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New Day

Student Protestors and Police Clash in Mexico; Sia Figiel's Weight Loss Journey; Billionaire Says Skip College, Become a Plumber; Delta Airlines Losses Passenger's Dog

Aired November 12, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Rosa Flores has more for us from Mexico.

Good morning, Rosa.

Tell us, are the protests growing there this morning?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know they are. Tensions are really high, Alisyn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): It looks and sounds like a war zone. But it's a clash between student protesters and federal police in the Guerrero state capital in which a government building was torched, all in response to the disappearance of 43 college students more than five weeks ago.

FLORES (on camera): The situation is very tense right now between the protesters and federal police. Now take a look, on one side of this bridge are federal police officers. They've been firing rubber bullets. On the other side, you've got the protesters. They've been firing back with fireworks, rocks, you name it, sticks, and it's not stopping.

FLORES (voice-over): This boiled over tension fueled by inconclusive news of the whereabouts of the missing. Angry protesters, not standing down, continuing their advance across this bridge. More than 70 arrests have been made, including a mayor and his wife. Parents have been told their children are dead and that three other suspects have confessed to the killings, but authorities have not provided conclusive DNA evidence and parents refuse to believe the students are dead.

FLORES (on camera): They feel like there's nothing that they can do. (speaking in foreign language). There's no hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Si (ph).

FLORES (voice-over): In the chaos, CNN cameras catch a mob surrounding a police officers with some of the protesters saying, "leave him alone, leave him alone." A standoff that would end with police pulling back as protesters move forward.

FLORES (on camera): He said that at the end - at the end of the day they want the 43 alive, back home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Of course they want their 43 children back home and this story, Rosa, is so inconceivable to us here in the U.S. that 43 college students could have just been abducted without a trace. Do we know why these students were targeted in the first place?

FLORES: You know, we've been digging into that answer, Alisyn, and we have been able to find some information from federal authorities. It turns out -- now all of this according to federal authorities -- there's a history here. So these students were part of a protest, a demonstration in the city of Iguala in the summer of 2013. And so, according to federal authorities, when the mayor found out that the students were coming to his town, while his wife was delivering a speech, he really didn't like that and so federal authorities say that that's when he picked up the phone and called police and asked police to stop them. And then, of course, we know the rest of the story, according to federal authorities, then these police officers shoot and kill about three people allegedly, and then turn them over to a cartel. And so it's a part of the plot that's fascinating because it shows us that there's a little history here.

CAMEROTA: Yes, but the idea that the mayor, to quell a protest, would have 43 college students abducted and then possibly murdered, it's so disgusting. And, of course, the protesters there today don't trust government officials because that mayor and his wife have now been arrested.

FLORES: And, you know, it's even deeper than that. Not only at the city level, but at the state level and at the federal level. And so these protesters are saying, we don't trust what the government is telling us. We don't trust what the attorney general is telling us. You know, the other thing that we learned is that there are Argentinean forensic experts that are helping with the identification of remains because they have found mass graves, and there are several that they had been testing because federal authorities had said that there's a possibility that these were the students.

Well, they came out and said that they tested at least part of the remains of some of those mass graves and they came back saying, no, they're not them. And so they're still working on these latest remains that they have found. And so it's been a roller coaster of emotion for these families to receive inconclusive news over and over.

CAMEROTA: Of course. And the fact that they can't -- they don't trust, of course, the cartels. They're in danger from the cartels. But then also that they would be in danger from the mayor and his wife and government officials.

Rosa Flores, thank you so much for all the information on the ground. We will continue to cover this story, of course.

Let's go over to Michaela for more news.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's give you the five things you need to know for your new day.

An historic deal with the United States and China agreeing to sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades. Moments ago President Obama landed in Myanmar, on the next leg of his three-country swing through the Asia-Pacific.

NATO says Russian combat troops were spotted entering eastern Ukraine. The cease-fire between both sides already crumbling as intense fighting continues between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian troops.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says he is willing to call in the National Huard again to deal with any fallout from a grand jury's decision in the Michael Brown shooting. Nixon says a repeat of this summer's violence will not be tolerated.

Congress beginning its lame duck session today. The Keystone oil pipeline getting some attention. Democrats may call from a vote to boost support for Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu in her runoff, which is next month.

An historic mission 10 years in the making. The (INAUDIBLE) lander is on decent to touch down on a moving comet, expected in about two hours' time. Simple enough, right? Just land the probe on that comet traveling at 34,000 miles an hour.

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

Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Mic, time for today's "Human Factor." We meet a woman who has been a transformational journey. She lost 100 pounds on her own, then dropped another 100 pounds as part of CNN's Fit Nation Challenge. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta follows the inspiring journey. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At over 400 pounds, Sia Figiel was revered in her Samoan culture.

SIA FIGIEL: I was considered by people a Samoan woman of strength, but there is no strength in pain, in hurt, in living with uncontrolled diabetes.

GUPTA: Complications from her diabetes even forced her to have all of her teeth removed.

FIGIEL: It was on that same day that I decided to be an activist against obesity and diabetes.

GUPTA: Already an acclaimed author, she used her platform to become a crusader, speaking to schoolchildren and parents about the dangers of obesity. To jumpstart her own weight loss, she joined the 2014 CNN Fit Nation team and began training for the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. In eight months, she lost only lost weight by swimming, biking and running, she also gained a lot of confidence. On September 14th, she became a triathlete.

FIGIEL: I just feel like I'm a new person. I feel like I've been rebirthed. I've been baptized.

GUPTA: Not even a nasty bike crash could keep Figiel from reaching the finish line.

FIGIEL: And they wanted to take me in the emergency vehicle, but I said I can't do that. May family's out there. My team's out there. I cannot ride in a car. I came to do a race!

GUPTA: She finished the race with her team by her side.

FIGIEL: My team was there. I mean the sassy (ph) were there. And they brought me in.

GUPTA: More than 100 pounds lighter now, she's not ready to stop.

FIGIEL: I'll do it again.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Malibu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: That-a-girl.

CUOMO: Boy, oh, boy, there's no better science than the demonstration of change, you know?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: And for her to have done that, that is not easy. It's hot. It's a mile swim, it's a 26-mile bike and then it's a six-mile run.

CAMEROTA: Wow, I'm exhausted thinking about it. That's impressive.

PEREIRA: She's inspirational, that's for sure. Way to go.

CAMEROTA: Yes, it truly is.

CUOMO: Good for her.

CAMEROTA: That's great.

All right, this hot topic, thinking of going to college? It may not be worth it. One of the richest men in America says save your cash and become a plumber. We will debate that.

CUOMO: Plus, what would you do if an airline lost your dog? Not your suitcase -- that sucks bad enough -- your dog? It happened to one man from Tampa. We're going to talk to him live and get the full story and find out where that pooch is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CUOMO: For generations now we've had kids fighting with their parents about whether or not to go to college. For some, it was a dream come true. For others, it was like a big moment of doubt. But now there's a new twist. It's so expensive now and the job market being what it is, is it worth the cost? One of America's richest men is saying, not necessarily. This comes again as the news of skyrocketing tuition and how hard it is to get debt and how hard it is to pay it off and everything else that goes along with college is just as prohibitive as ever, going much faster than the cost of living or any type of inflation adjustment.

CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: So, what to do? Chief business correspondent Christine Romans is here to explain.

Should I go to college?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you should go back to school. I think you definitely should, Chris.

No, look, this is Michael Bloomberg we're talking about. He is a billionaire. He's the former mayor of New York City. He said that college might not be worth it for everyone. He was at the annual meeting of a Wall Street trade group. This is exactly what he said. "Today, if your kid wants to go to college or become a plumber, you've got to think long and hard. If he's not going to go to a great school and he's not super smart academically but is smart in terms of dealing with people and that sort of thing, being a plumber is a great job because you have pricing power, you have an enormous skill set." He also said, you could pay a year's tuition at Harvard, about, you know, $58,000, including room and board, and make that much in a year as an apprentice plumber.

And, remember, Bloomberg went to Johns Hopkins University and to Harvard Business School, which brings me to another point here. There are a lot of people who have been saying college isn't worth it. Many of those people have a college degree or happen to be very exclusive and accomplished in the economy. I say college is worth it with an asterisk. If you drop out of school with a bunch of student loan debt, college is not worth it. If you study something that the economy's not going to reward, college is not worth it.

A couple of numbers to give you. Forty-four percent of students in college don't graduate within six years. For them, college is not worth it. $30,000 annual price of a four-year private college. If you're borrowing a bunch of money for that, it might not be worth it. And 51 percent of new grads jobs don't require a degree. For those, college is not worth it.

CAMEROTA: Right. There's a sea change, I feel, happening in the country because before it was just -- if you were middle class or even lower class student, that was the path. You had --

ROMANS: The great equalizer, right. CAMEROTA: The great equalizer. You had to go to college and you were going to make something of yourself. Something has changed and it's the debt that you're going to be saddled with and you do have to crunch those numbers now.

ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE) debt. But Chris makes a good point, what are we people doing in college? What are we doing in college? What -

CUOMO: What are the numbers between the average money made by a college graduate and the average money made by a successful tradesperson? Maybe the - who owns --

ROMANS: Oh, well, a successful tradesperson is going to do very well. Those are ladder jobs. I mean plumbers, electricians, you know, coders. You don't need to go to college to be a computer coder. Those people are making a ton of money. The trade - I mean I love the trade jobs. Like Mike Rowe from "Somebody's Gotta Do it."

CUOMO: Mike Rowe is huge on this. He has a foundation for it.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

ROMANS: I love those jobs because if you have business acumen, gosh, if you -

CAMEROTA: Absolutely.

ROMANS: If you can be an apprentice plumber and then do some business school -

PEREIRA: Be your own boss.

ROMANS: Oh my gosh, you know, you can - you can employ a lot of other people and those are not outsourcing jobs.

Now, here's the thing. There are a lot of jobs where someone - an employer says, you've got to have a four-year degree. It proves to me that you can do it. That you can follow through. What you learn about creativity and working with people, working with groups in a four-year college is incredibly important. So that is a real boom.

PEREIRA: The experience of going to college is so important.

ROMANS: But if you're borrowing all this money -

PEREIRA: Right.

ROMANS: And you have a degree that's not going to be valued on the other end, that's a real problem.

PEREIRA: I want kids to have a choice, to be able to know. I want them to be able to know they can go to college if they choose to, but my question is here, is society prepared to shift? Because what's the first question, among the first question people ask you when they meet you?

ROMANS: Where'd you go to college?

PEREIRA: Where did you go to school?

ROMANS: Right,

PEREIRA: What does that have any bearing on who I am and what I bring to the world?

CUOMO: Also depends where you are, you know. If you're in more working class communities, the first thing they ask is what do you do?

ROMANS: Right.

CUOMO: They don't ask you where you go to school, because - -

PEREIRA: Well, look, in the northeast they ask you where you went to school.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Professional class.

ROMANS: Parents, and teachers, and kids have to be more serious about it right now, right? It has to be what you can do well, what you can get paid to do, and what you like to do. The intersection of those three things are incredibly important. And for somebody that's going to be skilled machinery working, going to a community college for two years, doing an apprenticeship, getting paid the whole way. I'm doing a story about that next week. Unbelievable, getting paid to learn how to work for one of these big companies.

For others, it's going to be working in the trades. For others, it's going to be a four-year degree, and then starting after that with a first foot in the workforce. It's going to depend on who you are. You cannot spend four, five years in college at 30 grand a year finding yourself. Parents have to tell their kids that you can't -- We just can't afford to do that anymore.

CAMEROTA: Alright, we want to know what you think about the value of college, and you can find us all on Twitter. We welcome your comments also on Facebook. Send us your comments.

CUOMO: Now, obviously this discussion, we're going to help you out, because it's going to be the central topic of one of the CNN films called "IVORY TOWER." It's going to look at the ever-climbing tuition rates and student loan debt. It is on Thursday, November 20th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN. You won't get a better explanation of it than you'll get right there.

CAMEROTA: Alright, wait until you hear this story. Airlines tend to lose baggage all the time, but what would you do if they lost something that you could never replace, like your dog? This happened to one man traveling across the country. We're going to speak to him live to get details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CAMEROTA: Alright, we've all heard of an airline losing your luggage, but after one flight, a man says Delta lost something far more important to him. Frank Romano's bull terrier, Ty, is missing today. Romano says the dog escaped from his cage at Los Angeles International Airport a week ago as he was preparing to fly to Florida. Neither the airport nor the airline has been able to find the dog so far.

CUOMO: Frank Romano joins us now from Tampa. Frank, I'm really sorry to have to have you on the show for this reason, but what can you tell us about how this happened and what you know now?

FRANK ROMANO, CLAIMS DELTA AIRLINES LOST HIS DOG: Well, yes, well I was boarding the plane at LAX, and I was putting my carry-on baggage where it goes in the compartment. I sat down, maybe two minutes later one of the Delta employees called me off the plane, took me to the side. First, she said that she lost my, that my dog ran away, and that they found him and they need me to identify him. Then two minutes later, she said that he bit through the kennel and ran across the airport, and they still can't find him.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh, Frank, what a story. So, the last time you saw your dog was in Los Angeles at the airport, and you stayed for many days trying to recover your dog. What was the airline telling you during that time?

ROMANO: They were just, he went missing October 31st at nighttime, and they wouldn't give me any straight answers, no concrete answer. They kept flipping the story.

CUOMO: How so?

ROMANO: Like I said before, she first told me that he bit through the kennel, then she said that like before that - - She wouldn't give me any straight answer. She said he ran away an hour ago, then she said they had him. She couldn't make up her mind.

CAMEROTA: Here's what Delta says, Frank. This is the statement that they have released about this problem, "Delta continues to investigate what happened, but early indications show the procedures were followed, and the dog may have compromised the kennel on its own. Delta immediately worked with LAX airport teams and the customer to locate the dog, but was unsuccessful. We remain in contact with the customer, and we're fully supporting the search for the pet. Delta understands that pets are an important member of the family and regrets this occurred while the pet was entrusted to our care." What do you make of that statement, Frank?

ROMANO: Well, yes, me and my mom have been calling Delta at LAX and they - - We just get, we just left countless amount of voicemail, they barely get back to us. So, now the CEO of Delta, the whole company, is getting in charge of this. He's taking over.

CUOMO: Good, Frank. It matters. And listen, we know this has to be weighing on your heart really heavy. A dog's just like another member of the family. Make sure you stay in touch with us about whether or not they put out flyers for you, whether you need help with that, whether the local stations, all the stuff that you usually do if you lost your dog is getting done, and let us know if we can help.

ROMANO: I will. A shelter in north Hollywood is putting up flyers and they're offering a $1,000 reward.

CAMEROTA: That's good. Let's hope that that actually brings your dog Ty back.

ROMANO: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Frank, thanks so much for sharing your story with us.

ROMANO: Thank you for having me.

CUOMO: That's terrible.

CAMEROTA: It is terrible, but hopefully, maybe they'll find Ty.

CUOMO: That's a really hard story, we can all identify having pets. So, how about a little bit of the Good Stuff? We're going to give it to you here.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): You're going to meet a real life superhero, a little kid so powerful he can do this.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO (on camera): Alright, it's time for the Good Stuff. Meet 4-year- old D.J. Pitts.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): He had a terrible accident when he was a little bit younger than he is now, and led to months of surgeries, very long recovery. But D.J. did not quit. He loves superheroes, and he came up with an idea to hand out superhero capes to other kids. Remember, he's a little kid. He's only 4-years-old. In Children's Hospital just to lift their spirits, and, you know what? It worked. So, that does make him a superhero. So, when the hospital officials needed someone to help them blow up an old building to clear a way for a new children's hospital, who else would they turn to?

The new hospital building will rise on the site soon. The interesting thing is, is that he did that by just blowing it down.

CAMEROTA (voice-over): No, he pushed a button.

CUOMO: No, he literally took a deep breath and blew the building down.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): That's - -

CAMEROTA (on camera): Alright.

PEREIRA: I love that he's handing out superhero capes to the other kids.

CAMEROTA: It's great, you can do anything with a cape.

PEREIRA: You can.

CUOMO: Four years old, they grow up fast in those bad situations, though.

PEREIRA: Thy do.

CUOMO: And, boy, he's doing a good thing now. Thanks for being with us.