Oil Spill Stopped; The Leak's Stopped, Now What?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It's Friday, July 16th. I'm Jim Acosta, in for John Roberts. Good to see you.</s>KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you with us this morning. We have a lot to talk about. Kiran Chetry, by the way. Let's get right to it. Plumes of oil now replaced the Gulf by tears of joy for many. Some are saying it's time to set off the fireworks because for now, at least, the oil spill has stopped. BP's containment cap is working still. This now 15, 16 hours and counting, and they're doing tests to see how well the ruptured well is holding up under all of that pressure. So, we're going to get a live report from the scene -- still ahead.</s>ACOSTA: And a 3.6 magnitude earthquake is shaking things up in the nation's capital this morning. That doesn't happen every day down there. It struck just after 5:00 a.m. Eastern, the epicenter, about 20 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. The latest on that developing story -- not a big one but worth noting -- in just a moment.</s>CHETRY: And the gloves are off. The NAACP and Tea Party locked in a bitter battle over charges of racism. Many in the grassroots organization are insisting they're not racists but not helping the cause. One Tea Party leader coming out with a satirical blog that many say is nothing more than a racist rant. We have both sides of that story as well.</s>ACOSTA: Nothing short of incendiary there. And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX. We'll be reading some of your comments throughout the morning -- Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Well, we're not in the clear yet, but there is a real sense of hope this morning that perhaps we are turning the page on the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and that it may be nearing an end. BP's containment cap, which they closed the valves on yesterday afternoon, is holding. That means that the oil flow has now been stopped for more than 16 hours.</s>ACOSTA: Right. Do you know how we've been showing that box at the bottom of your screen the last 87, 88 days?</s>CHETRY: Yes.</s>ACOSTA: Well, you might not be seeing that quite so much, if the oil is not spilling. This is great news, but the ruptured well may not be plugged for good. We have to keep tabs on it until the weekend, obviously. Ed Lavandera is live in New Orleans for us this morning. And, Ed, any sense how well the well is holding up at this point and all of that pressure that's building up in inside of it? Obviously, BP is keeping a very close eye on that this point.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Clearly. Visually, from what we can tell, the fact that the test is still going on, that is a good sign. So, the fact that we're not seeing more oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, that's good. We're also expecting a technical briefing from BP officials here in about 30 minutes. So we'll be able to pass along, hopefully, a better snapshot of what's been going on since the integrity test started yesterday afternoon. But seriously, this is -- this is a crucial moment. We're in the midst of a very important test. And, obviously, from a visual standpoint, the fact that we're no longer seeing this oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, it has sent shock waves across the Gulf Coast region and people are really hoping and sensing for the first time that this could be the beginning of the end. That the tone from -- especially from officials along the Gulf Coast -- is that everyone is still cautiously optimistic, but they're hoping that in some sort of way, either the cap works by itself or they're able to collect all of the oil and keep it from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. It's a huge breakthrough and people really are anticipating something big here -- Jim and Kiran.</s>ACOSTA: Right.</s>CHETRY: All right. Ed Lavandera for us -- fingers crossed.</s>ACOSTA: Absolutely.</s>CHETRY: As we said, 16 hours and counting, and we should know more on how these tests are going -- this integrity test -- this afternoon. Thanks, Ed.</s>ACOSTA: And I'm sure for Ed, it's a nice opportunity to get some good news down there for a change.</s>CHETRY: I know. He's been down there since the very beginning of this tragedy.</s>ACOSTA: Yes, doing great stuff. We're in the 88th day of the disaster in the Gulf. For months, we've been watching in horror as clouds of crude billowed into the sea. And that's what makes this before and after video so heartening. On the left, a tragedy out of control; on the right, a chance to exhale -- and what is on the right is what is happening right now. As far as anyone can tell, not single drop of oil is coming out of that ruptured well.</s>CHETRY: There you see the before and after pictures. And after BP cut the flow of oil into the Gulf, its stock price actually took off. And here's another chart to show you right now. The stock was up about $2.72.</s>ACOSTA: Wow.</s>CHETRY: Or 7.6 percent. The stock, of course, is still off about 35 percent from where it was trading before the Deepwater Horizon disaster. And as we know, they still are going to be paying out billions, both in that compensation package --</s>ACOSTA: They're not out of the woods.</s>CHETRY: -- and cleaning up and on and on.</s>ACOSTA: That's right. The president, we should mention, will make a statement about the Gulf oil shutoff before leaving for his Maine vacation. It will happen during the 9:00 a.m. Eastern hour and you'll see it right here on CNN. That will be live at 9:00.</s>CHETRY: Well, after a series of frustrating setbacks in the Gulf, President Obama has been careful not to start celebrating too early.</s>ACOSTA: Here with that, and more, of what the events on the Gulf could mean for the president's coming elections -- our chief political correspondent and host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," Candy Crowley; and at the White House, senior White House correspondent Ed Henry. And, Candy, going to you first. We were just talking about the fact the president and first family are about to head up to Maine and some folks are already -- some of his critics are already making note of the fact that he's doing that instead of going somewhere else on vacation. I mean, what did you make of that and what do you think of the fact that this thing is off right now?</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple things. About the vacation, I think the argument is that both the president and the first lady went down to the Gulf and said, everyone should come down here and vacation.</s>ACOSTA: So, they're not going there on vacation.</s>CROWLEY: I think that's where the criticism comes from. And I'll tell you, for the president, obviously, to have the leak plugged is better than to not have it plugged, but I think that the spilling of the oil hurt him more than the not spilling of the oil will help him. I think it take as distraction. I'm thinking in the end, people are worried about the economy.</s>CHETRY: Right. And, you know, I want to bring in Ed on this point, too. Because as Candy said, people are worried about the economy. So, you know, it was very easy while the president in the White House did obviously not come out unscathed from this to put most of the blame for the oil spill, obviously, on the company that did it, you know, BP, et cetera. However, when it comes to the drilling moratorium, there are a lot of people saying that this is more politics than it is practicality and that people who are already suffering in the Gulf are going to be taking another hit. What are people saying in the White House whether they'll change their mind on this?</s>ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, top White House aides say that, eventually, they believe the president will lift that moratorium and let the deepwater drilling begin again. That is his goal. They understand the economic impact in the Gulf, but they're trying to weigh that against the environmental impact. The tragedy that we've seen unfold in recent weeks, they don't want something like that to happen again. So, once they feel they got the safety issues in check, they will let drilling begin again. But I think this just shows that we woke up to an earthquake literally here in D.C. this morning. It was shaking our homes, about 3.7 magnitude, I guess. And it's -- I think -- appropriate at the end of this week, because you really did kind of feel the earth move underneath Democrats a little bit here in Washington. They were fighting all week about whether they're going to lose the House or not -- almost the silly little battle about what Robert Gibbs said last Sunday on "Meet the Press." But it's emblematic of the fact Democrats are very much on edge. They're slipping behind in some respects in campaign fundraising and there's a perception issue right now that they may lose their grip on power in November. So, it's been a rough week for them.</s>ACOSTA: And, you know, one of the other controversies that's come up this week, wee could obviously talk about the oil stopping and how great that is all morning, but this controversy that's erupted between the NAACP and Tea Party Movement which is just, you know, right for all kinds of gross generalizations on both sides.</s>CROWLEY: Right.</s>ACOSTA: Candy, I mean, what do you make of this? Obviously, the Republicans are counting on Tea Party activists to come out in droves this fall. What's going on here?</s>CROWLEY: Well, listen, it's an election year, number one.</s>ACOSTA: Yes.</s>CROWLEY: Number two, the NAACP, you know, a venerable institution that has fought for so long against racism and for the rights of African-Americans, you know, turn on your TV and you do see racists signs.</s>ACOSTA: You see it.</s>CROWLEY: But we also know from a lot of reporters attending these Tea Party rallies that it's not the bulk of what's going on there. But what happens is, once this all just starts flying, it's very hard to get it to simmer down. We now have a blog --</s>CHETRY: I want to just read part of this so people understand what we're referring to here. This is written by Mark Williams, and there's a little question. Is he still the spokesperson for the Tea Party Express? He said earlier this month that he was stepping down to focus on --</s>ACOSTA: Right. He's still clearly a leader in the Tea Party Movement. That's right.</s>CHETRY: All right. To folks right there. Remember, what is he stepping down to focus on?</s>ACOSTA: He was stepping down on -- he's going to run for the Sacramento City council and a ground zero mosque --</s>CROWLEY: He's a former chairman, I think.</s>ACOSTA: Yes, that's right.</s>CROWLEY: The former chairman.</s>CHETRY: On the ground zero mosque issue as well. But either way, he's been called one of the leaders of the Tea Party and wrote a mock letter that he apparently said was meant to be satirical, acting as if he was Ben Jealous, the president of the NAACP, in his letter to Abraham Lincoln and it reads in part, "Dear Mr. Lincoln, we've take an vote and decided we don't cotton that whole emancipation thing." He goes on and on. "Far too much to ask of us colored people. We demand that it stop," unquote. This seems like such a hot potato for those in the party. You know, what do Tea Party leaders have to do to denounce this if they -- if they are going to continue saying this is not a racist organization?</s>CROWLEY: First of all, satire never works in print, if that's indeed what that was. You know, absolutely.</s>ACOSTA: Satire.</s>CROWLEY: Second of all, the current chairman of the Tea Party Express has denounced racism, has, you know, did a very direct in the camera, previously like in May, and said, you know if you're racist, don't come here. We're not about that. But it is so -- there are so many elements of the Tea Party. There is no real "Tea Party." You know, it's not like the Democratic Party, the Republican Party. It's a conglomeration of a lot of groups and it's hard to control. But I think they do have to come out because what does this do, but maybe turn people away saying, yes, well, the Tea Party, aren't they the sort of racist people? So, it really cuts into a movement, and so there needs to be something out there, I think.</s>ACOSTA: And I want to know, Ed, over at the White House -- what do they think of the Tea Party Movement? It is a subject you do not hear this White House talk very much about, but a force to be reckoned with.</s>HENRY: It could be. But the simple reason why when you talk to senior White House aides why they don't really talk about it, you don't see Robert Gibbs pushing back against the Tea Party in this daily briefing, they think it just gives them more attention. It gives them more oxygen. They start pushing back. I mean, look at what the NAACP did this week, as Candy points out, a venerable rights organization, they felt and that's their right that they had to speak out. They couldn't sit back any longer. But on the other hand, this is only just given the Tea Party a lot more attention. Maybe bad attention, but it gives more oxygen to their troops, if you will. So, this is why the White House wants to sit back and not get involved in this controversy at all. They're hoping to get the focus back to jobs, like the president did yesterday in Michigan. I just bumped into a senior White House aide on my way to the camera who was saying, yes, it's been a tough week but it got a little better yesterday. He was referring to the fact that it appears that maybe things are getting better with the Gulf spill. Maybe they're starting to turn the corner but they're being very careful not to celebrate just yet because they've seen other times --</s>ACOSTA: That's right.</s>HENRY: -- in this crisis where it looked like it was getting better and then all fell apart.</s>ACOSTA: Under-promised and over-delivered? Is that what Thad Allen like to say? Ed Henry at the White House -- thanks so much. And, Candy, coming up this Sunday, I guess very quickly before --</s>CROWLEY: Steny Hoyer, Democratic leader on the House side, Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republicans, are going to talk about politics and what might get done between now and election time on Capitol Hill.</s>CHETRY: Sounds good. We'll be watch.</s>ACOSTA: Thanks, Candy.</s>CHETRY: Candy, thanks for dropping by as always. And you can catch Candy on "STATE OF THE UNION" this Sunday morning, 9:00 Eastern, right here on</s>CNN. ACOSTA: An earthquake -- get this -- rattled Washington, D.C.'s area this morning. Rob Marciano has more on that. Hey, Rob.</s>ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Yes, 20 miles, just outside of the D.C. area, a 3.6 magnitude quake, pretty shallow, about three miles in depth. So, because of that, it was felt by a large chunk of that highly populated metropolitan area. We don't expect any sort of damage reports with this sort of magnitude quake. It is certainly unusual, not completely unheard of. But, you know, the history of these kinds of quakes is a little bit, not very detailed. So, we're trying to dig stuff up. It looks as though we haven't seen a quake of this magnitude near the D.C. area in probably 20 or 30 years. So, if you grew up in the area, you say, hey, I've never felt one of these before -- that wouldn't be too farfetched. We don't expect any sort of major aftershocks. Even if they occur, we'll let you know. Plus, heat advisories out for this area and the New York area. We'll talk more weather, how long this heat is going to last later in the program -- guys.</s>CHETRY: Sounds good. Rob, thanks so much. Well, still ahead: oil has now stopped gushing into the Gulf. Critical testing begins. And so, what now? We're going to have more with one of our favorite physicists. He's going to break it don for us -- coming up. Thirteen minutes past the hour.