Gulf Oil Spill Crisis; No Court Appearance for Shahzad
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And a good Monday morning to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin, in this morning for Kyra Phillips. And here is what we're working on for you. First, BP says plan C is now working. But the question we're asking is just how much oil is getting out of the gulf? Expect more tough questions today on Capitol Hill. And there is a new showdown in Thailand. Thousands of protesters defying this deadline to disperse. And they're now the target of live fire. Unbelievable pictures there. And a group that helps gang members get straightened up, takes an economic knockdown punch. But they say they're not out just yet. But first, I want to start with this. Forget plan A, even plan B. We're talking plan C now this morning in the Gulf of Mexico. After those two failed attempts, oil giant BP says its latest effort at tapping that gushing wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico is now working. Here's what we know. The company says this four-inch mile-long pipe is acting kind of as a siphon pumping crude oil to this tanker ship way up on the surface some 5,000 feet up. Now BP doesn't exactly know how much of the spill is actually being mitigated by the siphon fix. That's one of our big questions. But this -- as they're calling it -- this positive step forward is coming as both Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and BP's chairman will appear before a Senate committee later today assessing the response to what many lawmakers have called a catastrophe. And CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in New Orleans with an update on this latest step here, Ed. And just -- if you can give our viewers a little bit of a comparison. We're talking about this mile-long piping, kind of like a gigantic straw.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a good analogy. And that is they made several attempts over the weekend that didn't go so well. But yesterday, BP officials announcing that that insertion tube had dropped in there -- into the riser, which was that long pipe coming out of the ocean floor which is where the leak is. They have started siphoning off that now. We've just heard from BP officials who are just now saying that they believe they're getting about 1,000 barrels from that leak. Of course, they've been saying that there is a 5,000 barrel a day leak. So if you go by those calculations, we're looking at about 20 percent of the leak, they believe, is now being see siphoned off. Of course we've heard a lot over the last week as well that there are many experts who are out there who believe that this leak is much greater than 5,000 barrels a day. But clearly, we're here at the initial spot. So you don't really see a lot of people jumping for joy at this point. The concern is that BP officials are worried that given the conditions down there, the cold temperatures, the pressure, that sort of thing, that is, as the oil makes its way into this insertion tube, that it could become clogged. So they are taking it very slowly. They say slowly over the course of the next day or so. They'll start opening up that valve to try to take in more and more. They're worried that if ocean water gets into those pipes that that would freeze up and essentially clog everything. One of the executives from BP this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING" explained a little bit better about what they hoped to do over the course of the next day.</s>BALDWIN: Well, Ed, now that we're hearing about the different fixes and the calculations as to how much may or may not be spilling deep under water, my next question is this issue of these massive underwater plumes miles long, miles wide, which could also prove some assertions that this thing -- this bill is a whole lot bigger than people initially thought.</s>LAVANDERA: Well, this is another fascinating part of all of this right now, Brooke. We had been hearing from many environmentalist scientists who believe that -- they believe that the real damage and what we couldn't see was much worse than what we could see on the surface of the water. So far minimal impact on shorelines. But these researchers who have been out there in the Gulf of Mexico over the last few weeks are now starting to get data that shows that they believe that there are these giant plumes and essentially these little bodies of oil underneath -- deep underneath the surface of the water that we can't see. Of course, the concern is where all of this is moving and how it's moving. There is some concern out there that it can get into the currents in the Gulf of Mexico, that it would essentially pull it eastward towards the Florida Keys and up along the Atlantic coast. If a huge amount of oil gets into that kind of stream that could have catastrophic consequences for regions that are far away from where we are here on the Gulf Coast.</s>BALDWIN: That is a huge piece of the story. Ed Lavandera, I'm sure you'll be digging deeper on the story below the surface. Ed, thank you. We're also following this developing story out of Afghanistan. Here's what we know. This commercial airliner has crashed. Forty- four people were on the flight when it simply disappeared this morning in this mountainous area north of the capital there. There is no word yet on survivors. NATO aircraft have joined the search but bad weather hampering the search. In the meantime, we're hearing those efforts. Of course, as soon as we get an update on that we will pass that along. Meantime, we are hearing now from a suspected terrorist in his own words. CNN has obtained two e-mails from Faisal Shahzad, you know, the man charged with the failed car bombings of New York's Times Square. Well, Shahzad voiced his frustrations with the state of the Muslim world and sought a way to, quote, "fight back." One e-mail was sent to a large group of people four years ago. The other sent to a slightly smaller group as recent as last year. The FBI has read the e-mails and interviewed some of those who received them and according to court documents, Shahzad has admitted to the failed attack and that he recently received bomb-making training Pakistan. Remember it was just two weeks ago today that Faisal Shahzad was taken into custody as he was trying to flee the country. But during that time, he has not appeared in court a single time. It's really an exceptional situation and CNN's Allan Chernoff has been looking into it.</s>ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The legal clock began ticking Monday night May 3rd at 11:45 p.m. when Faisal Shahzad was arrested here at Terminal 4 of JFK airport. Customs and Border Patrol agents pulled Shahzad off an Emirates plane that was about to depart for Dubai. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Shahzad would appear before a judge the next day. (</s>Voice-over): Early the next morning, media was staked out, hoping to see the alleged Times Square bomber at the U.S. courthouse. They kept waiting and waiting for Shahzad's appearance, called a presentment before Judge Kevin Fox. (</s>On camera): But as reporters were waiting, federal agents were making progress interrogating Shahzad, even after reading him his Miranda rights to remain silent and consult an attorney. And by the end of the day, the U.S. attorney was doing an about- face. There would be no court appearance for Shahzad that day.</s>BILL BURCK, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I don't know of another time this has happened. I haven't heard of another time that this has happened.</s>CHERNOFF (voice-over): "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial," begins the 6th Amendment. Shahzad is a U.S. citizen. Are his rights being violated? Not at all, according to Manhattan's U.S. attorney.</s>PREET BHARARA, U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NY: He has waived his right to speedy presentment and he has waved that right every day and has done so voluntarily.</s>CHERNOFF: That criminal procedure, experts say, is easing the way for prosecutors to gain valuable information from Shahzad since there is no court-ordered detention for him. (</s>On camera): Defendants awaiting an initial court appearance are often held here at the Metropolitan Correctional Center which is right across the street from the U.S. courthouse. But former prosecutors and veteran defense attorneys say it's unlikely that Shahzad is staying here. They say the government is almost certainly providing him with much more comfortable accommodations. Is it likely they've got him in some hotel?</s>JAMES COHEN, PROFESSOR, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: I bet they do have him in a hotel. Again, I can't give you the specific name of the hotel because I don't know. But they do have him in a hotel. He's in a room, he's probably not alone in a room. And there would be an agent there 24/7.</s>CHERNOFF (voice-over): Former agents tell CNN they have kept defendants in drug and terror cases at well-guarded hotels outside of Manhattan. Even a kind of safe house is a possibility. The FBI says only Shahzad is in a secure location. Shahzad does have the right at any time to say he wants to appear before a judge. But if he doesn't, the U.S. attorney says they'll keep Shahzad out of court as he has been for 14 days and counting as long as he's useful.</s>BHARARA: At such time that he ceases to continue to cooperate or we've gotten all the information that is necessary to do our job in protecting the public, he'll go out to court.</s>BALDWIN: And Allan Chernoff joining me now this morning from New York. So, Allan, let me ask the obvious question which is, where is a lawyer for Shahzad in all of this or does he even have one?</s>CHERNOFF: We don't know for sure, but there is a lot of debate among people in the legal profession. Well, on the one hand, some lawyers say, why help him out? Why give him a lawyer who would then say, OK, you should go to court and maybe this whole interrogation process could be cut off? But a lot of other lawyers are saying, hey, the government should have provided him with one and has because it's the safest route? That way, a judge can't say, the cooperation was coerced, that he's had legal representation from the Federal Defenders Office.</s>BALDWIN: And we know he's been talking, talking, talking. So is there even an advantage to making a court appearance?</s>CHERNOFF: Yes. A lot of attorneys say, you know, in this case, there really isn't because the attorneys argue, look, there is no way Shahzad is going to get bail. So he might as well -- if he's willing, he might as well cooperate and eventually the prosecutors can write a letter to the judge saying hey, Shahzad has cooperated. He was able to lead us to so-and-so and theoretically, down the road, that could reduce his sentence, if he is convicted.</s>BALDWIN: Fascinating. He has been cooperating as much as he has. Allan Chernoff, for us in New York. Allan, thanks. The White House wants Republicans to know a little bit more about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. They have now asked the National Archives to release 160,000 pages of documents from her time in the Clinton White House. Kagan served as associate counsel and deputy director of the Public Policy Counsel from '95 to '99. Senate confirmation hearings are expected to begin sometime this summer. And Arizona Republican Jon Kyl says a filibuster, not very likely. Are you, the voter, sick and tired of incumbents? Well, three test cases tomorrow could give us some answers here ahead of November's congressional elections, could be a microcosm of November. In Arkansas, Senator Blanche Lincoln is facing a primary challenge from a more liberal candidate Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. Now a third candidate could prevent either from winning a majority triggering a run-off next month. Meantime, take it to Kentucky. Republican primary for Senate there. Tea party favorite Rand Paul is leading the polls. You recognize his last name. He is -- yes -- the son of Texas congressman and former presidential candidate, Ron Paul. And Kentucky's secretary of state Trey Grayson is Rand Paul's main rival and Senate GOP leader Mitchell McConnell's choice. And in Pennsylvania, Democratic primary there, Senator Arlen Specter is being challenged by Congressman Joe Sestak. Specter's party switch last year -- remember this -- it is a main point of contention for voters.</s>SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: For years, I have tried to moderate the Republican Party. And when the stimulus came up and President Obama asked me for his support -- for my support, and it looked like we were sliding into a 1929 depression, I sided with President Obama. It wasn't my job to be saved. It was the jobs of thousands of Pennsylvanians and Americans. Look here. I had a clear shot at re-election. If I had stayed with the obstructionist Republican caucus, I would have been reelected easily, especially in an out-year when the party out of power is favored.</s>REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: It's a race that actually where everybody knows Washington is broken. And everybody knows that. If you're going to still send back to Washington, D.C. a career politician that actually would switch his party, as he said, to keep his job, then we are not going to fix the mess that we got in to by sending him back. And so yes, he is a poster child for what's gone wrong in Washington, D.C. A generation of politicians who think that they can take a position, not based upon conviction or core beliefs, but about their electoral prospects. So it is time, people say, for a different generation, a new generation, new ideas, new energy, and someone who'd be will to lose their job over doing what's right for the people of Pennsylvania.</s>BALDWIN: And if you like more coverage on the primaries, well, we have a wealth of information for you. Real easy. Just go to CNN.com/politics. And dare I say, here we go again? If you're booked on a flight overseas either today or tomorrow, heads up, could be facing some more delays. The culprit, yet again, Iceland's volcanic ash cloud disrupting travel in Europe. London's two major airports -- Heathrow, Gatwick -- both, including airports in both Dublin and Amsterdam have reopened after having been closed overnight. That has caused delays, cancellations -- you know it -- across the continent. But not quite as bad as at least a couple of weeks ago. You remember that? The agency controlling European air traffic expects 1,000 flight cancellations today. Just to put it in perspective for you, there were about 29,000 flights on a normal day. Iran taking a step, it hopes, to stop the international call for Tehran to halt its suspect nuclear program. But is it real or might it simply be a ruse? We will get a live report -- live reaction from the region.</s>ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano at CNN Severe Weather Center. We're tracking that ash cloud plus the potential for severe weather later in the week. Stay tuned. The CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.