Tensions Escalate Between North and South Korea Over Sunken Ship; Some Fear Tar Reaching Louisiana Shore; Former Tour de Force Champion Admits to Using Performance Enhancing Substances; U.S. Losing Competitive Edge
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good Morning to you. It is Thursday, May 20th. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Acosta in for John Roberts. Lots to talk about this morning. The oil still spilling in the Gulf. Here are some of the big stories we'll be talking you about in the next 15 minutes. The overpowering stench of crude now lingering along the Louisiana coast and the pictures to prove it. Thick puddles of oil snaking through sensitive wetlands. The pictures are powerful and heartbreaking. The head of the agency that oversees big well joins us live from Washington in a moment.</s>CHETRY: Well, tensions escalate between two countries still technically at war. South Korea accusing its neighbor in the north of a deadly attack on one of its ships back in March. And North Korea because of this accusation now threatening an all out war if anyone tries to retaliate. So what are the diplomatic weapons of choice? We're live with new developments.</s>ACOSTA: Do you think they checked the list a few extra times last night? The Obamas hosting the state dinner. Check it out. George Lopez is there. The celebs, the fashion, the slipups, and the rest of the Salahi-free right all ahead.</s>CHETRY: We begin the hour with the devastating discovery in pristine wetlands of Louisiana's coast, huge puddles of crude, and now we're seeing it firsthand. People ask, where's the oil? There it is. The worst case scenario has materialized. Here it is, sensitive marshlands off the east coast Louisiana now stained with pools of crude oil snaking through the estuaries there. The discovery made by Governor Bobby Jindal who witnessed it firsthand. He went on a boat ride with members of the media to see it.</s>ACOSTA: Meanwhile, a small portion of the massive oil leak has found its way into the loop current in the Gulf. Officials from NOAA say they detected very light sheens of crude that could carry all the way from Florida up the eastern seaboard. It's that nightmare scenario that could go as far as coastal North Carolina.</s>CHETRY: Also in Mississippi, tar balls have been found on the beaches of Hancock County. And right now, they're being tested in a lab to see if they're indeed part of the BP spill. Rob Marciano is live in Mississippi this morning. Of course, locals are nervous regardless of whether the tar balls washed up. As we saw in Key West, when those washed up they determined it was not because of the spill. So what's the deal this morning?</s>ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, they're hoping the same thing. But the samples are being tested. The problem is there was an extraordinary number that washed up here, so that's what has people a little worried. The slick spreading of heavy crude washing up on the Louisiana shorelines, so everybody on the Gulf of Mexico is on edge, to say the least. Even here on the coastline of Mississippi with the main part of the slick still 50 miles offshore, every day the state gets calls in every day from people who live here report something sort of oil washing onshore.</s>BRIAN "HOOTY" ADAM, DIRECTOR, HANCOCK COUNTRY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We've got boats out there, nobody reported seeing anything just yet.</s>MARCIANO: Brian "Hooty" Adam directs this emergency operation. Reports of potential oil around Hancock County has residents here on high alert. He's a straight talker.</s>ADAM: We're not going to lie to them, though. If there's oil out there, we'll tell them.</s>MARCIANO: Approximately 200 pounds of black tar-like balls were recovered on the beach and brought to this meeting. Emergency managers want to know if they're from the deep horizon spill.</s>JESSE FINERAN, HAZMAT, HANCOCK COUNTY: Some of the things that we've observed that may try to clear up some of the confusion --</s>MARCIANO: Jesse Fineran has worked oil spills before. Twice a day he patrols the Hancock County shoreline. Four-wheelers are his mode of transport.</s>FINERAN: On switch here. This is your parking brake here. Other than that, ain't a whole lot to it.</s>MARCIANO (on camera): All right. Let's go clean the beach.</s>FINERAN: OK.</s>MARCIANO (voice-over): We work our way along the water.</s>FINERAN: You see materials, cigarette butts, you're seeing vegetation, grass.</s>MARCIANO: Searching for signs of oil.</s>FINERAN: We've had people call in they've seen oily sheen. They've actually see oil floating on the water that they've seen this material.</s>MARCIANO (on camera): And your job is to verify the calls?</s>FINERAN: To basically verify the calls. To see if it's something that we want to know.</s>MARCIANO (voice-over): Heightened sensitivity seems to have everyone seeing oil.</s>MARCIANO (on camera): What about this foamy stuff here?</s>FINERAN: It has no petroleum odor to it. It does have a reddish color. And the clay balls are consistent to what are being used for the restoration project on the sand beaches here. You can see this reddish sheen up and down our beach in our sea-foam. That may be what people are seeing.</s>MARCIANO: So one more mistaken identity?</s>FINERAN: Very possibly. But we still haven't tested it.</s>MARCIANO (voice-over): The sun sets but Fineran's work is far from over. He'll be out combing the beach every day until the spill is contained.</s>FINERAN: We're doing everything we possibly can to make sure it's safe out here.</s>MARCIANO: It's been a long month since that oil rig exploded. They've been watching, they've been waiting, they've been preparing. To say that folks here are nervous is certainly an understatement. Certainly, the main slick is offshore and they're hoping it stays that way. And it very well may be the case. The beaches here have never been cleaner aside from the spots that we've seen the tar balls roll up on shore. And there's a number of explanations for what they could be, one of which of course is oil spill itself. But they have to test those samples. When they get the tests back, we'll let you know. We're certainly hoping it's not from the spill and it's just from people being on the lookout, much like they were in Key West. Kiran, Jim?</s>ACOSTA: Rob Marciano live in Bay, St. Louis, this morning, thanks, Rob. It's still not clear how many barrels of crude oil are gushing into the Gulf each day. BP says it's 5,000 and claims that a good percentage is being contained and captured.</s>CHETRY: But a mechanical engineering professor from Purdue is not buying those systems. Steve Wereley was one of the first to question the estimate. He told Congress he believes the spill could be 20 times worse than BP is admitting. We talked to him earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING." He told us that he thinks that the oil company is doing some PR damage control.</s>PROF. STEVE WERELEY, PURDUE UNIVESITY: I think what they're thinking if is they can keep the videos under wraps, the U.S. public is not going get up in arms. If you don't see the oil causing damage, there's -- you know, you're going to think, all right, it's a problem, but it's nothing that we need to solve right now.</s>CHETRY: And when Professor Wereley testified on Capitol Hill yesterday he told Congress he doesn't see any possibility of BP's figures being accurate. We asked him what does he think, and he said the way they figure it out, it's complicated for lay people.</s>ACOSTA: Sure.</s>CHETRY: But they actually paused the video at different times and looked at the plume going up the cloud. He says it could be anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 which is a big range, but more than what the company is admitting.</s>ACOSTA: Exactly. And we're going to be pressing the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on this in just a few minutes, right?</s>CHETRY: He admits there is a culture of corruption in his agency, and he plans do more to better regulate big oil.</s>ACOSTA: Meanwhile, in the Midwest, waking up battered and beaten this morning after severe weather pounds the Plain States last night. At least six tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, enough for scientists to call this a super-cell of tornadoes. Just look at these pictures. Thankfully, only two people were hurt. Several homes and businesses were damaged. Severe storms also beat up Kansas and Missouri, the whole region under the gun again today. My goodness.</s>CHETRY: Also developing this morning, North Korea taking tensions to a new and more dangerous level, threatening all-out war after an investigation found it was behind an incident that sunk a South Korean warship.</s>ACOSTA: The incident happened last night in the Yellow sea, and 46 sailors were killed. Pyongyang denies any involvement. But in Washington, the White House says evidence like these torpedo parts point overwhelmingly to the North. As we speak, America's close ally, South Korea, is lining up its options for retaliation. We've got this story covered from both sides of the globe. Our John Vause is live in Beijing, and Dan Lothian is live at the White House with the Obama administration's response. Let's start with John. John, how did all of this come about?</s>JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, it took a team of investigators from five different countries about two months to make the direct link between North Korea and the sinking of that ship Cheonan. It suddenly broke in two because of what was considered to be a mystery explosion. Today in Seoul investigators put on display pieces of debris from what they say was the torpedo fired by a midsize North Korean sub. The pieces, they say, perfectly match the schematics of other North Korean torpedoes which the north tries to sell to other countries. Also they say on one of the fragments of the debris was a serial number, again, matching North Korean torpedoes. Also they say a few days before this attack, a number of subs left a naval base in North Korea, and hen after the attack, they returned to port. Jim?</s>ACOSTA: John Vause live in Beijing, thanks, John.</s>CHETRY: At the White House the question is not whether or not North Korea was behind the attack but what to do about it. Our Dan Lothian is live at the White House. When you take a look at the options, nothing seems easy, of course. And sanctions have already been in place. So, really, how do they measure how they respond this morning?</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kiran, it's going to be very difficult. This is a delicate matter. South Korea, as you pointed out, is a key ally, one that the U.S. will defend in any confrontation. Although a State Department official says he doesn't believe this will develop into a military confrontation. So the White House for its part though is weighing in on the report which clearly points a finger at North Korea, the White House saying that the international investigation reflects a scientific review of the evidence. In a statement, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs went on to say, quote, "This act of aggression is one more instance of North Korea's unacceptable behavior and defiance of international law. This attack constitutes a challenge to international peace and security and is in violation of the armistice agreement." That, of course is the agreement that ended the Korean War. President Obama did speak with the President Lee of South Korea on Monday, pledging his full support. Next week Secretary of State Clinton heads to Seoul. Part of her discussions there will be about the latest on the investigation. She'll also visit Japan and China. And this issue is expected to be high on the agenda, Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Dan Lothian for us at the White House this morning, thank you.</s>ACOSTA: And boy, oh, boy, this is getting a lot of buzz this morning. The man who was stripped of his 2006 tour de France title, American cyclist Floyd Landis is finally admitting doping, and he's naming other names, get this, like Lance Armstrong.</s>CHETRY: The "Wall Street Journal" was the first to publish emails that they say are verified from Landis that detail performance enhancing drug use by him. And he puts others in that category as well. He ropes in Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion. Armstrong has denied ever using banned substances, and the accusations that he's faced never stuck. Armstrong did not respond to the report. But again, after years of denials, Floyd Landis saying, yes, I was involved.</s>ACOSTA: And I imagine Lance Armstrong will, again, push back very strongly on this. He has in this process where he's been accused time and again about this. It will be interesting to see what the latest developments are on that. We'll have to hear from Lance Armstrong. And from that from what I understand, we are reaching out to him and the folks who represent him. Meanwhile the "hostess with the mostest." We're talking about first lady Michelle Obama stealing the show at her second state dinner instead of a couple named the Salahis.</s>CHETRY: That's right. We can put them aside. A lot of people saying first in fashion, cooing over the dress there. And also, what could cause a plane's windshield to just shatter right in the middle of your flight? We're going to show you this cockpit danger and tell you what investigators are doing about it.