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Possible Terror Threat: Body Bombs; May Day and Occupy Protesters; V.P.? Christie Could Be Persuaded; May Day And Occupy Protests; Murdoch Not Fit To Run Company; Tiny Firefighter Rescues Toddler; Eating Trash

Aired May 01, 2012 - 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: Live from Washington, where it's 12:00 noon, 9:00 a.m. in the West Coast, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I want to get you up to speed for this Tuesday, May 1st.

Up first this hour, we're covering developments on two major stories:

First on the anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, word of a new potential threat, body bombs. A source confirms there is renewed concerns about bombs being implanted in passengers on flights bound for the U.S. We're going to talk with CNN national security contributor Fran Townsend.

Our other big story: May Day protests across the country and around the world. Here in the United States, the Occupy movement is behind the demonstrations. In other countries, you've got huge crowds taken to the streets to mark International Workers Day. We've got live reports from here at home, as well as overseas.

One year ago, an elite team of Navy SEALs raided a compound in Pakistan and killed the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden. Well, now, we are learning about new possible threats, including the use of bombs implanted inside the bodies of terrorists.

I want to bring in our national security contributor Fran Townsend.

Fran, first of all, tell us about this new information concern now that you have people implanted with body bombs boarding flights headed to the country.

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Suzanne, we heard about this threat just a year ago, and there was some concern. And now, I think we're learning more from the raid, from the documents found in the raid, and we see that there's on the eve of the anniversary, there were warnings issued that there was continued concern about targeting Western aviation.

This obviously poses a particular challenge to screeners. There are things that they do -- you know, screeners now get the behavioral training to look for anomalies, you have the backscatter X-ray that identify some anomalies, not necessarily internal.

But when you put them all together, including the hand swipes that most of us have been through at the airport, all of that taken together helps identify explosive residue that would be present if someone tried to insert a bomb in their body.

MALVEAUX: Fran, do we think this is a serious threat t the fact they are now using these kinds of bombs and it is so invasive here? I mean, are there weaknesses in our own security systems to deal with this kind of thing?

TOWNSEND: You know, Suzanne, while there are concerns about this, we haven't seen evidence that they have actually tried to do this. The closest thing that we know of is an attempt against Mohammad Bin Nayef, the head of the Saudi security service. That was originally reported as having been an internal bomb. It was not.

And so we haven't seen them use this. Oftentimes, they think about it. They try it. But we haven't seen them deploy it yet, and it's giving security officials the opportunity to put together this matrix of counter-measures that allows them to try to identify such a thing before somebody could get through screening.

MALVEAUX: All right. Let's talk about something else. We have new information from the FBI today about an alleged plot, a foiled plot in Ohio.

Agents say they have arrested at least five people accused of plotting to blow up a bridge near Cleveland. How was that attack thwarted and what do we know about these individuals?

TOWNSEND: Well, Suzanne, over the last year, we've seen an increasing use by law enforcement of these undercover officers who basically go through a sting operation. They identify those involved in the plot here, five individuals who wanted to blow up -- anarchists, they've been identified as anarchists who wanted to blow up this bridge.

They had -- they controlled -- the FBI controlled the explosive so that they were what's called an inert. That is they put things in it so it was never a real explosive device. The individuals actually constructed what they believed to be a C-4 explosive bomb, two of them. They placed them at the base of the bridge, they planned to remotely detonate them and they went to the trouble of making sure they were going to remotely detonate them from a place where they would have an alibi so that they could deny their involvement.

So this went pretty far. But as the FBI makes the point, because it was an undercover sting operation, there was never a real threat to the public.

MALVEAUX: And do they think that this is a small group, or are they working with other individuals? Does this represent a bigger threat or a bigger organization that's going after folks?

TOWNSEND: You know, we don't know -- we don't really know that, Suzanne. Typically, in the course of an investigation, you let that investigation run until you identify all those you believe pose a threat, and then you wrap them up all at the same time. If there is a continuing and ongoing investigation to see if this goes further, obviously the FBI hasn't said anything.

MALVEAUX: And, finally, Fran, tell us a little bit about, this is a rather bizarre case here, recent discovery of a disk that was in the underwear of an al Qaeda operative -- this disk that was discovered contained a pornographic video. But inside that pornographic video, there was more than 100 al Qaeda documents outlining future possible attacks.

What are the details about that? What do we know from that?

TOWNSEND: Well, you know, the use of pornographic material by al Qaeda is not new. Interesting, in the 2006 liquid plot using plain planes out of Heathrow Airport, we understood after the investigation that the plan was to put pornography magazines through the screeners to distract the screeners from bomb components they were trying to go through. So the use of pornography is not new.

We also know that in the bin Laden raid, .there was a tremendous amount of pornography captured there. Not clear the reasons whether he was watching it or whether it was going to be used as a ruse.

This sort of pulls it together. This now makes more sense that they would try to embed this sort of material and in pornography that might distract investigators. They may not realize it was even there.

MALVEAUX: All right. Fran Townsend, thank you very much. Appreciate it, Fran.

TOWNSEND: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Now to May Day protests. It's International Workers Day.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

MALVEAUX: You got demonstrations under way across the country, around the world. You're looking here, this one at New York. We are also seeing San Francisco, Istanbul, Havana, Moscow and Hong Kong.

Protests in American cities are part of the Occupy movement against economic inequality, started in Wall Street, spread nationwide as you recall. Organizers today are trying to rejuvenate this movement, joining these global demonstrations.

We've got reporters live on the front line to the protests in several cities.

First of all, I want to go to Poppy Harlow. She's in New York.

Poppy, give us a sense what the turnout is like there.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a lot more than it was an hour ago. We've been here since 7:00 a.m. when there were 20 people. I don't know. Take a look for yourself. I'd say somewhere in the range of 250 to 400 people here. You've got a lot of tourists, onlookers, et cetera.

Suzanne, this is big -- and this protester is telling me 50 to 700 people. So you pick the number but the group is getting bigger, they're getting ready to march.

Come with me and I'll show you what they are doing. They are getting ready to march down to Union Square. Then they are going to march on to Wall Street.

The message here is mixed but what it has been often is: economic disparity, inequality. I've seen a lot of signs that have said, CEO pay the 1 percent. You're still seeing that.

I talked this morning to a number of Occupy members and they told me what we're fighting for is a middle class. We're fighting for economic justice.

And what they said to me that stood out to me is that we will not succeed until we are the 100 percent. So, the fact that they are gathering with workers, with union workers, et cetera, they are trying to bring more people into this movement, more than were in Zuccotti Park. They are trying to make it not just about -- I guess you see some people behind us. I'm seeing dancing.

MALVEAUX: OK. All right.

HARLOW: They're trying to make it not just on about what we saw in the fall -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Poppy.

I want to go cross country now. Dan Simon in San Francisco.

Dan, it's supposed to be a test of Occupy staying power. How does it look?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, things look OK here in San Francisco. We're at the entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge. You can see, the traffic is moving OK.

But there is a heavy police presence out here today because there was concern that Occupy protesters would actually try to shut down the Golden Gate Bridge. We haven't seen evidence of that. But you do have police on hand.

Meanwhile, there are some problems for people who live in Marin County, specifically in the communities of Larkspur and Sausalito. Workers who operate the ferries out of those towns are on strike this morning. Some people need another way to get to work or they just stay home.

We also saw problems last night in the mission district in San Francisco, there was some vandalism. Protesters got an early start, about 9:00 at night. Usually, they do things after midnight, but 9:00.

They started busting windows. They also went to the local police station. There's some graffiti over there.

Right now, things looking OK, but we'll keep an eye on it. Back to you.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Dan.

Los Angeles now. Casey is joining us live from the airport at LAX.

Casey, what's the situation where you are?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, you can see behind me a group of workers who's gathered here to begin pickets. They are part of a group that is called a One Day Strike here at Los Angeles International Airport. What they are upset about today in the short-term is the fact that some of the airlines here at Los Angeles International Airport are using non-union subcontracted labor, to do things like clean airplanes inside the airplanes, and they want those jobs to go to union workers and they want higher wages.

Right now, it's a very small group. In a couple of hours, we are expecting a much larger group. They say they are going to try to disrupt airport operations. Los Angeles police officials have been aware for a couple of weeks and preparing for that. Of course, they believe they can stop that from happening.

We do know that 18 of these protesters have agreed to engage in some unspecified sort of civil disobedience, which means they will likely be arrested. We saw a group of police officers arriving here just a few minutes ago with plastic ties, definitely preparing to arrest people if things start to get out of hand.

Later this afternoon these workers are going to go to downtown Los Angeles where they are going to join a much larger groom -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Casey, thanks.

Oversea, they've got a big turnout in Turkey. I want to bring in Ivan Watson. He's joining us live from Istanbul.

Ivan, this is a pretty diverse group of demonstrators there. What are -- what are the messages that they are trying to send?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are pretty diverse mix, Suzanne. I mean, hard to believe a few hours ago there were tens of thousands of people behind me. The whole square in central Istanbul shut down with an eclectic group of leftists, labor unions, environmentalists, women's rights activists, Kurdish nationalists, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender activists, even a new Islamist group that was protesting against capitalism.

Basically, anybody who had a voice, wanted to have their voice expressed was out here and that's a big change from this country. May Day demonstrations were banned in this square for 30 years, Suzanne, up until a couple years ago when the government started to allow to the take place. I have seen running battles with tear gas and police and demonstrators in years gone by. Today, mostly peaceful.

And a stark difference from European capitals, countries like France and Greece and Portugal, which have been hit hard by a financial crisis and economic recession, Turkey's economy has grown by 8.5 percent the last year so that the people here, they are criticizing their government, calling for their own diverse array of agendas, but they're not worried about these austerity programs that are hitting Western European countries right now -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Ivan Watson, out of Istanbul, thank you.

Obviously, you're looking at May Day, as well as Occupy protests around the country and around the world.

Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering.

First, finding organ donors on Facebook. A new push by the social networking giant could change the face of medicine, as well as save lives. Delta Airlines wants to cut fuel costs by buying an oil refinery.

And President Obama ratchets up the attacks on Mitt Romney by targeting his Swiss bank account. We're going to show the new ad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: I want to get you up to speed on our top stories.

The FBI has arrested five people accused of plotting to destroy a bridge near Cleveland. The suspects allegedly conspired to get their hands on C-4 explosives to build two bombs. They are charged with conspiracy, attempting to use explosives. And agents say the explosive material was not operational, that the public was never in danger.

The one-year anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, word of another potential threat: body bombs. A source confirms his renewed concern about bombs being implanted in passengers on flights bound for the U.S. The government official says steps are being taken to guard against this threat. It includes increasing security on flights heading to the U.S. from the Middle East, the U.K. and other parts of Europe.

So, if you need to update your Facebook status you can choose organ donor as an option. The status is going to appear with other personal information in a section called health and wellness.

Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK FOUNDER: Recently, you know, when the tornados came through in Missouri, a lot of people were using Facebook to organize and return items that were lost. In Japan, people are using Facebook to locate friends and family.

So, we figured, OK, well, could we do anything that would help people solve other issues, like all of the people who need organ donation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Pretty cool.

So, would you want to see a plane crash from inside the cabin as it happens? Well, a TV crew, they did and they intentionally crashed a passenger jet in a desert. No one was hurt of course. The pilot ejected minutes before impact, and the crash dummies were belted in as passengers.

Producers say the series will explore questions about how to make plane crashes more survivable. The episode is set to air later this year on the Discovery Channel.

Gas prices getting you down? Try making your own fuel. That's right. Delta Airlines solution, that is their solution for cutting costs. Find out what it could mean for the price at the pump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Next time you're standing at the gas pump, filling up your tank, realizing it's going to cost you an arm and leg, you might start thinking wow, wouldn't it be great to have your own refinery. Well, you might not be able to afford one. But, certainly, Delta can. So, it's going to be making its own fuel.

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, tell us a little about this. Delta spends what, more than $11 billion last year, buying fuel. And so, now, they are purchasing -- what are they purchasing today? How do they hope to save money?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are pretty much buying the cow, right, to supply the milk. Delta is buying an oil refinery, Suzanne, for $150 million. I want to show you where it is because this is an important part of it.

They are buying this refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania. That's right near Philadelphia. And what that does is it gives delta this pipeline access to New York's big airport so this oil can be refined there and then delivered to these big hubs like JFK and LaGuardia.

Now, what this refinery is going to do it's going to use oil that Delta purchases from BP and it's going to refine it at its own refinery into jet fuel. And for Delta, Suzanne, this is a big deal because making its own jet fuel will save Delta $300 million a year. And this is important because jet fuel is Delta's biggest cost.

Before it went ahead and bought this refinery, Delta bought fuel, you know, like it bought peanuts -- from somebody else. So, it was at the mercy of speculation in the oil market. And if Delta didn't buy the fuel, they couldn't fly. They need it. So it they have no choice but to pay the going rate, the going price that they were quoted.

Well, now, Delta is trying to control that by taking the oil traders right out of the equation --Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So, Alison, you know, we're still getting our peanuts now on Delta, that's a good thing. Everybody wants to know whether or not is this going to make any difference in the cost of the ticket? Does this mean our ticket prices are going to go down or is this more profits for Delta?

KOSIK: And that's what everybody wants to know. And to be honest I think it's too soon to say, because in theory, you know, if Delta does cut its fuel costs, it could sure wind up passing those savings along to us.

But I got to tell you that's a big if because the airline industry is very, very volatile and it's kinds of at the mercy of the economy. How the economy is doing. You know, you think about what happened to the industry after 9/11, after the recession, you saw airlines went bankrupt, they merged, cut flights.

So, what you may se Delta doing is stock piling cash and if Delta does wind up giving a little back by cutting prices it probably won't be for a while. Delta isn't going to start refining this fuel until the end of summer.

MALVEAUX: Do we think any of the other airlines are going to follow suit?

KOSIK: That's a good question, because, you know, when you see these airlines, they often follow each other in many other ways. We see ticket price goes up, even with union negotiations. But this is really going to depend on how successful Delta is.

Also, think about it. It's a huge investment and other carriers -- they may not be able to afford. So, what they may do is kind of sit back and, you know, see how Delta, how this works for Delta, then maybe decide. Of course they have to check their own bank accounts to see if they have enough to buy their own refineries -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes, check your bank account first.

All right. Thank you, Alison. Good to see you.

KOSIK: You got it.

MALVEAUX: So will Americans vote for a candidate with a Swiss bank account? That is Obama campaign's latest strategy to attack Mitt Romney. Well, is it going to backfire? We're going to throw to our political panel, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on next.

Silver spoons, Swiss bank accounts, accusations of class warfare, both sides ramping up the attacks in the fight for the White House.

Then, you don't have to be tall, to be tough. How a tiny hero saved a child trapped in a storm drain.

And later, heads are rolling in the British hacking scandal and the ruler after media empire may have been knocked off his throne.

On the anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, debate over politicizing this mission. It's a red hot topic. Republicans have criticized President Obama over political ad highlighting his decision to order the raid. But now, Mitt Romney, he is firing back.

I want to bring in our political team to talk about that and much, much more. Democratic Simon Rosenberg, founder and president of NDN. It's a think tank here in Washington. And Republican Chris Metzler, he's professor at Georgetown.

So I want both of you to listen in. This is Mitt Romney talking about this whole bin Laden issue and this was on CBS morning news earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You begin with this: Romney wouldn't have gone after Osama bin Laden. These silly kinds of attacks, it's like what has that got to do with getting our economy growing. Of course, I would have taken out Osama bin Laden, but what's the right course for the economy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Simon, do we think that this is going to resonate? Do people really care about this hypothetical scenario over what Romney would have done? Or are they focused on what is affecting their lives?

SIMON ROSENBERG, NDN: This is absolutely fair game. I mean, in the last residential election, there was a big debate what to do about Osama bin Laden. Barack Obama made it clear that he was willing to go into Pakistan and upset the Pakistanis if he had actionable intelligence. He actually did it as president.

Mitt Romney during that same period criticized President Obama, said that was the wrong action, he would never go into Pakistan without Pakistan's approval.

And on this one, Barack Obama was right, Mitt Romney was wrong. This is a core national security issue and this is something that is completely fair game in the presidential debate. And I am shocked the Romney campaign is crying foul in something this central to the national security of the country.

MALVEAUX: Chris, Simon is shocked here. What do you make of Simon's shock?

CHRIS METZLER, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Shock. Shock and awe.

ROSENBERG: Yes.

METZLER: I think there are a couple of things here. First of all, the issue is not the fact that Romney has called this out. The issue is certainly, the president deserves credit for what he did relative to Osama bin Laden. That's not the issue.

The issue is going back and saying, we're not sure that, in fact, Romney would have done the same. That's the political aspect of it.

But I do think that, in fact, Romney is right. Look, we are concerned about jobs. We are concerned about the economy.

Here's the problem. The problem is, the more the president runs away from his record, and that's the issue, the issue here is the president has a record to run on this time, and he's running away from this.

MALVEAUX: But, Chris, can you blame the president for using the national security issue to his advantage here because he has had numerous successes and the latest of which was the bin Laden capture and kill here. I mean, doesn't it make sense that he would highlight that?

METZLER: Well, highlight it, yes. But I think -- here's the thing. Highlight it, yes. But to question what in fact a President Romney would have done? That for me is the problem.

So, absolutely, you should highlight it. I'm not suggesting that he shouldn't. But in fact, to politicize it by questioning -- keep in mind this is the same president who was concerned that Hillary called him out with the 3:00 a.m. ad. We didn't know what he would do as president. Just like we don't know what Romney would do as president. That's the issue.

ROSENBERG: We actually do, Suzanne --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Let's just turn the corner here for a moment and talk about a potential running mate for Romney. We saw that the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, he says, OK, I'm not interested but he might be -- Romney might be able to persuade him.

Listen to this.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: -- the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, he says OK, I'm not interested but he might be -- Romney might be able to persuade him. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: What I said before I have no interest in being vice president, but if Governor Romney called and asked me to talk to him about it I'd listen. You owe the nominee of your party that level of respect and who know what is he's going to say. He might be able to convince me. He's a convincing guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Simon, he might be able to convince him. What would a Chris Christie running mate do for Romney?

SIMON ROSENBERG, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, NDN: We're going to go through this. Mitt is auditioning his various future vice presidential picks. I mean, we've seen him in New Hampshire. We saw Marco Rubio campaign with him.

You know, he's got time to make his decision. My own view is that Rob Portman seems to have the inside track. He makes the most sense demographically. You know, the Midwest is a big problem area for the Republicans right now.

Much more so than they thought. I don't think Christie brings a lot to the ticket. It's my own view on this, but I'm sure my colleague's got his own take on this.

CHRIS METZLER, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Actually, we agree.

MALVEAUX: Do you really? You agree on this one? Why?

METZLER: Because here's the thing. I think in terms of Chris Christie, you know, in a campaign you have to have surrogates. I think that in fact Christie would make an excellent surrogate, very energetic, got to love the guy.

He is who he is, but I think in terms of putting him on the ticket not so much. I don't think that works. I think he is probably 18 better place as a surrogate than as a VP.

I think Portman is absolutely an excellent choice, Portman, Mitch Daniels, those are the kind of people you need. I don't think that Chris Christie is it.

MALVEAUX: So Chris Christie, you know, he should stick with the original line, no thank you instead of well, maybe.

METZLER: That's the best way to get the job is to say you don't want it. MALVEAUX: Yes, exactly. Real quick here. Let's look at the latest Obama ad targeting Romney and this Swiss bank account. Let's watch it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about Mitt Romney? As a corporate CEO, he shipped American jobs to places like Mexico and China. As governor, he outsourced state jobs to a call center in India.

He's still pushing tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. It's just what you expect from a guy that had a Swiss bank account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right, I got to wrap this up real quick here. Simon, is he overplaying his hand here?

ROSENBERG: No. This is a big problem for Mitt Romney. Two reasons. One is that they are -- looks like Mitt Romney spent years evading paying U.S. taxes that's why he won't release his returns.

Second of all, the reason why when you apply for a government job you have to give your tax returns to the government, is to make sure there are no things that compromise national security. Mitt Romney has to release his returns. It's a security issue for the country. He's going to do it. It's a question of when.

MALVEAUX: All right, Simon, Chris, got to leave it there. Good to have you both. Thanks.

A little boy falls 20 feet down a storm drain and only one firefighter is small enough to squeeze in and pull him out. We'll show you the rescue.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: It's time now for the "Help Desk" where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour is Greg Olsen is a certified financial planner and Partner Advisors.

Lynette Khalfani-Cox is the founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com. Guys, thanks for being here. Greg, first to you from Maloy in Atlanta.

Maloy wrote in, I purchase mid home 20 months ago and currently have a 30-year fixed loan at 4.475 percent. Should I consider refinancing?

GREG OLSEN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: You should consider it. I mean, recent drop in interest rates might make that be a smart idea. The first thing you should do is look to maybe do a modification with your bank because that would be the least expensive option.

Should that not be available look to do a refinance, but calculate the refinancing costs and see how long the savings on a monthly basis will take to you recoup the refinancing cost.

HARLOW: So you have to think about the cost. Absolutely, thank you. Lynette, your question is from Phil in Colorado. Phil wrote in, I'm 69 years old and have a large portion of my savings invested in mutual funds. How should I allocate my assets?

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Well, tough to give specific advice without knowing his full financial picture. But I would say two things for somebody who is 69 and thinking about their investment strategy.

Too often I think older people retirees or pre-retirees go a little too conservative. Obviously, they want to preserve their principle, but you have to think about the fact that we're all living longer than ever.

So you could live potentially decades in retirement. So you want to be broadly diversified. You want to have growth to power your portfolio so don't just think it has to be CDs or money market accounts, very, you know, conservative fix income investments exclusively.

Make sure you do have a mix of stocks in there as well. Stocks, bonds, cash, obviously you've got to get the right asset allocation. You need a professional to sit down and review your situation.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Thank you both. If you've got questions you want answered send us an e-mail anytime to the CNN "Help Desk" at cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Today is May 1st. It is May Day known around the world as International Workers Day commemorating the historic struggle of working people.

Here in the United States, May Day is typically not even recognized though it began in Chicago, the 1880s the fight for an eight-hour work day.

This year, "Occupy Wall Street" movement has called for May Day protests. Demonstrations in New York, "Occupy" organizers have joined the immigrant rights movement, the labor movement and student movement across the country to demand economic justice.

Former White House adviser Van Jones, he's a supporter of the "Occupy" movement. He is also president and founder of "Rebuild The Dream," it's a platform for folks to restore good jobs and economic opportunity.

So, Van, good to see you. I understand you have a book out as well entitled "Rebuild the Dream." You are watching this?

VAN JONES, PRESIDENT AND COFOUNDER, REBUILD THE DREAM: Bestseller. MALVEAUX: A shameless plug there, Van. Let's talk about what's happening. You've got these protests across the country. What happened to this movement, the "Occupy" movement? It almost seems like it spurted, grew, then it dropped off the map. Now, we see them again. What's the point of today?

JONES: Well, you wonder why these people are out protesting. It's pretty simple. The occupation of Wall Street by the protesters did come to an end in the fall.

But the occupation by Wall Street and other big money interests of the nation's capital is ongoing. You have thousands of lobbyists in Washington, D.C. right now that are keeping the people's business from going forward.

And as long as you have the job problem that we've got, education being unaffordable, the housing crisis on going, there is still this pent up desire for change.

And people cannot figure out how to be heard so this is -- they said in the spring they are going to come back. Now the movement's back.

MALVEAUX: So Van, what do you do with that, what do you do with this pent up desire to change the system or change what's happening on Wall Street here? I mean, some folks would look at it and say where is the change? How do you make things happen?

JONES: Well, I'm with an organization called rebuildthedream.com, there are a lot of organizations, new bottom line out there, the domestic workers alliance as well as Occupy, one of the things we're looking at the three main spring boards that used to get you out of poverty into the middle class have become trap doors in the middle class into poverty.

Look at jobs, look at education, look at housing, the job numbers are getting better, but the jobs are getting worse. The jobs are these crappy service sector jobs, the student loans now look at these young people protesting.

Every kid graduating this spring is looking down the barrel of 6.8 percent interest rate on student loans. It's a doubling of the student loan debt. The president said it's wrong. Even Romney says it's wrong, but Congress is doing nothing about it.

In fact, the Republicans say they won't give the kids tuition relief or scholarship support or any loans unless they can raid the mammogram fund and take women's health away.

D.C. is totally kind of crashed into itself and the problems keep getting worse. That's why people are protesting. They don't see any action on the problems they care about.

MALVEAUX: So here's my question here. They don't see action. We're looking at these pictures. It's very impressive to see these groups, the numbers, the kind of passion that people have. This is across the country, across the world, but is it about bringing attention to the issues today? How do you move it beyond today, beyond the protests aspect of this?

JONES: Well, I can only speak for my organization at "Rebuild the Dream," we have a campaign at rebuildadream.com to do something about the student loan rate that might double.

There are campaigns up about that. New bottom line and rebuild the dream are working to get Fannie and Freddie to cut the principle on some of the underwater mortgages.

When you pay your mortgage, you used to be building wealth for your family now you're draining wealth. A quarter of our homes are under water. Eleven million families are paying money into a house they will never get out.

So there are real solutions throughout that are not being push forward. That's why people are protesting.

MALVEAUX: So far they have been peaceful protest. Is there any fear, any concern, that we might see the same kind of pictures where you have these clashes between these protesters and police and things got ugly the last go round?

JONES: Well, listen. You never know in these situations. You could have protesters that take things too far. You could have law enforcement overreact, take things too far. There have been some reports that there have been some pre-emptive actions of the law enforcement that it may not be constitutional.

We won't know all of the details until tomorrow or the next day. But what we do know is tomorrow or the next day, we still will have job numbers going up and job quality going down, student interest rates about to go up and homeowners' wealth going down and not doing anything.

Until you see the occupation by Wall Street of Washington, D.C. change, and the lobbyists get met with some real people's power we will continue to have protests.

MALVEAUX: All right, Van Jones, good to see you as always.

Rupert Murdoch, one of the most powerful men in modern media may have been brought to his knees by the British parliament.

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MALVEAUX: Big headline out of England today. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is not fit to run his own company. That is the harsh assessment coming from British lawmakers who are investigating phone hacking at Murdoch's now defunct "News of the World" tabloid. I want to bring in our Michael Holmes to talk a little bit more about this.

And, Michael, this report is really pretty damming here. Referring to Murdoch, investigators said, and I'm quoting here, "he turned a blind eye and exhibited willful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications. This culture we consider permeated from the top throughout the organization and speaks volumes about the lack of effective corporate governance at News Corporation and News International." What does this mean for Murdoch now?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, after 50 years in the business, a bit of a slap in the face. It was actually far more damming than a lot of people expected from this committee. Interesting, what -- the line about not a fit and proper person to run a major company. That did come from the labor side of this committee. There was a little bit of, along party lines going on when it came to that one line. But the general report itself is damming enough.

One of the big questions now being asked is whether -- you remember, BSkyB, British Sky Broadcasting, a hugely profitable satellite company that Rupert Murdoch has 39 percent of, he was going for the entire company recently. He backed of doing that because of the hacking scandal. Now the question is being asked whether regulatory authorities will decide whether the company should keep its license. If that were to happen, the whole company goes belly up. That BSkyB, anyway.

MALVEAUX: That's a huge development. News Corp. issued a statement says they acknowledge wrongdoing at the tabloid and apologizing for invading folks privacy, right? But that's not the last of this.

HOLMES: Oh, this has got a long, long way to run. This is just one committee. There's another committee that -- an inquiry that's underway. The Leveson inquiry, which is looking into a whole other aspect of the hacking and the ethics involved at News Corp. too. You know, you've got so much going on. It's a long and bumpy road ahead. You've got the Leveson inquiry. You've got three separate police inquiries going on at the moment. Some 40 people have been arrested. Not charged yet, but arrested and questioned over this, including a number of senior executives. You've got the off com (ph) looking into the --

MALVEAUX: Right.

HOLMES: Whether he's going to be a fit and proper person to hold that license. There's more hacking victims filing suit. And there's even some rumblings among large institutional investors that at the next AGM whether they will call for a change at the top. So this has got a lot of legs.

MALVEAUX: And, Michael, to kind of wrap this up here, when somebody as powerful a figure as Murdoch is said not to be fit to run a company, what do you think that means for him, someone who is as powerful and prideful as he is?

HOLMES: Powerful, prideful, some would say arrogant and enormously powerful and somebody who has always -- I mean, you know, he's Australian. I grew up with Murdoch Publications all around me as a journalist, a young journalist in Australia. This is a man who rules his companies with an iron fist. Enormous pride in what he does. He took his dad's company, a newspaper, and built it into what we see today as News Corporation.

This is insulting and demeaning to him. He will be taking this very hard indeed. The criticism is broad. Worth remembering that one line about fit and proper person did go along party lines in this committee. But this would shake him to his core. He has so much self confidence and pride in himself that this has got to hurt.

MALVEAUX: All right, Michael Holmes. Thank you very much, Michael.

A little boy fall 20 feet down a storm drain and only one firefighter is small enough to squeeze in and pull him out. We're going to show you the rescue.

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MALVEAUX: 4'11" tall firefighter really saved the day in Atlanta. She was the only one small enough to crawl down a storm drain to save a toddler. Carl Willis from affiliate WSB, he's got the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were able get down there and pull him --

KESHA BROWN, GRANDMOTHER: Oh, wow. I just have to thank God. I love them. I'm just, you know, relieved they were -- oh.

CARL WILLIS, WSB REPORTER (voice-over): That sigh of relief is from the grandmother of this lucky little guy, two-year-old Darnell Brown, after he fell down this drain on Bryant Street in East Point Sunday night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a concrete casing about 20 feet deep and about a foot around.

WILLIS: Out of all the big burly firefighters working to rescue Darnell, only one measured up.

BATT. CHIEF MICHAEL WEBB, EAST POINT FIRE DEPARTMENT: And with all the equipment we had, our smallest firefighter ended up being the one that we load (ph) in the hole.

WILLIS: At 4'11", Rosa Tullis was the perfect fit.

ROSA TULLIS, FIREFIGHTER: It was tight. But as you can see, I'm really small.

WILLIS: Firefighters say Darnell was sitting with his father when he accidentally slipped and fell. By the time Rosa got to him, she had to put all of her skills to the test.

TULLIS: It was kind of hard to manipulate him, because he was afraid and he was just grabbing me. So I couldn't bring him up. I had to push him up over my head.

WILLIS: Once back on top, Darnell only had a few cuts and bruises. And for this secret weapon of the East Point Fire Department, it's a special rescue in more ways than one.

TULLIS: I have boys. So it's kind of personal. And it just makes it all worth, you know, coming to work and being dropped down a hole to be able to hand them their baby back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: She is amazing. That was Carl Willis with CNN affiliate WSB reporting. And, by the way, little Darnell, treated at the hospital for cuts and bruises, now released.

Hunger and desperation in Manila lead to extreme measures. Kids are now getting their daily food from the garbage.

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MALVEAUX: So would you eat food from the trash? In the Philippines, many of the poor are forced to go to that extreme, living off what is called pagpag, old chicken scraps found in the garbage. Kyung Lah reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fried chicken. A staple of a fast food diet in the Philippines. Meal over, it disappears off the tray into the trash. When night falls, the restaurants closed. That trash makes its way here to Felipa Fabon.

LAH (on camera): What are you doing here?

LAH (voice-over): "Sorting the garbage," she says, "looking for pagpag." Pagpag, food made from fast food garbage scraps. She's paid just over $1 to a trash dealer for these bags.

LAH (on camera): Do you think it's still good to eat?

LAH (voice-over): "Yes," she says. "This one, this is meat." As feral cats compete for her garbage, Fabon tells me pagpag is safe.

LAH (on camera): You don't think children will get sick eating it?

FELIPA FABON: No. No.

LAH (voice-over): "The chicken smells bad," says Fabon the next morning. She's brought her find back home.

LAH (on camera): How many people will this feed today?

LAH (voice-over): "A lot," she says. "I will sell out in minutes."

Her first customer, Morena Sumanda. She buys it for about five U.S. cents. An entire day's pay for her family. She washes it, readies her pot, prepares the vegetables, and then fries it. Her toddler son Nino begs to eat it. LAH (on camera): Do you know where it comes from?

LAH (voice-over): "Yes," she says.

LAH (on camera): Where does it come from?

LAH (voice-over): "Sometimes it comes from the garbage."

LAH (on camera): You may be wondering, how can one person eat another person's garbage? Well, in this case, the food chain is following the economic chain. These people, these children, they are at the very bottom. They live in shanties and their view is of a garbage site.

LAH (voice-over): Manila's garbage comes here, a 30 minute drive from the wealthy downtown to these outskirts. They live in it and they eat it.

MELISSA ALIPALO, PCF VOLUNTEER: The poor always have fewer choices. They always have -- the resort -- their last resorts are so beyond our imagination.

LAH (on camera): Like this?

ALIPALO: Like this.

LAH (voice-over): Melissa Alipalo is with the Philippine Community Fund. The not for profit built this the school hoping to lift the children out of the garbage. But the school learned books weren't enough. Students daily were sick and worm infested from pagpag. PCF now feeds their 450 students two meals a day during the school year, but it's a constant battle for funding and to convince parents to find other usually more costly ways to feed their children. Nino's mother makes no excuses. This is what she can afford and is better than nothing.

"By the mercy of God," she says, "this is enough."

Kyung Lah, CNN, Manlia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)