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232 Unaccounted for in Joplin, Missouri; Trump School Under Scrutiny; Inside Tellus Science Museum; Dr. Oz Hails New Yorkers A Cab; Talk Back Question; Sprucing Up To Sell Your Home; Family & Dog Reunite
Aired May 26, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: A tornado literally ripped his tractor trailer apart and he lived to tell about it. Jeremiah Morrison suffered just a broken shoulder. He was hauling a load of freight to Oklahoma City Tuesday night when he spotted the tornado. He shared his amazing survival story on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight.
(VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMIAH MORRISON, TORNADO SURVIVOR: As it came towards me I saw it at a distance so I pulled my truck over and I was getting ready to get in the ditch just because that's what I've always been taught to do. Kind of started to get out and looked up and it looked like the tornado kind of disappeared. So, I got back in the truck, trying to get my seatbelt buckled and about that time, I felt the driver's side of the truck come up off the ground. I closed my eyes, put my arms over my face and tossed around in the cab a little bit. I'm not real sure if I blacked out. I know that I was laying on the ground and picked myself and looked over and the truck was on its wheels and I ran around to see, I guess, kind of sort of assess the damage.
PIERS MORGAN, PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT, HOST: I mean, we're watching your pictures again. It's just absolutely extraordinary you survived this. As it was all going on and the tornado hit the truck, did you think that you -- you were going to die? How were you feeling at that moment?
MORRISON: Honestly, Sir, I'm one of the -- I believe very, very strongly that if it's you time to go it's your time to go and there's nothing you can do, so. I just pretty much held onto what I could and when I felt the truck go over, I don't know -- my words were here we go.
MORGAN: When you look at the video pictures of that tornado hitting your truck, can you quite believe what you're watching?
MORRISON: Actually, the first time that I saw it was when I -- after they had already taken me to the hospital, I was laying in the hospital bed and I was flipping through the channels because everybody was saying it was on and that particular video I said, that's not my truck, it ain't my truck and then a little bit later they showed really good clear pictures, that is my truck. So, I was -- yes, I was amazed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Top of the hour, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed. We've received exclusive video just minutes after a deadly tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri.
(VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, look at this, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh Aaron, oh my gosh.
A. COX: It went right through here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know where...
A. COX: I don't know where we are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know where anything -- I don't know -- I don't know where to go.
A. COX: We've got to keep going this way. Don't step on any of this. Come on, we've got to keep going this way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know but it -- I feel like I need to help if someone's hurt.
A. COX: Well, we'll keep asking. Look at this house. It's gone.
You guys OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
COX: Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: What you're watching is a firsthand account of not only damage and devastation, but also you can see and hear the panic search for loved ones. And what you're seeing is a man and his fiancee trying to reach the man's sister's home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I to need if someone's hurt.
COX: Well we'll keep asking. Look at this house. It's gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, they weren't able to drive because these streets, as you are seeing, were blocked with debris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COX: Sarah, Mike! Sarah, Mike! UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sarah, Mike! Mike, Sarah!
COX: I'm going do check the basement.
Sarah? Mike?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike? Sarah?
COX: You guys down here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike?
COX: Sis?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Well, the sister was in the house during the tornado and rode out that storm in the basement. Now, she was not hurt. She had gone to a family member's home. And I talked with her just last hour about the ordeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH COX, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I guess I kept thinking what it would have been like for my brothers had they not been able to find me, what it would have been like for them. And I'm glad they found me because I didn't want to do that to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The latest now on the effort to find people still unaccounted for in Joplin.
Within just the past half-hour, authorities have now updated the figures. They now say that 232 people are unaccounted for.
Our CNN's Brian Todd, he is joining us from Joplin.
And first of all, Brian, explain to us about this number, because before authorities were saying it was something like 1,500. And now it's been dramatically lowered. How did that happen?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, it's been kind of a touch-and-go process as far as that particular number that was first floated out, 1,500. That was floated out by a local official a couple of days ago, and they really haven't done much to update that since then until just this morning.
And this is when, as you said, they released a list of 232 people for whom an official missing persons report has been filed. That's the big difference.
The 1,500 figure that was kind of floated out there -- which they have actually tried to dial back from since that was floated out there a couple of days ago -- one of the officials kind of clarified that. She said these were everything from someone saying that, "My uncle usually calls on Sunday and didn't call yesterday," reports like that, kind of unofficial, loose reports from people who were concerned. That's how they kind of arrived at that figure, and they were following up on all those leads.
For this particular figure, 232, these are official missing persons reports that have been filed. But that still doesn't mean that that's the extent of the missing persons.
I mean, there are a lot of people still out there looking for their loved ones. They may not have actually come in and filed an official report yet.
Now, we did hear from Don Bloom. He is with the Federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. This is in reference to essentially why some people have not been allowed into this makeshift morgue that they have in this area to possibly identify their loved ones among the dead bodies in that morgue.
This is what he said about why families aren't necessarily allowed to gain access to that morgue right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON BLOOM, FEDERAL MORTUARY OPERATIONAL RESPONSE TEAM: We have to be 100 percent accurate. So, as much pressure is put on us to speed up the process, the process has to take its time. We have to be 100 percent accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, again, to clarify, 232 people have had official missing persons reports filed for them. That does include some of the people that they know are deceased.
A hundred and twenty-five is that number. There is overlap there. Among those deceased are some people who are still listed among the missing, Suzanne, so there is overlap there. And hopefully these numbers will be broken down even further later today.
MALVEAUX: Yes. There are a couple of points I just don't understand. I don't get this. And hopefully people are challenging those authorities.
I mean, first of all, to just float a number like 1,500 out there and say, oops, that's not our official number, to me it seems it would cause quite a bit of alarm and concern, when you have that high a number that people are not correcting, and certainly not correcting publicly. It's been out there for 48 hours.
Did anybody challenge them on that?
TODD: We've been challenging them on that since they floated out that number. And again, that number was kind of put out by one official, and a lot of people kind of clung to it, only because we weren't getting any updated numbers since that time. And even yesterday, when we pressed them on this, they didn't give an updated number. All they told me was at this news conference, when I asked them yesterday, is, "We're paring down that number of 1,500."
And then I asked, "Well, what's the number then?" And they couldn't give me the count then.
Now they're giving the count of 232 official missing persons reports. Again, a lot of those 1,500 were very loose accounts, people saying, "I'm worried about my brother, my sister, I haven't heard from them," but not an official report filed.
Again, so the number really could be between 232 and about 1,500, the actual number of people really missing.
MALVEAUX: And Brian, just to clarify, also, that official -- what was the reason that they're not actually able to identify the relatives, the bodies of the relatives in that morgue? I mean, what is holding up that process? I didn't even understand his response.
TODD: Well, they want to do this by kind of forensic analysis. They have taken DNA samples from family members. They've been doing that a lot over the past couple of days.
They want to do it via DNA, fingerprinting, establishment of certain marks on the body that are familiar, that are known to the family members. They want to do it that way, rather than having people come in and identify bodies.
There was a report very early on that one body was misidentified and taken to a funeral home. And that's been kind of the theory as to why they're pulling back and not letting people have access to the morgue.
They just feel that this is the best way to do it, this is the best way to get a completely accurate reading of who's deceased. And we're pressing them repeatedly -- why not just -- if you might have been able to match some characteristics, let someone come into the morgue and see if that's their loved one.
I mean, most of these people we've talked to out on the street here are prepared for the worst news, they're prepared to get that news that their loved one is deceased. They want to go into the morgues.
The officials just don't want to do it that way right now. They want to do it more scientifically, forensically, and that's why they're doing it this way.
MALVEAUX: OK. Well, Brian, thank you for pressing them and holding them accountable. And excellent reporting. Really appreciate it. Thanks, Brian.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Back up! Oh, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Storm chasers capture shots of one of the tornadoes that ripped into Oklahoma on Tuesday. The National Weather Service now says at least seven tornadoes hit the state. Ten people were killed.
Tornadoes struck across a wide area of the country on Wednesday. At least two touched down in Chico in northern California. Dozens of people got hurt when tornadoes hit Tennessee, North Carolina, and Indiana. No deaths, fortunately, were reported.
Jared Lee Loughner, charged with killing six people during the January shooting rampage in Tucson, will not face trial anytime soon. A federal judge has ruled that Loughner is not mentally competent to stand trial.
He's going to be treated for paranoid schizophrenia at a federal mental facility in Missouri. And the judge will review Loughner's mental health in September.
Some of those wounded in the shooting did not question the decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have to be a professional psychiatrist to know that the boy is disturbed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Tucson shooting wounded 13 people, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Well, an attorney for John Edwards is hinting that the former presidential candidate may take his chances at trial rather than accept a plea deal. Sources say that federal prosecutors want Edwards to admit that he used campaign funds to cover up an extramarital affair. If not, they are prepared to indict him.
But Edwards' lawyer issued this statement, saying, " John Edwards has done wrong in his life and he knows it better than anyone. But he did not break the law. The government's theory is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law. There is no civil or criminal precedent for such a prosecution."
NATO says seven soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan today when a roadside bomb exploded. Officials have not announced the nationalities of those killed, but Americans make up the bulk of the NATO force.
Sixteen years on the run. Serbian police have war crimes suspect in Ratko Mladvic in custody today. He commanded the Serbian army during the Bosnian Civil War in the early 1990s. Prosecutors say he ordered the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys after the fall of a Bosnian town in 1995.
Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the stories that caught our attention. Today's question: Is college education worth it?
And we know, Carol, the stats now, $20,000 for a four-year public college. Right? Public institution.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And much, much more for a private institution.
MALVEAUX: Right.
COSTELLO: And let's say you go to Harvard or Princeton -- we won't even talk about that.
But now that the joy of your child's college graduation is over, you may be looking at a huge black hole in your bank account as your graduate sits home or looks for a job. Maybe you're suffering from buyer's remorse.
Well, listen to this. Peter Thiel, who made millions by founding PayPal and investing in startups like Facebook thinks you don't need college to succeed. So he's telling kids to drop out, at least for a couple of years.
Thiel's foundation is offering $100,000 fellowships to worthy kids who agree to leave college to start their own tech company. Thiel says college is overvalued.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER THIEL, COFOUNDER, PAYPAL: People can normally get the loans to borrow, but then you have to pay them off for the rest of your life. And we just had this housing bubble where everyone said you had to have a house no matter what, housing was always good, it would always have value.
COSTELLO: Now we're saying that about college.
THIEL: And now we're saying that about education.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Yes, many of us are. Before you discount his idea, consider this: do we as a country push college on our kids even if they are not interested? After all, there are other kinds of jobs out there, good jobs that don't require a college degree, as in skilled labor.
But how many of you are willing to encourage your kid to become a welder? Not many, I'll bet.
A Deloitte Manufacturing Institute survey shows that only 30 percent of American parents said they'd encourage their kids to learn a trade.
So, today's "Talk Back": Is a college education worth it?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read some of your comments later this hour.
MALVEAUX: You mentioned Harvard. The good thing about that, it's total financial aid, total need-based. So, if you need the money, you get the money.
COSTELLO: Yes, but if you happen to be a member of the middle class and your parents make just over -- then you're in trouble.
MALVEAUX: Then you're in trouble, yes. Financial aid, it's hard to get.
COSTELLO: It takes a lot of time.
MALVEAUX: OK.
COSTELLO: And know-how.
MALVEAUX: Yes. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
MALVEAUX: Here's a look at what's ahead "On the Rundown" this hour.
First, students are complaining about a school run by Donald Trump. Now New York's state attorney general is taking a look.
And Dr. Oz is joining us live. We're going to ask him about a new survey that suggests an alarming number of young people have high blood pressure. And, of course, we're going to chat about Oprah Winfrey's final show.
Then, the spring real estate season, it is here. We're going to show you how to increase your home's curb appeal.
And a place 45 minutes from downtown Atlanta takes you millions of years away. We're going to tour and tell you about a science museum.
Finally, the Nationally Geography Bee winner, he's going to join us. We're going to put him through the test. You won't believe how hard these questions are.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So Donald Trump, he says that can he make you as rich as he is. All you need to do is sign up at his university. Right? But some students claim his school is anything but, and they want their money back.
Allan Chernoff reports New York's attorney general is now investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: At Trump University we teach success. That's what it's all about, success. It's going to happen to you.
CARMEN MENDEZ, FORMER TRUMP UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I didn't realize at that time --
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It did not happen to Carmen Mendez, a former school teacher who sank $35,000 into the Trump Gold Elite Program at Trump University.
Mendez put the expense on three credit cards, expecting Trump's Profit From Real Estate Investing course would make her rich.
MENDEZ: I thought that I'm going to be a millionaire because Donald Trump is a millionaire. And they were offering the course for people to get rich.
CHERNOFF: This is the closest Mendez got to Trump during the course, a picture of her with a picture of Donald Trump. The three-day course she claims was worth little and her personal mentor, she says, never even met with her.
MENDEZ: Not only me. A lot of people were cheated from their money because you offer something and you don't deliver, so you are stealing. That's the word, you're stealing from people.
CHERNOFF: Mendez complained to the Better Business Bureau, which last year gave Trump University a grade of D minus, one step above an F.
(on camera): Other students have also complained, which is why New York's attorney general is now investigating the Trump school for possible consumer fraud and deceptive business practices according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
(voice-over): Last year Donald Trump got into trouble with New York's Education Department, which wrote him, the use of the word "university" by your corporation is misleading and violates New York State education law.
Trump University is now Trump Entrepreneur Initiative. In a statement the Trump Initiative told CNN of the hundreds of students that took our classes in New York, 95 percent of them evaluated the course as excellent and our national average is even higher. We look forward to cooperating with the inquiry.
CHERNOFF: Ms. Mendez says she wants her money back. The Trump organization showed CNN an e-mail to Ms. Mendez from December that offers her just that. She claims she never saw the e-mail. The Trump Organization says the offer still stands.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: We're going to meet the winner of this year's geography bee in just a few minutes. He's only 13 years old. And we want to see how you do with another question. What country has the most time zones?
Here are the choices: United States, Canada, Russia, or China? We're going to have the answer in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So I asked you which country has the most time zones. It is not the United States, which ties Canada with six. It's actually Russia, which has nine. China, believe it or not, has only one for the whole country.
Well, we're all going to get a lesson in geography in just a couple of minutes from a 13-year-old. He is the new National Geographic Bee champion.
Well, CNN's reporters, anchors, producers, we always have our bags packed. Right? And we've got the inside scoop on some of the best restaurants, hotels, travel spots around the world.
Well, our CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, he takes us inside his favorite science museum.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Chad Myers, and I have a 6-year- old. And he's little, and little people like big things.
And I come here to the Tellus Science Museum in Georgia, not that far from Atlanta, to find big things -- big dinosaurs, big trucks, big airplanes. And we'll show you what you're going to see.
And by car, literally a 45-minute ride from downtown Atlanta will take you millions of years away. It might even scare you a little bit, too.
You have no idea what you're going to get around any corner, from a giant American mastodon, to the mouth of a shark that ate whales the size of a bus. And, OK, some things here are just for fun. But think about that shark taking a bite out of this tire.
OK, so maybe that truck doesn't get very good gas mileage. Like maybe one mile per gallon. But here at Tellus they do make their own power. And, in fact, of course it would have to be big!
OK, so I admit, not everything has to be big to be cool, like the inside of a cockpit of an airplane. Or, for this, an entire helicopter sitting right here that you can even look at the engine. And something that I thought was really big when I was a kid, Sputnik, that satellite? It's actually not much bigger than a beach ball.
Chad Myers, CNN, Cartersville, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown on some of the stories we're working on.
A family rushes to safety before a tornado trashes their home, but they couldn't grab the dog in time. But don't worry, the story does have a happy ending.
We're going to talk live with heart surgeon and talk show host Dr. Oz.
And at 12:35 Eastern, we're going to challenge this year's National Geography Bee winner.
And authorities responding to the growing frustration over the number of people who are still missing from the tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri. Within the past hour, public safety officials released a dramatically new figure.
Authorities say that it was 232 people who are missing, and that is based on actual missing persons reports that have been filed. That number before was somewhere in the range of 1,500.
Well, from the tornado in Joplin, the story of one man and one family's anguish over their missing son. They believe he was killed in the tornado, and now they are fighting simply to claim his body.
They told their story to CNN's John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAMMY NIEDERHELMAN, FEARS SON ZACH IS DEAD: I understand this is a federal disaster. But you know what? You're messing with a whole lot of families right now. I know my son is gone.
TONY NIEDERHELMAN, FEARS SON ZACH IS DEAD: Our son, he's sitting here watching TV and stuff. My wife called him, told him to go to the bathroom, because the storm was coming in.
After everything was over, I woke up, and I was sitting in my pickup truck in the front yard. And I had no idea how I got there.
And, you know, I kind of tried to pull myself together and remember we're trying to look for our son. And I don't remember seeing him at all.
One of the neighbors come up to us yesterday when we were over at the house trying to collect memorabilia, or whatever, and he told me that, you know, I was standing over his body when he found me, and he made sure I got to the hospital. And it wasn't 20 minutes after the storm was over that he said that, you know, our son got taken away by ambulance.
TAMMY NIEDERHELMAN: My 12-year-old son needs to be laid to rest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand. I understand exactly. But if you'd like to come in, we'll be glad to --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's other grieving family members in here who don't want --
JOHN KING, HOST, "JOHN KING USA": What do you think is happening in there?
TONY NIEDERHELMAN: I don't really know what's happening. I think, you know, it's nobody is -- has been prepared for anything like this or nobody knows what's going on. KING: To a degree, that's understandable, that it's hard to everybody at a time like this. But you've been here once, twice, already filled out paperwork.
TONY NIEDERHELMAN: We've been here -- we came here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you sign in for me? We'll send you upstairs where they can --
TAMMY NIEDERHELMAN: Where they can tell me the same thing they've been telling me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The process has changed.
TONY NIEDERHELMAN: The last count I had is 122 bodies. On Monday, they had 30. You know, I can't understand why the coroner's office cannot have, you know, maybe half of them processed and back with your loved ones, then you get closure.
TAMMY NIEDERHELMAN: So, we know that he was deceased. There was no doubt when they put him in that ambulance, you know? It's just a matter of getting somebody to actually, you know, it's like nobody has any heart around here.
TONY NIEDERHELMAN: You know, you come over here and, I mean, we want to get closure and be able to get on with our life. But we can't because we're getting jerked around over here by, I mean, these people that we feel have no compassion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: The parents were told it could be as long as two weeks before they get some resolution. And we're going to stay in touch with the family. We wish them the very best in moving forward. And obviously we offer them our condolences.
Well, We keep getting remarkable survival stories from tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri. I want you to take a look at this exclusive video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
A. COX: Sarah! Sarah, Mike! Sarah, Mike!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sarah, Mike! Mike, Sarah!
A. COX: UNIDETIFIED MALE: I'm going to check the basement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That is CNN iReporter Aaron Cox and his fiancee frantically searching for his sister Sarah and her fiance, Mike. This is just after the tornado hit. And we are relieved to report that Aaron found his sister. And I spoke with both of them just in the past hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON COX, CNN IREPORTER: We didn't know how bad it was when we first left the house. Where I was staying with my parents, it wasn't that bad. Just a few overturned trees. So, I took the camera just to see what we could see.
But the farther we got into the city, the worse and worse it got. So, by the time we had to leave the car because of all the debris and get moving, you realized it was really bad. So, I just kind of had the camera still running at the time, and so it just kind of captured it all.
MALVEAUX: What goes through your head or through your heart when you see that chilling video of your brother searching for you?
SARAH COX, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It just -- I guess I kept thinking what it would have been like for my brothers had they not been able to find me. You know, what it would have been like for them. And I'm glad they found me because I didn't want to do that to them.
MALVEAUX: Aaron, when you were looking for Sara, she had already left the house? Is that right?
A. COX: Yes. By the time we finally got in there, it took us a while to finally get to the house. We didn't know where we were. Everything was so destroyed. We had to go around to the back of the house because of that fire across the street. So, by the time we finally got in there and searched around, they had just left. And so we had heard that they had a triage unit at the Walgreen's down the street so we went there looking for them. Then pretty much just started meandering through town, trying to get cell coverage or trying to find them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Thirteen-year-old from Texas is the winner of the National Geographic Bee. We're going to meet him in just a moment.
But first, want you to see how you do with a question that actually won him the championship. So, here it is: the southern part of Mount Everest is located in which Nepalese national park? We're going to give you a minute to think about that one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TINE VALENCIC, WINNER, 2011 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE: If I had a ticket to go anywhere in the world, I would go to the French overseas department of (INAUDIBLE) to see the Piton De La Fournaise volcano.
My favorite geography fact is that Cape 2 is the only 8,000-meter mountain that has never been climbed in winter. It's cold here. It doesn't get this cold in Texas.
You see this interface cable? I just plug it in right back here, and now I just get the information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: He's got a great sense of humor. That is Tine Valencic, and he is the winner of the National Geographic Bee and the video he made for the folks at National Geographic you just saw.
Well, before the break I gave you the question that won him the $25,000 scholarship trip to the Galapagos Islands. The southern part of Mount Everest is located in which Nepalese national park? The answer? Of course we all knew this one -- right? Sagarmatha National Park.
OK. Tine, I didn't really know the answer to that. I'm glad you're with us! Congratulations. How you doing?
VALENCIC: Good. And you?
MALVEAUX: I'm good. I'm good. You must be very proud, as well as your parents and all those at Texas's Collieville Middle School.
I understand you sailed through this. Like the first part, there were 119 questions. What was it like to be out what? 5 million fourth - eighth-graders?
VALENCIC: Backstage, before the finals, I was very nervous. But then after I had my first few questions answered correctly, I just settled down and began to focus on each question one at a time.
MALVEAUX: Did you ever think you were going to win?
VALENCIC: At the start of the finals, I didn't think that I would a win. But once I had gotten down to three or four of us left, I started thinking that maybe, just maybe, I had a chance.
MALVEAUX: You had a great chance! I mean, this is pretty extraordinary. When did you first start learning about geography? When did you become interested in this?
VALENCIC: I got my first atlas when I was in kindergarten, and I was intrigued by the lines and colors on the maps. And I decided to start studying.
MALVEUAX: Now, I -
VALENCIC: So, I started studying seriously in the middle of fifth grade because I had won my school bee and I wanted to do well in the Texas State Bee.
MALVEAUX: You've done really, really well. How did you and your mom prepare for this big event here?
VALENCIC: My parents and I, we found an Internet source that contains information about all 192 countries. And then I also looked for more information about each fact listed on this Internet source.
MALVEAUX: How long did it take you? You've been studying for years?
VALENCIC: Yes. I also made it to last year's bee -- national bee, also. I fell out in the preliminary round. So, I've been studying intensely for about two years.
MALVEAUX: What was that like? I saw you crying there. You were very emotional.
VALENCIC: Yes. I put so much time into this, and to finally win it, it is a great feeling.
MALVEAUX: Well, we want to show our viewers what you're made of. We're going to give you a couple questions. Is that OK, Tine?
VALENCIC: OK.
MALVEAUX: A lot of these actually stumped us. OK. So, the first question -- where is Waterloo, site of Napoleon's famous defeat? Is it Netherlands, Belgium, France or Sweden?
VALENCIC: It's in Belgium.
MALVEAUX: Correct. You got it right. All right.
Second question -- 1 for 1 -- what is the world's southern-most national capital? Is it Wellington, New Zealand; it is Canberra, Australia; Santiago, Chile; or Buenos Aires, Argentina?
VALENCIC: It is Wellington, New Zealand.
MALVEAUX: Ah, let me check. Do we - you're right. You're absolutely right! See, I've got to check the answer myself.
OK, third question. Which continent contains the largest number of landlocked countries? South America, Australia, Africa or Europe?
VALENCIC: Africa.
MALVEAUX: Africa! Three for three. All right. Tine, you're awesome. I mean, we got - I got maybe one out of three on our staff, our team here.
But congratulations again. I understand you have, like, a $25,000 college scholarship. A lifetime membership to National Geographic Society and your trip. Where are you headed?
VALENCIC: I'm going to the Galapagos Islands.
MALVEAUX: Galapagos Islands. Any interesting tidbits about the islands you can share with us?
VALENCIC: Actually, on his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin formulated his theory of evolution there. And there are many diverse flora and fauna which are endemic to the islands.
MALVEAUX: Wow! That sounds really cool! I did not know about that. Tine, thank you again and congratulations. We wish you the very best.
VALENCIC: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Okay, thanks. I did not know that.
Well, what was it like for a friend and a colleague to see Oprah Winfrey say good-bye? We're going to find out next from Dr. Oz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: He's a heart surgeon, an author, an Emmy winner. Oprah Winfrey's viewers got to know him as Dr. Oz. He's since moved on to his own show out of New York, and that is where we find Dr. Oz today who joins us this afternoon. Thank you so much for being here with us. Really good to see you.
DR. MEHMET OZ, TV TALK SHOW HOST: Great to be on here, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: You became a household name when you started doing regular house calls on Oprah seven years ago. She's just wrapped up her show. I'm a big Oprah fan. Tell us what it was like, you know, to know her, to work with her.
DR. OZ: Well, I always kid folks that I attended Oprah University for about eight years, which is as much time as I spent in med school and college put together.
Very earnest, very authentic person. She taught me to put the audience first. And her passion, which I think came to very nicely this week in her last show was to make sure you realize that there was no place for shame. That you could be the real force in your life, you can make life better for yourself by just showing up in your own life.
I think my mantra on our show has been the exact same thing. As you know, we're taking over her spot in most of the country now that she's going off the air. It is the exact same mission that we tried to achieve for her. I promised her we'd make her proud. And Oprah, I mean it.
MALVEAUX: Well, we hope she's watching.
Now, I understand today, 4:00 to 6:00 this afternoon, you're offering free cab rides, right, for stressed out New Yorkers and free blood pressure screenings? Can you tell us a little bit about this?
DR. OZ: Well, part of the reason we're doing it in rush hour traffic is because we know how stressful that can be for New Yorkers. And I think it is really a metaphor for the rest of the country. We want to meet people where they are in their lives. Since we're making the move to 4:00, the Oprah slot in most of the country, we thought we'd celebrate it by coming to you at a stressful time, and we'll check your blood pressure.
Now, the cab rides are free, in case everyone's wondering. Blood pressure measurements are invaluable. They're free, too, obviously. But when you know your blood pressure number, which is truly the silent killer we have not paid attention to in America, the number one cause of aging in this country, you can do dramatic things to improve it. And we'll educate you in your cab ride so you'll be a lot smarter when you get out of the cab.
MALVEAUX: Yes, it's always pretty stressful, those cab rides in New York. But more seriously, there is a new study we know is out that says young people now, 24 to 32, have high blood pressure, and it is almost five times higher than originally thought.
What is happening? Why is that happening and why is it so dangerous?
DR. OZ: Well, Suzanne, let me blow your mind. I'm a heart surgeon, as you know. I still operate. And I've begun taking care of 25-year-old people who have blocked arteries. Now how could that be?
The reason is because we have so much childhood obesity in this country dramatically increasing much faster than it is in the adult population. And these kids, when they have a lot of belly fat in particular, it squeezes their kidneys, which causes high blood pressure. I mean we're talking about these cabs today. It also poisons the kid's livers, which is leading to high cholesterol numbers. And it blocks their insulin so they get diabetes.
So the belly fat that kids in America today are experiencing in unimaginable numbers are leading to early disease detection and, in my case, coronary disease, but strokes, kidney failure and the like. And that all is happening because of the blood pressure that you identified.
MALVEAUX: What should you do? How can you protect yourself from something like that happening or getting out of control?
OZ: Well, the first thing for kids to do is to recognize that they cannot control what's going on inside their bodies, they'll never control what's happening in the world outside of them. And when kids and I -- I mean we have a program called Health Corps we take into schools to try to educate kids about their bodies. It's the number one focus. It's not about weight loss, it's about mental resilience. Once you appreciate that, you recognize two important factors. One, if you cut out the white foods -- white sugar, white rice, white pasta, those white foods -- those sugars are converted by your liver into fat, which is the main reason we've gained obesity in this country.
And the second thing you absolutely have to do is stay active. Kids historically were very active. Suzanne, let me ask you question. Did you walk to school as a kid?
MALVEAUX: Well, I took the bus, but I was involved in a lot of activities after school.
OZ: That's all right, not everyone walked, but about 60 percent of our generation walk to school. Today, 10 percent of kids walk to school.
MALVEAUX: Wow. OZ: That dramatic shift in the most basic thing you do in the morning when you get up, which is you go to school, is reflected on what's going on in our schools at every different (ph) level. Physical activity often isn't reimbursed in schools, therefore schools don't afford them to kids anymore. If you don't make the varsity team, you're not going to be playing sports. But kids can beat the path to health, because they are the activists. Although we see them as our Achilles tendon, they actually are the strength of our society. They're the future and they always will be.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, Dr. Oz, we'll be watching for you in your new time slot. It's big shoes to fill but, as always, we enjoy watching you, so we will stay tuned. Thank you very much for your advice.
OZ: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: We're getting a lot of responses to today's "Talk Back" question. We asked, is a college education worth it? Well, Cacee (ph) says, "I am still in college and I have found that through the networking it is totally worth it. Then again, I haven't started paying back my loans." Carol Costello is next with your responses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Studies show that students pay an average of more than $20,000 total to attend a four-year college now. And it brings to us today's "Talk Back" question with Carol Costello with your responses.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean is a college education worth it? A lot of talk surrounding that question these days.
This from Randy. "Good luck finding a decent job with just a high school education. Oh, wait, good luck finding a decent job to begin with."
This from Jennifer. "I got a bachelor's degree in design and couldn't find work for a year. I finally looked for work in software QA testing, which is what I had 5 years experience in and no degree and found a job right away. Experience in any field pays off way more than a degree."
This from Richard. "College is worth it if the career you want requires a college degree to succeed in it. But there's no reason not to also learn a trade as a fallback. Make yourself recession proof."
And this from Joanne. "I'm not sure anymore. I spent $50k and four years and make only a hair more than what I was making before college. Kinda feelin' screwed here."
Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Carol. COSTELLO: Sure.
MALVEAUX: Well, this is a spring selling season for real estate, but it is raining foreclosures. That, of course, is driving down home prices. So, if you're trying to sell your house, our Christine Romans, author of "Smart Is The New Rich," she's got some advice on how to spruce it up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHEN SAINT ONGE, HOME AND STYLE DESIGNER: Now, when I drive up to this house, it's a great, classic American house, but it needs some attention. Obviously the garage is, you know, chipping and needs to be painted. Putting, you know, scraping and putting a fresh coat of paint will really help out with that. Plantings, cleaning out the leaves. You know, getting a leaf blower and blowing all this out. Cleaning out these flower beds. And just cleaning it up with mulch and some simple flow plantings is not going to cost a lot of money, but that focal point of drawing you into the house is really going to be key.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, AUTHOR, "SMART IS THE NEW RICH": Forget that old adage its what's on the inside that counts. In real estate, it's what's on the outside.
SAINT ONGE: You've got a great backyard.
ROMANS: Home and style designer and author of "No Place Light Home, Stephen Saint Onge helps homeowners who want to sell. He helps them redesign the inside and outside in a buyer's market.
SAINT ONGE: People tend to notice is, they notice the things that are not quite nice -- as nice looking. Like maybe it's a plant that's dying or something like that. So I would just get a nice, new plant. A flowering plant. And maybe stagger a few out here.
ROMANS: Plants won't break the bank, but a lot of sellers assume they need to make big, expensive renovations to sell their home. In fact, a quarterly report on remodels released by Harvard University projects annual growth in remodeling this year at only 0.2 percent. But the returns on some home improvements can be worth the invest.
ROMANS (on camera): The best returns on your renovation dollars are things like outdoor improvements. The front door, for example. Let's say buying and installing a fiberglass front door. It will costs you about $1,000. You'll get back 60 percent when you sell. Sixty percent of money. Make it a steel front door, you get back more, 102 percent of your money. A new garage door, you'll get back nearly 84 percent of your money. And a new wood deck? That recoups about 73 percent. All good investments.
ROMANS (voice-over): And if you can't afford any of these things, small outside touches still matter.
SAINT ONGE: So outside your house my first impression driving up, you're in a neighborhood, so obviously people are going to come here, they're going to see front lawn. So you know cleaning up a lawn is always key before a showing.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A missing loved one found in tornado trash in Piedmont, Oklahoma, today. Her name is Roxy. And you're going to watch this moment when the missing pooch and the word family are reunited. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK WOOD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Get into the basement.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the frantic moments --
WOODS: It's coming right over us. We're right in its path.
LAVANDERA: Just before Frank Wood scrambled up the stairs to his balcony and saw the tornadic beat for the first time, starring him straight in the eyes.
F. WOOD: (INAUDIBLE) and it's moving fast. It's huge!
LAVANDERA: Wood rushed his children down into the garage and locked themselves in a rock-solid reinforced safe room, but they couldn't grab the family's dog in time. A boxer named Roxy.
WOODS: She was basically just staring at me and I'm just trying -- I'm trying to get her to come in. And Davis (ph) just basically said, you've got to shut the door.
VINCENT WOOD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I thought she was just going to get sucked up by the tornado.
LAVANDERA (on camera): So it was kind of heartbreaking to close that door and leave her outside?
V. WOOD: Yes.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Time had run out.
F. WOOD: In fact, go. We gotta get it now.
LAVANDERA: Moments later, the tornado strikes the Wood's home.
F. WOOD: Here's the safe room.
LAVANDERA (on camera): That's a good thing to have.
F. WOOD: That's a very (INAUDIBLE).
LAVANDERA (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) before the tornado. Three stories tall, overlooking 12 green acres.
LAVANDERA (on camera): When you look at this house, it's amazing to think that it was once a three-story house.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The tornado shredded the top two stories. Frank Wood's pickup truck was thrown almost 300 yards into a ditch. But Roxy is nowhere to be found. And eight-year-old Paisley Wood (ph) is devastated. We climbed through the rubble to find the sky is the ceiling. Frank Wood hunting for anything that might bring a smile to his daughter's face.
F. WOOD: This is her teddy bear she got when she had her appendix out about three months ago at Children's Hospital.
LAVANDERA: But Paisley can't stop thinking about her dog.
(INAUDIBLE).
LAVANDERA: Then a phone call one day after the storm and almost two miles away from the Wood's home, David Franco, an oil rig worker, sees a dog walking around his worksite.
DAVID FRANCO, CHESAPEAKE ENERGY: As soon as I saw her, I knew -- I knew she belonged to somebody who maybe their house got destroyed.
LAVANDERA: Paisley and her family jump in their truck and race to see if it's true, that their dog had somehow managed to escape the tornado's grip. Then the moment they've been hoping for.
F. WOOD: There she's coming right now.
PAISLEY WOOD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: Roxy!
LAVANDERA: It is Roxy.
(INAUDIBLE)
F. WOOD: Bless her little heart.
LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN, Piedmont, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Good for them.
Find out more on how you can help those devastated by the tornadoes, go to cnn.com/impact. There you're going to find all the groups, organizations and ways that you can help those who are in need at cnn.com/impact.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye, who's in for Ali Velshi.
Hey, Randi.
