[Don Lemon, Cnn Anchor:] Just take a look right now at the oil gushing out of that busted pipe. BP is calling this progress? Is it? CNN goes behind the scenes for some answers for you. The anti-boycott of Arizona's controversial immigration law. We talked to people who support the law about how they're trying to take back the message on this one. And the musical genius behind the biggest entertainers in the world do you know who it is? We do. And she joins us live this hour and she is sharing secrets.
[Lemon:] Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. BP says it has finally achieved a limited fix for the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. After nearly seven weeks of failure, the company reports a funnel-like device over the gushing pipe capture about a quarter of million gallons of escaping oil in the first 24 hours so far. But that's only about a third of the oil that the government now estimates is poisoning the waters every single day. Now, it may be too little too late for thousands of people who lost their income most of their income to this catastrophe. BP says it will begin cutting a second round of compensation checks to cover the month of June the second round to cover the month of June. Eleven people were killed in the April 20th explosion that doomed the drilling rig and President Obama will personally offer them his condolences next week at the White House. I want to go to CNN's Ed Lavandera who is live in New Orleans. Ed, as I talk to you, I want to show our viewers this that we're looking at. Basically, what we're looking at, that riser pipe that they cut through just to give a size of what's going on there. I'm about six feet tall. This is what's happening. The riser pipe 22 inches that they cut through. The one that broke underground is 21 inches. So, about this size of pipe and there are smaller pipes within that. Here's the thing: they're saying they're capturing a fraction of the oil that's coming out. But when they cut through this 22-inch pipe, they said maybe as much as 20 percent that it was going to spray even more. So, did this really make a difference at all?
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, according to BP and the Coast Guard officials, it's still early in this process. There are still several steps that have to happen to get that. But you're right. They've taken the risk by cutting off that riser pipe from the blowout preventer. That they're increasing the flow in the hopes that they will be able to put a piece of machinery on there that will essentially be able to catch the excess, plus a lot more. But it's still early, Don. As you mentioned, they still have to close those vents on the top part of that containment cap, if you will, and once that happens
[Lemon:] So, Ed
[Lavandera:] and they're trying to work through and making sure that there's it's properly sealed so they can do that. And then we'll have to see how much more of that oil they can catch.
[Lemon:] Ed, let me ask you this, because we've been telling our viewers, we're saying that BP is saying that this you know, they had some success and that they've captured a fraction of it. And they said, it could be 20 percent and they've got to seal it. So, right now, there's possibly more oil coming out than before. So, the Gulf is being polluted. Until they can seal this off and seal off the thing that lets the air out, the Gulf is being polluted even more than before they cut into it.
[Lavandera:] Oh, absolutely. And you also have to remember, Don, we're also dealing with numbers that not everyone is agreeing on, like, you know, we had those experts that had been taken a couple of weeks to study that. We're talking about a range that is hundreds of thousands of gallons in difference. So, you know, right now, they're talking about, you know, it could be spewing anywhere between 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day. That was before they cut off the riser. So, you have to presume that that has increased a little bit. No one knows for sure exactly just how much we're dealing with.
[Lemon:] Yes. And we don't know here. Again, this is the first time I know that people have been talking about how big that pipe is, but, again, I want our viewers to see it. Obviously, I don't have a pipe, but that's about the size of everything and they're trying to do this a mile below. And as we said, more oil is gushing out now. So, the Gulf is being polluted even more. And let's hope they can fix that. Because I want to get it straight with our viewers we're saying there's some success, but still in that success, it's increasing. Ed Lavandera, stand by. Thank you very much for your reporting. You know, the BP oil disaster has the potential to impact beaches and fishing grounds, far from the Gulf Coast over the next several months. This is a computer simulation by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It shows how ocean currents could carry millions of gallons of oil from the gushing well through the Florida Straits and up the east coast by this summer. By September, the oil is projected to cover a huge portion of the north Atlantic. I want to go now to CNN's Jacqui Jeras. Jacqui, I showed our viewers the demonstration of exactly, you know, how big we think the pipe is. But as you were explaining, our meteorologist here, there are pipes within those pipes, some of them are smaller
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Right.
[Lemon:] but the ones we're looking at are the 21- and 22-inch pipes.
[Jeras:] Yes, absolutely. So, it's definitely concerning to see more oil coming out, but hopefully, you know, they'll be able to contain more as a result of doing that. But it also puts it into perspective, you know, you're talking a mile deep into the ocean, to hit that 20- inch pipe. I mean, that's it's like hitting a needle in a haystack, right? So, it's very precise. Let's talk about where this oil is going. You showed us that compute ever model forecast, and I just want to keep in mind for you folks that are looking that, is that's just a computer model, one computer model. It's not definite that that's going to happen. But it is a possibility as those ocean currents continued to move their way right through the Gulf stream. Now, this is another computer model forecast, and this one, we think, is pretty gosh darn accurate. And this is where we're expecting that oil to be as we head into the latter part of the weekend and into Monday. So, we're looking at this spreading to places like Fort Walton Beach, towards Destin, and over towards Freeport and potentially down towards Panama City Beach by the end of the week. And this isn't one big glob of oil, keep in mind. Let's roll this video and show you the things that they're finding in Pensacola Beach. And we'll show you those little tar balls and those little globs of oil. So, it's not like one big rush, Don, that's going to be making its way onshore. So, it's a portion of the beach. It's widely scattered. So, you know, it's up to you if you guys think you're going to go out there. But at this point, especially those Atlantic coast people, I certainly wouldn't be cancelling my beach plans just yet. All those beaches are still open, Don.
[Lemon:] All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much. We have some other news to tell you about. A major development today involving the U.S. efforts to fight terrorism: President Barack Obama has nominated a former Air Force lieutenant general to be the next director of the National Intelligence Agency. It is a tough job, one of the most difficult in Washington. And tonight, CNN's homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is here with more on today's announcement. Jeanne, the challenges that this man is facing no one can seem to keep this job for a long time, can they?
[Jeanne Meserve, Cnn Homeland Security Correspondent:] That's right. The numbers tell the story here. Four directors, if he's confirmed, in the five years since the job was created to coordinate the nation's 16 intelligence agencies. The last director of national intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair, forced out by President Obama, but the president calls his new nominee, Retired Air Force Lieutenant General James Clapper, one of the most experienced and respected people in the intelligence community.
[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] Our intelligence community needs to work as one integrated team that produces quality, timely and accurate intelligence. And let's be honest, this is a tough task. But this will be Jim's core mission. He is imminently qualified and he has my complete confidence and support.
[Meserve:] Clapper is currently the Pentagon's top intelligence official. In his 40 years in the field, he's also headed up the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. The president said this nomination cannot fall victim to the usual Washington politics. That's a quote. He noted that Clapper has been confirmed on four previous occasions by the Senate and he urged quick confirmation for this job. But that could be wishful thinking, Don.
[Lemon:] Jeanne Meserve in Washington tonight Jeanne, thank you very much for that. Ground zero in the fight against the Gulf oil disaster our Kyra Phillips takes you where no reporters have gone before with the man who's calling all of the shots. Also, Arizona residents are standing their ground in support of the state's controversial immigration law. And compelling evidence against the man suspected in the disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway. This time, it is a murder in Peru. What is next? And don't just sit there. Make sure you become part of the conversation. Send me a message on Twitter, on Facebook. And make sure you check out my blog, CNN.comDon. That's me. I want to hear from you.