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Plane Crash in India Kills Over 150; Oil Spill in Gulf Continues Unstopped; Financial Expert Gives Advice; Solar Energy Providing Jobs in New Mexico

Aired May 22, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The search for flight are recorders from today's deadly crash flight in India.

Also at this hour, four critical things every graduate, high school or college, needs to know about money.

Then at 3:00 eastern time, the greatest birthday surprise party ever in our viral video rewind with Josh Levs.

And a "Saturday Night" skit turns into a flick. At 4:00 p.m. eastern time, we'll see if "MacGruber" is a hit or misfire.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news unfolds live this Saturday, May 22nd. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Back to our top story right now, the tragedy in India. More than 150 people died this morning when an airliner overshot a runway, crashed and then burst into flames. Only a handful of people made it out alive.

CNN's Mallika Kapur is at the site.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tragedy at dawn. An Indian-bound flight crashed just after 6:00 a.m. on Saturday -- 166 people were onboard, six crew members, the rest, passengers. Rescuers say they fear the death toll may be as high as 160. One of the survivors described what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am in the left side when I see the left side is broken and there is where to go out.

KAPUR: Authorities say the aircraft overshot the runway and then plunged into the valley ahead bursting into a giant ball of fire. Officials say there was no distress signal from the pilot as he approached Mangalore airport, which is located on a hill. Aviation experts say it is a tricky airport to takeoff from or land on.

Local villagers have joined rescue teams as they searched the wreckage, their focus, recovering bodies and providing assistance to relatives of those who have lost their lives.

Mallika Kapur, CNN, Calcutta. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now back to this country and the oil spill still gushing in the Gulf of Mexico now 31 days and counting.

Here's what we know. BP says it will attempt its top-kill plan to plug the leaking wellhead with mud and cement. The company admits its low-tech answer to the problem is by no means guaranteed to work.

Meanwhile, a respected marine scientist says the effects from the spill may ripple all the way to Europe and the Arctic. 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 STUDIES: I'm very concerned because I don't know, there are 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 -- this is hard to follow. We can't even determine where that sub-surface plume is and how expansive it is under the ocean. It is much easier to see the oil slick and the oiled birds that war ashore and the shoreline impacts.

It is a huge unknown, and it is the uncertainty unknown that I am concerned about. We don't know the full impact out in the open ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Here's what the leaking well head looks like 5,000 feet below the Gulf of Mexico. You can click on CNN.com for live streaming video of the rupture and the crude oil spewing from it 5,000 miles below as you see that eel seemingly go right by.

President Obama is looking to build strength and influence it around the world. The president outlines his plans this morning in a commencement speech at the U.S. military academy at West Point, New York. Among the goals, success in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This war has changed over the last nine years. But it is no less important than it was in the days after 9/11. We toppled the Taliban regime. Now we must break the momentum of a Taliban insurgency and pray for afghan security forces.

We have supported the election of a sovereign government. Now we must strengthen its capacities. We brought hope to the Afghan people. Now we must see that their country does not fall prey to the common enemies.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: President Obama says the road ahead in Afghanistan will be a difficult one, but the United States will succeed, he says, in the end.

The mothers of three American hikers jailed in Iran are expected to arrive in the U.S. shortly, without their children, however. The women spent the week in Iran appealing for their release. They were allowed to meet with their detained children twice but were denied a face-to-face with the government leaders.

The young hikers have been held in Iran for 10 months now, accused of espionage. But their families insist they were hiking in Iraq and if they crossed the border into Iran, it was purely accidental. They expressed gratitude to Iranian officials for allowing these mothers to visit their children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY HICKEY, MOTHER OF HIKER DETAINED IN IRAN: We are grateful to the Islamic Republican of Iran and the authorities for granting us our visa. We know this is a great humanitarian act that they have given to us. Our reception was wonderful when we came into Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And as we mentioned, the hikers' mothers are scheduled to arrive in New York soon. They are expected to make a comment as well and we'll tell you what they said in the next hour. Our Susan Candiotti will be reporting from there.

You can almost hear a collective sigh of relief across the country as parents watch their kids go from student to graduate. But now that they are in the real world, the money stuff really gets tricky. An expert is here to help you and your kids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the tragedy in India. More than 150 people died this morning when an air India jet liner overshot the runway, crashed, and then burst into flames. Only a handful of people made it out alive.

And now the search is on for the recording data boxes. Liz Measlos is near the crash site. Liz, what can you tell us?

OK, something is going on with our communications there. When we're able to reestablish contact there we'll bring the latest to you.

Meanwhile, this is graduation season. And whether it is high school or college, so many students are very excited about moving on. But there are some important principles that they are probably not familiar with -- how to be financially stable.

So listen up. We have a crash course with financial planner Karen Lee who is with us right now. Before we actually talk about some of these great tips, this is really for parents and for students, because, you know, kids feel like, hey, I got my degree and have my diploma, and I'm set. But they need another 101 in financial stability.

So let's talk about something that has affected everybody this past week with the Dow dipping way down and then dipping back up. It was a real rollercoaster ride. Some have kind of credited or blamed the European markets for that rollercoaster. Do you agree?

KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL ADVISER: Well, you know, whenever there's a crisis, the market is going to react in some way. The hardest thing about investing is that we are emotional creatures. And investing takes logic, so when a crisis occurs, our brain says, this time is different. And it is. This time is different a little because we have not had this kind of debt increase, the drop in euro, that is different.

But the reaction to the market over time is going to be the same. It is going to react just like it has, slowly over time it will come back like it does, so the crisis de jour is not different in the way the market will reaction.

WHITFIELD: A lot of investors are very concerned because they are looking at the markets as a real indicator of their own personal financial stability. And as we talk about college and high school kids graduating and preparing them for college and the real world, a lot of parents are relying on the indicators from the market to know, can I afford to get my kid to school?

LEE: And again, the dilemma is these things panic, and what we need to do is be patient with our investments. You shouldn't have money in the market that you need over the next five years, so you have time on your side for that. You simply -- you have people buying into their 401(k)s. This is a sale. It is a bargain. Keep investing. Whereas --

WHITFIELD: Don't get out of it right now.

LEE: The emotional reaction is to pull back and stop. And that's not the appropriate thing to do with our longer term money.

WHITFIELD: We don't want the young people to panic either as they are getting their degrees and are excited about getting off into the real world, but they have to be equipped with what to do with the first paycheck.

You say there are four things to financial stability or financial survival. Let's begin with the first one.

LEE: Well, the most important thing would be to save 10 percent of every paycheck. Every paycheck you ever earn for the rest of your life no matter what. See, there's always going to be a "but" -- this happened, that happened. Save every paycheck, 10 percent, for the rest of your life no matter what.

And the second one we want to talk about --

WHITFIELD: Something about the compounding interest.

LEE: Compound interest. We have all heard of it. I want you to understand it and embrace it. The best way I can explain this is to tell, if you are 22, first job, for some reason you have to be able to accumulate $10,000. And you saved it for an eight percent compounding it until you were 65, that would grow to $274,000. Remember that number, $274,000 from $10,000.

Wait ten years and start at 32. Save $10,000, eight percent, at 65, it is only $117,000. That's a difference of $156,000, more than double, has because you waited ten years to start.

WHITFIELD: Those are great numbers, but, gosh, you get out of school and are happy to get the first paycheck, thinking about paying your rent and your first car payment, et cetera.

LEE: And that is exciting. It is exciting. We have to, in this country, embrace the fact that as part of paying our bills we have to pay for our future, too.

WHITFIELD: And that's where the whole financial independence comes from.

LEE: Point number three.

WHITFIELD: Things get tight and you want to call mom, dad, bail me out. I didn't know my utility bill was going to be this high. You say, don't do it. Resist. Be independent.

LEE: My goal is total financial independence from your parents. That is your goal. The number one thing I hear from kids, high school and college, is I can't wait to move out so mom and dad can stop telling me what to do.

Well, the minute they give you a check to help out, guess what they can start doing again -- tell you what to do. So cut the purse strings and go on your own. You'll be fine.

WHITFIELD: Plan for the worst. Hope for the best, of course.

LEE: That's my fourth point.

WHITFIELD: Why does one person plan for the worst because they think they are invincible.

LEE: And 90 percent of the time we are and nothing bad is going to happen to us. What I ask my customers to do and everyone I know is to make plans for bad situations. Let's hope and dream for the best. But the key to that tip is to make a plan. Have a plan.

WHITFIELD: Have a plan when they don't know, they don't know what the bad stuff is and what is around the corner.

LEE: Talk to someone and they will point out things. Remember going forward for a 22-year-old, your income is your most valuable asset. Not your car, you have insurance for your car. You should insurance your income. You can do that, right?

So those are the things we want. Kids can plan at 22. They can even be thinking about buying the first house, getting married and having kids one day.

WHITFIELD: That's part of the whole growing up thing.

LEE: The hardest thing is the retirement because it is so far away from them. That's why I say go back to the point number two about compounding interest. Start early.

WHITFIELD: Something that everyone needs to be thinking about these days, we have heard about this real big movement that a lot of folks are thinking "I don't trust the big banks anymore." You think about the big bailouts that the government is assisting in, so now folks are reconsidering going back to the small little community banks.

But when I hear that, I think, the majority of the banks that are closing, aren't they the smaller banks? So why would I want to do that?

LEE: You need to be careful either way you go. I have been with a big bank for many years and never had any concern. But you make a great point. Right now the big banks are like the evil people. They were part of the credit default swap. They've got a lot of negativity and accepted the government bailout money.

So there was actually a grassroots movement started in Maryland called "Move your Money" that moves money to the community banks.

But the key here is if you do a little shopping around, you probably can find better interest rates at your local credit union or an online bank option than you might get at your big bank. And we have heard of people getting turned down for loans at big banks, went to the community bank and you got it.

WHITFIELD: Do you worry about liability?

LEE: No, because they are all FDIC insured. Any community bank that has failed, another bank buys them out.

WHITFIELD: That's very comforting.

We have heard from a lot of people because we always ask people to get involved and send a question to my blog or Facebook. And J.W. Taylor asked this, "Karen, is it better for me to invest into a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA with today's economy?"

LEE: The big argument there is are you saving taxes now versus saving taxes later. Do we think tax rates are going up in the future. Most people think yes.

But go back to my tip for financial literacy for grads about compound interest. Do I want to defer the tax on the $10,000 today? You would save around $2,500 in taxes. Or would I rather defer the tax on the $275,000 number? That's a lot bigger chunk. So the Roth IRA is the better way to go.

WHITFIELD: Are there still certain restrictions on that?

LEE: Yes, for young people, they are OK. Married couples, it's about $160,000.

WHITFIELD: Melissa G. says, "Is it a good idea to pay your bills via automatic debit? Companies offer this as a way to pay your bills on time."

LEE: Well, as you know, we get to see more of the reader question than the viewers are seeing right now. So one of the things that this particular -- a gal said she was thinking about, also, as an alternative of charging it to her credit card.

I don't approve of the charging it to your credit cards unless you are so good at paying off the cards every month.

WHITFIELD: Who wants interest on top of your bills?

LEE: Right.

But I think the auto-pay is great. Its less checks to right and less postage to pay. Watch your checking account online to make sure you cover the auto drafts.

WHITFIELD: And Monique Ward from my blog saying "Like many other students, when I first began my injury knee down the road to obtain a college education, I did not fully grasp the concept of the amount of debt I would be in after graduation. I have already accumulated a large compound of debt. I want to qualify for a good paying job once I obtain my degree.

However," this is a long one, "with the severe economic downturn, lack of jobs, the higher income of living among other factors, I'm very nervous about my ability to pay it off. So what can I do before and after graduation to put myself in a better financial situation?"

LEE: Of course, we want to congratulate her in the first place for making a good decision. It was a wise move to move to a less expensive school.

I want start looking at the government student loan forgiveness program. They receive so few applications for these programs because we think that kids are mostly unaware of them.

You can get up to $100,000 in loans forgiven by doing volunteer work, Peace Corps, military. If you are in medical field, there are plenty of different things. Again, it is more volunteer-type work, but for pay.

All you need to do is Google "student loan forgiveness." You can find out areas of teaching -- you should start researching immediately. Maybe the first job will be a job to get her loan forgiveness.

WHITFIELD: All the best to Monique out there. Karen Lee, good to see you. We have learned a lot.

LEE: You too.

WHITFIELD: We'll look at the top stories right now.

After a year of wrangling, lawmakers approved sweeping reforms for Wall Street. But the debate is not quite over yet. Select House and Senate leaders still have to get together in order to iron out the differences in the two bills. Negotiations are set for the week of June 7th.

And in just a few minutes, New York's attorney general Andrew Cuomo will formally announce his candidacy for New York's governor's race. He's the son of three term governor Mario Cuomo. The announcement comes just three days before New York Democrats hold their nominating convention. Early polling has him ahead of potential Republican gubernatorial hopefuls.

And by Monday British Airways may be grappling with a labor strike. The union representing an estimated 15,000 cabin workers plans a walk out unless they get better pay and working conditions that they've been planning for some time now.

We'll look at the top stories again in 20 minutes.

All right, so the economy may look pretty bleak, but not so much in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where solar energy is literally lighting things up. Tom Foreman has more in the "Building up America" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With easily more than 300 days of sunshine each year, New Mexico is one of the sunniest states in the country. And there's a wave of solar energy coming to set up shop. One of the biggest, Schott Solar.

And ever since this German-owned company opened this massive complex opened on the south side of Albuquerque they have been energizing the local jobs' market.

Amid the whir of robots in the 175,000 square-foot plant, workers are turning out solar cells and related technology as fast as they can. And their products are going out the door just as quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a growing technology and there's a demand for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We basically sell everything we produce.

FOREMAN: You feel good about it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Personally, I see a future here.

FOREMAN: It is no accident. Up in the call toll of Santa Fe, another fellow believes he can see the future, too.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D) NEW MEXICO: Am I always right or what?

FOREMAN: Governor Bill Richardson is pushing his state hard to recruit more and more solar companies.

RICHARDSON: I just concentrate like a laser on saying any solar entity, please come to New Mexico. We will do everything we can to help you. It's working

FOREMAN: The result, 2,500 new jobs this year as more companies follow Schott Solar's lead. Solar is still a tiny sliver of the American market, but this state is intent on grabbing a big share of that, convinced it will mean a lot of money and bright days ahead.

Tom Foreman, CNN, New Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Even worse than Alaska's Exxon Valdez disaster, why some are describing the ongoing crisis in the Gulf of Mexico in such unflattering terms.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's 31 days and counting on the Gulf oil spill, but next week BP hopes it will have the leaking wellhead plugged. Today we have a much better vantage point of the rupture thanks in part to BP for providing this feed.

By the way, we have live streaming video of the gushing wellhead on CNN.com. You can check that out. Meantime, this as President Obama names former EPA administrator William Riley and former Florida senator and Governor Bob Graham to co-chair a panel to investigate the accident.

Yesterday I spoke with the chief veterinary officer at the Georgia aquarium about what make this is oil spill different and perhaps more dangerous to the ecosystem than past spills. Here's our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So how do you compare this to the oil spill that you worked on?

DR. GREG BOSSART, CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER, GEORGIA AQUARIUM: Well, we have to understand, this oil spill is unique. And because of its uniqueness, it is very challenging to predict. Most oil spills, especially the largest one that I worked, are surface phenomena. They happen at the surface and they're finite. They go for a certain period and stop.

This is a completely different animal. This is a subsurface phenomena that is actually a huge enormous glob of shape-shifting oil that is constantly changing and continuing to be fed. It is not finite. It continues.

So we have this oil that's changing shape and size from the surface all the way to a mile to the bottom. And that will impact the entire ecosystem. It will impact the plankton all the way up to the sperm whales.

WHITFIELD: We talk about the surface, and we just saw Rob Marciano reporting from Gulfport, Mississippi, to talk about the concern many have for the whale shark. This is an animal that likes to feed on the surface from plankton, as you mentioned, to the eggs of fish.

Give me an idea how this oil spill mostly jeopardizes the well being of that sort of animal.

BOSSART: Certainly, whale sharks, as you see behind us here at the aquarium, they are filter feeders. They have a very exquisite filtering apparatus. If it gets fogged with oil, they won't be able to eat.

More importantly, if the gills get covered with oil, they won't be able to breathe. So the potential impact for whale sharks is there. We are potentially seeing some sea turtle issues. Some of our research here shows the oil is very detrimental to the health of sea turtles.

We are not seeing the classic poster animals with oil spills, like thousands of oil-soaked birds. But again, this is a sub-surface phenomena, and because of that, it is more subtle, but it even, in my opinion, has more profound effects.

WHITFIELD: Well, when you talk about not being able to see kind of the poster animals, we do know when we look at the images here, the brown pelican of Louisiana particularly, it is one that dives for its fish. And clearly if it is diving through that surface oil, as you described, it wouldn't be able to emerge and take flight at all.

BOSSART: Right. The plunge divers like pelicans will be impacted by the surface oil. They are going to be covered with oil and birds covered with oil, they can't regulate their body temperatures.

WHITFIELD: Why are we not seeing a great volume right now? What's your view as to why we are not seeing these pelicans in great volumes? There have been some reports of one that's been found dead covered in oil. There are others scrubbed, but why is it in great volume, a month after this spill we are not seeing more of this like we did after the Exxon Valdez?

BOSSART: Well, quite simply, it is because the oil is below the surface. These are -- these animals are impacted when they go to the surface oil because of the way the oil has been mitigated through dispersants and booms. The surface animals are not impacted as much as in past oil spills.

WHITFIELD:, You talk about the oil that has submerged, the oil that is at the bottom, at the base of the Gulf 5,000 feet below. Dispersants have been used to try to break up the oil. And then you find some clumps of oil that descend to the bottom. How does that interrupt the marine life?

BOSSART: Well, it impacts the marine ecosystem from really the bottom of the food chain all the way up. It impacts the plankton, these whale sharks behind me, all the way up to the fishes and the things the great whales eat. You are having a profound effect on the entire ecosystem.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Greg Bossart, thank you for your time and expertise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Back to the tragedy in India. This morning, more than 150 people died when an Air India jet liner overshot the runway, crashed and burst into flames. Only a handful of people made it out alive. CNN's Liz Neisloss is near the crash site and is joining us now on the phone.

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm here in Mangalore, India, outside a hospital where some bodies are being brought and eight survivors. The two here are in fairly stable condition, I'm told.

One has an amazing story. It was a medical student sitting at the front of the plane. When the plane broke open, she ran out and somehow dropped down, further down the ravine, where the plane landed and ended up in a tree. That's where she says she was rescued. She has two broken bones.

The other survivor here has minor burns and cuts. He was also sitting near the front of the plane. He told his doctor that when the plane crashed and broke open, he jumped out pushing out another passenger ahead of him. He burned his hands trying to unbuckle his seat belt, but ran out to find rescuers.

There was one other miraculous tale. Witnesses said there was one of the eight survivors was found wandering around just below the runway.

But the impact of this crash was very severe, and the plane itself, as you can see from the footage, broke into several pieces and is scattered in a ravine with jungle foliage around it.

Now all the bodies have been pulled out officials say, but the big task to pull out of this wreckage, a task that will not be resumed until the morning here, is to find the black box, Fredericka, and that is where investigators will find the best clues.

WHITFIELD: Liz, thank you so much for reporting near the crash site of Mangalore, India.

Opening your heart and home to a child in need, you know how important it is. Well, we'll tell you why now is a very special time to get involved in foster care.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: May is foster care awareness month. And actress and author Victoria Rowell grew up in foster care, and she decided to pop in here promoting her book and really encouraging people in this month of awareness the importance of foster care.

You are a product of it. You had an incredible experience and wrote about it in your first book. This is your second book, "Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva." Don't you love it says a "New York Times" bestselling author?

VICTORIA ROWELL, ACTRESS: Yes, I am really excited about that.

WHITFIELD: Who knew you would be an actress while first starting out from moving from home to home in foster care, becoming this renown actress, "Young and the Restless." Everyone knows you from that. And then this fantastic author. You are a face of a movement that is so important in this country.

ROWELL: Thank you. I was very fortunate to have exemplary foster parents, social workers, and a great ballet teacher. They gave me a full scholarship, and that was my Gateway to Hollywood, essentially.

The Casey Family Services invited me to be a national spokesperson, and I'm so proud to be a part of that family now for 12 years. But during the month of May, we speak to the issue of over half a million children in care and 100,000 waiting for adoption.

ROWELL: So you really are trying to dispel to a lot of notions that people may automatically think foster care, oh, the child is being moved around from place to place, and that you are lucky if you get a good foster care family, that they are in the minority. Perhaps the majority of experiences are unsavory. You say, no, that's not true.

ROWELL: That's the perception, but really there are hundreds of thousands of excellent foster parents and mentors and adoptive parents, obviously.

But in foster care, my experience was positive. And I lived with more than one family. And oftentimes your mentor isn't necessarily only the foster parent, but a teacher, your coach, your clergy. And I was taught to embrace the entire quilt, not just the one person raising you, but all the people who are building the infrastructure for a life that will go into independent living with dignity.

WHITFIELD: So what happens, particularly when you talk to young people, when you talk to other foster kids, who look at you and say, gosh, how lucky you were that everything worked out well, because initially that's what children may think, it is all about luck and placement?

What do you tell to them about the importance of resiliency? You talked about how in ballet the pirouette taught you the principle in life.

But what do you convey to the people so they remain hope hopeful and feel like they can find the same stability you did?

ROWELL: Well, ballet was not only my passion, but it was my discipline and my anchor. And I knew that whether I became the next Judy Jameson and Janet Collins or Margaret Fontaine, I knew I would have the discipline in me to carry into whatever I wanted to do.

I lectured quite a bit through American Program Bureau to youth. And I go to colleges and universities, and what I tell them is that their experience should not make them a victim of circumstance. Let the circumstance be the core part of their strength, and not to shy away from that experience, to use it to their benefit.

And that is certainly what I was taught. I was one of six children, all of different paternity. We came from very dire circumstances, but we rose above it because of the positive foster care parents that we had.

WHITFIELD: And really diverse circumstances, too, because you have a lot of kids who were being adopted and placed into -- taken into foster homes of different races. And it seems to be one that people are talking about a lot as they look at celebrities. They look at Sandra Bullock adopting a black boy, Madonna adopting a child of color. And even --

ROWELL: Beau Bridges.

WHITFIELD: Yes, Beau Bridges. So there's discussion that the race has to be the same. And you had this experience of growing up in multi-racial family, so what do you say when you hear that dialogue taking place?

ROWELL: I say love is color blind. And my experience was that I was born into an interracial scenario, father unknown, but I knew my mother loved me and couldn't take care of me.

I went into an orphanage and placed with a white family. It was against the law in the state Maine for a white family to take a dark child, so I was removed from that particular family.

But love is love. And you should not edit that experience for a baby who just wants to be held. And Sandra Bullock has done a beautiful thing.

WHITFIELD: We didn't get a chance to talk about your "Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva."

ROWELL: I'm at Barnes and Noble tonight, and follow me.

WHITFIELD: And then to Florida. Then you are talking about what appears to be a fun book. You had a good time doing this, huh?

ROWELL: I had a good time.

WHITFIELD: It is fun to be called a diva, isn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

ROWELL: It is so much fun, especially when used in the right way, like ballet dancer terms.

WHITFIELD: Victory Rowell, thank you so much for dropping by. Good to see you and all the best on the book, bestselling author. How fun. Good to see you.

ROWELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, President Obama heading to the U.S. military academy. That he did this morning, but coming up we'll tell you about how the experience went.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at the top stories right now. One Air India flight bound for Mangalore crashes in a failed landing attempt and 158 people onboard are dead. Eight people survived. Officials suspect pilot error may have played a role.

And difficult days are ahead, but victory will come, that was President Obama' prediction about the war on terror today in his commencement address to West Point grads at the U.S. military academy.

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 enjoyed the view and relaxing after completing a trio of successful space walks.

Coming up in the next hour, the latest, greatest viral videos. We love this part. Josh Levs is here with this now for a preview.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Stick around. You are going to love it, as always. I know how much you are going to love this. Why did Ghostbusters invade the New York public library? This actually happened.

Plus, we have a little girl's daily affirmation that is inspiring people all over the world this week. Fred, we'll have all that coming up next hour in the viral video rewind. Look at that.

WHITFIELD: It is making you laugh already. I can't wait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Oh, let's say "oops." Around the water cooler this week, take a look. Oh, ow. Did you see that? that was the White House chief of staff protocol that slipped and fell. She made that well.

She made the slip while, you know, the president and first lady were welcoming Mexico's president and first lady arriving for the state dinner. I feel so sorry for her. We have played it over and over. This is the most mortifying moment of her life and career, and now it is everywhere.

The long dress and high heels, well, sometimes that happens. Has it happened to you?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know it did, which is why you brought it up.

WHITFIELD: That's why I giggled, because it has happened to me, too.

JERAS: On this new set a week ago with my friend Tony Harris. Yes, my cord from my microphone was caught on my heel and I literally -- I didn't fall, but I was jumping.

WHITFIELD: It was not graceful.

JERAS: Yes, but not as graceful as hers. She handled it well, but I feel for her because we know what that is like.

WHITFIELD: Do you remember J-Lo's? That was mortifying with a capital M. That was in the middle of the music awards, you know, she went from glam to bam.

JERAS: But she got up and kept going. The show must go on.

WHITFIELD: She did. That's right. Anyway, let's talk about weather.

(WEATHER BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Much more in the newsroom after this, hot or cold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: First came hurricane Katrina, and now the oil spill bring even more misery to Gulf coast. Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds of containers are just sitting here in the Houston sun. To some it's another example of the mismanagement of the oil spill. The containers are full of a dispersant called Sea Brat-4. Why is it sitting here and not in the ocean instead. No one really knows, especially says BP is on record saying it would use the stuff.

DOUG SUTTLES, COO, BP: We also have a second product called Sea Brat-4 which we'll introduce into the process as well.

LAVANDERA: That's what BP said almost a week ago, but we found the Sea Brat-4 sitting here. You're looking at it, almost 100,000 gallons of the less toxic dispersant. Guess who ordered it? BP did on May 4th, almost three weeks ago.

John Sheffield is president of the company that makes it. JOHN SHEFFIELD, PRESIDENT, ALABASTER CORPORATION: It's ridiculous. I think something is intentionally stopping us from getting our product to the water.

LAVANDERA: EPA and coast guard officials say there's nothing stopping them from using Sea Brat 4. Sheffield says he could be making 50,000 to 100,000 gallons a day. But a BP spokesman will only say the company had to use what was readily available and stockpiled and it has been asked to find add alternatives to Corexit. And getting a direct answer is hard for Congress to get as they grilled BP executive Lamar McKay this week about the issue.

REP. JERROLD NADLER, (D) NEW YORK: Who decided which dispersant to use? BP?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

NADLER: You don't know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know the individual --

NADLER: I didn't ask the individual. Was it BP who decided or the government who decided or the national incident command?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

NADLER: You don't know? Could you find out for us, please?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LAVANDERA: Easier said than done. Still no word on who is making that call while 100,000 gallons of potential help sits hundreds of miles away.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)