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Four Oakland Police Officers, Gunman Killed; North Dakota Races to Battle Coming Flooding

Aired March 22, 2009 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And just into CNN, a fourth Oakland police officer has diedafter a shootout that started with a traffic stop.

And, trying to hold the water back: the race to make more than a million sand bags, as the rivers rise in North Dakota.

And medical breakthroughs save lives in Iraq. They're coming soon to a hospital near you. Hello again, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And we've just learned that a fourth Oakland California police officer has died after being wounded by a man on parole during a traffic stop. That triggered a massive manhunt and a second shootout with a S.W.A.T. team. Let's go right to CNN's Kara Finnstrom in Los Angeles. Kara, what happened exactly?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, again, we have just learned that the fourth officer has now died. That officer, 41-year-old John Hege, a sergeant who had been fighting for his life in the hospital since yesterday, just a short while ago, Oakland police confirmed that he has now died. So Fredricka, a total of four officers have been killed in connection with what officers are calling the deadliest or one of the deadliest shootings in California's history.

Here is what we know about what happened. Officers tell us that two officers were on motorcycles and tried to pull over a car. They say at that point they believed some shots were fired from the person who was driving that car. Dispatchers began to get reports of officers down. Two of the officers were killed at that point. Then a number of other officers came out to the scene and began an extensive search, and the S.W.A.T. team actually narrowed down the suspected gunman to an apartment where he was barricaded.

When they tried to enter, he began firing an assault weapon, and that's when the other two officers were killed. Those four officers killed, again, John Hege, Sergeant John Hege, 41 years old. He is the officer that we just received confirmation he has died today after fighting and struggling for life. The other three officers, 40-year- old Mark Dunakin, 43-year-old Ervin Romans and 35-year-old Daniel Sakai.

And Fredricka, a lot of the pictures that were coming in yesterday from the Oakland area showed officers crying, neighbors hugging one another. A lot of raw emotion out there yesterday, a lot of difficulty accepting that this has happened. And you can just imagine that community must be in tremendous grief right now, as they're learning that a fourth of those officers has died.

WHITFIELD: And so tragic indeed. And you know, Kara, you mentioned how police were able to track the suspect to an apartment building. Is that because of a resident at that apartment building that called in a tip?

FINNSTROM: That was a tip that sent police to that apartment building. Now, we don't know too much about the suspect, the gunman who was shot and killed during all of this. He is 26-year-old Lovelle Mixon. We do know that he was wanted on a parole violation for assault with a deadly weapon was the conviction that he was wanted for. He also we're told he had an extensive criminal history by police.

So police still are trying to figure out exactly why this escalated. Perhaps he was fearful that he was going to be brought back in.

WHITFIELD: Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much for that update of that tragic story.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued this statement saying "our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those lost, the Oakland Police Department and law enforcement officers throughout California during this difficult time." Schwarzenegger is expected to meet with Oakland's mayor in about an hour from now.

Meantime, the White House hopes it has found an antidote to those toxic assets on bank balance sheets. Tomorrow, it unveils its plan to relieve banks of assets backed by bad mortgages. On CNN's "State of the Union" today, one of the president's top economic advisors defended plan to John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: So taxpayers who are already bailing out financial institutions, already outraged over bonuses at AIG are going to take on more risks here.

CHRISTINA ROMER, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: I think you need to keep your eye on why we're doing this at all which is we do know that banks have these so-called toxic assets on their balance sheets. We think they're highly uncertain. They're making banks unwilling to lend, making private investors unwilling to come into banks. We need to get those off the bank's balance sheets.

That's a market that really hasn't been functioning, really hasn't existed. That's exactly when the government needs to step in and what's really innovative about this is partnering with private investors, partnering with the FDIC and the Federal Reserve to get all of the resources we can, to get those things off banks' balance sheets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The markets tanked when investors learned the outlines of the plan last month with more detail. The White House hopes the reaction will be more positive. Here's what senior administration officials are telling us.

The FDIC, which insures deposits will set up investment partnerships, lending them 85 percent of the money needed to buy assets. The Treasury then will hire investment firms matching dollar for dollar their commitment with government cash. And in a third step, the Treasury will work with the Federal Reserve to expand unlending.

The White House may face a pretty hard sell. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider is here to explain what the president and his allies are up to. OK. So how important then, Bill, is this for the White House to offer real clarity? Because at first when the White House or the Treasury Department talked about it, there was a lot of criticism that it was too vague.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You certainly heard that on Wall Street. The market declined very sharply that day. What Wall Street wants is the money. Wall Street's basic view is show us the money. They want the government in Washington to come up with the money to buy out these toxic assets so that the credit markets could get rolling again. They're not too interested in issues like regulation and transparency. They want the money.

If they see the money when the president and White House make this announcement, they'll be a bit happier. The question is, will the people be happier? The public is very angry, there is a wave of populist outrage out there over what has been happening. The public says we want to make sure that any plan the White House comes up with includes adequate supervision, some kind of democratic controls, and transparency. So we know what's going on. Because they have looked at what's happened to the money that's been given to the financial institutions so far, and there's a lot of outrage over the way it's been handled, and not just those bonuses.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned transparency, and that seems to be the mantra that the White House wants to uphold. (inaudible) So as it pertains to the president's budget proposal, he apparently and I guess his camp has sent out volunteers door to door, almost as if he is running for president all over again, to pitch this plan of his budget plan to try and win support from the American people. Is he selling his individuality once more, or is he selling the legislation?

SCHNEIDER: Well, he's trying to sell the legislation by selling it personally. He's personally very popular. People have a lot of confidence and a lot of hope in this president. That's - his record - his approval rating is soaring right now. It's higher than his four predecessors in office, even a little bit higher than Ronald Reagan's was at this point in their presidency. And so he is trying to translate that into support for his legislative agenda.

(inaudible) This is kind of a new experiment. It's the permanent campaign. Door to door canvassing, e-mails. He had a couple of town halls last week in California. He's going to have a prime time news conference on Tuesday night. All of this is trying to use his own popular personality and his image to sell something that could be a difficult sell, namely this legislative agenda.

WHITFIELD: I guess then in part kind of showing accessibility too, by way of that face time on the two.

SCHNEIDER: Right.

WHITFIELD: Whether it's the Tuesday night news conference that we, of course, will be carrying live beginning at 7:45, Bill, or perhaps it's that "60 Minutes" interview scheduled for this evening. Unclear as of yet, Bill, what the topics of discussion will be. But it's likely AIG and the budget battle, as well. Or his budget plan might be part of that on "60 Minutes." All right. Thanks so much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Bill Schneider.

All right. Here now is a little snippet of what might be on "60 Minutes" this evening involving the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: Tim Geithner is as sharp and as skilled a public servant as we have. Who has on his plate a unprecedented set of problems. And is under enormous scrutiny and pressure and has been able to handle that scrutiny with grace and good humor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So it will indeed be a busy week for the president. He is returning to the White House late tonight. That's a change from his original schedule, which called for him to return on Monday

And tomorrow, he will meet with his members of his budget team. On Tuesday, he meets with Australia's prime minister. And then that night, Tuesday night, he will hold a news conference that we, of course, will be covering beginning at 7:45. And then Wednesday, the president meets with Senate democrats over, you guessed it, the budget. And then that evening, he attends a fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee.

And of course, CNN is the place to see and hear the president's primetime news conference Tuesday night. The best political team on television will be covering all of the angles before and after. Again, our coverage begins at 7:45 p.m. Eastern.

All right. Folks in North Dakota on alert for flooding. The Fargo area is expected to be hit the hardest. We'll check what FEMA is actually doing to help to avert any huge damage. The recession may be causing a cash flow problem for many nonprofit organizations, but it's not all bad news. We actually have got details on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Residents in North Dakota are taking precautions and filling sand bags today amid flood worries. In the next few days, the swollen red river could crest more than 20 feet above flood stage in the Fargo area. FEMA is already helping the town get ready. FEMA's acting regional administrator is Doug Gore is actually on the phone from Denver with me now.

So all right, Mr. Gore, this region has been through this time and time again. How is FEMA helping them preceding, I guess, the big water build-up?

VOICE OF DOUG GORE, FEMA: Well, FEMA is working with eight local and federal agencies to prepare to respond to this flood event that's not only in North Dakota, but across the nation at this time. And we are very focused, increasing our prepositioning assets, and planning and working closely with the state to make sure whatever support they need from the federal government is there for them.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned prepositioning assets. Like what?

GORE: Well, we have had liaisons actually working in the emergency operations center. This week, over last week and this week, we are advancing an emergency response team, a five-person team that will arrive in Bismarck tomorrow. And begin partnering up with federal and state partners to address whatever issues need to be addressed at this time.

WHITFIELD: Are you worried about evacuations?

GORE: Well, we're - we're cautiously optimistic that the flood fight and the weather and so forth will be such that the sand bagging and other initiatives will take care of the need to evacuate. But if there is a need to evacuate, state and local agencies will be ready, and we will be ready as well. The important thing is for local citizens to respond to the direction that they do receive from their local officials.

WHITFIELD: OK. Doug Gore of FEMA, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it, out of Denver. And all of the best as you all gear up for what could be a pretty dangerous week, particularly in the North Dakota area.

All right. So folks in Fargo in particular, well they're not standing around. They're actually doing something right now. They're fighting back to protect their city, as best they can. Yesterday, hundreds of volunteers gathered at this facility to fill sand bags, as you see right here. Others used bulldozers to build earth in dikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're filling this up, just because the city thinks it's maybe going to maybe get to 17. So we're going to try to be safe and get everything done before it does rain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Hundreds of truckloads of dirt are actually being brought in, and volunteers hope to fill 1.5 million sand bags before the river crests.

Well adding to the flood worries, more rain is in the forecast for the Dakotas. Let's go to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras for the very latest. Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Fredricka, a lot of different factors in play in the weather this week on just how high the river is going to ultimately go. We still have a little bit of a question mark. And, yes, because of the rest of the snow that needs to mount, because of the rain that's in the forecast, and we even get snow in the forecast at North Dakota by midweek in the Red River valley, and you know, so that's kind of making the ground frozen a little bit more again when we drop below freezing so that can kind of you know, maybe slow it down a little bit later in the week.

So all of these factors coming together will ultimately determine the crest. And that's still a week away. And that's some of the best news that we have out of this entire flood event. In this go-round, we have time. This isn't flash flooding, this is river flooding, and so we're looking at a long crest. The river is already out of its banks, about four feet above flood stage here in the Fargo area. But, you know, the 20 feet, that's not going to happen until Saturday, Sunday, maybe even earlier into the following week.

Now, let's talk a little bit more about this rain that we have been forecasting. We've got some really heavy stuff here in South Dakota, that's just making its way over the border in south central parts of North Dakota. We just got flash flood warnings which have been issued here. This is for Lamore County, and the rainfall rates here, maybe an inch an hour. So you can see, here is Wahpeton, you guys already in major floods.

And here is Fargo, that rain eventually is going to be sliding off to the east. And we could be talking about a good one to two inches easy, in the next 24 to 48 hours, and then on top of that, the snow coming in. So it is a very serious situation. They have been sand bagging around the clock with those spider things, Fredricka.

They're kind of cool. So they're frantically worried about that rising river. If it goes to 40 feet, it could be breaching conditions and about 5,000 to 6,000 people are going to be out of their homes. Winds not real fun for the sand bagging effort. They think some of it is inside, hopefully, because we're looking at gusts today between 30 and 40 miles per hour.

WHITFIELD: Oh, nothing worse than wind and rain. OK, Jacqui, appreciate it.

All right. Pope Benedict is celebrating a final mass in Africa, and he's reacting to a tragedy that struck his event for young people. We'll have details on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're watching developments out of Turkey this hour. Turkey's prime minister says he is now open to allowing U.S. troops to cross his country's soil as they withdraw from Iraq. If that happens, it would be a major reversal in policy. This is how I reported Turkey's position from that country six years ago this month.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (on-camera): After late-night talks involving the prime minister and members of his cabinet, a proposal that would allow for limited U.S. military access of air space only in Turkey is now making its way to parliament. This comes after a meeting went well past midnight, but a bit of confusion, because at first those cabinet members agreed to have a second vote on the original proposal that was defeated earlier in the month and that proposal would allow for the U.S. military to have full access, air, land and sea, of the Turkish territory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots of back and forth then. That was in 2003. Now in an exclusive interview with CNN, a reversal. Turkey's prime minister says if the U.S. asked, he might say yes to U.S. forces on Turkish soil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We have not yet received an official request from the United States an this issue. But if weapons and ammunition are going to come out, it has to be clear where they are going to be heading. If we are informed about where this military equipment would be going precisely, then we can make a proper evaluation. It would not be correct for me to make a judgment on that right now. However, with regard to the exit of the American soldiers, we are positive on that issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Obama is expected to meet with Mr. Erdogan in Turkey next month.

A close call in Israel. Officials there say a huge disaster was averted when a vehicle loaded with explosives was disabled before it detonated. The vehicle was parked outside a busy shopping mall in Haifa. Police say the attack was averted because one of the explosive malfunctioned and alerted people nearby.

A message from Pope Benedict XVI delivered to a crowd of about a million people at an open air mass in Angola. The pontiff called on the faithful to pursue a life filled with reconciliation, justice and peace. Before the mass began the Pope expressed deep sorrow for the deaths of two women killed in a stampede at a youth event he attended yesterday. Pope Benedict wraps up his week-long trip to Africa tomorrow.

A wild scene at an airport in Sydney, Australia today. Travelers watched in horror as warring biker gangs brawled across the main terminal. Police say one suspected gang member was actually beaten to death with metal poles. They say 15 men were involved in the melee. Four were arrested. The others escaped.

Cutting-edge medical breakthroughs. Saving soldiers' lives on the battlefield in Iraq. We'll bring you a report from Baghdad. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Happening right now, flags fly at half staff at the California Capitol as Oakland officials confirm a fourth police officer has died following a shootout with a man on parole. The police say the gunfire began after a routine traffic stop yesterday. The suspect was killed hours later in a gun battle with S.W.A.T. team officers.

Tomorrow the White House is expected to roll out its plan to help the nation's troubled banks. The program calls for buying up their so called toxic assets. The securities tied to bad mortgages, and those that are blamed for igniting the credit crisis.

So here is a sign of the times. 300 people showing up this weekend to apply for just 16 jobs in a New Hampshire school district. Among the applicants, a woman who recently lost her 30-year teaching job. School administrators say they're seeing a lot of very qualified candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK COKER, SCHOOL ADMINISTRAION: There are teachers who may have been around in a district sometimes for as much as 10 years, are looking for jobs now because their positions are no longer there.

CAROLYN WEIR, JOB SEEKER: My job has been eliminated because of budget cuts. And I'm just not ready to stop teaching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That teacher Carolyn Weir says if she doesn't get hired, she will still work by volunteering.

So nonprofit organizations are reporting a surge in volunteers. CNN's Susan Candiotti is in New York. Susan, these are volunteers that are not only helping others, but they're helping themselves at the same time.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. It's kind of a two-fer. Jobless volunteers are keeping themselves sharp, and potentially making themselves even more valuable to employers if they strategically pitch their volunteer work during job interviews.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: It's nice to kind of match the clothes if you can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you have to have good project management skills and good matching skills.

CANDIOTTI: Sara Mercuri lost her job as a salary consultant last month. In her mid 50s, she is keeping herself occupied as a volunteer.

You are out meeting people, talking to people, you're not sitting home feeling sorry for yourself.

At the community food bank of New Jersey where clothes are also donated, Mercuri reflects a dramatic change among its volunteers. The unemployed.

What do they bring to your volunteer force?

KATHLEEN DICHIARA, COMMUNITY FOOD BANK OF NEW JERSEY: Well, they bring skills. They bring talent and they bring empathy.

CANDIOTTI: What do you think about when you see all these clothes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think about all of the people who need the clothes. And I think about when I work at the food bank all of the people that are hungry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a lot of volunteer support.

CANDIOTTI: Last month, 1,500 volunteers signed up at New York Cares, a volunteer placement organization. That's twice as many as the same time last year. A third of them say their job status changed.

GARY BAGLEY, EXEC. DIR., NEW YORK CARES: It is amazing, we've had to add orientations to keep up with the demand.

CANDIOTTI: Tewnty-nine-year-old Katie Hill was laid off after four years, and then tried to land a job at the Red Cross. That failed, so she is donating her time.

KATIE HILL, UNEMPLOYED VOLUNTEER: Right now, I am enjoying the work I am doing through volunteering. Gaining all of the experience I can through being out and responding to people of New York with the Red Cross.

CANDIOTTI: Five Club Career coach Maury Cohen says job hunters should pitch their volunteer work during interviews.

ROY COHEN, FIVE O'BRIEN:'CLOCK CLUB: And I'm working on a special project, and that project has allowed me to do the following. We need to make sure that whatever we're presenting makes sense in light the interview -- in light the position we're being interviewed for.

CANDIOTTI: Advice Sara Pacurey (ph): plans to use.

SARA PACUREY (ph): Because when you volunteer, you are a part of the team for the greater good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: And by the way, career coach Roy Cohen also makes this point. When you mention your volunteer work during an interview, be careful. If you volunteer for an organization that could be considered controversial, you might want to think twice about bringing it up.

WHITFIELD: So you better do your research.

CANDIOTTI: You should, always.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Be prepared. All right, Susan Candiotti thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Some weather news, pretty serious. Flooding in Fargo, North Dakota is creating a beehive of activity. Residents are scrambling to fill sand bags in anticipation of the rising Red River already overflowing its banks. The river could crest more than 20 feet above flood stage in the coming days.

Our Jacqui Jeras is watching all of this, and boy, this is pretty frightening. But at the same time, impressive there at Fargo, because they're so incredibly organized, they have been through this so many times before.

JERAS: Yeah, they have this huge, elaborate plan in place, Fredricka, what they do at different stages as the river continues to rise. And what you see, that video there, those are -- they call those spider machines. I was envisioning an amusement park. But it has the legs so they can feed the fan down there and it allows them to fill up these sand bags, 5,000 an hour.

WHITFIELD: Amazing. What a great invention that was.

JERAS: Yeah. And they also by the way called in the North Dakota State University football team to help them out. So they got some muscle power. But it is a race against time, because they have maybe 300,000 of these filled and they need 1.5 million, yeah, to get --

WHITFIELD: Not even halfway.

JERAS: So they're working around the clock to try and get this done. Let's go ahead and show you some specifics here. This is the Red River of the North. If you're not familiar with this area, that this is a river that runs northward, yeah, backwards from what you would normally would see. And our Google Earth animation showing you some of the points along the lines there we want to show you. So we'll zoom in here for you, and so all of those little dots you can see on the map, the bright purple one there in the Wahpeton area shows that you're already in major flood stage here in Wahpeton and then it goes down toward Abercrombie and then into the Fargo area.

And we'll Google this for you and pull this up. And this is the river gauge forecast. And this is just updated, Fredricka, so this is brand- new information. And how to read this, right here in the blue, this will show you where the river stage is now. So it's at 21.68 feet, roughly four feet above flood stage. Here is where we're going along the line over the next couple days, and we're going to be cresting out. The way this forecast, it's around 40 feet, so that is just shy of the record stage set back in 1997. So that is a very dire situation. And look at how that line levels out too, by the way, just stays flat there, near that record stage for days. So we have got a long way to go, and a lot of the factors into play, of course, all have to do with the weather here.

Because we've got rain coming up, which is already pushing into the area now. We could get 1 to 2 inches on top of what they already have in that area, and then we also have got blizzard-type conditions in parts of western North Dakota, so the cold weather is going to come in, say, midweek, so that could slow things down just a little bit. So it's really tough to get an exact gauge where this river is going, but they certainly need to be prepared for the worst. And that would put about 5 to 6,000 homes just swallowed in the water.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. So more snow, more precipitation, more flooding, and you had already explained earlier how this flooding is in part due to the melting snow.

JERAS: Yeah, they had 15 inches on the ground last week, one inch today. That's it.

WHITFIELD: Bad. Thanks so much Jacqui, appreciate it.

The next time you head to an emergency room, the care you receive may be due to medical breakthroughs made possible by the war in Iraq. CNN's Nic Robertson shows us what doctors are learning from this war's wounded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. TERESA RYAN, U.S. AIR FORCE: Yes, this is a volunteer, and he has the infrared camera set up here.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This device -- this infrared? An infrared camera that can save soldiers' lives, installed barely two weeks ago.

RYAN: Go ahead, and we're going to reduce the circulation in one leg.

ROBERTSON: We are being shown cutting-edge research at the United States' foremost military hospital in Iraq, joint base Balad.

RYAN: The leg is getting darker.

ROBERTSON: Already, this equipment is being used on wounded troops to detect body temperature, helping protect against potentially fatal compartment syndrome.

RYAN: If it's not treated, not detected, it could lead to an amputation, and, of course, an amputation always increases the risk of death.

ROBERTSON: New techniques are necessary, doctors say, because troops are surviving attacks far better than any previous conflict.

MAJ. JOSEPH DUBOSE, U.S. AIR FORCE: Many of the injuries that we are seeing now patients previously would not have survived in the age prior to our current.

ROBERTSON: Survival at this hospital is 98 percent. And all treatments are being overturned. Tourniquets to stop bleeding once frowned upon are the new standard. (UNIDENTIFIED MALE): The fast transport times that people have these days, they're not going to lose that limb. But what we are going to do is prevent them from bleeding to death.

ROBERTSON: Some discoveries have been accidental. In the early days of the war, they didn't have enough blood supplies to treat casualties.

DUBOSE: We call them walking blood banks. Literally, we would call active duty service members to the blood bank to donate blood based on their blood type to the casualties. And we witnessed these patients had fairly good outcomes.

ROBERTSON: These doctors say the success of fresh, whole blood led to new transfusion techniques now adopted by civilians back home.

COL. LIZ BRIDGES, U.S. AIR FORCE: Here we're already starting to see that. For example, the one to one to one blood transfusion therapies that we're doing with our mass casualties, most critically injured, that's being transferred into the civilian literature.

ROBERTSON: What doctors and nurses here are discovering is that the suffering of all the service men and women they care for is adding up to more than individual recoveries; it's also life-saving hope to countless others. But doctors fear the hard-worn lessons of Iraq will be severely tested in Afghanistan, where the battlefields are more rugged and remote.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): We're going to need to come up with a way to transport injured soldiers quickly to some type of major care facility. And that is going to be a problem in Afghanistan.

ROBERTSON: Their worries may be well-founded. Doctors in Balad report their casualties have dropped six fold, and casualties in Afghanistan are showing no signs of slowing.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Balad, Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. With unemployment so high, ace that interview and the follow-up. What you need to do to make yourself stand out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're doing what we can to help find work for people in these tough times. We brought together recruiters and job-seekers for a special hour. This time yesterday, there was so much great advice that we thought it deserved another run.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES HALLORAN, COMCAST: Definitely don't want to have a negative attitude. You don't want to come up and say, you know, I've walked by you before, you'll never recognize me, because it's a turnoff. It's very unfortunate that is the case. Comcast has 100,000 associates but we try to keep it as tight knit as we can. So as you approach, have a positive attitude. You know, be interested.

WHITFIELD: It's so hard right now, if you've been out of work for a long time. Right, guys? If you've been out of work for a long time, it is hard not to be depressed about it. Josh has been taking a lot of e- mail questions, and, yes, comments, as well. So Josh what are people saying as it pertains to how do you stand out?

JSOH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't tell you how many people today have written with this complaint they're told they're over qualified for a position. Let me just show you an example. This one comes from Pat, and she says she gets this letter all of the time and she feels there is nothing she can do, because even if she tries to downgrade what she puts on her resume, they call her references and find out how qualified she is. So is this something people hiring just say to make you feel better, or is there really a way that you can counteract the alleged problem of being overqualified?

WHITFIELD: Jim.

HOLLORAN: Well, I would say this. If you're good at what you do, don't down-sell it. Up sell it. You don't want to take a step back in your career, you want to continue to move forward, and you want to continue to advance. If that person says you're overqualified, well then maybe when the manager position comes up or the VP position comes up, you're able to apply for that job and you're in the door already, because you know the recruiter.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's take another e-mail.

LEVS: Yeah, some people complained because they felt they were treated like beggars can't be choosers. We have one that says that when he read about a job that paid $34,000 a year, he got to the interview, and they said would you be willing to take 24, almost like they were bargaining with him. And another one, someone who wanted to remain anonymous who says that her husband was told if he took the job he can't be at the birth of his twins because for 90 days, he's not allowed to take any days off. Do you have any rights at all, when you're in an interview setting ready to accept a job?

WHITFIELD: Wow, April, I'll have you answer that.

APRIL NAGEL, CEO AND RECRUITER, FIRSTPRO INC: You have rights, but you're in a unique marketplace.

WHITFIELD: Competitive.

NAGEL: Very competitive, and you may have to make some compromises you wouldn't make normally, or you wouldn't make in another market. I think you do have to be yourself. You have to be polite, you have to keep your good manners, you have to have something prepared that you're going to say, you know. Talking about your --

WHITFIELD: Almost like a script in your head.

NAGEL: You have to have it. Practice it at home, your little pitch, exactly. WHITFIELD: Dominic, have you tried that? Have you tried having a rehearsed pitch, or how do you sell yourself?

DOMINIC: I may try it.

NAGEL: Yeah.

DOMINIC: Really, what I know about is with companies from forecast to delivery, from order to cash, the processes in between, how to make those things work well, because in a competitive world, a lot of good products out there, a lot of smart people out there. But it's how you execute the nuts and bolts within the company, and the process outside the company.

WHITFIELD: Right.

DOMINIC: And that's what I do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Josh another e-mail?

LEVS: Yeah, the short version there to anonymous, that is the situation right now. Everybody wants those jobs. Quickly, I'll mention one more. Really an interesting one on my facebook page from Elizabeth. And what she is asking boils down to this. If you have gone and gotten yourself re-educated in order to try and enter a new field, should you play up the recent education and put aside experience in another field, or should you play up your job experience? How do you handle that balance?

WHITFIELD: That's a tricky one, Jim.

HOLLORAN: Well, again, I wouldn't down sell yourself. I would always say on the up side. If you have experience, and if you have the education, sell them both. If you apply for a job, and that job isn't the right fit, the next job may be a better fit for you. In an organization like Comcast, we consistently grow. We will be opening approximately 1,000 sales jobs within the next 30 to 60 days. If you come to interview with me and you're not right for this sales job, well, lo and behold a business sales job may be open very soon.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Calvin, how about for you, when you hear of an opening, it's not quite the one you're looking for, how flexible are you willing to be to I guess examine any option?

CALVIN: Just got to be very flexible, if it's not fit then just move on to the next job. I mean, there are going to be several no's before that yes comes.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

CALVIN: So just kind of have your resume prepared, and just be truthful.

WHITFIELD: And you're a civil engineer. We said earlier, you're in I.T. You're a civil engineer, so are you looking at some of your skills and thinking, hmmm, how they are transferable into another industry, something that I have not -- has not been my comfort zone. Are you there yet?

CALVIN: What I did, I took my resume and revamped it, so all of the skills now are brought out, so when I have another company that has different set of skills, it's kind of a little bit interchangeable, so it's not just honed into just one type of industry. So you're not lying or anything on your resume, but bringing out your skills so that can attract more employers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So that was just a slice of our special yesterday, jobless, and not hopeless, to try to get people to stay hopeful about the job market. Next Sunday, we focus the Saturday 4:00 p.m. hour on saving up for college. Why it's never too late. And why in these tough economic times some families are choosing tuition over mortgage.

The IRS owes you money. So why is someone else now getting your check?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Taxpayers take it to the streets. They're sounding off about the government bailout of AIG. Here's a sampling from Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): I really hope people take this so seriously, because it's happening overnight so quickly, the change that is towards socialism, and that's not what I want for my baby.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): I do call President Obama my president. I don't agree with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Just two of the estimated 3,000 people who took part in the protest in Orlando police reported no problems with very sizeable demonstration there.

All right. Spectacular protests taking place across the country. This one in the heart of Kentucky, the Blue Grass, and Lexington drew a thousand or so critics of President Obama's economic plan. They call the stimulus plan taxation without deliberation.

Thousands of taxpayers won't be getting a refund this year, and it's not because Uncle Sam doesn't owe them. It's because someone stole their identity and then the checks. Abbie Boudreau from CNN's special investigations unit has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: Brenton King is a 25-year-old father and husband. He says he was only 17 when someone stole his wallet and his identity.

BRENTON KING, ID THEFT VICTIM: I started receiving letters from the IRS, and the letters were asking me to pay taxes for a lot of income. BOUDREAU: King says for years, at least five people used his Social Security number. And since the criminals' earned income on his number and never paid their taxes, the Kings can't get any tax refunds from the IRS or their government stimulus check.

JENNIFER KING, ID THEFT VICTIM'S WIFE: We want to put money in a bank; we want to be able to money down on a home.

BOUDREAU: The Federal Trade Commission says more than 50,000 Americans have fallen victim to this type of identity theft. It's a way for criminals to file false tax returns so they can get refunds or evade taxes all together.

J. KING: From before we even file our taxes we know we're not going to get anything back and that's really frustrating.

BOUDREAU: King says when he went to the IRS to report the problem; no one believed that he was the real Brenton King. Senator Chuck Grassley says he feels the IRS is not doing enough.

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, (R) IOWA: They aren't going to prosecute, and that's not very helpful. It sends a signal that you get a free pass if you're doing identity theft using IRS instruments.

BOUDREAU: National Taxpayer advocate Nima Olson helps taxpayers resolve problems through the IRS.

NIMA OLSON, NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE: We see a lot of activity now, because clearly folks who are trying to perpetrate a fraud have to get their refund -- their claims in early before the true taxpayer files their return.

BOUDREAU: Olson says there is help for the Kings through her office. Brenton King says he just wants his life back and that stimulus check.

B. KING: The fear is that it will happen for the rest of our lives.

BOUDREAU: Abbie Boudreau, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Here's one way to save on rent. Move back in with your ex?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. Welcome to the NEWSROOM which is also right now for a few minutes the "Chat Room." Jacqui is with me now to kind of talk about the few things that are on radar but didn't have a chance to really fill into our newscast in depth but we can kind of gloss over.

JERAS: Some of it. Well the first one is bad. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. Remember reality TV star who got married on television, fighting her battle with cervical cancer.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, and then we were talking about the wedding, and sadly, she passed away in her sleep. Just 27 years old, mother of two. People said they got to know of her because of the reality show, "Big Brother." You know, she kind of hit that reality TV-star fame, but it was short-lived. .

JERAS: Yeah, 27 years old, two young children.

WHITFIELD: Because of cancer.

OK. Let's talk about what's taking place way above in space a few hundred miles away.

JERAS: Yeah!

WHITFIELD: Yeah, we never worked on the International Space Station.

JERAS: There was a little screw-up so to speak.

WHITFIELD: An oops.

JERAS: A big 'ole oops, yeah. Apparently, they put a pin in upside down yesterday, and it jammed an equipment storage platform, so now NASA is trying to figure out how do we fix it?

WHITFIELD: And that was already a pretty tricky repair in the first place and now they've got to do it again.

JERAS: Yeah, unfortunately, they weren't able to get to all of the things they were supposed to yesterday, because of the pin problem.

WHITFIELD: Well, what do you think about the whole second time around? You know what I'm getting at here. This is interesting --

JERAS: This is very interesting.

WHITFIELD: This comes from an I-reporter who says, you know what? Times are tough, and so she didn't rule out getting back with her ex by making him a roommate.

JERAS: Not what you think.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, by making him a roommate. They had a nasty divorce, and they had a pretty brutal custody battle, but, hey, tough times, and so now they have moved back in together.

JERAS: Yeah, this is Nicole Thompson from Omaha, Nebraska and she is living in a house with her husband now, and her ex-husband, and somebody else, too. I think there is a mother in law or something. Ex mother-in-law is also living there.

WHITFIELD: One big happy family.

JERAS: There you go.

WHITFIELD: People are getting really inventive. And sometimes they're just kind of putting certain things aside.

JERAS: You got to do what you've got to do. WHITFIELD: And maybe for the kids' sake, they might be happy.

JERAS: Yeah, the kids might be having a good time with that. Yeah. But it makes it a lot easier to go -- "dad said --"

WHITFIELD: That's right. Mom said this. Let me check out with dad.

JERAS: OK. That dad said no? Let's try other one.

WHITFIELD: All right. We wish them the best, because you know what, times are tough. And doing whatever it is they can, and certainly at least it's a little harmonious while we try to stick it out. There we go.

All right, Jackie thanks for being in the "Chat Room" a bit.

Much more in the NEWSROOM straight ahead. Beginning at 6:00 with Don Lemon, they served their country while fighting overseas, and so why can't so many veterans actually land a job.

A new charity is helping out your four-legged friends with a soup kitchen for pets. You like that idea?

JERAS: I love it!

WHITFIELD: I do, too.

JERAS: People are losing their pets, because they can't afford to feed them, dog food especially.

WHITFIELD: And a lot of animal shelters are finding that people are turning in their pets because they can't afford them. So this way, you know, it's -- you know, you hit hard times you can bring your pet with you at some of these places. I like that.

All right. Fareed Zakaria, GPS is coming up.