[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] There, you've just heard the President of the United States deliver the commencement address to 1,000 cadets; those graduates at the West Point, the prestigious West Point Academy in New York, telling them what they have to look ahead. Certainly, giving updates really about what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also put pressure on the folks who are not in uniform, talking about the need for civilians to take up responsibility as well in strengthening and indeed keeping this country safe. But the President there just wrapping up. We're going to talk more about the President's speech in just a moment with our Kate Bolduan. She's standing by for us in Washington, D.C. But for right now, welcome to you all. We're just about five minutes past the top of the hour here in Atlanta. Welcome to those of you who are possibly just joining us as you see the president wrapping up there. I want to tell you about some of the other stories we are keeping an eye on; some of the headlines including out of India, a developing story where 158 people on an Air India flight to Mangalore are feared dead after their plane skidded off the runway. Off an embankment as well and caught on fire. Officials in India say they don't think weather or visibility was a factor. And speaking of the President just a moment ago he is naming former EPA Administrator William Riley and former Florida Senator Bob Graham to lead a bipartisan panel to investigate the Gulf oil spill. Also in Texas, the schoolbooks there might look a little different soon after the state school board decided to vote yesterday to approve some changes, some controversial changes that some say are going to give the curriculum a bit of a conservative slant. Others say it's simply balancing things out a bit. But we do want to get back to the President vowing to build American strength and influence around the world. He says the U.S. will win the war on terror. He outlined his plans last hour in that commencement speech. You saw it just wrapped up, talking to the graduates at West Point Academy in New York.
[Obama:] This is the ninth consecutive commencement that has taken place at West Point with our nation at war. This time of war began in Afghanistan; a place that may seem as far away from this peaceful bed in the Hudson River as anywhere on earth. The war began only because our own cities and civilians were attacked by violent extremists who plotted from a distant place, and it continues only because that plotting persists to this day.
[Holmes:] Let's bring in our Kate Bolduan. Kate, the President there talking to certainly a captive audience, because their future are going to be, many of them, going to be spending time in Afghanistan, in Iraq, but he also made a point of saying that no time in human history has a nation of diminished economic vitality maintained its military and political primacy, talking about civilians. We have a role to play here as well.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes there was a lot that we heard in the speech and we kind of expected that we would hear this. President Obama, you really you really nailed it, T.J. He traveled to West Point not only to do very important job of congratulating the graduating class there, but also to discuss kind of the state of play on many fronts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and also to outline some of the broad principles that will be part of the President's national security strategy. This is the White House has said that's going to be released sometime next week. And this is a very big report that lays out what the president's approach is to foreign policy. Kind of laying out his priorities, really laying it out there and showing where his laser focus is. As we're looking through this speech and as we were all listening some of the broad themes that you're hearing throughout that and you'll hear that as we continue through the next week is continuing a strong fight against extremism as well as continuing a campaign to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates and also to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. Nonproliferation is a big has been a big priority of this president and this administration as well as securing nuclear materials. President Obama also talked about and this also an important theme that I think we'll hear more about, T.J. You just mentioned it. The idea of soft power, providing more civilian support in places like Iraq and Afghanistan as well as increasing diplomatic engagement around the world. So really, you're getting kind of a sense here today, if you want to if you want to kind of shorthand it and say the President's is kind of road testing his message, you're hearing some of the broad themes of what you're going to what we're going to see in the President's national security strategy that should be released this week. And it is multifaceted, as you can see.
[Holmes:] It absolutely is. And certainly and people often think that it's up to the military always to keep this country safe, and he kind of really put it back, the onus in a lot of ways back on civilians, those of us not in uniform to still protect us. And one other thing, Kate, that I just thought frankly was cool here. That he said for the first time in the academy's history, the top two awards were earned by female cadets.
[Bolduan:] Yes. I'm sure that's not part of the national security strategy to be sure.
[Holmes:] It's not.
[Bolduan:] But gosh darn it, as a woman, I am very proud of that. So congratulations to those two women. That is absolutely fabulous. I mean, he also he said, there were a couple little factoids that's were fascinating,
[T.j. Holmes:] Yes.
[Bolduan:] This is the ninth consecutive speech where the commencement where this has been a nation at war. That's astonishing and amazing. But also on the flip side and on a very positive point we should end on the two women getting top honors. And I'm very proud of that to hear that. So congratulations to them.
[Holmes:] One is the number one overall cadet, the other, the valedictorian. Liz Betterbed and Alex Rosenberg, we'll give them both a shout-out right now.
[Bolduan:] Absolutely.
[Holmes:] But congratulations. First time in their history. Kate Bolduan, its good we ended on a positive note. Thank you so much, we'll talk to you again soon.
[Bolduan:] Thanks T.J., all right.
[Holmes:] Another big story we are been keeping an eye on to the past several hours here. A developing story, that tragedy in India; at least 158 people are feared dead after an Air India jetliner overshot a runway, crashed and burst into flames, just a handful of survivals survivors that we know of. The plane was on its way from Dubai to Mangalore. CNN's Liz Neisloss is on the phone with us now from the crash site. Liz, if you can, just give us an update, kind of kind of give us an idea of what you're seeing in this what we're told is a pretty difficult area that many of the rescuers were trying to navigate through a hilly and woody area.
[Liz Neisloss, Cnn International Correspondent:] It certainly is difficult. What I'm looking at are bits and pieces of charred plane wreckage. They are buried along a ravine in basically a jungle area. And I'm standing just a few feet away from the wreckage. There are lots of spectators, lots of officials, but the rescue, the body recovery work has finished. And I was just told by one official that there were eight survivors, two of them in serious condition. The rest in varying conditions, but the amazing thing, when this plane broke on the runway, before it careened off and down into a ravine, there was one survivor who managed to somehow get out of the plane and was found walking around dazed but with barely a few scratches. This official described it as a miracle. But unfortunately, the majority of the passengers did die, and they died in the flames, in the flames that the plane burst into flames as soon as it hit this ravine
[T.j. Holmes:] Liz, another thing, a lot of people were asking questions immediately afterward. And a lot of people assumed and speculated that maybe they've been having some tough weather. They talked about how it could have been raining and the visibility was low. And also just how tricky many say because of the terrain, the topography there, how difficult it is to land at this airport. What are officials there now saying about a possible cause of this accident?
[Neisloss:] Well, officials are really looking for the black box, and that's where they are hoping to get answers. That's what they are still looking for, and haven't found yet. At this point, what seems apparent is that the weather was not a major factor. A pilot that I have spoken to have said, yes, this is a challenging runway. There are cliffs on either end of the runway, but as one American pilot who flies for and Indian Airline told me, "Look, you find this in many different parts ever the world." So while it is tricky, it is not something totally unusual what could have been a factor was a strong tail wind, perhaps the speed of the plane causing it to overshoot the runway. What happened, the plane did touch down, but it kept going. It kept going at a fast speed. It burst through a wall at the end of the runway and then kept going until it landed in a ravine, and when it burst through that wall at the end of the runway, the right wing sheared off, the plane broke open and then it burst into flames
[T.j. Holmes:] All right, Liz Neisloss, again, from the crash site, Liz, thank you so much for that update. We'll try to check back in with you. Meanwhile, you just saw it here live. President Obama talking about war strategy at West Point, talking to the cadets there; he talked about his strategy, outlined it a little bit. But are Americans onboard with it? We're looking into that. Also, we're taking a hard look at the potential political consequences of Rand Paul's remarks on the Civil Rights Act.