the whole panhandle is a rural area and that's what our livelihoods depend on. without wildlife, we'd be very damaged. >> as it is, the tragedy is bringing attention that could help florida's wildlife for many years. some of the support for the program came through a program called volunteer florida. it's an initiative by the governor's office here. which is aimed at just this -- getting people out to do what they can to improve their communities at all times and especially when faced with catastrophic problems like this one. new trouble in the toronto as the g-20 summit wraps up. at least 224 arrests today. cnn is on top of all of it our jean me serve is keeping aen a i on the protesters, ali velshi focusing on the world leaders. let's begin with jean and the protests. >> fredricka, there's a standoff going on right now on the other side of town. at the facility where some protesters are being held. right now we have the police and a group of demonstrators staring down one another. why is it going on there? because there have been so many arrests today. police tell us 224 arrests since 6:00 a.m. this morning. that makes 562 since june 18th, when some of the protest activity began. you know yesterday there was violence here in the streets of toronto, there were windows broken, police cars burned. and today the police went on the offensive, they were stopping young people in some parts of the city, asking to look in their bags. and if they found anything whatsoever that was suspicious, they were taking them into custody and taking them to this detention facility that i mentioned. that has prompted protests on and off through the entire day. at one point there was even gas deployed there. tear gas deployed there. the muzzle discharge that affects individuals rather than large groups of people. i can tell you that there's a lot of controversy about how the police have been conducting what some view as round-ups. some potentially innocent people. there are also is some controversy from civil rights groups and the protesters about the conditions in which they're being held. civil rights groups saying that two of their monitors are being held and they haven't even been allowed to call their lawyers. so this will be a point of some controversy. the g-20 may be leaving town tonight. but i suspect argument over what's going on the last few days may continue for a while. fredricka, back to you. >> jean meserve thanks so much. now on to the business of the g-20 summit. let's check in with ali velshi. ali? >> it's not fair, fred, coming to me after jean. what am i going to tell you, the prime minister of france tripped the south african president? that's not to say, that's not to say there isn't disagreement on the inside among the world leaders. in fact i don't know whether it's meant to make the whole thing spicier, the g-20, to go into this thing saying they're not in agreement or whether that's really the case. the bottom line is we're still stuck in economic problems and the leaders have come in with different views about how to get out of it. people will say, can't countries have different views? in the last year and a half, the world has worked in absolute concert, the central banks and leaders have come together to agree that the governments will put in as much money as necessary to make sure the economies are stable. and now the countries want to go in different directions and some are saying don't pull out too early. government can't pull up to the plate. meanwhile in europe, debt problems are so high as we've seen in greece, portugal, spain, italy, ireland, and they're saying, we need to do that. we need to pull back. we need to start stop spending as much money. we need to raise taxes tharks the disagreement they came into the g-8 and the guntty wi-20 wi. as you know, fred, a lot more gets discussed here. health care issues, national security issues and international other international issues, oil, iran, israel, north korea. so generally speaking, the leaders are getting ready to leave. we're waiting for the final comments, we'll hear from president obama probably in the next hour or so. but generally speaking, the leaders are leaving here with some sense that they've accomplished something. and on the other hand, you're seeing all the stuff that jean is saying is showing you. in that there are still protests on the street and there's still a lot of people angry saying, why do we even do these things the way we do. why do we spend the money on it? that's the story from toronto, fred? >> ali velshi in toronto, thanks so much. cnn will carry those comments from mr. barack obama coming in the 6:00 eastern hour. as they wrap up the g-20 summit. you'll see it here. meantime, some oil workers have been evacuated now from offshore oil rigs in the southern gulf of mexico. the national hurricane center has just released its updated forecast on tropical depression alex. meteorologist jackie jaris. it is still a threat? >> it is still a threat. and the models have quite a spread on it meeting our kst confidence as to where the storm is going is a little smaller. the accuracy has been so incredible in the last five to ten years. but this time around, it's a little different ball game because of the high pressure ridge which is in place and very little steering on the storm down the line. so there you can see how large the cone is down the line. and this is the forecast position for thursday. and this is the area for friday. so at earliest, it would be late thursday, that we would see landfall. and more of a northerly track would indicate a later landfall. as well. so something to keep in mind. now we have seen a little bit of a shift in this track. a little farther on up towards the north as well. so this cone has seen a little bit of a change since last time we saw us. as you take a look at the satellite picture, you can see, you see the little circulation right there? it's just starting to emerge off the yucatan peninsula, and head out over the open waters into the bay of campeche into the gulf of mexico. maximum sustained winds are 35 miles per hour. so it's still very weak. but once it stops interacting with land, we'll see it get over the heat source again and intensify, so it will likely become tropical storm alex once again. let's show you the computer models i was talking about fredricka. notice the big spread. the closer together these things are, the higher our confidence is. and some of the better computer models bringing it closer towards texas. so we still have a ways to go with the storm system and exactly where it's going to go. one of the other things to keep in mind is where the oil spill is out here into the gulf of mexico as well. and what kind of interaction that could be happening. the more of a northerly track this is, the likelier we're going to have some type of an impact. when i see again about the bottom of the hour, we'll talk more specifically on what we think that could do. >> thanks so much, jackie. all right. chris lawrence is in the gulf where the storm is just one of the worries. the on again-off again drilling moratorium is also causing worry. >> the oil rig workers are protected by a fund. they're getting paid still. but it's all the support folks, the cleaners, the truckers, the loaders, the caterers, when the rigs don't work, they don't work. they're worried that if a six-month stretch is on, it's going to cause irreparable harm to the businesses and workers. we talked to one man about the impact it's having on him already. >> i know i'm just waiting for the axe to fall. because it's got to. that company can not survive holding on to guys like me. they can't. >> we did get some good news. we spoke to ken feinberg, the bhan who is now in charge of this whole claims process that president obama appointed. we asked him point-blank. what about the support, guys? we know that the fishermen are covered. what about all the support workers. and now he says they are also going to fall under his jurisdiction. so those workers, you know, like anthony thibodeax we just saw, can file a claim to get reimbursed for their losses. >> thanks so much. senator robert byrd is seriously ill and in a washington-area hospital. the 92 y8d west virginia democrat was admitted to hospital last week. a statement today from byrd's office said after he was examined by doctors, other conditions developed. byrd is the longest-serving member of congress in history. and health care reform kicks in this week. at least one group desperately needs it. how to get the coverage the new law provides. don't take the trip. or even buy the camper... without blueprint from chase. create a plan to pay off large purchases... and save money on interest. does your credit card have blueprint? design your plan at 866 blueprint. cone on, kiddo, let's go. hold on a second... come on up here, where your brothers sit. wow! chevy traverse. a consumers digest best buy, with a 100,000 mile, powertrain warranty. it seats eight comfortably - not that it always has to. now, get 0% apr for 60 months on a 2010 traverse with an average finance savings of around fifty four hundred dollars. see your local chevy dealer. i'm a home in a high-risk flood area. it doesn't look risky. i mean, phil, does this look risky to you? 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[ female announcer ] only flood insurance covers floods. visit floodsmart.gov/risk to learn your risk. this week, expect a battle in washington over the president's pick for the u.s. supreme court. >> as to the republican vote for the nominee, well, i think it will depend a lot on the hearing. senators are just now, the ones not on the committee, beginning to study her record. it's pretty heavily laced with political activity. very little legal experience. >> what i intend is to have an open and fair hearing where she can address the american people. say exactly what her positions are. i thinks that going to be a lot better than some of the anonymous charges made against her. >> let's get to cnn's deputy political director, paul steinhauser, on the surface it seemed like it would be a fairly mild confirmation hearing. but might there be some i don't know, expected surprises? >> it seems like an oxymoron, but you know what i mean. >> it can get interesting in the senate committee. there could be some push-back and liberals as well not so crazy about the pick. how do americans feel? let's take a look at this, a national poll, we asked should the senate confirm elena kagan to the high court. 44% say now. that's down ten points from back in may, soon after the president nominated kagan. you can see most of that support has gone to the unsure column rather than the no column. what about the hearings that are coming up? more than six in ten americans, we asked in our poll, more than six in ten say they thought that it would be a major fight between the parties rather than relatively easy process. when it comes to these confirmation hearings. fred, the administration would like for the judiciary commit to confirm her before the senate goes on break in early august. >> and of course, the president wants things to go well. but what else is the president focusing on this week? >> busy week, one thing that stands out for me of course is he's going to wisconsin on wednesday. he's going to be talking about the economy. it was just nine days ago that he was in ohio talking about the economy as well. of course it is the number one issue with americans. he's going to be talking about jobs again, a top, top priority and it was nine days ago in ohio that kicked off a recovery summer, an effort to highlight the stimulus package and how it has created and will continue to create more jobs. fred? >> we know somebody else who will be celebrating maybe a honeymoon this week. our own senior white house correspondent ed henry. he's got a big weekend ahead this is why you won't see ed henry on tv this week. there he is on right. right next to him is shirley hung, the direct or and elvis ws there. >> the good guess is las vegas, yes, it was. i hear it was a bipartisan affair, republicans and democrats. >> glad to hear it, thanks so much, paul and congratulations to shirley and ed as well. this is a big week politically and otherwise. july 1st this week as well. a day to remember. particularly if you're suffering from a preexisting medical condition. and you haven't been able to get affordable insurance coverage. well, july 1st is when certain provisions of president obama's health reform package kick in. joining us with some details on this, andrew reuben. an expert on the health care industry. he also hosts the weekly show, "health care connect" on sirius satellite radio. good to see you, andrew. give us an idea who needs to be paying attention to what happens on july 1st? >> a lot of people need to be paying attention. this is the first big initiative of health care reform. but in particular if you've been uninsured for the past six months, for at least six months because you have a preexisting condition, you're going to be able to apply through your individual state or the federal government, for health care insurance. which you haven't been able to get. >> and how do you know? i mean it's not that simple. then there are other qualifications as to how you would be considered high-risk, so to speak? >> sure. you know like everything else in health care, it is extremely complicated. here's what you need to know because there's still a lot we don't know. like what specifically qualifies as preexisting condition. the secretary of health and human services is going to start putting that information out this week. but we know, what we know is if you've been excluded from having health insurance for at least six months, you can go on to our individual state website and look online and see if you can fill out an application. if you qualify for subsidized, health care insurance. it's not really subsidized. it's health insurance that the states are going to charge you that are subsidized by the federal government. so it will be cheaper than existing state high-risk programs if your state even has a high-risk program. >> and there's still premiums involved. how much will it, likely cost for a premium, if you indeed qualify and if you're considered high-risk? >> that's a great question. so basically what the law states is that the health insurance is not allowed to be more expensive than what the average person pays in that state for health care insurance. >> it may be different in georgia or what you're paying in new york, state to state. but it's within the state, it can't be any more expensive than what the average person pays for. and the only thing that can trigger a higher premium is your age. >> then where do you find out about this coverage? you mentioned that certain you know states, departments of insurance. but there are other locations where you can find out more forks find out whether you qualify, if you can take advantage of this. >> the best place is going to be the health and human services website. which is hhs.gov. because not every state has opted in to the high-risk pool. so about 30 states have. you'll be able to get that information on your individual state department of insurance website. but health and human services has the full list of which states are in. and if the state isn't in, then the federal government is going to administrator the program and they're going to tell you how to apply. the key here? apply early. you want to make sure your application is in early. a lot of people have said there's not enough money in the program to keep it going until 2014 when insurance reform kicks in. so you want to make sure if you fall into the category of not having health insurance because of a preexisting condition, you need to get your application in early. you can jump on it today and log on to your state website to see if there's any information up already. >> andrew reuben. so many folks thought health care reform is so far away. this is the first phase rolling out there week. so if you have preexisting conditions and it's been a difficult time for you to try to get insurance, you need to be paying attention this week and as you said, jump on the website right now to find out. >> right now. it's a long road ahead. >> thanks so much, andrew. appreciate that. let's talk seafood and other things that you often find in the gulf. coming up, scallops, pretty serious business, particularly along florida's gulf coast. but the scallop season is changing because of the oil disaster. getting ahead of the oil, that's exactly what they're trying to do in florida, where they've opened the important bay scallop season two weeks early. cnn platform journalist john kouls went out with some regulars along florida's gulf coast. >> getting into the water and see something, maybe you can catch a scallop. you never know, we may get one or two. see you later, baby. that's one scallop-catching dog, isn't she? fishing hag become more and more regulated. more expensive to go fishing than it used to be. cost of the boats, cost of the gas and scalloping has been more of the family thing to do. there's more folks coming in now, a bunch of boats. do we go fishing or scalloping? they come over from jacksonville, they stayed the full scallop season and i bet they scalloped three or four times a week. you guys just got here? >> we've been here for a couple of hours. >> okay. >> i don't see the crowds down here that i normally see. but then scallop season is about 12 days early this year. >> it pretty much is the lifeline. it brings us a tremendous amount of out of town business. >> beautiful. >> a whole bunch of them, huh, baby? excited they opened it early. we were a little concerned it was going do back-fire on us. but so far, the scalloping is good. >> it's very addictive. you think if i stay under a little bit longer, i can find more. >> it's just like a never-ending easter egg hunt. >>s did addictive. >> i noticed a little bit of oil on it and i thought, oh my gosh. the oil is here and i realized it was some oil off the back of my motor so we're good. >> the good news was that we were very relieved it gave us a tremendous amount of confidence to hear that others feel that the oil is not coming into the big bend area. >> we came early after the governor opened it up and we thought this was going to be, he may know something we don't. >> they're great. especially being early. >> scalloping to us is close to 70% of our business for the whole year we get in a less than three-month cycle. you guys will sleep good tonight, won't you? we were losing numerous bookings. i really think opening up early has given folks confidence that it is going to be a good scallop season. they're feeling more like the oil is not going to come here for now. and that they're going to keep their plants. a look at the top stories now. former vice president dick cheney's condition is improving. he's expected to be released from a washington-area hospital tomorrow. a relative says he's responding well to treatment to relieve a fluid build-up linked to his heart condition. cheney has a history of heart problems and has been suffering from an irregular heartbeat. today is a day of prayer for states along the gulf coast affected by the oil disaster. the governors of texas, louisiana, mississippi and alabama are all holding events in each of their states, even as efforts to recover the oil continues. and canadian police in riot gear fired tear gas at throngs of protesters outside the g-20 summit in toronto. at least 224 people have been arrested today. and that's in addition to the 300 arrests