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President's West Point Commencement Speech; India Jetliner Crash; Gulf of Mexico Filling Up; Extreme Skydiver; Supreme Court Ruling; Guy Gets Job With $6 Google Campaign; Rand Paul Taking Heat

Aired May 22, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Lots straight ahead. It is 9:00 a.m. on the West Coast, Noon, of course, here on the East Coast. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, live in Atlanta and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Up first this hour, a pep talk from the president of the United States. He delivered the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Among other things he talked about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. CNN's Kate Bolduan is with us now in our Washington bureau -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka.

Well, in addition to, as you said, congratulating the graduating class at West Point, President Obama, this morning, really discussing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and also outlining some of the broad principles that will be part of the president's national security strategy, which the White House says will be released sometime next week.

This is a big report that lays out what the president's approach is to foreign policy, really laying out his priorities here, some of the broad themes that we heard in his speech this morning, stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, securing nuclear materials and also continuing the strong fight against extremism and working to continue the campaign to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates. Listen here to President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Though we have had more success in eliminating al Qaeda leaders in recent months, than recent years, they will continue to recruit and plot and exploit our open society. We see that in bombs that go off in Kabul and Karachi, we see it in attempts to blow up an airliner over Detroit or an SUV in Times Square. Even as these failed attacks show that pressure on networks like al Qaeda is forcing them to rely on terrorists with less time and space to train. We see the potential duration of this struggle in al Qaeda's gross distortions of Islam, their disrespect for human life and their attempt to prey upon fear and hatred and prejudice.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: President Obama also emphasized the need for global cooperation and partnerships in taking on the challenges ahead, saying at one point that the burdens of this century cannot fall on American shoulders alone, so a strong statement, there.

The president also talking about the importance of real civilian action, everything from the need for more civilian support in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, to increasing diplomatic engagement around the world, Fredericka, it's really broad outlines of what we can expect to hear more from President Obama. President Obama talking about all these things complementing the country's military strengths.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kate Bolduan in Washington, thanks so much for that.

All right, meantime, let's talk about what's happening in India. At least 158 people are feared dead after a jetliner overshot the runway, crashed and then burst into flames. Only a handful of survivors actually made it through the terror. CNN's Stan Grant filed this report just minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Air India Express Boeing 737 left Dubai just after 1:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, it was bound for the southern Indian city of Mangalore. Within a matter of hours, almost all of the 166 passengers aboard were killed when the plane veered off the runway on its approach and headed towards trees, it apparently burst into flames.

Now, among those on board, 19 children and four infants. Almost all of those aboard without have been Indian migrant workers who made up an enormous part of the population here in the UA almost half the population here, about two million people, many of them work at lowly paid jobs at the construction industry.

For many of them it would have been their first chance to go home in perhaps as many as two or three years. An investigation is continuing now into the crash to try to look at the causes of what may have made this plane head off the runway. But sadly, for those people who were heading home, it has all ended in a terrible tragedy.

Stan Grant, CNN, Dubai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Back to this country now and to the oil spill that is still gushing in the Gulf of Mexico. Now 31 days, here's what we know. BP says it will attempt its top kill plan to plug that leaking well head. The company admits it is not guaranteed to work. And what it means is mud and cement that would be pushed into that gaping hole in the leak. Meanwhile, a respected marine scientist says the effects of spill may ripple all the way to Europe and the Arctic, now. And President Obama announces a bipartisan commission to investigate the disaster as experts struggle to get a handle on just how bad it really is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARYS MITCHELMORE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: I'm very concerned because I don't know, there's so many unknowns, we can't see what's happening out in the open ocean, we can't see these surface water organisms dying and dropping to the seabed. I mean, this is hard to follow.

We can't even determine where that subsurface plume is and how expansive that is under the ocean, it's much easier to see a surface slick and to see the oiled birds that wash onshore and the shoreline impacts, it's a huge unknown and it's that uncertainty unknown that we don't know about. We don't know the full impacts out in the open ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, here's what that leaking well head actually looks like right now, 5,000 feet below the surface of the gulf, you can look at CNN.com for live streaming video of this rupture and the crude oil still spewing from it. You can see that around the clock on CNN.com/live.

All right, keep that image that you just saw in mind as we tell you about this, the Environmental Protection Agency is ordering BP to use less toxic dispersants to break up the oil. Let's discuss dispersants with Professor Peter Hodson of Canada's Queens University. He's joining us now from Kingston, Ontario.

So, Professor, good to see you. First off, how dangerous is the current dispersant that now BP has been using for weeks as this oil has spewed now for a month?

PROF. PETER HODSON, QUEENS UNIVERSITY: Good morning, Fredericka. The dispersant itself is among the least toxic dispersants that are approved for use. The problem is the amount that's being used. The amount is unprecedented in terms of what's been sprayed on the surface and what's been sprayed underneath the ocean directly into the emerging oil.

WHITFIELD: So then wait a minute, Professor, if you say the current dispersant that is being used is the least toxic of those that are available and if the EPA says we want you to use a less toxic one, is there another option? I'm almost hearing from you that there isn't.

HODSON: Well, there's quite an array of dispersants that have been developed and tested and they do vary in their toxicity, the problem is that they also vary in their efficiency. So there's a very good possibility that they could choose one that's less toxic, but they're really going to be careful because they may have to use more. As one of your previous scientists said, it's the dose that makes the poison, so if they have to use more, then of course they're no further ahead.

WHITFIELD: So when you talk about one that may be less efficient, the other options, less toxic ones may be more inefficient, how do you measure the inefficiency?

HODSON: Well, there are standard tests in laboratories for determining the efficacy of oil dispersants in actually creating the dispersion of oil in the water column. But of course, this varies quite a bit in practice; it depends on how accurate you are in getting the dispersant on the oil and how well it mixes. So it's a bit difficult to predict in advance how these will perform in actual practice.

WHITFIELD: So, when you look at the images that we continue to show while you and I are talking and you see these clouds of oil, sometimes a pudding like texture, other times it looks like just an oily matter that is suffocating the wetlands. The idea of the dispersants being used was to do what? To cut down on the level of oil that was going to ultimately make it to the marshes or to change the consistency or what?

HODSON: The problem is that the oil on the surface will dilute ultimately to background if you give it long enough, it will dilute in two dimensions, spreading out until eventually it reaches a concentration that's not harmful. The problem is that in the process it may encounter birds, wildlife, shorelines et cetera and that's what we want to prevent.

By suing dispersants you can get the oil to dilute in three dimensions that is down through the water column. There result is you get a faster reduction in the amount of oil and hopefully reach a level that's nontoxic. The problem is that with oil coming out continuously, in the huge volumes that have been spilled, this is an ongoing process and we're not getting rid of the oil, the oil is simply accumulating in the water column and eventually will reach concentrations that are very harmful to aquatic organisms.

WHITFIELD: What's your expectation, Professor, as we're now at 31 days since the explosion on that oil rig, since the oil began spewing -- what's your expectation as to when we might see images of great volume, various types of wildlife that have died?

HODSON: Well, I think it's beginning, you're seeing video of oil coming ashore into some of the marshes, which is very upsetting, these are very sensitive areas, there are findings of dead animals at sea, whether it's turtles or fish, clearly there are some impacts starting to occur. And I think what is concerning is that when you stand back far enough and get these images from space, you realize that the Gulf of Mexico is not that big a place. And it's filling up rapidly with oil.

WHITFIELD: Professor, thank you so much for your time, really appreciate it, Professor Hodson.

All right, back now to the disaster in India. At last 158 people are feared dead after that jetliner overshot the runway and crashed and then simply burst into flames. CNN's Liz Neisloss is joining us now from the crash site.

Liz, what are you seeing, what can you tell us? LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, essentially now it's dark here and there are just scattered, charred remains of the plane that broke open on impact. The area where the plane crashed is a jungle muddy ravine that is off the edge of the runway. Apparently when the plane touched down, it must have been going at high speed, it just kept going, it burst through a wall at the end of the run way and the right wing of the plane was sheared off, it broke into pieces and burst into flames. Most of the passengers were killed in the fire, miraculously, there were eight survivors and one, I was told, was found just off the end of the runway walking around -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: What, just simply dazed. Now give me an idea what the first response has been like there.

NEISLOSS: Well, the responders have managed to put out the fire fairly quickly and say they have pulled out all the bodies, but what they are still doing is looking for the black box, the box that will hold clues as to what happened to this plane. They have essentially, though, called off the search for the night and officials say they will be back first thing in the morning to start digging again. There is a wide area of scattered wreckage, and they have quite a task ahead of them, Fredricka, this is a very muddy, jungly area -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Liz Neisloss, thanks so much from Mangalore, India.

We'll have much more straight ahead, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An Austrian skydiver will test the very limits of human space flight, he'll be hoisted by balloon to the stratosphere and then freefall some two miles back to earth. That is crazy, right? So why is he doing it? That's what our Brian Todd asked the jumper as "Fearless Felix."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is a 41-year-old Austrian skydiver who works for Red Bull, but with NASA's future so uncertain, Felix Baumgartner might just represent the next frontier of flight exploration.

Later this year, this guy is going to try to jump out of a capsule at the edge of space, for what's basically a record shattering skydive.

(on camera): So, my first question is a two-parter, are you nuts and why the hell are you doing this?

FELIX BAUMGARTNER, STRATOSPHERE JUMPER: Well, first of all, I'm not nuts. I think it's human nature, you know, and records are meant to be broken, and I'm a very competitive person. I like the challenge and to me, there's nothing more challenging than working on the Red Bull Stratos project . TODD (voice-over): The Red Bull Stratos project will test the limits of the human body. Baumgartner will try to break some unheard of records, the longest and highest freefall ever, 120,000 feet above sea level, that's more than 22,000 miles. And he'll try to make the fastest ever freefall.

BAUMGARTNER: When you step off within the first 30 seconds, you accelerate so fast that you are going to break the speed of sound which is more than 690 miles an hour.

TODD: That's something no one has ever done outside a plane or spacecraft. Baumgartner already based jump from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

The man who's record fearless Felix is trying to break is a consultant on this project. Joe Kittinger, who jumped from 102,000 feet 50 years ago.

(on camera): You're the only one who's even come close to being where he's going to go. What is it like up there?

COL. JOE KITTINGER (RET), 1960 STRATOSPHERE JUMPER: It's distant.

TODD: Yes, I would say so.

KITTINGER: And it's very hostile. It's not meant for man without elaborate protection.

TODD: What is it about it that feels so hostile? Is it the pressure, the speed? What is it?

KITTINGER: It's a lack of pressure, and you know that right outside of you is a vacuum of space, and without the protective pressure suit, you cannot live. And that's an interesting thought that you have.

TODD (voice-over): Like Kittinger, Baumgartner will be taken to the stratosphere in a capsule, pulled by a helium balloon, then he steps off, the only thing protecting him what he calls the next generation pressure suit, and three parachutes.

(on camera): Are you afraid of dying on this mission?

BAUMGARTNER: Of course, I'm afraid of dying because I worked so hard to reach that level, and you know, I'm living in good life. I think the most important thing I'm doing is to come back alive.

TODD (voice-over): The ultimate scientific goal is to advance human knowledge enough so that space tourists will be able to exist outside their vehicles if those spacecraft break down.

(on camera): How Felix Baumgartner top this? Well, he probably won't. He says, this is his last jump and then he's going to go back to being a helicopter pilot. May be a bit of a letdown. Brian Todd, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK, so imagine being on top of the world and you're barely a teen. California's Jordan Romero knows exactly how it feels. A spokesman for the 13-year-old climber says Jordan called from the summit of Mt. Everest to say he made it. He's the youngest climber ever to do it. But, he's not done with the rope and grappling hooks just yet. He actually plans to scale the highest peaks of all seven continents. So look out Antarctica, it is next on Jordan's list of mountains to climb.

And Lindsay Lohan, she's in trouble again and that is topping our legal segment, next.

And there they are, Richard and Avery, they're going through those notes, they've got lots to say about Lindsay and other things.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, a look at our top stories right now. An Air India flight bound for Mangalore crashes in a failed landing attempt, 158 of the 166 people onboard are feared dead, eight people survived.

And after a year of tongue wagging, lawmakers approve sweeping reforms for Wall Street, but don't think that debate is just over. Select House and Senate leaders still have to get together, iron out the differences in the two bills and negotiations are set for the week of June 7, now.

And some well-deserved time off 200 miles above the planet. Prior to their return flight home tomorrow, astronauts aboard the space shuttle "Atlantis" are enjoying the view and relaxing after completing a trio of successful space walks. And those are a look at the top stories. Another check of them in about 20 minutes from now.

All right, Texas is revamping the way it teaches history in its public schools. The state's Republican dominated board of education approved revisions of the social studies curriculum, yesterday. And among the changes, students will be required to learn that the words separation of church and state are not in the constitution and they'll debate whether the U.N. undermines U.S. sovereignty. Supporters say the changes will balance out liberal leanings of the current curriculum, but critics call the revision a biased revision of history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This thing belongs in the trash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These books, oh, we don't want to read these, my gosh, they deal with Hispanics, Hispanic issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to finish, we're done today. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right the vote could have national implications because Texas is one of the largest buyers of textbooks, publishers typically tailor books for that state.

And we're going to talked to our legal guys, not about that case, although we could, because I know they have pretty strong opinions about it, but we've got a lot of other things, including this Supreme Court ruling talking about juveniles who are convicted of crimes, particularly nonviolent ones, whether they should be serving life in prison. So who are these guys nodding? We've got of course Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney joining us from Cleveland, right?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And law professor. And Richard Herman, also a criminal defense attorney joining us from New York, right?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: Back in my own --

WHITFIELD: You're back in your home turf. OK. And law professor, as well.

All right, gentlemen, let's talk about this Supreme Court ruling, first. Richard, you first. You know, the Supreme Court is saying young people should not be serving life, particularly as it pertains to nonviolent crimes. Where did this come from?

HERMAN: Well, what they're saying, Fred, is that 37 states, including the federal government, have prescribed laws which say you can sentence a juvenile to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Supreme Court says no, that is a violation of the Constitution, the eighth amendment to the Constitution, which bans cruel and inhuman punishment and what the Supreme Court said is, you cannot sentence a juvenile to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At least give them the possibility of parole, that's it, they're not guaranteeing the parole, they're saying just give this juvenile offender the possibility of parole, that's what this case stands for.

WHITFIELD: So, Avery, you're in agreement with this?

FRIEDMAN: Well, actually both Richard and I predicted the 5-4 decision. And I'll tell you, the Supreme Court took the case, Fredricka, because of the very extreme fact, of the 50 states, there are 129 young people in the penitentiary who have been sentenced with life without any possibility of parole. Of the 129, 77 are in the state of Florida. And because of the extreme nature of the judicial -- the statutes in Florida, that's why the Supreme Court decision, why the Supreme Court took the case and why Justice Anthony Kennedy, who led this decision, looked at evolving principles in terms of society and norms and said, you know what? This is cruel and unusual punishment, it violates the eighth amendment, the right decision by the Supreme Court, even with a very extreme dissent by Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas who basically said, we did it that way back in 1791, we should do it today, the majority rejected that.

WHITFIELD: OK, well let's move on to another case. This is a tragic, very sad one, also involves a young person, very different circumstances. We're talking about a 7-year-old in Detroit, Michigan who died in a police raid and now the family of this 7-year-old says, wait a minute, we're going to sue the police department, but Richard, we know the track record of trying to sue a city, a police department, any jurisdiction is not very favorable for the civilian who tries to do so. Might this case be any different, though?

HERMAN: Oh, I guarantee you this case is going to be different, Fred. The attorney they have is a very, very fine attorney No. 1, there are federal and state litigations filed already on this particular case, we had a news crew from A&E following this special operations group for the Detroit police department, they came in they threw a flash bang grenade into this house to try to execute a search warrant, it was the wrong people, they're at the wrong house, the entire event was videoed, a 7-year-old was burned by the grenade, thereafter police entered the house, the 7-year-old was shot in the neck, and there's conflicting stories, now.

The police say a gun accidentally discharged inside the house, Figar, the attorney for them says he saw the video and the video reveals the bullet came from outside, so it looks like there's a potential cover-up here, the feds are now investigating this, this is big trouble for the Detroit police department.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, John Conyers, who chairs the judiciary committee and represents Detroit, is suggesting that there be a federal investigation, actually the evidence --

WHITFIELD: On what grounds would there be one? On what grounds would there be one? Because this is not intentional.

FRIEDMAN: Oh, on very good grounds. If there is evidence that there is a process used by the Detroit police department that fails to employ reasonable standards, for example, how they use flash grenades, whether or not there were shots made from outside, which is what the plaintiffs are arguing or whether or not it was accidental from the inside, there are a multitude of issues, but what's very interesting is the video by the cop's cable show is presently in the possession of Michigan State Police, this is right at the beginning, but there's no doubt that the loss of this little girl is a tragic event, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: It's heartbreaking. It really s is. $

All right, now this is a tough turn to make, but we're talking about Lindsay Lohan who is being, I guess, accused of kind of fleeing the law now and she's having a good time in the south of France at the Cannes Film Festival, promoting a she is going to be, because they haven't quite shot a frame of it; however, she is in France allegedly to help promote it. But a judge back here in the state says wait a minute, you had a court date and now reportedly, Richard and Avery, Lindsay's mother apparently said that she actually encouraged her daughter to stay in France to "protect her," so Richard if the judge hears this and she doesn't make it to court on Monday, which is the expectation, what could be ahead for Lindsay Lohan?

HERMAN: Um, lock up?

WHITFIELD: Jail time? I knew you were going to say that.

HERMAN: Lock up. Lock up.

WHITFIELD: No negotiating. Oh, boy.

HERMAN: This is not -- this is not LiLo, this is Dumbo, I mean, she is a train wreck, this poor girl, her, both her parents, her support group are train wrecks. Listen, she was on probation. She took a plea deal and the initial charges involve cocaine use, which they dropped and mold into this plea deal she had. The judge instructed her at the time of the plea, we are going to have periodic intervals where you must appear in court so we can check your status and make sure you're complying with your probation.

WHITFIELD: But she left the passport, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: Let me explain something, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: She can't get out of the country.

FRIEDMAN: Many years ago before I became a lawyer I was a probation officer and we would explain to people like Lindsay, look, no kidding around, when the date is there, the date is there. There is no excuse. She's now claiming I lost the passport, there's some suggestion that Mama Dina said you know don't worry about that, but the fact is many things could have been done to avoid it. Again, it's typical Lindsay Lohan. Money is a real showdown Fredricka, because I think Judge Marsha Revel who's proceeding in this manner, who's overseeing this case may very well be putting Lindsay in jail, no doubt.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

HERMAN: I think she's going to jail, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And that the judge would be using her, this celebrity, kind of as an example that you know what, no matter who you are, no matter what your status, you better not mess around, probation hearing or violating your probation, period, we mean business.

FRIEDMAN: You nailed it, professor, that's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, let's talk about another interesting example taking place out there, an example for all the prospective employers out there, be careful about your choice of words and what you're requiring of your employees. So apparently -- now, we're talking Hooters, right, everybody knows Hooters restaurant, the boss says to a young lady there who's 5'8" 132 pounds, if I got that part right?

HERMAN: Right, you got it.

WHITFIELD: She's not svelte enough and so, Avery, where are we going with this one? She has a pretty good case to say you know --

FRIEDMAN: Wait until you get a look at the manager, Lumpy Rutherford on this one. The guy's about 400 pounds. Hooters is claiming that they did not order so-called weight probation for Cassie Smith who, you're right, is 5'8" 132 pounds. They want her to squeeze into what they call the extra small outfit, so they have given her 30 days. Atlanta headquarters denies it, but Lumpy the manager says that's exactly what we're requiring. If she makes enough progress, of course they don't tell her how much she has to lose and she can keep her job. Believe it or not, there is no federal law that prohibits Hooters from doing what they doing.

WHITFIELD: Really?

FRIEDMAN: No federal law, but there is a Michigan law.

WHITFIELD: So wait a minute, this wouldn't fall under like discrimination?

FRIEDMAN: There is discrimination. The question is there unlawful discrimination. Weight discrimination generally is not covered by the federal law. But there is a state law, so she's still in the running here.

WHITFIELD: So Richard, what's the no? What's the no, no, no, what?

HERMAN: Fred, around the corners is hogs and heifers; she can get a job working there.

FRIEDMAN: That's not the issue.

HERMAN: I'm only kidding. I'm only kidding.

Listen, Hooters says they have an image that they're putting forth. They only allow girls to wear extra, extra small, extra small and small outfits. Let's face it, the waitresses there aren't earning their stripes for their waitressing abilities. That's not why I think people go to Hooters, because there's great service. I mean, it's not why they go there. So they have standard. This employee does not have to work there. She can work anywhere else she wants. They gave her a gym membership, they're saying come on, you got to lose a few pounds.

WHITFIELD: You don't like the conditions of the workplace, it's time to move on, there's no need for a lawsuit.

HERMAN: You want to be in the Radio City Rockettes, you've got to look a certain way. You want to pose for Victoria's Secret, you've got to look at a certain way.

FRIEDMAN: Wait until you take a look at the manager here, terrible.

WHITFIELD: What's that?

HERMAN: The manager's not serving tables, he's making money, this guy, he's not serving the tables.

WHITFIELD: OK Avery, Richard, thanks so much, always good to see you guys.

FRIEDMAN: Wonderful to see you, Fredricka, take care.

HERMAN: Have a good weekend.

WHITFIELD: You all have a great weekend, appreciate it.

All right, a $6 investment gets a man a job. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Bonnie Schneider is joining us now in the weather center. Now we're going to talk about some subtropical or tropical weather, 'tis the season, we're right around the corner from hurricane season beginning June 1, so of course there's going to be little rumblings out there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, well every week of course we bring you stories of people trying to find work in this economy. Well today, someone who actually succeeded in a whole new way, he actually got a job through a $6 ad campaign. And by the way, it was on Google. No joke.

Josh Levs is here to tell us all about it -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I love this, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I do too.

LEVS: Because you and I have done so many segments including on Saturday afternoons about people trying to find jobs and it's rare that you hear of someone who has the strategy that no one else has come up with that's so cheap.

Let me tell you, first of all, this is the headline that we had on CNN.com this week. "Man lands job with $6 Google campaign." This got everyone talking. Here's what he did. He thought about who he would want to work for and then he tapped into vanity. He thought, OK, what if one of these people Googles themselves sometime. And he hooked it up that if they were to Google themselves, they would see an ad pop up with their name that says, "Hi there. Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun, too," and it had a link to his Web site. I talked to him this.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness.

LEVS: Isn't that brilliant?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: I talked to him this week in the NEWSROOM and I asked him all about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC BROWNSTEIN, USED GOOGLE FEATURE TO LAND DREAM JOB: I decided where I wanted to work, which was at Young & Rubicam in New York, which is a very creative advertising agency. And I picked the creative directors who I wanted to work for.

And one day when I was Googling them, to sort of see some of the stuff they had done, I noticed that there were no sponsored links, there were no ads at the top of the page. I realized that if I were to put an ad there, if I were to bid on their names on Google, I could have the top result. So I did it and for 15 cents a click, I was able to get the top spot.

Most of the people who I targeted e-mailed me or called me and said, hey, we saw this ad, we thought it was cool. Everybody said the same thing which was, somebody else told me about it. I wasn't Googling myself.

LEVS: Yes, my friend Googled me.

BROWNSTEIN: Right, exactly.

I was called in for interviews and eventually I was offered a job at Young & Rubicam, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Whoa, that is brilliant.

LEVS: Brilliant.

WHITFIELD: And as he said in this tight economy with so many people out of work, we've heard it from so many people and we've just reiterated that you have to be creative and he took it to the next level.

LEVS: They were impressed by his creativity and they were impressed by his thinking about the way that people really are, right? There are, though I won't say I have ever done it, but there are those people out there who Google themselves to see what's out there about you.

Boom, no one has taken advantage of that market until this guy. I posted his whole story for you up on my blog at Facebook.com/JoshLevsCNN. I've also got it going on Twitter and we also want to hear from you, your clever strategies, your surprising clever strategies to find a job in this economy. Keep them coming, we'll be back here with some more, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I love it, we're going to share those thoughts and those examples of creativity. Thanks so much, Josh, appreciate it, always good to see you.

All right, coming up, we're also going to update you on the oil spills and what the president of the United States and the Republicans are saying about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now, the Gulf oil spill still spewing as politicians vent as to who is to blame. Today President Obama announced a bipartisan panel to investigate the accident and the Republicans respond slamming Democrats for making the mishap more of a political issue than it needs to be.

And a California produce company is recalling alfalfa sprouts after the CDC suspects they may be the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak. Twenty-two people in 10 states have gotten sick, four had to be hospitalized.

And less than two hours from now, New York's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo formally enters the New York governor's race. The 52- year-old is the son of former three-term governor Mario Cuomo. His announcement comes three days before New York Democrats host their nominating convention. More top stories in 20 minutes.

And just days after winning his party primary, Republican Rand Paul is raising eyebrows with controversial comments about this Civil Rights Act.

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WHITFIELD: The Pentagon's top intelligence official may be the next director of national intelligence. The "Associated Press" reports that James Clapper is the White House's leading candidate to replace Dennis Blair. Blair announced his resignation on Thursday after a tumultuous 16-month tenure. This week a Senate panel determined the National Counter Terrorism Center which Blair oversaw should have pieced together information to prevent the attempted bombing on a U.S. jet on Christmas Day.

And Republican Rand Paul may end up paying a high political price for his controversial comments on the Civil Rights Act. Earlier this week, the Senate candidate suggested the landmark federal anti- discrimination legislation should not apply to private businesses.

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RAND PAUL, SENATE CANDIDATE: I don't like the idea of telling private businesses owners. I abhor racism, I think it's a bad business decision to never exclude anybody from your restaurant, but at the same time, I do believe in private ownership.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I'll ask you a simple question. If you had a member of the Senate or the House, back in 1964, would you have voted yea or nay for the Civil Rights Act?

PAUL: Yes, I would have voted yes. I think that there was an overriding problem in the South that was so big, that it did require a federal intervention in the '60s.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Paul's Democratic challenger in Kentucky called that classic backpedaling. Joining us live now from Washington, CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. So Paul, will those provocative statements by Rand Paul cost him votes potentially in that general election?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Fred, this is incredible. This has really been the political story of the week and it's not because Rand Paul trounced the much more mainstream Republican in the primary, Tuesday, it's because of those comments you just played that happened Wednesday and that he was on a lot of cable newscasts after that, trying to explain himself including as you just saw, our own "SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer.

Critics are picking up on this and they're firing away at him. Democrats, I guess in a way, you could consider this almost like an early Christmas gift for them, because they've been trying to paint Rand Paul and others who are supporters of the Tea Party movement and who get a lot of support by the Tea Party movement, Democrats are trying to paint these kinds of candidates as out of the mainstream and too conservative for most voters in the middle, those moderates and independents who decide elections.

Will this backfire on Rand Paul, your question? We're really going to have to find out. That's up to Kentucky voters, we're going to find out in November whether they feel Rand Paul is too extreme for them or not. But for the Democrats right now, this, it seems to be a little bit of a political gift.

WHITFIELD: And you wonder if he's now going to spend the next few months campaigning as we head into the fall then trying to clean up or correct or better convey what it is he meant as opposed to talking about any other issue.

All right, let's talk about what's taking place in Hawaii, a House seat is up for grabs, and now apparently you've got two Democrats who have kind of split that vote and maybe that gives the advantage to a Republican and we're talking about Obama's home turf here?

STEINHAUSER: Home turf and you're absolutely right, I guess you can call it a family feud. You've got three candidates in this special election, it's Hawaii's first congressional district, yes, that's where Barack Obama spent a lot of his childhood and went to school. It's right around the Honolulu area. The current congressman has stepped down, he's a Democrat, he's running for governor and he stepped down, so you've got three candidates here, Fred, two of them Democrats.

Polls suggest they are dividing the vote which will allow the Republican to win where Republicans rarely win. National Democrats have washed their hands in frustration. They're going to concentrate on November because if that Republican wins, he's going to have to defend the seat in November. You would assume there would only be one Democrat on the ballot then, but Republicans will crow, they'll celebrate this if they win tonight, Fred. WHITFIELD: OK and Afghanistan real quick, if we can on that one, this has been dubbed kind of Obama's war now, there's some new polling on that.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. You know, our polling suggests that the president's approval rating on how he's conducting the war on Afghanistan has gone up from last fall to now and a lot of that is probably because of his announcement back in December, you remember he went to West Point and he talked about adding 30,000 more troops to the conflict in Afghanistan. He also talked about an exit strategy starting next year. Again you saw the president talking about Afghanistan, just about two hours ago, the commencement address at West Point. Fred?

WHITFIELD: OK and then we've got Andrew Cuomo, New York attorney general who says officially now, yes, my hat is in the ring, this is going to be his second attempt at running for the governor seat. Yes, he's the son of Governor Mario Cuomo. How might this second time around be different for him?

STEINHAUSER: I think he hopes it's going to be a little bit better than the first time. He made a bid in 2002 for the governor's Democratic nomination, that did not go so well. This was I guess the best -- the worst kept secret, all of us who cover politics have been waiting and waiting for him to announce it, he finally did this morning. I guess he had to do it because Tuesday, the Democratic Party in New York holds their nominating convention.

He's in now. He's got an event coming up in about two hours to formerly declare his candidacy. The polls consider him the overwhelming front runner right now in this race. He's got a lot of campaign cash as well. So we'll keep our eyes on Andrew Cuomo, as you mentioned, the son of three-time Governor Mario Cuomo.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Steinhauser, always good to see you, thanks so much from Washington.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, that plane crash killing more than 150 people in India, more on that. Officials speculating on what may have caused the failed landing.

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WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now, an Air India flight bound for Bangalore crashes in a failed landing attempt -- 158 of the 166 people on board are feared dead. Indian authorities suggest pilot error may be to blame.

And the president says difficult days are ahead. That was his assessment of the war on terror in his commencement address today at the West Point military academy. But he did predict eventually victory.

I'm Fredericka Whitfield, thanks for joining us. "YOUR $$$$$" starts right now.