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CNN Live Saturday
Three Top Justice Officials Indicated They Might Resign Over Capitol Hill Raid; Pentagon Sources Case Against U.S. Marines Suspected of Killing Civilians Is Growing; Global Warming Hot Political Issue; David Guggenheim Discusses New Film; Indonesian Earthquake Victims Need Aid; Best Jobs For New Grads; Remembering Specialist Patrick McCaffrey, A Fallen Hero
Aired May 27, 2006 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, a massive earthquake rocks Indonesia's main island, flattening entire towns and villages. The death toll is 2,900 and climbing, thousands more or injured or missing. A full report straight ahead
On this Memorial Day weekend, President Bush is focusing on the nation's men and women in uniform. A short time ago, Mr. Bush delivered the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He told the newest Army grads that their generation will lead the country to victory in the war on terror.
In Iraq, more deadly bloodshed. Among the latest casualties an American Marine killed in action in Anbar Province, so far today, attacks across Iraq have killed nearly two dozen people.
On Capitol Hill, construction workers apparently are to blame for a big security scare. A report of possible gunshots in a garage shut down the Rayburn House office building for five hours yesterday. Authorities say it now appears the noises were made by a mechanic who was using a pneumatic hammer on an elevator.
In New Orleans, another step forward in the city's efforts to get back to what used to be after Hurricane Katrina. The Audubon Aquarium of the Americans is open again. It costs about $5 million to fix the damage from the storm and acquire new animals.
And now to Reynolds Wolf for a quick check on the weather. Already sleep deprived, Reynolds? Congratulations on your new baby.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. A lot of new parents all over the county, a lot of new parents everywhere. And everybody's sleep deprived, but this a good holiday weekend where everyone can relax with family and catch up and probably do some relaxing in the airports because we have a couple of delays to talk about at this hour, Fredricka.
One in Chicago, 25 minute wait, also, or rather departure, a little bit of a delay there. Nearly two hours of a ground delay at LaGuardia. So again, be happy. And again, enjoy a nice cup of coffee and just be patient and deal with the delays. Now, coming up, we'll look at the forecast into the Memorial Day itself and into next week, that's just moments away, let's send it back to you. WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much Reynolds.
WOLF: You betcha, no problem.
WHITFIELD: And you get the top stories every 15 minutes right here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Straight ahead this hour, from cap and gown to finding a career. We can help with the job hunt. We'll reveal the top jobs for new college graduates, also Al Gore and the truth about global warming. Is his new movie sound science or a political platform? From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredericka Whitfield, welcome to CNN live Saturday.
A developing story right now out of Washington. CNN has confirmed that three top justice officials, including Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez had indicated they might resign over the handling of a Capitol Hill raid. Thursday ordered evidence seized by the FBI last, from the offices of Congressman William Jefferson will be sealed for 45 days. That helped avert the resignations. Our Kathleen Koch joins me now from the White House with more on this -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, CNN has now confirmed through multiple sources, two senior administration officials, a senior Justice Department official as well as others that basically this document face-off over the materials seized from the office of Congressman William Jefferson last weekend on Capitol Hill, that it really reached a tipping point this week at which point top officials in the Justice Department, Attorney General Alberta Gonzalez, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, as well as FBI Director Robert Mueller himself all threatened to resign if the FBI were forced to return those materials to the Congressman.
The senior Justice Department official says that the men were very angry. Another senior government official says, quote, "They were all ready to walk." Now the two senior administration officials say that those threats were relayed to the White House mid-week, but a source familiar with the negotiations and a senior government official say that those threats were never made directly to the president.
They say it was more nuanced than that. The source saying, quote, "It never rose to the level of someone saying if you do this we're out of here." The source said the threats came more in the midst of conversations an negotiations and they were usually framed as a hypothetical, quoted, "this and this happens then these may be the consequences."
The source, familiar with the negotiations, while there was plenty of brinkmanship on both sides, both sides also did made it clear that they didn't want this to come to a showdown. Now, once the White House announced on Thursday that those seized materials would be sealed for some 45 day, that source said that both were not backing off their positions, they were certainly changing their tones a bit -- Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen Koch, thanks for the update out of Washington.
KOCH: You bet.
WHITFIELD: On Indonesian island of Java, a death toll in the thousands, plus massive and widespread damage after a powerful earthquake there. The quake with a magnitude of 6.2 flattened billings across a wide area. Its epicenter was near a popular tourist destination, the ancient city of Yogyakarta.
Right now the death toll is approaching 3,000. Thousands more are hurt or missing, doctors and rescue crews are overwhelmed with damage so extensive that there is concern that many people are still trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. The disaster is the worst to hit Indonesia since the 2004 tsunami.
CNN's Kathy Quiano is in Indonesia's capitol of Jakarta. Earlier on CNN, she described the situation in the disaster zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHY QUIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are hearing that hundreds of buildings and homes were either flattened or partially damaged from this earthquake. Many of the houses there are built of bricks and just wood, and so you would imagine that many of them have been totally, you know, flattened to the ground. There's a fear now some people may be still trapped under the rubble.
The rescue operations are going on. We also hear that thousands of people were injured were brought to the hospitals and doctors are trying their very best to treat all those who were injured. They've made some very urgent pleas are help, they're saying they need more medicine, more equipment to treat all the injured.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And of course, we'll keep you updated on the Indonesian quake throughout the day here on CNN.
And now to Iraq, murder or justified combat killings? That's the question a military investigation is trying to answer. At issue, the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in the insurgent flanked city of Haditha. The evidence is mounting and it doesn't look good for the U.S. Marines. CNN's Jamie McIntyre has the details and before we share you this story, a warning, you may find some of the pictures disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's evidence like this, provided to CNN by an Iraqi human rights group, that Pentagon sources say is building a case against U.S. Marines suspected of killing as many as 24 civilians in a rampage in Haditha last November. This 12-year-old girl told the Hammurabi Human Rights organization she survived an attack that killed all eight members of her family by pretending to be dead.
SAFA YOUNIS, ALLEGED WITNESS (through translator): First they knocked on the door. My father went to answer the door. When he reached the door, they sprayed the door with bullets. But when they he opened the door she shot him again. Then they entered the bathroom and they set off a grenade. We went into the kitchen and found my father already dead. Then we sat down, then the Americans starting shooting at us.
MCINTYRE: Pentagon sources say the investigation is now wrapping up and that the evidence is very incriminating. The Marines will not confirm any findings of the investigation so far. But congressional sources say the 24 victims included seven women and three children, some shot in their beds.
Five unarmed men were also allegedly shot when their taxi cab was stopped by Marines. One official told CNN the mass killing is far worse than the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal which President Bush just identified as the biggest mistake in Iraq so far.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've been paying for that for a long period of time.
MCINTYRE: None of the abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib died, but if the allegations at Haditha are substantiated, the civilian deaths would qualify as a massacre which could undermine support for the United States both in Iraq and around the world. Members of Congress have been warned to brace for the worst.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Apparently it's true. We don't know the details. It saddens you enormously. It re-emphasizes the absolute requirement for discipline in the military.
MCINTYRE: The Marine Corps's top general, Commandant Michael Hagee is in Iraq meeting privately with marines to stress the importance of protecting noncombatants on the battlefield, another sign of the gravity of the allegations.
(on camera): At Camp Pendleton, California, several Marines are waiting to hear if they'll be court martialed, sources say some may face murder charges. Meanwhile, a second group of Marines has been placed in pretrial confinement on the basis of evidence indicating they may have killed a single Iraqi civilian last month.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Al Gore unleashed. He's got a new movie about global warming and he's got a lot of people talking about a comeback for him. We'll explore that.
Also ahead, a rare look inside a medical unit in Iraq. What happens when the operating tent is attacked? It's an incredible story you'll only see here on CNN.
And lots of festivities planned this Memorial Day weekend, including Fleet Week in New York City. We'll remember those in the armed forces all weekend long right here on CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: On this Memorial Day weekend, members of the Rolling Thunder Biker Vets lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. Thousands of Vietnam era veterans are expected in Washington this weekend to honor prisoners of war and combat troops still listed as missing in action.
At quarter past the hour now, here's what's happening right "Now in the News." In Indonesia, nearly 3,000 people are dead and thousands more injured in an earthquake that struck the main island of Java. Scientists worry the 6.2 magnitude quake could trigger a full- fledged eruption at nearby Mount Merapi, the volcano there.
In Iraq, at least three civilians were killed in a car bomb attack in Baghdad and the U.S. military says and American Marine was killed in enemy action on Friday. Elsewhere in Samarra, coalition forces report taking three insurgents into custody, including a terrorist believed to have a high level role in the insurgency.
President Bush tells members of the West Point class of 2006 they will be the generation to win the war on terror. At this morning's commencement address, Mr. Bush compared the war on terror to President Truman's war on communism.
On a four day pilgrimage to Poland, Pope Benedict XVI visits the birthplace of his predecessor, John Paul II, taking note of the news, the Vatican the pope is praying for the victims of Indonesia's earthquake.
And in New Orleans, sharks, penguins and other marine life are settling in. And the city's aquarium is again open for business. Nearly 10,000 animals, mostly fish, died when Hurricane Katrina cut power to the facility. Only 2,000 survived. Now the facility, up and running again. Let's check in again with Reynolds Wolf in the Weather Center.
WOLF: OK, Fred -- you know, Fred this is a huge travel weekend.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
WHITFIELD: And we update the top stories every 15 minutes on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Your next update is coming up at 12:30 Eastern.
Extreme weather, melting polar ice caps, dire predictions for our planet or a political platform? The fact versus the rhetoric, coming up.
And the hunt is on. Recent grads know exactly when I'm talking about, hunting for the perfect job. Listen up, class of 2006, we've got guidance for you. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Melting polar ice caps, greenhouse gases, the deteriorating ozone layer, are these dooms day predictions or are they fear induced hype? Science provides limited answers, the rest is politics. Here's Brian Todd's report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a political issue, global warming may never have been hotter. Take former President Clinton who compared it to the war on terror.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Climate change is the most -- more remote than terror, but a more profound threat to the future of the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren I hope all of you have.
TODD: Clinton gave the same warnings we heard from others that if the polar ice cap keeps melting at its current rate, in 50 years it'll pour fresh water into the North Atlantic, blocking the flow of the Gulf Stream, causing unbearably cold winters in Europe, massive drought in Africa and millions of refugees.
CLINTON: I am not one of those who is pessimistic about the future of the world, assuming we get off our duffs and do something about climate change in a timely fashion.
TODD: The latest in a veritable media blitz that includes the new documentary from Mr. Clinton's former vice president.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope you all enjoy the movie.
TODD: And cover stories in major magazines, but there's a countermovement, a national review piece refutes the climate change warning as does Fred Smith from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
FRED SMITH, COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: It would be like if you looked at your child's growth rate in his first decade of life and said my god, my child has growing dramatically from almost nothing now to taller than I am, if this continues by the time my child is 40 or 50, they'll be 20, 30 feet high. Well of course they don't.
TODD: Smith's group has a media blitz of its own.
ANNOUNCER: Carbon dioxide, they call it pollution, we call it life.
TODD: What do scientists call it? Researchers agree the planet has gotten warmer over the past century and humans have had manage to do with it, but they can't project with certain how bad it will get and can't draw any link yet with the intensity of recent hurricanes.
(on camera): Why are we hearing be about all this now? Political analysts say it has a lot to do with projections for the upcoming hurricane season, political fallout from the past one and with the national debate over gas prices and how fast we should be converting to cleaner burning fuels.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, more from the best political team on television every weekday in "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 4:00 p.m. Eastern and again for primetime at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
We just heard Brian Todd talk about "An Inconvenient Truth." The documentary opened in theater this week. President Bush said he doubts he'll see it but many movie critics are praising the film. The director, David Guggenheim joins us from Los Angeles. Good to see you.
DAVID GUGGENHEIM, DIRECTOR: Good morning, Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: Good morning to you. Well Davis, was there any trepidation of being involved in this movie, not necessarily because of the topic, but because it involved the former vice president, just on the heels of his defeat for the presidency and the fact that not everyone knows him as being a moviemaker?
GUGGENHEIM: Well, you know, I'm not an environmentalist, I wasn't before I saw Al Gore's slide show and I was just learning about it as a mostly as just a father concerned for my children and I just started to worry about what was going to happen to my neighborhood here in California.
And I saw Al Gore's presentation; I was so blown away by his message, that I thought wow, what if I gave a front row seat to what he's doing. What's amazing is his message is not political. It's for everyone. The reviews are saying it's as powerful for republicans as it is for democrats.
WHITFIELD: So, now you're seeing the finished project, just everybody else seeing the finished product. So is it your point of view that the central focus of this movie is the message of global warming? Or is it really central to Al Gore and you know that he is a lot more engaging than people perhaps thought he was and he is calling attention to what he calls a planetary crisis?
GUGGENHEIM: What's so exciting about the movie is the fact that he has been trying to tell everyone about global warming for 30 years. He had a great, amazing professor in college in the '60s who told him this is a big problem he has to deal with it and he's been trying to tell everybody.
He had seminars in the Congress and the Senate, he's been trying to tell people about it and finally, people are starting to listen. It's so inspiring to see him go from city to city, giving this presentation for free, because he just believes so strongly in it and audiences, when we have taken this film on the road, are standing up giving him standing ovations and it's just so exciting to see the message get through. WHITFIELD: And so is it really a testament to how you are able to put this together so it wasn't, you know, I guess, perceived as boring jargon, you know, of a man getting up on stage and, you know, spewing these facts and images. I mean what were the challenges for you as a moviemaker?
GUGGENHEIM: Well, he's, Al is very funny in this movie. He's very charming. He's -- and he's not throwing stones at his political adversaries, it's just very human. So the challenge was basically to help him articulate this for a movie, but he's just so wonderful about it.
The exciting thing is that, you know, Evangelical ministers usually side with the White House are embracing this film. Bill O'Reilly, of all people, says you have to see. The reviews have been amazing, and it's just so inspiring to see a guy who believes so strongly in this, get his message out.
WHITFIELD: Did it matter at all to you whether this might be used as a platform or Al Gore if he were poising for -- running for other office?
GUGGENHEIM: He's really not. And you know, Global warming is a very hot topic, excuse the pun, but he really believes that the message is for democrats as well as republicans. The movie at fantastic at showing there isn't a controversy anymore, the guy in your earlier segment from the Enterprise Institute; people have to be aware who pays his paycheck.
Those guys are funded by the oil and gas companies because they have a lot at stake if people make real changes. But audiences all around the country are just loving this movie, they're really embracing Al Gore because he is speaking truth, the people.
WHITFIELD: Well, congratulations to you as the director of "An Inconvenient Truth," Davis Guggenheim, thanks so much.
GUGGENHEIM: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate.
WHITFIELD: Well, here's a question for all you graduates out there, Do you have a job lined up? What is your next move? Well coming up, the top jobs for the class of 2006. We've got them for you.
And later, a revealing look at the men and women serving in medical units in Iraq. They try to save those wounded in battle while trying to stay alive themselves. It's a story you'll only see on CNN. And we'll be right back.
WHITFIELD: Half past the hour right now and here's what's happening in the news. More twists and turns in the balance of power battle. One week after the raid on Congressman William Jefferson's office, word of resignation threats from three top Justice Department officials. Administration officials tell CNN that Attorney General Alberta Gonzalez, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and FBI director Robert Mueller threatened to quit if they were forced to return materials seized in that raid.
A massive earthquake rocks Indonesia's main island, flattening whole towns and villages. The death toll is at least 2,900 and climbing. Thousands more are injured or missing.
On this Memorial Day weekend, President Bush is focusing on the nation's men and women in uniform. A short time ago, Mr. Bush delivered the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He told the newest Army grads that their generation will lead the country to victory in the war on terror.
In Iraq, more deadly bloodshed. Among the latest casualties, an American Marine killed in action in Anbar province. So far today, attacks across Iraq have killed nearly two dozen people.
In Afghanistan, the battle against the Taliban goes on. Officials with the U.S.-led coalition say a coalition strike last night killed five militants, among them key senior leaders of the Taliban network.
And now to Reynolds Wolf with a quick check of weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: And we update the top stories every 15 minutes right here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
As we've been reporting all morning, Indonesia is dealing with a massive earthquake. The death toll has now topped 3,000. With us on the phone from one of the hard hit areas, Brook Weisman-Ross, the regional disaster coordinator for Plan International, a relief group.
Brook, what are you seeing?
BROOK WEISMAN-ROSS, PLAN INTERNATIONAL: Well, what we're seeing tonight having just left some of the hardest hit areas about one hour ago, as I was going through there are thousands of people on the streets sleeping tonight even though the rain actually just started about a half hour ago.
In front of one of the hospitals in Bantul, just five kilometers south of where I am right now, I saw approximately 200 people on the sidewalks and on the street lying in bandages with some intravenous assistance but most are still waiting assistance. It's very clear that the hospitals and medical services at this point are quite overwhelmed.
WHITFIELD: So how does your group proceed to try to come to the aid of people?
WEISMAN-ROSS: Well, we're actually a children centered organization, and not normally a disaster relief organization, but Plan happened to be working here in Yogyakarta for almost 20 years, so we're close to the people and in a good position to respond.
What we're trying to do right now -- and already tonight we distributed 1,000 blankets as well as sleeping mats for these people out there. What we're also trying to get for tomorrow is up to 5,000 or more tarpaulins immediately, because currently they're probably up to 150,000 people displaced from their homes, either damaged or ruined entirely.
WHITFIELD: And talk to me about some of the obstacles that lie before you and for others who are trying to get to the aid of people, especially just over a year after the tsunami struck that area?
WEISMAN-ROSS: Well, yes, I think one of the obstacles right now is there's still people trapped reportedly in some areas, not all of the areas have been able to receive any assistance yet. So they're trying to dig themselves out. I saw the first earth mover, I saw moving in about one hour ago, so hopefully that will help with the worst hit locations, but there's still a lot more digging out that needs to be done.
Hopefully, there won't be more fatalities, but you never know. Particularly related to the tsunami, there was a lot of concern earlier today that this earthquake was going to cause a tsunami. Even though where we are is more than 100 meters above sea level, people were still rather concerned and I did see well more 1,000 people running and fleeing in vehicles, motor scooters, bicycles and by foot uphill to get away from this rumored tsunami that of course never happened.
WHITFIELD: All right. Brook Weisman-Ross of Plan International, thank you so much. And best of luck in your efforts there.
WEISMAN-ROSS: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: News around the globe now. In Poland, kisses, gifts and cheering crowds greet Pope Benedict XVI while visiting the birthplace of this predecessor, John Paul II. The pontiff gave the crowd what it wanted. He told them he hopes to put their favorite son on the road to sainthood some time in the near future.
Rival gangs are roaming the streets of East Timor's capital. They're carrying machetes, slingshots and spears, and setting homes on fire. International troops have been arriving daily in a bid to help stop the violence there.
In Berlin, a teenager went on a rampage and stabbed people as they were leaving an outdoor festival. Twenty-eight were wound, the motive for the attack is unknown.
In Moscow, they couldn't get a city permit and Russia's first gay pride rally never got off the ground. Gay activists who showed up anyway were kicked and beaten by anti-gay protesters. Witnesses say police stood by and watched. Thirteen years ago today, Russia decriminalized homosexuality.
When U.S. troops are wounded in Iraq, time becomes the enemy. "CNN PRESENTS" offers a rare glimpse of the medical care these troops are receiving this excerpt from "WOUNDED WARRIORS." Alex Quade visits a hospital that is under constant attack. A word of warning, some of the video may be disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX QUADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Air Force theater hospital, Balad Air Base, Marine Corporal Chris Fezmeyer (ph) is taken off the Medevac. A mine took both his legs. He's rushed into E.R. He's conscious. Although Chris made it through the golden hour, this will be his second operation. He was wounded just five hours ago.
LT. COL. DON JENKINS, SURGEON, U.S. AIR FORCE: The Navy surgeons at that port operating base saved his life, and believe it or not, he's quite fortunate to be here with us.
QUADE: In the O.R., alarm red, incoming, we're under attack by mortars or rockets, and this is the most frequently attacked base in Iraq. Despite that, surgeons continue working on Chris.
JENKINS: We've built up as best we can around those operating theaters with big concrete barriers and sandbags and that sort of thing. So still an alarm red. Those folks who are scrubbed in with sterile gear do have the opportunity if they can get to their gear safely, to put on their helmet and their flight vest. We don't stop what we're doing just because this attack is going on.
Chris, you're doing great, buddy. Chris, you're doing great.
QUADE: Chris is then taken to ICU, where we meet up again with Lieutenant Colonel Tim Maxwell. He's in critical condition in and out of consciousness. Alarm red again.
CAPT. DEBRA NICHOLS, ICU NURSE, U.S. AIR FORCE: It means that there's imminent danger. Most of the time, you know, we're under attack.
QUADE: Maxwell's nurse stays by his side.
NICHOLS: You can't leave them because they're critical patients, so you have to stay at the bedside and go ahead and perform your duties just like, you know, if you were not in a code red.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: That's a personal look at fallen soldiers, the medics whose save them and how battle injuries dramatically change their lives. "WOUNDED WARRIORS" airs tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 and 7:00 Eastern only on CNN.
For the class of 2006 it's time to enter the real world. Up next, we've got the top jobs for recent grads. We'll tell you where the jobs are and how you might be able to get one.
Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: In today's consumer segment, dollars and deals. What career advice would Dustin Hoffman get of he graduated this year? In the movie "The Graduate," Hoffman's character was told plastics.
Richard Castellini of CareerBuilder.com is here with more up-to- date tips for the class of 2006. Good to see you.
RICHARD CASTELLINI, CAREERBUILDER.COM: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, as we -- let's say just before we actually reveal the top 10, let's go over whether you think there's anything particularly unique or surprising about what made the list?
CASTELLINI: Well, you know, the list was dominated by really two fields, as we'll show, the accounting and finance and really in the engineering, but that's not to say overall the job prospects for the class of 2006 aren't good. This is going to be a very good year for those graduating.
WHITFIELD: All right. All right. Well, let's go over the top 10 jobs. You mentioned accounting, that really did top the list. Accounting, management training, financial, treasury analyst, sales, project engineering. Why?
CASTELLINI: Well, I mean, those are some of the backbone operations in business. You know, accounting is the language of business and companies desperately need those with global expansion and, obviously, the regulation that has gone through in the post-Enron era that companies are needing to invest in these skills sets. So there's opportunities for those coming out of school in the accounting and finance area.
WHITFIELD: And rounding out the bottom five, consulting, design, construction, engineering, accounting -- again, public accounting -- teaching, field engineering. There really is a common denominator here.
CASTELLINI: Those really two -- engineering and accounting. But, you know, those opportunities in sales, teaching, consulting, and management trainees should go noticed as well. There's a wide range of skill sets that the class of 2006 can have in the job market.
WHITFIELD: Well, hopefully, a lot of these graduates had a crystal ball, but knowing they didn't, so a lot of them may have been counting on computer I.T. jobs being hot jobs this year. Why is that not the case?
CASTELLINI: Well, this was a survey done by the total number of job offers. Those fields in I.T. are still strong, still much better than they were say in 2003, but not as strong as these top 10. So overall, you know, people with an I.T. background should be looking at good opportunities as well.
WHITFIELD: And these salaries are pretty impressive, aren't they, right out of college? An average of about $$48,000 to $50,000 a lot of the jobs that you mentioned. CASTELLINI: Oh, yes, I mean, especially in the accounting and engineering, you know, those are jobs where you're going to get north of $40,000 coming out of school and that's a great opportunity for someone 21, 22, 23 years old.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and then some of these graduates really have a few options at hand. They've got offers coming from not one, but maybe two or three organizations. So what's your best advice to them as to how they pare it down? What are some of the criteria they need to think about when assessing which is the best opportunity for them?
CASTELLINI: Well, you did mention the nice thing is that there's going to be more opportunity for them so they could be a little bit more choosy. And, you know, they have to look at the potential long- term career benefits that they're going to have with the particular organization.
They're going to have look at, you know, the location of where the position is, they're going to have to be aware of what other benefits the company is going to provide for them, whether they offer incentives for post-graduate education and such.
WHITFIELD: Growth potential. All right. Richard Castellini of CareerBuilder.com, thanks so much, great advice.
CASTELLINI: Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: And congrats to all those graduates out there.
Forty-five minutes now past the hour, or 15 minutes before, whichever way you want to look at it. Here's the top stories.
A massive earthquake rocks Indonesia's main island flattening entire towns and villages. The death toll is at least 2,900 and climbing. Thousands more are injured or missing.
One week after the raid on Congressman William Jefferson's office, word of resignation threats from three top Justice Department officials. Administration officials tell CNN that Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and FBI Director Robert Mueller threatened to quit if they were forced to return materials seized in that raid.
On this Memorial Day weekend, President Bush is focusing on the nation's men and women in uniform. A short time ago, Mr. Bush delivered the commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He told the newest army grads that their "generation will lead the country to victory in the war on terror."
In the Middle East, the Hamas-led Palestinian government has rejected a 10-day deadline by President Mahmoud Abbas to accept a plan for a Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel. Abbas has said that if Hamas turns down the plan, he will call for a referendum on the issue.
Let's check in again with Reynolds Wolf. Weather very important to folks this weekend.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: And we, of course, update the top stories every 15 minutes here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
It is fleet week in New York City. Did you know that New York has hosted the celebration nearly every year since 1984? Sailors and marines will participate in Memorial Day festivities all weekend long. And from New York to Miami, it looks like a hot day in southern Florida per usual. More on your weekend weather when we come back.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Memorial Day, the day we honor our veterans, is Monday, but ceremonies are already underway this weekend. Just outside Washington at Arlington National Cemetery, members of the Rolling Thunder veterans organization laid a wreath a short time ago at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
They arrived in Washington after a 10-day motorcycle trip across the country, an annual effort to focus public attention on prisoners of war and Americans listed as missing in action.
A Memorial Day event only Hawaii could pull off. Flowers are being picked and leis are being sewn, thousands of them, all weekend long. On Monday, they will be placed on veterans graves, at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
And on this Memorial Day, we begin to remember our fallen heroes. He was the first National Guard soldier to die in Iraq, Specialist Patrick McCaffrey couldn't stop thinking about the men and women who died on 9/11, so he became a soldier.
When McCaffrey came under attack by insurgents, his mother said his first instinct was to shield his fellow soldiers. He did. And he died doing it. Today, we remember Specialist Patrick McCaffrey, a fallen hero.
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NADIA MCCAFFREY, PATRICK'S MOTHER: The day he decided to enlist, the day after 9/11, he didn't thought a second that he would be one day deployed to Iraq and end of his life there. Patrick was the first combat death in 58 years, the first soldier of the National Guard to be killed in action in 58 years from California.
He believed in the goodness of his country and his people, and he stood up for that to the moment he was killed. He was attacked by both side of his body, through his vest. And even wounded, he ran to the other soldier to make a shield of himself.
This picture is the one that was taken 40 minutes before his death. And the flowers that he has, that he's holding, were given by the children. He also -- I'll show you after -- took a picture at the same time of a little girl from the humvee was giving him a big flower that he later will have in his hand, holding her little brother. And that isn't all.
He would say to us -- you know, he called every day and he would say to us children are my highlight. I think the gesture that we did -- not just me but the other parents, mothers, to go and meet with other parents and give to the humanitarian aid of $600,000 for the children of Falluja. This was the most important thing, really. The children didn't start the war.
We all remember the day Patrick left for Iraq, the whole family does. He was a very cheerful person in his life. He had a smile practically all the time. He left to the plane, walking to the plane with a big smile on his face, waving at us. That's the way we remember him. The way Patrick came home was in the coffin with a flag on it, and that's the way I want my grandchildren to remember Patrick's coming home.
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WHITFIELD: This holiday weekend, a hot of people spending their time outside. Reynolds Wolf is on the job, letting us know what to expect.
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