a little tim mid in this area, this is a woman who can help you here, get your confidence up uchlt got a whole empowered patient segment on cnn.com. >> that's right, cnn.com/empoweredpatient. and that's what i'm here for is to teach people how to be empowered patients, because the medical system is not going to take care of you 100%. you have got to step forward. >> well, reach out to this woman. she will teach you how to fight the fight. elizabeth, appreciate it. thank you. an outlet for expressing anger at bp goes away, at least temporarily. josh levs explained what happened with the boycott on the bp facebook page. that's coming up next right here on the cnn "newsroom." assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little or no cost to you. imagine... one scooter or power chair that could improve your mobility and your life. one medicare benefit that, with private insurance, may entitle you to pay little to nothing to own it. one company that can make it all happen ... your power chair will be paid in full. the scooter store. hi i'm doug harrison. we're experts at getting you the power chair or scooter you need. in fact, if we qualify you for medicare reimbursement and medicare denies your claim, we'll give you your new power chair or scooter free. i didn't pay a penny out of pocket for my power chair. with help from the scooter store, medicare and my insurance covered it all. call the scooter store for free information today. let's get an update on the gulf oil disaster. the government's point man is stepping up to the microphones right now. >> whims between 17 and 22 knots. and we have a sea state about 7 feet. in the next 24 hours, we look for that to diminish slightly. the wind, 12 to 14 knots. and over the next 24, 36 hours, to have the wind -- the sea state drop to about 6 feet. the major impact on the operations out there right now have to do with hooking up the third producing vessel, the helix produce e which was anticipated to have been done right about now, but has been delayed because the flexible hose has been prohibited by the sea state. but we are able to continue the production that's going on out there. and last night over the 24-hour period that ended at midnight, we produced 25,000 barrels -- over 25,000 barrels, and we continue to produce the discovery enterprise and the q4000 can produce at the sea state without a problem. the development driller three is within 16 feet of the well bore and continues to go down 2 or 300 feet at a time, continues to close the well bore, put electrical sensing device down, check the magnetic field to find out how far they are away. they're in their third series of these ranging activities. they'll continue to do that over the next several weeks as they get to the optimum point where they can turn and intercept the well head. we are on -- we are ready to connect the helix producer to the vertical riser package that's been out there as soon as we get the sea state to do that. it's going have to drop to three to five feet. at the end of the flexible hose that comes off the vertical riser, there is a flange, a big circle, and there are 24 bolts that we put through the other connecter to do that. if you can imagine doing that between a very large vessel moving at sea. it's dangerous to do it in anything other than calm conditions, so we're waiting to do that going forward. i would like to make a couple comments about the jones act. there have been a lot of questions about that. we at no time in the course of this response have been inhibited by anything having to do with what we call jones act or jones act waivers. all the vessels that are operating outside three miles do not require jones act waiver. and we have been able to use foreign flag vessels out there as we have needed. there have been consideration given to jones act -- >> here's what we will do. we will continue to listen to the briefing and if we hear some real news here, we will turn it around for you. putting a positive spin on the disaster in the gulf, bp has dispatched its own reporters to the region. they're telling the story from the company's perspective. details now from cnn's randi kaye. >> reporter: as the managing editor of the "gazette" newspaper, vicki knows a thing or two about journalism. so when a bp employee showed up unannounced to interview here on may 21st in her office, she realized, right away, she says, he had an agenda. >> i think what he did was try to come in here and get something positive. >> reporter: what kinds of questions did he ask you? >> what he wanted to know was, how people's reaction was to bp. in other words, i got the impression he wanted to know if everybody thought bp was the bad guy. >> reporter: her answer at the time was that people were looking for someone to blame, and bp was it. hardly a blistering critique. days later, her interview was posted here on bp's website, among their blogs from the gulf in the bp newsletter. turns out, bp has dispatched two employees to the gulf who call themselves, according to their blogs, bp reporters. but their reporting looks nothing like our reporting or the rest of the media's reporting. it's far more positive. check out this blog by bp reporter, tom sesslar, the same guy who interviewed vicki. here he interviewed a family in the seafood business who says, quote, there is no reason to hate bp, and the oil spill was an accident. this, from folks in the seafood business, which has been destroyed by the bp spill. >> there isn't one person in america who is going to be fooled by this propaganda campaign. the reporting has been so positive that you would think that they were on bp's payroll. oh, that's right, they are on bp's payroll. maybe that explains it. >> reporter: but wait, there's more. a blog from may 28th by another bp reporter about the clean-up efforts on the water. describes it as, quote, a ballet at sea. as mesmerizing as any performance in a concert hall, and worthy of an audience in its own right. and with tourism in trouble, how's this? a may 24th blog. much of the region's other businesses, particularly the hotels, have been prospering, because so many people have come here from bp, and other oil emergency response teams. wait. so bp is helping tourism? >> he's not over here to publish the negative stuff. he wants the positive stuff. and there's not a whole lot that's positive. if he would come in today and do interview, ooh. i don't know that he would want to push it. >> reporter: keeping them honest, we asked bp about these so-called reporters. a spokesman told us, quote, these articles are intended to provide our readers with coverage about our response efforts. bp says it's offering stories about the response, quote, that are generally not covered by mainstream media, by major cable networks, or by cnn. bp also says, quote, many of our employees are putting their hearts and souls into this response, telling these stories is one way we are recognizing their efforts. >> you know, there's just been so much printed, and so much that's come to light since then. that no one is trusting whatever bp says at this point. no one is. >> reporter: especially not vicki anymore, who ten days after her interview with bp, wrote a negative editorial about the company. comments like those, she believes, would have been edited out by the bp reporter who interviewed her. randi kaye, cnn, new orleans. okay. one of the biggest outlets of the country for people to express their anger and outrage at bp has disappeared. well, it did, at least for a while. josh, what happened to the boycott bp page on facebook? >> it was a big deal. we're getting all these messages in the newsroom about it yesterday and you know throughout this whole crisis one thing i have been following this is online pr battle, right? there is so much fury in this world, a lot of people turning to the web, and this is one of the most popular place to say express that outrage. it is back up and running. this is the boycott bp facebook page. and i've been following the numbers today. they have picked up several thousand more fans today. they have 750,000 fans on this page right here. but for a while yesterday, it disappeared. so we made some calls. we have looked into this here at cnn. let me talk you through about what happened. we have a statement from facebook. what they say is that the page was disabled by our automated systems, which means they're saying no one sat down and made a subjective determination the page shouldn't be there anymore. there is something technical about the way the page was being used they say made it happen. and they say we determined the profile was removed in error and now has been restored. so they say they then went and looked at it and say it should not have been removed and was put back up. some people say there is not a clear enough explanation of what happened. here is a group that has really been tackling bp throughout this crisis. an attorney says i don't think it is much of an explanation at all. a lot of people are probably wondering whether bp itself had anything to do with it. so bp has this statement right here saying, we had absolutely nothing to do with this. that's a spokesman there, robert wine. so in the end, what is it exactly that happened, that caused this page to disappear for a while? which don't we don't know. and i asked the people at facebook this morning and they're saying they can't detail the way the systems work, because they don't want spammers out there to get inside information about the way facebook works. maybe it's a coincidence, but facebook did put something up today about a process that they have that watches out for spam. and it just happened to be published today on the official blog. and they say our spam prevention systems are not perfect. we're always working to improve them by learning from the rare cases in which we make mistakes. that could have been in the pipeline already. in the end, facebook not coming forward giving the exact reason, tony, why it was pulled down. but i'll tell you, during the time this page disappeared yesterday, i was getting so many messages from people really furious about this. and that conversation is continuing today. let's show everyone where you can weigh in on my page. facebook.com/josh levs cnn. i posted a story about it this morning and within minutes we had 50, 60 comments in one section of facebook. people really concerned about this, tony and still weighing in. >> thank you, sir. we are watching the third day of confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee elena kagan. some of the questions she is facing include questions on abortion and gays in the military. we have got a live report, coming your way. you know, we told you just a moment ago that there are few certainties in life, but we felt really good about putting in the certainty column the david petraeus -- general petraeus would be confirmed to be the new top commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan. yeah, with certainty. 99 to 0. the general has been confirmed. so about what we all expected after yesterday's hearing. the votes in. 99-0, confirming general david petraeus to be the top u.s. commander in it afghanistan. supreme court nominee elena kagan facing another round of questioning before the senate judiciary committee. right now, yesterday, she was in the hot seat from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., throw in a break there for lunch. she is about three-and-a-half hours into today's session. senior congressional correspondent dan abash is on capitol hill for us. and maybe you could bring us up to speed on what the senators are focusing on today. >> i just want to tell you what happened a moment ago, which is interesting. i believe senator feinstein might still be asking questions or perhaps it's moved on to -- oh-oh, senator grassley on the republican side. but just moments ago, dianne feinstein was talking about the fact that she thinks it's such a good thing, from her perspective, that elena kagan would be -- would make it -- that there were three females sitting on the supreme court at the same time. they went through the ten hours yesterday, and not one person brought up her gender, which is something that was a big issue for president obama when he nominated her. but she made the point that it is important from her perspective for women to keep breaking strides to break the glass ceiling. she also mentioned something that everybody in the room knows and you get that sense, big-time, that elena kagan probably at this point almost definitely will be confirmed. and that definitely is the tone and tenor of these questions, even from the republican side. and there was an interesting moment right when this hearing started, though, that republicans still insist that they don't know enough about kagan's judicial philosophy. and jeff sessions, the ranking republican on this committee, said this to make that point. >> we see our gifts and graces in it many different ways. those that are revealed in her human and knowledge. but i think some of the critics who are saying who is this nominee, exactly what do you believe, might find it from the -- from the testimony difficult to know if -- if miss kagan, whether you would be more like don roberts or more like ruth bader ginsburg. >> now, he was trying to make the point that we don't know where you are. but i've got to tell you, tony, the minute he said that, we've got e-mails from the democratic national committee and others saying, ah-ha, we told you, she is a mainstream candidate. she is a mainstream nominee. in fact, what the dnc said it's a ringing endorsement from the top republican of this committee of her mainstream qualifications, and a vote of confidence in her nomination. of now, i wouldn't go far enough to say that jeff sessions or perhaps any but maybe one of these republicans will end up voting for her, but that just kind of gives you a sense of how things are going. one republican really good hit her on a hot button issue like abortion, but for the most part, it's kind of been in dense legal terrain this morning. >> well, can we for a moment, dana, talk about this hearing in terms that we're familiar with? has anyone to this point laid a glove on her? >> not really. i think it's fair to say not really. and an interesting point. i've been kind of e-mailing back and forth with some conservative activityists who, again, like everybody else, they're living on planet earth politically, and they realize that democrats have 58 votes in the senate, and barring something extraordinary, she is going to get through. but the politics of this are interesting. there is a lot of pressure on these republicans to try to lay a glove on her and to try to lift back the veil from their perspective. and some conservative activists i'm talking to are unhappy with the performance of some of these republican senators. think they're too long winded, too technical, too dense and not really pressing her on some of the issues they care about. maybe we'll hear this afternoon about how she will deal with the president's policy issues that will come before the court, no question, like health care. >> yeah. all right, our senior congressional kpant, dana bash. the deadline closes on the home buyer tax credit, but 200,000 people could get shut out. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. so you can join the millions of people who have already... put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. come this way, come this way, come this way. cnnmoney.com. you don't need to run. is okay. the best financial website on the web. here's the lead story. credit card traps here to stay. and that's all about the fees. you know, we like to think that the reform took care of those fees, but no, no, no. okay. cnn money.com. we are three hours into the trading now. just past three hours into the trading day. as you can see, we are having a much better day than yesterday. the dow was down 269 points yesterday, all kinds of fears and consumer confidence plunging. we're in positive territory, up 21 points. the nasdaq, up 15 as well. so the government has been handing out as you know, free money for the past year-and-a-half. $8,000 to be exact to every first time home buyer. but that tax credit actually expires today. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange for us. and alison, i know there is talking of a possible extension. is congress going to work on that before the july 4th recess, maybe before the longer august recess? i'll shut up and let you have a word in. >> when we talk about politicians, we always wonder, when does this get finished? the house has already dipped its toe in the water, passing an extension with the deadline ending on september 30th. this happened yesterday. it actually passed with an overwhelmingly yay vote and now it's up to the senate to pass it. but if the senate does not pass it, first time home buyers are going to have to close today by end of business to get the credit. now, the extension won't help anyone who is shopping now. this is for people who have already signed a purchase contract by april 30th. according to the national association of realtors, though, almost 200,000 people, tony, are going to miss out on it, because they won't close in time. >> wait a minute. why are so many people -- you just haven't closed, but all your paperwork is in, so why are so many people in danger of missing out on the credit? >> you touched on it. exactly because of that. the tax credit has been hugely popular. almost 4.5 million people have taken advantage of this tax credit. it includes first time home buyers, and also those repeat buyers. but it's creating this huge backlog of work for lawyers and lenders and realtors. so there is all this paperwork that has to go through. also, many people are trying to buy foreclosures and short sales. that's where the seller who is more on the home than what it's worth. and then there are the appraisal issues that are at play here. home prices are shaky, and lenders are cracking down on appraisers. and that combination is slowing things down. so you've got all this work work to go through. we'll see, tony, if congress comes through and passes this extension. the deadline will wind up being september 30th. >> talk about a program hugely popular. thank you. still to come in the "newsroom," the taliban launch a brazen daylight attack, and the afghan city of jill lal bad, an air field used by international forces. a live report when we come back. r make any sport exciting? ha sido una partida intensa hoy. jadrovski está pensando. está pensando. veamos que va a hacer. moverá la reina o moverá el caballo? que tensión. viene... viene, viene, viene... gooooooooooooooool! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on 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[ male announcer ] $69.99 for unlimited text, web and calling to any mobile in america. only from sprint. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities access www.sprintrelay.com. let's do this. let's get you caught up on top stories right now. a nervous wait along the texas coast, just hours from now, hurricane alex is expected to make landfall south of brownsville. and the texas/mexican border. the storm's main threat, flooding rains. thousands of people have moved north. south padre island among the popular tourist spots, now evacuated. alex has also impacted oil clean-up efforts from the gulf to florida. skimming boats back in port because the waves stirred up in the hurricane -- they're just too rough. some of those waves are 12 feet high in washington. the senate approves president obama's choice to lead the u.s. war effort in afghanistan. the vote to confirm general petraeus commander of afghan war efforts came minutes ago. he replaces general mcchrystal who stepped down. taliban militants launched a daylight attack on an air field used by afghan international forces. it happened in the eastern city of jalalabad, near the border with pakistan. our atia is in the capital, kabul. great to see you. maybe you can tell us this aspect of the story. the taliban texting about the attack? >> reporter: absolutely. tony, it goes to show you that the taliban know what they're doing. they know media relations. they have had this propaganda campaign going on for a while. i get daily texts from the taliban spokesperson several times a day, for that matter. and when there are big attacks, he usually calls me, and he is very polite. i have to say that, tony. he wakes me up in the morning and he will tell me about a major attack. he only does that for big attacks like we saw last month at the bagram air base, just like we saw the attack today in jalalabad. but this attack to him not being a big deal, because he decided just to text and not to call. that's the most frightening right now, that the taliban are feeling very, very confident. they feel their attacks will continue this way. and actually, get stronger as the months go by. tony? >> atia, forgive me here, but can we track those text messages? i'm sure the u.s. military would like to have a conversation with this person who is texting you about attacks. >> reporter: you know, that's the big question. it's a question that i've been asking for several years now, because i've been talking to this spokesperson for a couple of years now, trying to confirm news from the taliban for cnn. but what i have learned when i came to afghanistan almost two years ago was is that he is not one person. that the taliban are playing a smart game. when he is, is a sim card. he changes. could it be every several months, every couple years, we don't know. they're playing the game correctly. they're changing the sim card. they're changing the person and they know which media to go to. they know how to get their message out. and in fact, just in december, coming out with a documentary, a 37-minute documentary in english on how they can defeat the nato forces. it's actually -- it's pretty frightening. >> yeah. let's get back to this attack on the air field here. what can you tell us about the air field in the area around it? >> reporter: well, jalalabad is in eastern afghanistan, the jalalabad air field is a fairly large base, although it's a nato base, primarily has u.s. forces in the vicinity, supplying and resupplying the smaller bases around it. and the attack that we saw today was a vehicle-borne ied, a car bomb on the perimeter of the base, making way for the insurgents to flow in and try to fight the nato forces. nato officials here say that they were actually able to kill the insurgents. in the end, two of their own forces, nato forces, were actually injured in this altercation. but we should also note, we have seen this again. like i said, just a couple minutes ago, that this happened in bagram last month. a tactic the taliban feels works for them so it's obvious they're going to continue to try it. and from what we hear, coming july or august, they want to have multiple attacks, which way they want to, because they want to scare off the nato forces. the nato countries, to push them out of afghanistan. >> but the other truth here is if the enemy comes to your base, you should win that fight every time. atia abawi for us. thank you. louisiana opens two areas to harvest oysters, but will they be safe to eat? got to tell you, louisiana has reopened two harvesting oyster areas, plaque minutes parish. anderson cooper visited with a couple men concerned about what's in the water and what it could mean for their livelihood. >> in empire, louisiana, the oyster boats are idle. mitch last went out to farm oysters more than three weeks ago. how many oysters would you bring in on a normal day? >> a normal day, prior to the shutdown, i was averaging 150 sacks. >> though the state of louisiana today reopened the waters here to shrimpers and oystermen, mitch isn't going to farm oysters just yet. he's not convinced the oil isn't still here. and besides, he doesn't have a crew anymore. they have all taken jobs with bp. every day, he still goes out on the water. >> and this is the first time area where i spotted, you know, heavy oil. >> the heavy oil is gone for now, but he thinks there may still be oil and dispersants under the water. he uses long tongs to scrape a few oysters from their beds. >> how do you tell if it's -- >> well, the color of it, you know, brown-looking color. you know, everything looks good. but what lies inside, we don't know. >> that's the concern, what's inside. rngz that's the concern. what's inside. an oyster can ingest oil and still survive. you know, and dispersants and all, we don't know anything about how they can survive dispersants or anything associated with that. >> it takes three years for an oyster to mature to the correct size. this is about a year old? >> about a year old. these are about three years old, when you see them get to be the 3 to 4-inch size. >> may and september are the spawning months for oysters. mitch worries this disaster could not only wipe out the current crop of oysters, but the next generation, as well. >> we know oil will impact oysters if it gets on the oysters. but most of the time, oil will be on top of the water, and if it doesn't come in direct contact with oysters, the oysters stand a good chance of survival, but if it disbursed, it winds up throughout the water column when oysters can ingest it. and that's the big question mark. will it have an impact? yes. to what extent? we don't know. >> in shallower water, mitch has begun to find dead oysters. >> this oyster is recently dead. >> an unusual sign he believes has something to do with the oil or the dispersants being used to combat it. >> now, is that normal? >> no, not for this time of year. this is not normal. we have some mortalities that are normal. we're fibltding more and more of this. something is not right. >> back on shore, mitch opens up some of the oysters he has harvested today. they're plump and fresh, and there's no sign of oil. they taste terrific. if the storm passes and no new oil appears, he thinks he may start farming next week. but he is not overly optimistic. after farming these waters all his life, he is sure more oil is coming, and he is sure time is running out. anderson cooper, cnn, empire, louisiana. the great one. a talk show legend, hanging up his suspenders and unplugging his microphone. ines ferre tells us about larry king's big announcement. that's why we're investing one million dollars every hour... to improve our technology and your safety. it's an investment that's helped toyota earn multiple top safety pick awards for 2010 by the insurance institute for highway safety. no other brand has won more. these top safety picks, and all our new safety innovations are available at toyota.com/safety. here's the deal. we know a lot of you are online right now. apparently this is like the -- hot time of the day for folks to get online. i get it on the east coast everybody sort of the news, e-mails and everything else and west coast everyone getting their fix. oh, i'm sorry, ines ferre is here. we were having a conversation. let's bring you into the conversation with what's hot right now online. >> yeah. and larry king. >> the great one. >> he has been trendsing on google, and his blog on cnn, you can see so many people leaving comments, sorry to see you go, larry. thanks for the years of great work. and they've got this great site on cnn, larry king's top 25 moments, where viewers even voted on the top five moments of larry king. and one of them is his interview with marlon brando, 1990. want to play a clip of that. >> got a clip? let's do it. >> we've got a full hour to go. this is larry king live. don't go away. let me get a break. we'll come back with marlon brando. lots of other things to talk about. >> leaving now -- it doesn't matter what he says. >> we're going to take -- phone calls. >> just leave it there, and it will -- >> how does this look? >> what? it looks like that. >> that's just a really funny interview. and he's just -- and he interviewed so many people. >> i love the am ma din jad interview. just tell me, did the holocaust happen or not? and then he does his ahmadinejad thing. i'm remember to remember young enough to remember his radio show. tonight he talks with elizabeth edwards about her split from john edwards. you can see the interinterview. "larry king live" tonight live eastern on cnn. medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. so you can join the millions of people who have already... put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now.

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