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Making 12th Grade Optional; Energizing the Economy

Aired February 16, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go and chat our top stories now. Investigators out in the snow trying to determine why a two- engine plane broke apart. It was trying to land at a New Jersey airport. Five people died in yesterday's crash.

A thousand trucks moving rubble for a thousand days. Haiti's president says it will take three years to clear the earthquake debris before the country can rebuild. Many Haitians, the president is concerned about another quake. He's been living with friends since the presidential palace and his private residence were destroyed.

The temperature may be cool in New Orleans this morning but the Mardi Gras festivities heating up, of course. Parades will go on until late tonight. That's when the party is over at midnight and lent begins.

Rescuers are heading back up to Mount St. Helens right now. Crews are trying to reach a hiker who took a wrong step. Pretty big one too. He fell 1,500 feet into a crater. Earlier attempts to reach him had to be called out because of dangerous weather.

We're going to check in with our Patrick Ottman who is there in just a second but first let's go to Rob Marciano who's been following the weather conditions. Hopefully, Rob, it's going to clear up so they can launch those helos and start looking for him again.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the problem last night, Kyra was this front that came through. It's been pretty mild there, that's good news as far as survivability goes but bad news as far as snow stability goes and that may be one of the reasons why that cornice gave way. Although the cornice is at the top of the ridge there at Mt. St. Helene's are always, always pretty fragile this time of year.

All right. Here's your front. It is cruising through right now and it is bringing some snow showers to this area. Rain in the lowest elevations. Here's the lay of the land as far as where we're looking now. Just across the border north and west of Portland by 50 or so or 100 miles right in through this area, so right now they are getting snow high atop mount St. Helens.

The snow level at about 5,000 feet, which would be - well, the top of the mountain is about 8,000 feet. This guy would probably be above 5,000 feet. Let's give you a little bit of the lay of the land. Here's the Pacific northwest. And we'll give you an idea of where this is and how high it is. About 8,500 feet is the top of this thing. Before it blew it's top in 1980, it was up getting close to 11,000 feet.

Let's zoom in quickly and show you the rim as well. The northern side of this is where they're going to come in from. That's where you're not allowed to hike or climb in this case. The climbing route is across the northern side - or the southern side. That would be - so this guy would be protected somewhat because the winds are hitting the southern rim.

But I think today they'll have a chance to get those helos up, Kyra, as the system clears out just a little bit. Whether he survived the night I can't say for sure because it sounded like he took his gear off, was cooling off and then went down into the crater. As of last night, he's alive and we're certainly keeping our hopes alive for that to continue today.

PHILLIPS: Hey, and you bring up a good point. All platform journalist Patrick Ottman is there. He is actually at Mount St. Helens and he is joining us on the phone now, Rob. Patrick, you actually reported that possibly rescuers had heard some whistling down in that volcano as late as late afternoon, right?

PATRICK OTTMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. A lot of experienced climbers know to carry a little whistle if they need to signal and apparently this climber had done that because they heard whistling -

PHILLIPS: All right. We apologize for that. It's so tough to get not only a cell phone signal but a live signal, as you can imagine, from these conditions there at Mount St. Helene but we will continue to follow the weather conditions there. The search for the hiker that fell into that volcano while actually taking a picture up there after taking a non-technical hike.

Hopefully, like Rob said, the weather will clear up, those helos will be able to launch and we'll have a successful rescue effort. We'll be updating the story until hopefully we hear some good news.

All right. Our other top story. Remember being a senior in high school? It was a big deal, right? Homecoming, the prom, graduation, the excitement of taking that next step. You know, the stuff that memories are made of. Well, can you imagine high school ending in 11th grade? Juniors at the top of the high school hierarchy? Well, they're actually having that discussion in Utah right now.

A state senator has proposed making senior year optional. If you've got enough credits to go to the next level, well go for it. If you need the senior year, take it. The idea here is to save money. The man who has proposed the idea said it could save Utah up to $60 million and the state is looking for ways to make up for a big money shortfall.

Some people who support the idea say many seniors just slack off anyway, you know, the old senior slump, senioritis but the student body president of West Jordan High School in Utah actually told the "L.A. Times," "senior year hasn't been a waste for me. If you're the type of kid who will slack off, you'd find a way to do that in sophomore or junior year anyway."

Well, you have to admit the idea is definitely different. So let's talk about it. William Sederburg is Utah's commissioner of higher education and the lawmaker who put that idea out there in the first place, Senator Chris Buttars. They're joining us both live from Salt Lake City.

All right. So, Senator, let's start with you. How did you come up with the idea and why did you think this would be a good way to save money?

SEN. CHRIS BUTTARS, UTAH STATE SENATOR: Well, there is a lot of money to be saved. We've got a $700 million shortfall. If you talk about the 12th grade, that represents $120 million. But by giving the seniors an option, it's really up to the parents and the child so there's no pressure to stay in 12th grade.

I believe that about half will take the option. There's some incentives. There's $1,000 scholarship and a number of things that they'll be able to take advantage of. For example, we give the kids in the 12th grade a special price for their freshman year called AP classes. So we let that transfer over to their freshman year.

I believe as this becomes better known where this option is available, it will become a big thing. You talk about $120 million and you talk about two groups of kids in high school, those that's working real hard taking AP classes really has one foot in college and then you've got the kids that are just goofing off. If you talk to 100 kids, you'll hear over and over again, well, I took four classes of PE and two arts classes. That's not a good way to spend the public's money.

PHILLIPS: Well, Bill, let me ask you what you think. You know, you're the commissioner of Higher Ed. How important is the 12th grade? Do you really need that year if you're already motivated and you've, you know, you've had AP classes and you're ready to go to college. Does it really make that big of an impact on a student that final year?

WILLIAM SEDERBURG, UTAH COMMISSIONER OF HIGHER EDUCATION: Well, I think it all depends on the student, obviously. We like Senator Buttars raising the issue of the significance of the 12th year of high school. In Utah, we're finding however that the 12th year really needs to be intensified.

We need to have full four years of mathematics, we need four years of English, we're just seeing too many students coming into college not prepared to be successful. And so in working with the state superintendent of education, the State Board of Education to raise our graduation standards, our concern is really that eliminating the 12th year really moves in the wrong direction. We do compliment the senators about providing options. Some kids are really able to move on and I think we need to facilitate that.

PHILLIPS: You bring up a good point, Bill, that's a really good point. If you make that senior year more intense and you offer more, does that better the chances that maybe a student would be more motivated in school, more motivated to want to go to college.

Also, too, if you skip the senior year, would that affect the application process of getting into a good college? Would a college say, hmm, I don't know if I want a student that skipped the senior year.

SEDERBURG: Well, I think a lot of those standards are more determined by ACT tests and the courses you've taken as opposed to just having a 12th year. In that sense, Senator Buttars is onto something.

However, what we're finding is about half of our students are not prepared for mathematics at the college level. Almost a third are not prepared in writing skills. So we would really like to have the high school system take the 12th year serious and bring everybody up to a world competitive level and then allow some options for students that are ready to move on either through advanced placement.

Or in Utah, we use concurrent enrollment as a mechanism of doing this as well. So I think our position is just to strengthen K-12 and use that 12th year.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting. We definitely will follow up and see what happens. I'm curious, you know, while I have you both, so, Senator, wasn't there a memory from the 12th grade that, you know, you just couldn't live without? Something must have happened to where you wouldn't have wanted to miss the 12th grade.

BUTTARS: Well, yes and no. I can't believe that it makes sense to spend $120 million so I can go to the prom.

PHILLIPS: Oh. Did you not have a good prom date, Senator?

BUTTARS: I could have eliminated my prom situation.

PHILLIPS: Yes, but did you have a memory that you can't forget, Bill?

BUTTARS: I would have been happy to give away that memory from my 12th grade.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I know. I think we've all got those deadly prom stories.

Gentlemen, we will definitely in a serious nature follow up on what happens. It's definitely an interesting discussion. Senator Chris Buttars and Bill Sederburg, commissioner of higher education, appreciate you two, thank you very much.

SEDERBURG: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

All right. That brings us to today's blog question. Should we get rid of senior year? Why or why not. Just go to my blog, CNN.com/kyra and post your thoughts. I'll read some of them on the air later this hour.

Well, tough talk and a fresh warning from Iran's president. Ivan Watson at our Iran desk with the latest word from Tehran.

And it might be in Vancouver but it's not an Olympic event. What do these folks have against the games anyway?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: OK, you guys, that looks pretty tame. Do we have another shot from the tower cam? Folks, this is really not true Mardi Gras style in New Orleans. It's usually a lot crazier than this. I can tell you that firsthand from living and working there. It's Fat Tuesday and you know what that means. That the party is still going on in New Orleans, getting ready for the big final wrap-up to the Mardi Gras celebration as lent begins tomorrow.

We will be actually checking with a reporter from New Orleans to find out how's it going. There you go, you can see the New Orleans Saints flag as well. As you know, they're the Super Bowl champs. So it's a double whammy for New Orleans. Partying (INAUDIBLE) and celebrating the Super Bowl win. We'll have a live report next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A major blow to the Taliban. One of their top guys, a military commander, now in custody. He was actually captured in Pakistan. A senior administration official tells CNN it's the most significant Taliban capture since 9/11. The Taliban commander is the number two just behind Mullah Omar. The fact that he was caught deep inside Pakistan also pretty interesting since it's far away from the Afghan battlefields and it also show a great amount of cooperation between U.S. and Pakistani forces.

Well, U.S. Marines on the offensive in southern Afghanistan. Day four in Marjah. There are about 15,000 troops fighting in the Taliban stronghold there. That includes Afghan forces, by the way, side-by- side with their national troops. They are still facing some resistance but Marine official say it isn't as organized as it was in the beginning.

We seem to forget secretary of state Hillary Clinton's name but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a message for her anyway. He's talking tough and he's got another warning.

Ivan Watson at our Iran desk following the president's comments. How do you forget Hillary Clinton's name?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, maybe you're trying to send a message of not having a whole lot of respect for one of your rivals, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Good point.

WATSON: This was a press conference that lasted for more than two hours. And among the many things that President Ahmadinejad touched upon, one of them is standing by his decision, to begin enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent and he insisted that the U.N.'s atomic energy watchdog from the IAEA, observers were involved in this process. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): We don't stand on ceremony. When we said, we started. Yes, we have started it. Well, when you see the product and when we use it, then they can go and see for themselves. Of course the inspectors are informed already that we have started this 20 percent enrichment and that we are producing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And, Kyra, Ahmadinejad left the door open. He said to still sorting out some kind of a uranium swap deal with western countries, even with the U.S., but he said western governments have to first treat Iran with respect.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of being treated with respect, what's the latest on the American hikers? We haven't had an update in a while.

WATSON: That's right. Well, President Ahmadinejad was asked about this by a "Washington Post" reporter on the scene and was asked about the likelihood, the request from the parents of these three hikers, Josh Fattal, Sean Bauer and Sarah Shourd whether or not they could travel to Iran and meet with him.

He did not answer that question. He answered with a non sequitur, saying well, you know, "we feel badly about the 3,600,000 people in American prisons right now. In the case of these three Americans they crossed the border illegally from northern Iraq into Iran last July. They have been in an Iranian prison since then.

He says that's a serious crime and that the judiciary is involved with it. He also added that there are a number of Iranians currently in American prisons and the suggestion there, perhaps he wants some kind of a prisoner swap.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Ivan Watson, we'll keep checking in. Thanks so much.

We're also waiting to hear from the president in the next hour or so. He's supposed to talk about energizing the economy, so to speak. We're going to find out more from White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

All right. Let's go ahead and go to Suzanne right now. Suzanne, are you with us?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: OK, Kyra, I thought that was a tease.

PHILLIPS: So did I.

I thought you were going to a commercial. I thought we were taking it to break and have everybody stand by. My apologies.

MALVEAUX: The real deal - here's the real deal, here's the news coming out of today, $8.3 billion in federal loan guaranties is what the president is going to be announcing later today. This is to build two new nuclear reactors in Burke, Georgia, to help fund those nuclear reactors.

White House officials I've spoken with today said that this would create some 3,500 hundred construction jobs. Also on site as well as 850 permanent operations jobs. They say it would power a community of 1.4 million folks in the region.

What's important to note here, Kyra, is that under the Bush administration you may recall there were funds that were available to do such a thing to the tune of $18.5 billion for the Department of Energy but all of this is all rather complicated here. It requires licensing issues. There's politics involved. There's where to put the nuclear waste.

You have to have a community that is willing to do this that wants to move a project like this forward. You have such a company, you have such a community, so what you're going to hear the president talk about is he's touting this money that is becoming available.

This money since 2005 has been authorized and the Department of Energy has been available before but now he wants to show that this is one of those things that the Republicans would like to push forward, nuclear energy, alternative sources of energy and this is something the president also is pushing and cooperating with the GOP. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Suzanne, thanks so much.

MALVEAUX: All right.

PHILLIPS: And remind all of you as you just saw in that tease, President Obama's jobs speech will be in Maryland. It's expected to start in about an hour. Suzanne is going to monitor it for us and we'll also dip in live as soon as he starts.

All right. Let's check the other top stories now. A New Hampshire hotel employee poisoned at work, still in the hospital this morning. He was knocked unconscious by a carbon monoxide leak. In all 11 people were sickened. The gas leaked from the boiler room of a hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. That hotel was evacuated.

Two of the shuttle astronauts getting ready to go outside again today. It will be the third and final scheduled space walk of this mission. Earlier, the crews installed a new adapter onto the station that's basically a port other spacecraft can use to dock with the space station. Today's space walk, the astronauts are attaching heating cable and also hand rails to the new storage room that they attached last week.

Now, pretty cool video. It actually shows John F. Kennedy in color on November 22nd, 1963. You haven't seen colored footage of this before. It was donated to the sixth floor museum by a guy who shot the video. He was only 15 years old at the time. Look how close he got. The footage was actually taken just before the assassination but he was right there next to Lyndon Johnson, the president and also the first lady.

All right. Mardi Gras, full force, coming to an end. It's fat Tuesday. We'll check the forecast in New Orleans and the weather near you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. the snow is definitely not ended, Rob Marciano.

MARCIANO: No, it hasn't and it's not going to end for quite some time but it's not going to come down with any sort of fierceness that we saw the past couple of weeks but it's going to hang around for a good chunk of today. We've got a pretty decent area of low pressure that's just pulling down Canadian air. Not only do we have some lift associated with this very expansive storm but we've got lake-effect snow that's kind of kicking around with it.

So we've got snow from Michigan, back through parts of Ohio, streaming down into parts of Kentucky and through Tennessee and as far south as Georgia in some cases. Beginning to fill in just a little bit in this area, although we don't think we'll see a ton of snow. There's still winter weather advisories up for New York, City of Long Island up through parts of Connecticut and southern New England. Two to four inches of snow expected here, maybe a little bit more Interviewer: he highlighted red areas.

With this filling in around Philadelphia, you might see an inch or two of wet snow through the Jersey turnpike, so just be aware of that. Down across the south we're looking at some of this snow getting all the way to the Georgia border, some flakes of snow being reported in places like Atlanta. So the cold air continues, 26 degrees in Atlanta right now, 26 in Birmingham and 40 degrees in New Orleans. So a chilly start to Mardi Gras for sure.

Got a live shot of New Orleans, let's take it. But as you well know as you know cold weather does not stop the party in New Orleans. Let's make that perfectly clear.

MARCIANO: You would hope that the chillier weather would help, you know, the grand tradition of disrobing for beads.

PHILLIPS: But?

MARCIANO: But you know it doesn't seem to deter them that's for sure.

PHILLIPS: No.

MARCIANO: Glad to see that during our live telecast, that tradition has been held off at least for the moment.

PHILLIPS: Yes. For a second. And we have to admit for those that don't know the New Orleans Mardi Gras scene, that is a very mellow shot there. That is not the normal.

MARCIANO: No, just getting started, just getting started. And lent is tomorrow and we should all be repenting.

PHILLIPS: There we go, giving up alcohol and bad food.

MARCIANO: All those sinful, sinful things.

PHILLIPS: Exactly. Rob, see you soon.

MARCIANO: OK.

PHILLIPS: OK.

Are you going to give me a little French? (speaking in French)

There you go. That was perfect. There you go.

All right. Miracle on ice. Enough said. We all know it. Disney even immortalized it in a movie. Now one of the stars from our national triumph back for another chance for gold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's not all fun and games at the Olympics. Check this out.

(VIDEO CLIP OF CROWD RIOTING)

PHILLIPS: Vancouver police had their hands full, literally, after a few violent offenders broke away from an anti-Olympic protest and went wild, breaking store windows, vandalizing cars. Three people were arrested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's always got to be some in the crowd that are going to take it up to the next level, and that's their prerogative. That doesn't mean all the protesters threw paint on and broke windows.

JIM CHU, VANCOUVER POLICE CHIEF: The criminal element in the group has taken over and is dictating the actions. In fact, a lot of the criminals that wanted to commit those crimes hid within the ranks of the legitimate protesters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The U.S. is still on top. Here's a look at the medal standings so far. The U.S. added another gold, thanks to Seth Wescott. He won the men's snowboard cross. That's kind of like Motocross with a snowboard, by the way. Skier Bode Miller took the bronze on the men's downhill for the only other American medal of the day.

Mark McKay live in Vancouver. So, Mark, the U.S. versus Russia is an epic battle no matter what the sport, but in Olympic hockey, it holds a very special place in the hearts.

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It sure does. That's on track tonight as we look ahead to this day at Vancouver, Kyra. But I love your description of snowboard cross. Motocross with a snowboard. Let me show you Wescott's race before we talk about the U.S. women's hockey team.

You want an exciting race if you have an exciting sport, and we had it certainly yesterday on Cypress Mountain. Seth Wescott came here as the defending Olympic champion, but he had to fend off one of the members of the host nation, Canada. Mark Robertson. He ended up winning gold, Wescott did. Robertson was pushed back into second place. What a finish! What a come-from-behind win for Seth Wescott as he will take a gold medal across the border into the United States after these games.

Yes, you mentioned, Kyra, the USA versus Russia in women's hockey. USA, Team USA led by Mark Johnson, he was a member of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team, the U.S. team that beat the Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Games and then went on to win the gold. Johnson is bringing his Olympic experience to a whole new generation of Olympians right here in Vancouver.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKAY (voice-over): Mark Johnson may be the head coach of the United States women's hockey team, but he's more well-known for something else.

HILARY KNIGHT, USA WOMEN'S HOCKEY FORWARD: I get nervous talking about him. In some respects, none of us are worthy enough to talk about him.

MCKAY: In 1980, Johnson was on the USA men's hockey team that stunned the world by winning the gold medal in Lake Placid, New York.

NATALIE DARWITZ, CAPTAIN, U.S. WOMEN'S NAT'L HOCKEY TEAM: I lot of us weren't born at the time 1980 happened. But as a hockey player, you're fed that information. You're given books, you're given history, time lines, the movie now. So, you're definitely aware of what 1980 meant, not only to the country, but for the sport of hockey. Obviously, he was their leading scorer and a huge part of it, so you definitely feel his presence as soon as he walks in the locker room.

MCKAY: It's been 30 years since the so-called "miracle on ice," but Johnson is still able to use his own experience during that time to help motivate his team.

MARK JOHNSON, USA WOMEN'S HOCKEY COACH: Everybody saw what happened at Lake Placid for the two weeks. They didn't see what went on for the six months that we were together, but a lot of good things, a lot of hard things, a lot of challenges, but that's how we united ourselves.

MCKAY: Many expect the USA to battle Canada for the gold in Vancouver, but the U.S. players just have to look at their coach to know there are no guarantees. For his part, Johnson feels fortunate to be able to experience the Olympics once again through a different point of view.

JOHNSON: Getting an opportunity to go back to the Olympics, be part of an opening ceremonies. I know from a coaching standpoint watching my players go through it, I know how excited they're going to be because a lot of them have dreamed about that day. And actually to watch them put on their uniforms, step into the arena and walk through it, I know what it feels like, and I'm going to be excited for them getting an opportunity to do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKAY: Apparently, Kyra, some of that gold and Olympic experience apparently rubbed off on his team. They came out and beat China over the weekend in the first match for both teams 12-1.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll be talking tomorrow, Mark, appreciate it.

And we're minutes away from the "30-Second Pitch." We've got three people who would love to have a half minute of your time. Cynthia, John and Michael, get ready. Your next boss could be watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Okay. The "30-Second Pitch," let's do it. Today we've got Cynthia Robinson in Dallas, an insurance pro who's been out of work a year. From New York, John Lee, communications, media and public relations are his thing. And from Orlando, Michael Garcia, a mike of all trades. Marketing, athletic coordinator and a stint with the LAPD on his resume.

Cynthia is in Dallas. Let's start with you. You say the dry period has given you some self-doubts.

CYNTHIA ROBINSON, JOB SEEKER: Yes, it has a bit.

PHILLIPS: Tell me why. What's been the toughest part for you, Cynthia?

ROBINSON: I guess it's just the inactivity. You try and you apply for jobs, and you interview and you know that it's the state of the market, but still it gets down. You begin to wonder maybe I'm not good any more, maybe I'm not useful and so you constantly have to sort of prop yourself up.

PHILLIPS: John Lee, what about you?

JOHN LEE, JOB SEEKER: Well, I think it's been an adventure really. I was in one company for quite a while and being out on my own now has opened up new horizons, so there's been a lot of upsides, yet it's still a pretty challenging time.

PHILLIPS: Were you ready for it? Did you prepare? LEE: Yes, I had a little bit of, you know, an inclination of what was coming along. We worked out a separation, and I was able to really hit the ground running. And I'm all over the city of New York talking to folks and really kind of expanding my skill set right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, that makes sense. If you were in PR, you definitely know how to work it.

Now, Michael Garcia, marketing, athletic coordinator, LAPD. My goodness, I'm surprised that you're out of work, you've got a little bit of everything going on.

MICHAEL GARCIA, JOB SEEKER: Well, yes, that's true, but the economy right now has been, like the other two have said, have been up and down.

PHILLIPS: What's been the toughest part for you?

GARCIA: Well, the toughest part has been primarily just getting my foot in the door. The market has changed a lot with people sending in resumes in the thousands, and so it's hard really distinguishing yourself from everyone else without, you know, this personal face-to- face kind of thing.

PHILLIPS: Well, that's the beauty of you guys all writing in. We're able to talk about how diverse each one of you are so let's get down to business. Let's get down to the pitches. Cynthia Robinson, are you ready? All right, let's start the clock. Cynthia, kick it off.

ROBINSON: I'm Cynthia Robinson, a senior insurance professional, ready for an opportunity in commercial insurance. My global programs result in asset protection and six-figure savings for my clients.

I'm multilingual and have successfully operated in Europe and Latin America. I understand cultural differences in international business. Whether your company spends big bucks on global risk or provides global coverage, I can significantly improve your bottom line. I know it, I've done it and I can do it for you. Let's talk. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Look at that, right on the money. Thirty seconds. Multilingual? How many languages do you speak?

ROBINSON: Well, I'm bilingual in Spanish and English and I have working French, and somebody said to put it in that I studied Arabic years ago.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. That's definitely a highlight. We should have started off with that! Cynthia, fantastic. All right...

ROBINSON: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: ... You bet. John Lee in New York, are you ready?

LEE: All set to go. PHILLIPS: All right. Let's start the clock. Go ahead, John.

LEE: I'm John Lee. I provide the communications piece of the puzzle. Persuasive public relations, digital media, crisis communications, spokesperson. With a resume that ranges from the National Gallery of Art to the Belmont Stakes, where I was director of communications, media relations and broadcasting. Either on staff or consulting, I'm put your story into the media conversation, maybe even right here on CNN. You can reach me at JohnLeeMedia2010@gmail.com. Let me know how I can help.

PHILLIPS: OK. You definitely have the voice and the attitude, John. I love it. Michael Garcia, you ready for yours?

GARCIA: I am ready.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's start the clock. Michael, take it away.

GARCIA: I'm Michael Garcia. I'm looking for an opportunity to showcase my talents in a marketing or public relations position. As a versatile and reliable leader who is hungry for success, I'm looking for exposure in an organization where I can grow as a valued contributor.

I bring a diverse background with several years of experience and ambition. Among my most significant attributes is the ability to find the right link which brings everyone together. If you're looking for a great team player, please contact me today so we can discuss how I can add to your organization. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Wow, you guys are right on the money. Cynthia Robinson out of Dallas, John Lee out of New York and Michael Garcia out of Orlando. Fantastic job, guys, really appreciate you writing in and giving us your time.

GARCIA: Thank you.

ROBINSON: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You bet. Our pleasure.

LEE: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Anytime. You can go to my blog at CNN.com/kyra and actually see those pitches again, get their e-mails. Also we'd love to help you out. All you have to do is send us an e-mail at 30secondpitch@CNN.com.

They're working overtime to fix the problem. We take you inside a Toyota plant. Poppy?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Kyra, we're here assessing the fix. Toyota is dealing, as you know, with mounting complaints about the recalled vehicles. We're here getting a real gauge of customers getting their cars fixed, just what it takes, all of that, coming up next. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Poppy.

Plus it's time to let the good times roll. We're going to take you live to New Orleans, Louisiana. It's Fat Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: More fatal crashes caused by sudden acceleration. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looking into more complaints aimed at Toyota. Meanwhile, dealers are working overtime to fix the problem they say already know about. 50,000 fixes every day. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow hanging out by Bay Bridge Toyota in Brooklyn this morning. What's the word, Poppy?

HARLOW: Kyra, at this Toyota dealership in Brooklyn, they say they'll have about 1,000 Toyotas that were recalled fixed by the end of today. One of them here is Robert's Toyota. Robert didn't feel anything wrong with his car, but you got this letter from Toyota. Tell me why you're here.

ROBERT BENNETT, TOYOTA CUSTOMER: I got this in the mail and they told me to bring the car in for the gas pedal. I made an appointment last week for at that, no problem. The car done, the car right over there.

HARLOW: What does this make you feel about Toyota? Are you still confident in the company?

BENNETT: Yes, sure. As long as I don't have any more problem with the car.

HARLOW: OK, this is sort of the final test. We're going to let you go home, your Avalon they're just finishing. Thank you very much.

Kyra, let's talk to you about what's going on. In my pocket I literally have the piece that they're using for the fix for most of these recalled vehicles. Marvin over here is working on one. This is a Camry. Marvin, show us exactly what goes into this, because this is a tiny fix for a huge safety problem.

MARVIN MORRIS, TOYOTA MASTER TECHNICIAN: Yes, definitely. What we do is we put a selectively fit shim that Toyota provided us. What that does is reduces the amount of friction caused during multiple application of the pedal, okay? Also what we also do is we also replace what is known as the tibia pad inside of the vehicle. What it does is reduces the distance between the pedal and the carpet, and the floor mat.

HARLOW: We're also dealing with another part of the recall, Kyra. That is the length of the pedals here. You can see it clearly here. They are replacing one of the shorter pedals for the longer one.

MORRIS: No, actually, it's the opposite. We're replacing...

HARLOW: No, I'm wrong, Marvin is right. MORRIS: That reduces the distance between the carpet and the all-weather map inside.

HARLOW: That's why you do this and I don't do this, so get back to it! Thank you, Marvin. Kyra?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You didn't take shop class in high school, did you, Poppy Harlow? You opted for the art class.

HARLOW: No, I didn't. Right, exactly.

PHILLIPS: What about the Prius problems?

HARLOW: Yes. That's a good question. Here's one of the Priuses. They haven't fixed as many of these here. Not as many were recalled, but it's still a big issue because Prius are high-selling cars for Toyota.

It's an interesting fix here. This is a laptop computer, Kyra. This is literally what they do. They hook up this laptop with the cord into -- right by your brake pedal here. This is the software problem that they're fixing to fix the brake in the Prius.

Mike Ianelli is here. He is the general manager, has been nice enough to let us come to the dealership. Overall, what does this mean for your business, dealing with these three massive safety recalls?

MIKE IANELLI, GENERAL MANAGER, BAY RIDGE TOYOTA: Well, first of all, it's bringing a lot of Toyota owners from other dealerships in. We're meeting people we've never met before so that's one positive thing.

HARLOW: One positive thing. But what are you doing in terms of satisfying your customers, not losing people to other brands?

IANELLI: We're doing as much as we possibly can. We're picking cars up at people's homes, dropping them off. We've extended our hours from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. We've got breakfast, lunch and dinner out there for our customers all day. We've got extra shuttle vans driving people home if we have to. Whatever it takes.

HARLOW: Whatever you have to do. Thank you for accommodating us today. Kyra, we'll hear more from Toyota. The president of Toyota coming out tomorrow at a press conference in Japan. He'll take some of the questions, and there are a lot more questions out there, Kyra. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. All right, Poppy Harlow, we'll check in with you. Thank you so much.

And we don't want (AUDIO GAP) to leave without another little weather check. Rob has been working the conditions across the country from hopefully the rescue effort from the hiker that fell into the volcano there at Mount St . Helens there all the way to the snow that's really hammering the East Coast.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We finally getting some action? There we go.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We've got the marching band, the sun is shining, people just getting warmed up and ready to roll for Mardi Gras.

PHILLIPS: Are you able to tell what parade -- we can't see what parade that is. You can try to make out the high school well, that might be -- no, I'm not going to take a guess.

MARCIANO: You know one of these guys?

PHILLIPS: Yes. I used to live and work this. As a matter of fact, this live shot is coming from WDSU, my old station. What a great place to live, can I tell you?

MARCIANO: I would imagine. That's a trolley track, so probably around St. Charles. Looks good.

PHILLIPS: It is the Zulu parade! All right, thank you, Eddie, fabulous. This is actually one of the best parades that you could watch in New Orleans, it's always one of my favorites. It's got some great culture and history to it, and we will track it. Hopefully we'll take you live to talk to some reporters as well. That's coming up, Rob.

And, you know, it's all downhill after senior year, right? Twelfth grade. But what if your school system said that 11 is enough? Good or bad? We're checking your e-mails right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. The push for more jobs is at the top of President Obama's to-do list today. Live pictures right now from a job training center in Maryland. In just a few minutes, the president will be front and center right there at the mike to talk about creating more energy-related jobs. We'll have that live for you, so keep it right here on CNN.

And now, we can't wrap up the show without talking about the president and Fat Tuesday. Rob Marciano, come up here to the set. Let's look at these live pictures. Rob brought this up on the big board for us. Let's take a look at the Zulu parade once again.

Here's a good shot from WDSU to see the parade route. Oh, you know, this is St. Charles avenue. And this -- oh, this circle, it's driving me crazy. This is where my friend has a hotel, and I'm trying to remember. They are going to circle around and continue down St. Charles. He's going to kill me now because he probably would have loved the plug.

MARCIANO: Plug is good. But beautiful Victorian home. I can't move any closer. PHILLIPS: That's all right!

MARCIANO: As much as I want to be close to you, there's all sorts of obstacles in my way.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Do you remember when the Zulu, the whole history began? It was back in 1909 -- Lee Circle, thank you, guys. Yes! My dear friends from New Orleans e-mailing me right now, that's Lee Circle, I love it. Now, you remember they used to throw out coconuts...

MARCIANO: Back in 1909. You're implying something here?

PHILLIPS: No, not back in 1909. It was actually a big tradition going back to the Zulu tribe and how the tribe began back in 1909. But too many people were getting knocked in the noggin, so they had to stop throwing the coconuts.

MARCIANO: So now it's beads and coins and things like that. You know, you worked in New Orleans, I worked in Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana in the Cajun country. They have got all sorts of other traditions. They do these parades, yes, but in the country they'll go on horseback and parade through the countryside looking for the ingredients for a good gumbo, and that would include a pig and a chicken. So, everybody gets in the act here.

PHILLIPS: But if you come here, you get a good moon pie.

MARCIANO: King cake? Mm, love that.

PHILLIPS: Here we go, here comes some of the Zulu costumes that are amazing with the feathers and the beads. Okay, good. We'll keep tracking it throughout the afternoon. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: Sure.

PHILLIPS: All right. We also want to talk about the proposal that's out there. Rob, you were tuning into this. Did you like the 12th grade, senior year?

MARCIANO: I knew the end was in sight. Who didn't like senior year? Excuse for everything!

PHILLIPS: Every party on the face of the Earth. Well, actually in Utah they're talking about cutting out senior year to save money for the budget. We've been asking you what you think about that. Here's a number of things that you wrote in from the blog.

This one comes from Dave. "As a two-sport high school coach, well, I am concerned for many obvious reasons, but in addition to those, we are potentially allowing our kids to be exposed even younger to the irresponsible world of sports agents and recruiting tactics. What's next, a 15-year-old playing in the NBA?" That's an interesting point. This one coming from Clara. "Senior year is more of a continuation of junior year. What is truly important is the quality, not the quantity. If education departments would toughen up on the curriculum, there would be no need for an extra year."

This one coming from Eli. "I'm a high school senior who will attend college next year. Other than my AP classes, none of my classes actually matter, and I don't want to learn anything." (LAUGHTER) Eli just laid it out there. Hopefully Eli's mom is not watching.

MARCIANO: Eli, when you get to be our age, you're going to wish you paid attention. That's the one regret we all have -- when we were in school, if we'd just paid attention a wee bit more..

PHILLIPS: Exactly. I'm with you on that.

Remember, we want to hear from you. Log on to CNN.com/kyra to share your comments. Thank you so much.

Tony Harris, are you ready to go, Tony Harris?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Man, I wish I could do all of my high school years over again, man. Man, I had the Jackson Five afro going.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: I used to plap that thing up at night, I'd walk down the hall and the breeze I would generate would part and I had a little -- is that going too far?

(LAUGHTER)

MARCIANO: It's very descriptive.

PHILLIPS: It's a lovely picture. Did you have the pick, too, right there...

HARRIS: Sure, with the fist (ph)?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

HARRIS: Used to...yeah, yeah.

Look at that. All gone. It's just a crying shame.

MARCIANO: We are going to dig up those pictures, my friend. You are going to regret you brought this up.

HARRIS: You better believe it.

PHILLIPS: Take it away, Tony Harris.