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New Day

Congress Discusses Current Issues; College May Not be Worth the Cost; Rapper Lyric Undergoes Surgery; Pen Farthing Named CNN Hero of the Year

Aired November 19, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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

CONGRESSMAN BOB GOODLATTE (R), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: There a whole host of other things. But I think the biggest price he will pay is with the American people. They spoke loud and clear in November. His numbers on immigration have been falling since his very poorly-handled episode over the summer and into the fall with regard to the border surge. And this is simply going to make it worse. And, finally, it's going to make it worse for him to deal with the new Senate and House.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hold on. Let me - let me just stop you right there. Let me stop you.

GOODLATTE: Sure.

BALDWIN: And I understand your frustration and I know a lot of our viewers agree with you. But when you mentioned specifically censure, I mean the opposite has happened with, you know, Republicans as well. Why propose censure? And I'm even hearing a possibility of impeachment. Isn't that taking it a tad too far?

GOODLATTE: Well, no -- no decisions have been made about what we will do. But let me say that when he tries to compare this to what Republican presidents have done, this is on a magnitude of 50 times what other presidents have done, and they have done it in the aftermath of a humanitarian crisis or another necessitating factor. I'm not endorsing what they have done. They may have exceeded their authority as well. Two wrongs don't make a right. But this is - this is a huge step.

BALDWIN: You're talking about 50 times as far as executive action, because we know recent presidents have done the same, Carter, Reagan, George W. Bush.

GOODLATTE: We've not found one that involved anywhere more than tens of thousands of people, not five or six or however many million people that the president is attempting to take here. And it's never been tested in the court. So, I think, again, we should take nothing off the table. But by the same token, we are not saying we're going to do anything in particular, we're simply outlining the list of things that can be done if the president acts.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me move along to the Keystone pipeline vote. We know it failed by one single vote. Congressman Goodlatte, what happened? GOODLATTE: Well, again, here I think you have a situation where 14

Democratic senators did hear the American people in the election returns. This is supported by a very substantial majority of the people and the fact that all 45 Republicans and 14 Democrats voted for this bodes well because this means that in a new Senate, where some of the Democrats who voted against it will be gone, it is highly likely that this will be passed. It's been passed several times by the House and it will be headed to the president's desk I hope early in a new Congress.

BALDWIN: Could be headed to the president's desk. The president could opt for a veto. I don't know where the two-thirds majority would stand, but do you think that there is a sliver of a possibility that a deal could be made?

GOODLATTE: I would hope so. Again, the president needs to work with the Congress on all of these issues, on immigration, on energy production and his - again, with the immigration matter, taking his pen and his phone and attempting to act unilaterally is a big mistake. We have a new Congress coming into session. He should put the pressure and the responsibility where it should lie with regard to all of these issues. And that is, the Congress has the authority to write the laws and he should be putting the focus there, not on his pen and his cell phone.

BALDWIN: You, sir, as we mentioned, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. So let's talk about this hearing, this hearing happening today, where the acting director of the Secret Service, Joseph Clancy, will be speaking, of course, in the wake of multiple, you know, Secret Services breeches. What are you hoping to get out of this? What are you hoping to hear from him?

GOODLATTE: Well, here we want to make sure that the president of the United States and those who work around him is being effectively protected because he has important responsibilities to carry out. So we're going to have both a public hearing, which the nation can tune in in about an hour and a half and hear that. But then we're also going to go into a closed session so we can drill deeper into some of the things we wouldn't want the next fence jumper or the - someone who means harm for the president to hear some of the important things the Secret Service is doing to restore morale, restore leadership, make sure that the technology they have is being used.

One of the saddest parts about this is you had a Secret Service agent on his cell phone, not paying attention, left his other radio device in the car. People on the other side of the fence, police saw him go over the fence and he didn't hear it.

BALDWIN: My goodness.

GOODLATTE: He had an attack dog. The dog didn't get focused on the person who had intruded because the Secret Service agent wasn't focused. So there are major problems that need to be addressed when that happened or someone who is armed and not properly vetted is in the elevator with the president of the United States. There are problems. They need to be fixed because it's important for the safety of the people who are working in the White House and, most importantly, the president of the United States.

BALDWIN: My goodness. Congressman Bob Goodlatte, thank you so much for joining. We'll be tuning in to the public sections of those hearings. Best to you today. Thank you so much for joining us here on NEW DAY.

GOODLATTE: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And now, Michaela, to you.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Well, we know mother nature's not being kind to folks in Buffalo. At number one, six feet of snow burying the city of Buffalo, New York. The National Huard has been called in. We know five deaths are already being blamed on that storm.

The death toll rising now in the attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem. A fifth victim, an Israeli police officer, has died from his wounds. Four rabbis were murdered in that attack by two Palestinian men.

A shocking defeat, as you just heard Brooke talk about, Senate Democrats shot down the Keystone pipeline bill. The move to punch - a move quite a punch to the gut for Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, who was betting on the legislation to pass in order to boost her re- election chances.

Another accuser coming forward in the Bill Cosby story. She is claiming she was sexually assaulted. Former super model Janice Dickinson now speaking out about the night that he claims the comedian drugged and raped her.

At number five, federal safety regulators are calling now for a nationwide recall of vehicles with Takata air bags that could potentially explode. Air bag explosions have been linked now to at least five deaths.

We do update those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, Michaela, thank you very much.

The new CNN film, it is called "Ivory Tower," right. So this explores the rising costs - have you heard -

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: Of college tuition, student debt, maybe people stuck with this for years and years, right. So we'll take a look at some of the more affordable college alternatives that are cropping up lately.

CUOMO: Plus, you watched, you waited, you voted.

BALDWIN: Ah-hah.

CUOMO: And today CNN's new Hero of the Year is here. You're going to get to meet him coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

We have a news flash. Hold on to your seats.

BALDWIN: News flash.

CUOMO: College, it ain't cheap and it's getting more expensive by the year, but it's worth it, right? Question mark, question mark, question mark. It's getting more controversial whether to go based on what it costs and what you get out of that investment.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CUOMO: And we have a new film that's all about this called "IVORY TOWER." And you know how we know this? Because chief business correspondent Christine Romans told me every word, that's why.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Look, I've seen the film several times. It's fantastic. And it really asks these questions, is the traditional four-year college degree ripe for disruption? And it is. Look, in this economy, huge demand for coders. Coders, right. And you don't need a four-year degree to do that. I want to tell you about these students that I met who are getting these skills at a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost of traditional universities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are so excited to present to you today our new travel app.

ROMANS (voice-over): It's graduation day at Dev Bootcamp. The end of a 19-week program who turned these students into one of the hottest commodities in the current economy, coders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so today they'll be presenting these ideas that they've built from scratch.

ROMANS (on camera): For so many years it was the four-year degree. But a lot of people are saying, wait, I need something more. A general studies four years isn't going to give you an edge in this tech-based economy.

JON STOWE, PRESIDENT, DEV BOOTCAMP: If you're going to college to get a job, the majority of students graduating from college either wish that had attended a different program -

ROMANS: Right.

STOWE: Or wish that they had an additional skill set.

ALEX UNG, STUDENT, DEV BOOTCAMP: The traditional four-year system, while I really value the social experiences that I had there, didn't necessarily -- ROMANS: You say social. You didn't say academic.

UNG: Yes. I felt pretty unprepared by it. And that was kind of the gap that Dev Bootcamp was here to fill was to endows a skillset (ph). The things that we pack into 19 weeks here are things you might learn in like two or three, four years in university.

ROMANS: At $40,000 a year.

UNG: Yes, $40,000 a year.

ROMANS: Do you think this is a good value?

UNG: One hundred percent. The majority of people graduate with jobs that pay on average like 90k or so or a $12,000 tuition? I think that's worth it.

ROMANS (voice-over): As student loan debt in America surpasses $1.2 trillion, and millennials account for 40 percent of the nation's unemployed, skill specific programs like Dev Bootcamp are becoming popular alternatives and add ones to higher education.

ROMANS (on camera): Let's talk about the investment. You know it's an investment of time and it's an investment of money and we're talking about a cohort that has already invested probably a lot of money in an education. How is this different?

COURTENEY ERVIN, INSTRUCTOR, DEV BOOTCAMP: We really focus on outcomes and we focus on students being able to find careers when they finish this. It's very, very clear that when you finish this program, the goal is to be able to be a junior web developer. And we get you to that point very quickly and it's really clear what you should do next and how you can get there.

UNG: My friends in college, the majority of them are unemployed. (INAUDIBLE). I have seven (ph) student loan bills. I don't know anyone without any debt, personally.

KARINA CAMONA, STUDENT, DEV BOOTCAMP: Because I wanted to take charge of my own education.

I knew that if I graduated with a CS degree at the universities, I wouldn't know any web development.

ROMANS: You wanted to really just focus in on this.

CAMONA: Yes, this is what I want to do. So why waste my time? Right now, a degree is kind of like a high school diploma. A portfolio means a lot more. If I can show an employer I can build this and I can do this, then I think that will, you know, land me a job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Did you hear what she said, a degree right now is a high school diploma. A portfolio matters more.

CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE).

ROMANS: Look, these coders are in very high demand. A lot of those people started without knowing anything about it and were able to learn the language along the way. I spent a few hours there and they were teaching me just the very basics of coding. You think differently. It's a different way of thinking. But this is the kind of thinking that's really in demand. $12,000. There's not a job guaranteed on the end, but there are a lot of kids - those kids are getting jobs for - those young adults are getting jobs for $90,000 a y ear, which is going to helps them pay off their four-year liberal arts degree that they already got.

BALDWIN: Yes, you're saying they went to college on the front end and then decided to go code.

ROMANS: A lot of them went to college on the front end and they couldn't get a job, underemployed. Have maybe a computer knack or computer savvy. Want to work for Google. Want to work for Facebook.

BALDWIN: Yes.

ROMANS: Want to work for Twitter. Want to work for Reddit or Tumblr and so now they're going to try to figure out how to do it.

CUOMO: The guarantee, which is not just implicit, is that there is a supply of jobs out there for the skills that they're paying for.

ROMANS: There is. There is.

CUOMO: That's not so true with a lot of degrees that you get in college. I think that's a fair point. Fair point.

ROMANS: That's right. And you talk to -- I talked to the Google CEO. I talked to a lot of other chairman of these big companies, the tech companies. They say, I could hire as many of these people with the great skills as they economy can product (ph).

CUOMO: All right, Romans, you win. This is important enough. Now I have to watch it. When can we watch it? Oh, good, here it is.

ROMANS: Ching.

CUOMO: The premier of the new CNN film "IVORY TOWER" is at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN tomorrow.

BALDWIN: And now to this.

Thank you, Christine Romans.

In this week's "Human Factor," we meet a rapper who is setting her sights on a bright future now that she is seeing things in a whole new way. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYRIC: (INAUDIBLE) feel like a (INAUDIBLE). My name is Lyric and my stage name is Lyric Da Queen.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The patch on her eye has become rap artist Lyric Da Queen's trademark. But when she first auditions for the "X Factor" two years ago, few people knew what was really behind it.

LYRIC: I'm totally blind. That's why I wear the patch.

GUPTA: What blinded her is a condition called keratoconus. It's a disorder of the cornea that causes it to bulge. Being behind never derailed Lyric's career.

LYRIC: How you going to be a blind rapper?

GUPTA: But darkness, both literal and emotional, were crippling. All that may change. Lyric's going to undergo a procedure she hopes will restore her vision.

LYRIC (singing): I'm so lost. Can you help me find my way. I'm so lost.

LYRIC (on camera): I didn't even feel anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It went absolutely perfect.

LYRIC: Oh, my God, this is crazy.

I'm like looking around like crazy. I'm seeing the cars and the people.

GUPTA: The surgery was a success.

LYRIC: This thing that I used to be ashamed about and I was depressed and devastated, I made it into my thing and I wear it with pride. And I don't think I'm ready to let that go yet.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST "AC 350": Ladies and gentlemen, the 2014 CNN Hero of the Year is Pen Farthing.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BALDWIN: Look at the shock on both of their faces. That was fantastic.

PEREIRA: That was newly minted CNN's Hero of the Year, Mr. Pen Farthing, honored last night at "CNN Heroes:. An All-Star Tribute."

PEN FARTHING, 2014 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Farthing is here with us.

FARTHING: Thank you know.

PEREIRA: Let me brag on you a little bit.

BALDWIN: Let's brag.

PEREIRA: The former Royal Marine sergeant founded Nowzad Dogs. The nonprofit reunites stray dogs and cats with soldiers who took them in during combat. Farthing started the organization after adopting Nowzad, a stray dog in Afghanistan back in 2010. Nowzad Dogs has now reunited 650 soldiers from 8 different nations with the stray dogs they adopted while serving in Afghanistan. Pen Farthing, our CNN Hero, is fresh off his win here in studio this morning.

BALDWIN: Congratulations.

FARTHING: Thank you so much. Thank you.

PEREIRA: Probably on about an hour's worth of sleep.

BALDWIN: Yes.

PEREIRA: How are you feeling?

FARTHING: We did do a little bit of celebrating there.

PEREIRA: As you should.

FARTHING: It was just amazing. I mean, I'm still in shock actually, to be completely honest. So, yes, just to win it is, well, it's just fantastic and I never saw that coming for a second.

PEREIRA: You were in terrific company, Pen. No lie, you were in a group of people who make you feel better about the world, doing tremendous things and you had a chance to get to know some of them over the past while.

FARTHING: I mean, yes. Just to watch their videos, I mean, we sat there, you know, I was up first for the top ten, and then to watch the rest of them. We had actually sat there thinking, well, we're not doing enough. We need to be doing more. And then you saw the youngsters and what they're doing, and that was it. That was - - They were amazing. So, yes, to watch all of them I was really thinking about, hang on, I need to be pulling my thinker (ph) out here and just doing so much more.

CUOMO: But there is so much reach to what you are doing with the dogs. I mean, just in and of themselves, these pets are so powerful.

FARTHING: Yes.

CUOMO: To the heads and hearts of the veterans, but you're dealing with rabies, you're dealing with training people to help prevent disease there, you're getting more veterinarians there. I mean, how far is the reach going?

FARTHING: I mean, we're going to hopefully try and take it as far as we possibly can. I mean, the soldiers initially have been out in Afghanistan and, you know, they provide the security so that now we can actually do some of the reconstruction in Afghanistan, and that's what we kind of feel like we're doing now. So, tackling rabies, animal welfare, and obviously for the soldiers who are, you know, stood out there, you know, and they were adopting this small cat or dog that's helping them get through their time away from family. So, you know, it's just something we hopefully we can keep continuing to do.

PEREIRA: Listen, I'm a dog lover and you went up first last night. There was sort of this awe that fell over the crowd when you saw that Nowzad is no longer - -

FARTHING: Yes.

PEREIRA: Poor little guy. And just to know, though, about the dogs, but also how they help the human spirit, mind, body, not just overseas, but seeing the pictures of the guys coming home and seeing the puppies recognizing them back in the states.

FARTHING: Yes, I mean - -

PEREIRA: How powerful is that?

FARTHING: I mean, these guys, you know, they're out, they're doing obviously an incredibly dangerous job. You know, they're just normal people, and to actually, you know, at the end of patrol come in, they just sat there with this dog or cat. It's just five minutes of normality in, you know, what is just a very stressful situation. So, they can't then after being away for a year leave that animal behind, because it's now part of their family. But, you're obviously out in Afghanistan. So, for them to be able to bring the animal and then they kind of, they connected with it, so to then be - -

PEREIRA: Yes, part of that experience.

FARTHING: Yes. Back in the states, you know, when they are thinking about obviously what went on in Afghanistan, that dog is kind of like their, I suppose, your treatment or, you know, it's actually helping them get through and deal with all of those things.

PEREIRA: That's amazing.

BALDWIN: That is amazing.

PEREIRA: So, we know each of the ten heroes got an infusion of $25,000, but the Hero of the Year, bit of a windfall. $100,000 you received. So, this is going to allow you - - You can hardly stand that, can you? Let him process it for a second. Now what, though? So what more can you do to talk about the need to do more, that's going to allow you to do so much more.

FARTHING: I mean, this time last year with our nonprofit, I mean we had a total of $13,000 and we were kind of thinking, you know, how are we going to keep going. So, when you just said that then, you know, $100,000 it's just going to allow us to do so much out there. You know, we really are going to now push for the rabies program, to actually try and reduce humanely the stray dog population, because there's about 1,000 Afghan kids sadly each year die from rabies, which is something that just shouldn't be happening.

PEREIRA: Yes, it's unnecessary.

FARTHING: So if we can actually humanely control the stray dogs, then we can actually - -

PEREIRA: You're saving lives as well.

FARTHING: Help the Afghan people, yes. So, this money is just going to go a long way to do that.

PEREIRA: Pen Farthing, we officially allow you to celebrate for the rest of time. I mean, this is great.

BALDWIN: Thank you for your hard work, thank you for being our hero. Thank you for getting up early, despite lack of sleep, to bring your wonderful award here. And we should let you know, please, tune in for "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" Sunday, December 7th, 8:00 pm Eastern on CNN. You will be changed, you will be moved, and you will be inspired.

CUOMO: Alright, let's - - Actually, you know what? Let's play up the inspiration right now. Thanks to people like you, we have a story we're going to tell about two extraordinary, selfless you women. They are giving for the less fortunate in a very unique way, and thus they qualify for the Pen Farthing edition of the Good Stuff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: These are the cool kids.

PEREIRA: Yes, they are.

CUOMO: As cool as Pen Farthing, almost, but they're young. What were you doing when you were 9-years-old? Alright? You know, I don't even want to think about it.

BALDWIN: I don't want to know what you were doing.

CUOMO: Going to school, having some fun.

PEREIRA: Right.

CUOMO: You know, putting your finger in your nose. Not these kids. They are helping the homeless.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): Two extraordinary young women in Vancouver.

PEREIRA (voice-over): Is that Canada? CUOMO: Are doing just that. They are nine and eleven.

PEREIRA: Oh, Canada.

CUOMO: They're saving their allowances for the less fortunate, and truth, it was their idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some dry socks. We have gloves, toothpaste.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've just kind of been putting it in a little box. They had $137 yesterday, and that's how we got this stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each time we do it, it's going to be bigger and bigger.

CUOMO: Listen up children everywhere, especially in the Cuomo household. Be amazed by their effort. Remember, they're not even teens yet. Especially, you know, the people that they are helping, this really matters. Listen to this.

PEREIRA: Yes, it does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not often that you see young folks actually out there looking to do good, to help out other people in life.

CUOMO: Right? Sometimes we have to put our hope in the young ones, and they are restoring hope for sure. Their names, Rylee McCune and Infinity White. They say they're going to keep helping as long as they have an allowance to save towards.

PEREIRA: Mom and dad, that's an investment. Mom and dad.

CUOMO: A little pressure on the parents, but it works both ways.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

PEREIRA (on camera): Oh, how beautiful. You sign off on that, Pen, don't you?

FARTHING: That's just so inspiring, just makes you feel so humbled to think, you know, these guys, that they're at a such young age.

PEREIRA: Exactly.

FARTHING: It's just brilliant. Absolutely.

BALDWIN: CNN Hero of the Year, ladies and gentlemen. Right here.

PEREIRA: Congratulations again, Pen.

FARTHING: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Thanks for joining us this morning.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

FARTHING: Thank you very much.

PEREIRA: Keep up the great work.

CUOMO (on camera): Time for the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello. Carol?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Morning. Ah, we end on a high note, and congratulations from me as well.