American Morning
Accidents, fatalities a regular occurrence for 'big oil'
By Bob Ruff and Carol Costello, CNN
(CNN) – The fiery explosion that cost 11 workers their lives on the Deepwater Horizon has the nation focused on the dangers of deep water oil and gas drilling. But what about what happens on land? It turns out that the oil and gas industry’s track record isn’t very good there either.
Here are just a few of the accidents during the past two months:
April 2nd – An explosion at BP's Tesoro refinery in Washington State killed seven.
May 5th – Two were injured in an AGE refinery fire in San Antonio.
May 17th – Another fire broke out at LyondellBasell’s Houston refinery.
Add up all the U.S. refinery and rig fires since April 1 and you find 13 fires, 19 deaths and 25 injured.
Kim Nibarger, who directs the United Steel Workers Union’s safety group, was in Washington Thursday testifying before the Senate’s Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee about the dangers to workers at refineries. Nibarger has witnessed those dangers firsthand. 12 years ago, he saw a BP refinery explode in Anacortes, Washington. Six workers died.
“I live that nightmare in 1998 every day,” he told us. “I mean it hurts me. I know what the families go through. And it needs to come to a stop. People shouldn't have to die just because they went to work.”
One-on-one with Betty White, Hollywood's golden 'it' girl
(CNN) – She's 88-and-a-half-years-old, and no one in Hollywood is hotter than Betty White right now. The last surviving "Golden Girl" is thriving these days, from her Super Bowl Snickers ad to hosting Saturday Night Live to starring in a new TV Land sitcom. Our John Roberts talked with Betty White, a legendary comedienne, about being Hollywood's new "it" girl.
Gibbs previews Obama's address to the nation
(CNN) – With a good majority of Americans saying he's not being tough enough on BP, President Obama is doing something he's never done before tonight – addressing the nation from the Oval Office. To give us an idea of what we can expect, we were joined by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday's American Morning.
Teen caught in flood tells of fight for life
(CNN) – It was a dramatic scene captured on tape as Oklahoma City was hit by flash floods yesterday. 17-year-old Raquel Dawson was caught in the current and clinging to tree limbs for dear life to keep from being swept away. After a first attempt failed, she was finally rescued. She joined us on Tuesday's American Morning along with two of her rescuers, firefighters Mark Edwards and Josh Pearcy.
Day 2: Obama's return to the Gulf Coast
(CNN) – It's day two of the president's fourth visit to the Gulf Coast since the oil began to spill. He spent yesterday in Mississippi and Alabama, meeting with those state's governors and talking to the people. A lot of them are pleased to see the president, saying he represents their last best hope to end this disaster. But not everyone feels that way. Our Chris Lawrence has the report.
American arrested while searching for Osama bin Laden
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) - A 52-year-old American citizen who said he was searching for Osama bin Laden was detained in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan this week, Pakistani police said Tuesday.
The Californian named Gary Faulkner was carrying a pistol, a sword, night-vision equipment and Christian religious books, said Mumtaz Ahmed, a police chief in the area.
Faulkner was detained as he was walking from Pakistan toward the border into Nuristan province in Afghanistan, Ahmed said. He told police that he had been looking for bin Laden since 9/11 and had traveled to the area several times before, Ahmed said.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire did not confirm that Faulkner had been detained but said that the consulate in Peshawar did receive notification of the detention of an American citizen. Snelsire said they were trying to get more details.
"We're hoping to get consular access to the individual," Snelsire said.
Faulkner told police that he had no intention of killing bin Laden, Ahmed said. But police believed he was trying to kill bin Laden because of the weapons he was carrying, according to Ahmed.
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