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Couple Loses Custody of Adopted Child; Battle for New Hampshire; One Year after Tucson Massacre; Youngest Tucson Victim was born on 9/11; Keep Your Computer Clean; Where to Find A Job; Jobs, Economy and Politics; Tech Jobs Are Hot; How To Help Overweight Kids; New Kid's Meals At Chick-Fil-A; Woman Sues Honda Over Mileage; Citizens of Nowhere

Aired January 07, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We're beginning in this hour with this disturbing story out of Connecticut. Police say a paramedic raped a woman as she lay on a stretcher in an ambulance. Police say the unconscious woman was being taken to a hospital last month when she woke up to find she was strapped down to the stretcher and was being raped. Police say it was, quote, "outrageous and horrifying conduct."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF THOMAS WYDRA, HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT POLICE: Paramedics and police officers, firefighters are in positions of tremendous public trust. These allegations represent a tremendous breach of that trust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The 49-year-old suspect was arrested and later released on $25,000 bond.

Penn State University is welcoming its new football coach, Bill O'Brien is replacing former coach Joe Paterno, who was fired amid a scandal over alleged child sex abuse by a former coach. The team players say they are excited for a fresh start. O'Brien is the outgoing New England Patriots' offensive coordinator.

And it'll be one year tomorrow since that Tucson, Arizona shooting left six dead and injured 13, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. This weekend that tragedy is being remembered in many different ways. Giffords made her first appearance at her Tucson Office presenting a plaque honoring her aide Gabe Zimmerman who was killed. And part of a hiking trail was renamed for him, as well.

Today in memory of the victims, trees will be planted for peace and tomorrow an interfaith church service. Also there will be a candle light vigil at the University of Arizona which Giffords will attend.

And a teenage runaway who claimed that she was a 21-year-old Colombian in the U.S. illegally is now back home in Texas. Jakadrien Turner's family says they are suing the U.S. government agency that mistakenly deported her to South America. And a couple in South Carolina is desperately trying to regain custody of their adopted daughter. A judge ordered the child be returned to her biological father citing a law that makes it illegal to break up a Native American family. It's an extremely controversial case and CNN's George Howell has been following all the developments.

So, George, first we'll talk about how this ruling came about and what's happening since.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are so many sides to this. So I want to start with the adoptive parents, Matt and Melanie Capobianco. Their 2-year-old daughter, they've raised her since birth, they say that this was an open adoption. They know the biological mother.

In comes into the picture the biological father, Dustin Brown, and Dustin Brown has been able to get his daughter back through a rule, a law called the Indian Child Welfare Act, basically because he is Native American enrolled in the Cherokee Nation, also his daughter being partially Native American, he was able to get her back under this law that basically aims to keep Indian families together to protect the integrity of the Indian family.

So on New Year's - New Year's Eve, rather, this family met in Charleston. They thought they'd have a little more time to prepare themselves to turn over their daughter, but they had less time than they thought. They turned her over to Dustin Brown who drove off to Oklahoma.

We have an interview with the family before a gag order came through where they spoke to WCIV, our affiliate. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIE CAPOBIANCO, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: Matt said, when we had to do the transfer, it was like he was failing her as a father, to - to send her off with people that she didn't know, what she must think of us.

She just had this, in my mind like a really confused look on her face, which just - but I'll always remember her crying after us when we had to - we had to walk out of that office and leave her there.

MATT CAPOBIANCO, ADOPTIVE FATHER: I mean, everybody keeps saying, you know, how - how bad they feel for us but, I mean, she's a two-year-old girl that got shoved in a truck and driven to Oklahoma with strangers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They have - they've changed the name?

HOWELL: Now, I've heard from -

WHITFIELD: Where?

HOWELL: -- Capobianco spokesperson who said that the family is not able to talk at this time, but I've learned through the attorney, through Brown's attorney that he did sign a waiver basically surrendering his custody at one point, but his attorney tells me over the phone today that he was tricked into doing so before he went on a one-year deployment to Iraq.

WHITFIELD: So he says he didn't necessarily - he didn't know what he was signing, he didn't think he was signing away his daughter up for adoption, but then when he came back he decided to pursue it further? Did he challenge - had he challenged it before being deployed?

HOWELL: It turns out he filed this litigation four months after his daughter was born. And in fact, I have a statement from that attorney. I want to give you this statement from his attorney. Shannon Jones who says, quote, "It is important to understand the Indian Child Welfare Act was not used as a loophole in this action." She goes on to say my client would still be entitled to custody of his daughter under South Carolina law.

So this is something he's been working on for some time and recently got custody.

WHITFIELD: And then the issue of splitting up a Native American family, he and the biological mother of this child. What was their relationship? I mean, upon signing over the adoption papers?

HOWELL: They were not married. Still trying to determine exactly what their relationship was. A lot of this information about adoption cases, it's actually concealed as confidential under South Carolina law. So the nature of that relationship still unclear until we hear from him or more from the biological mother.

WHITFIELD: Boy, it's a heartbreaking case no matter which side you look at it.

HOWELL: It is.

WHITFIELD: A lot of people involved -

HOWELL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- in the end. All right. Thanks so much, George Howell.

HOWELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk politics now.

All eyes are on New Hampshire in the final three days before the primaries there. The GOP hopefuls have fanned out across the Granite State hoping to steal momentum from front-runner Mitt Romney.

In the latest NBC/Marist Poll, Mitt Romney has 42 percent of likely primary voters. That's a 20-point advantage over Ron Paul with 22 percent. Rick Santorum came in third with 13 percent, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Perry are pulling up the rear.

So despite his double-digit lead in the polls, Mitt Romney is taking no chances in Tuesday's primary. He's reminding his supporters that polls can change quickly.

CNN's Political Director Mark Preston joining us now from Manchester with an update on that. So, oh, yes, things can change on a dime. And I imagine all of these contenders have to be prepared for just that.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That is absolutely right.

You know, Fred, we talk a lot about retail politics. We talk a lot about ground game. Well, we've actually seen how the Mitt Romney campaign is putting into action. Just a few hours ago, we stopped by their campaign headquarters. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRESTON (on camera): You've heard the phrase "retail politics." It's something we say a lot. We're trying to explain the New Hampshire primary, well, if you want to see retail politics, you're going to see that here right now.

We're in Mitt Romney's campaign headquarters. This room right here, people are assembling, getting together to try to go out and start knocking on doors, start putting down yard signs. They expect to put down thousands of yard signs this weekend. Others are going to be making a lot of telephone calls.

Let's keep walking through. As you can kind of see, it's a bit chaotic here as we're trying to get things done. This is Ryan Williams with the Romney campaign. Ryan, how many volunteers do you think are going to be on the ground for you this weekend?

RYAN WILLIAMS, MITT ROMNEY CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: We'll have 1,000 volunteers out this - this afternoon, probably 3,000 separate throughout the weekend. We're going to make 150,000 phone calls between now and Election Day.

We're knocking on well over 15,000 doors. We're going to assemble and distribute several thousand yard signs and make as many voter contacts all this weekend.

PRESTON: Explain to me what's going on in this room right here.

WILLIAMS: Well, we have phone banks reaching out to voters across the state, people who are either undecided or making their final decision while reaching out to them to try to convince them to come out and to vote for Governor Romney. We're also keeping track of who our voters are, who we need to turn out on Election Day to cast their ballot for the governor.

PRESTON: Let's just listen in here for a moment and see what - what they're saying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The primary is next Tuesday, January 10th. Please vote for Mitt Romney. Thank you for your time.

PRESTON: Let's go over here and talk to this young lady who just finished a telephone call and see what she's saying and see what kind of the reaction she's getting so far.

How are you? I'm Mark Preston, CNN. How are you? Where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Concord, Massachusetts.

PRESTON: You are? So tell us how many telephone calls have you made so far?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is on - this is my third sheet, so maybe 200.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PRESTON: There you have it. Fred, right there, just a few hours ago at Mitt Romney's headquarters. It's about expectations right now for the former Massachusetts governor. He's widely believed to be the winner on Tuesday night even before a vote is cast. His ground game is so strong here. Of course, we're looking to find out who is going to come in second or third - Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And that will very well determine the momentum going into South Carolina, the next contest. All right. Thanks so much, Mark Preston.

And join us every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern as we dedicate an entire hour to the Presidential Contenders in this 2012 election.

All right. Gabby Giffords returns to Tucson, a look back at a day that stunned the nation as we mark a sad anniversary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tomorrow marks a horrible day in American history. One year ago Sunday, a gunman went on a rampage in Tucson killing six people. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was among the critically wounded. Remarkably she survived after a bullet went through her brain. Giffords is expected to attend a vigil honoring the victims.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ... breaking news for you. Several people have been shot. The shooting occurred at a grocery store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have discovered that we have 18 individuals who were shot.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): January 8th, 2011. A date Tucson will never forget.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The bodies laying on the concrete.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The screaming, the crying, the bleeding. GUTIERREZ: Nineteen 19 people were shot that day, six of them died. The youngest, 9-year-old Christina Greene was one of many who had gone to the Safeway Store to meet Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Christina was there with her neighbor Susie Heilemann.

SUZIE HEILMAN, SHOOTING VICTIM: And then this gunshot.

GUTIERREZ: Christina was shot in the chest.

HEILMAN: I was holding hands with Christina. We were just eyeball to eyeball. She was confused and scared and I knew when we were lying on the ground outside of Safeway the light went out of her eyes.

GUTIERREZ: As many of the victims lay bleeding in pools of blood, two men wrestled the gunman.

JOE ZAMUDIO, SHOOTING WITNESS: And I took my legs on his - behind his knees and my arm on the back on the small of his back, and another guy was stepping on his neck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gunman was in police custody.

TAMMY VO, KGUN 9 CORRESPONDENT: He is Jared Lee Loughner, 22 years old.

GUTIERREZ: The scene was chaotic with sheriff deputies and civilians trying to triage victims.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is anybody injured? Did you say Gabrielle Giffords was hit?

GUTIERREZ: The congresswoman had been shot in the head. Her intern, Daniel Hernandez, ran to her side and used his bare hands to stop the bleeding.

DANIEL HERNANDEZ, FORMER INTERN FOR GIFFORDS: I couldn't see an exit wound. I didn't know if there was one. All I saw was the entry wound. That's where I was applying the pressure.

GUTIERREZ: In the end, it was Hernandez, the paramedics and the trauma team who saved Gabrielle Giffords' life.

DR. PETER RHEE, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, UMC TRAUMA CENTER: Overall, this is about as good as it'll going to get. You know, when you get shot in the head and bullet goes through your brain, the chances of living are very small and the chances of you waking up and actually following commands -

GUTIERREZ: January 8, 2011 will be remembered as a catastrophic day. One where a year later a community has pulled together to honor the victims and survivors of the deadliest rampage in the city's history.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Christina Taylor Greene was just nine years old, the youngest victim of that massacre in Tucson. Her parents remember that day and their daughter on CNN's "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN GREENE, FATHER OF CHRISTINA TAYLOR GREENE: She had a lot of qualities. She was very - very outgoing. She loved to get people together and play and things like that. And she would direct, you know, direct traffic.

One day I went over to her school to visit her during lunch hour before going to recess. And I peeked around and she was - she had about eight kids around her and she was - like I saw her, she was you go this way and all the other girls go this way - you know, that's what she liked to do. She like to - she's very social, very - you know, she had - she had a competitive fire to her, too.

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": On the day you were just going about your normal lives, and you get this awful call. You hear first, Roxanne, and then, John, you get a call. You must have the sense of disbelief and then you realize she's been caught up in this horrific incident. Gabrielle Giffords has been shot, presumed dead. Other people have been gunned down. What are you thinking when this is all unfurling?

ROXANNE GREENE, MOTHER OF CHRISTINA TAYLOR GREENE: I was thinking it was a nightmare and that I was going to wake up, so I kept on pinching myself and hoping that it wasn't real. It was that horrendous. It was horrible. And then days after that, I would go to her room and hope to find her in her room.

But, you know, obviously you know that it is real and you just - day by day, you know, you just try to cope. And we have a deep faith in God so we prayed a lot and that helped us.

MORGAN: I interviewed Mark Kelly recently, Gabrielle Giffords' husband, a very remarkable man in many ways. And he was saying how desperate they feel for those loss of lives. And I think particularly probably because she's so young, you know, she would have been 10 in November - in September.

J. GREENE: In September 11th.

MORGAN: He was saying really, you know, it's hard to reconcile what happened. Have you been able to get to that point? I mean, you, I know, John, when you first discovered your daughter was dead, was told, did they get the person that did this?

J. GREENE: Yes.

MORGAN: And does it give you any - any kind of comfort that they had?

J. GREENE: It definitely did. I don't know how people say like Natalee Holloway's parents cope with - with not knowing. We knew exactly what happened to our daughter. It was tragic and, you know, we're still dealing with that today.

But, again, our faith in our family and friends kind of got us through, you know, coping with - with the issues of losing a child.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, there's still time to make a New Year's resolution. Maybe you want to do a little bit of cleaning.

In this week's "Gaming and Gadgets," we have some ways to clean up your computer in 2012.

Joining us via Skype from Toronto is our tech expert Marc Saltzman with some easy tips to make your computer run like it's brand new. Why is it important in the first place to clean it? I guess people just kind of think dust it off a little bit. But you're saying you've got to go further than that.

MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Yes. And I don't mean on the exterior, which isn't a bad idea either by cleaning the fan and the keyboard and the mouse. But I meant more getting the operating system, your computer running like new so you don't have to run out and buy a new computer this year.

And then something that we use so often but often neglect. So I've got five free tips to taking better care of your PC in 2012. The same goes for Macs as well.

So number one, Fred, would be to safeguard your files. You want to back up your important information and do that on a fairly regular basis. As the old adage goes, you don't know what you got until it's gone. And that's certainly true for irreplaceable photos and camcorder footage, documents.

So there are free solutions. It's trendy now to do it online or in the cloud as we call it. So I use, for example, a service called Windows Live Sky Drive. You got up to 25 gigabytes of free password protected storage. And not only does that protect your files from local threats like a theft or fire or a virus, but you can also access those files from anywhere in the world on any device virtually. So number one is to back up your files.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then you want to clear the clutter. Because this is the kind of stuff that will just simply slow your computer down.

SALTZMAN: Sure, yes. Well, we'll get to the performance part in a moment. But this tip was more for, you know, if you can't even see your desktop photos there's so many - there's just so many icons on it. You know who you are.

WHITFIELD: Not me.

SALTZMAN: Then it's time to clean it up. Now, but don't just delete the icon. What you want to do is you want to go - if you're a Windows user, go to the Add/Remove - Add/Remove Programs area of control panel and delete files or programs that you've never used. You might have a four-year-old DVD burning software that you've never used or a game you haven't touched since 2008. So just un-remove it. You're going to clear up some space on the hard drive. Clear up your desktop so you can see your photo again on your computer. And that's number two is to clear the clutter.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then consider running system tools to kind of comb that hard drive. I don't have any idea what that means.

SALTZMAN: Sure. Well, you know, we shouldn't have to know to do this stuff. And newer computers are better. For example, Windows 7 will do this for you. But if you have an older computer, there are some system tools that are there that you would want to do to clean hard drive up.

And I'm referring to something called Defragging. It's a free tool that's built into the operating system that will essentially comb your hard drive, fix all those little zeros and ones, put them in the right order to optimize performance. So that will speed up your computing.

So if your computer is running very slowly, you can't multi-task very well, you may want to defrag your computer, especially if it's an older one. You don't have to really worry about that so much if you bought it over the last year or two.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then you want to update all of your software?

SALTZMAN: This is key. Because when they ship software, you know, it's not quite finished. They always add new features or fix mistakes or bugs as we call it, little glitches with the software.

So unless you've already set it up to do this automatically, look at the programs that you use the most, maybe iTunes or maybe your favorite web browser and click the About tab or Options and you'll see one that says Update. And make sure you do this manually if it's not set up to do automatically because it will make your computer run faster overall.

So you definitely want to update your favorite programs and even your hardware. They're called drivers. This is what helps your operating system communicate with things like your web camera or your printer. There's often updates for those, too.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then you want to protect your computer with some kind of anti-malware software? I don't know what that is, either.

SALTZMAN: That's right. All right. Well, as we do every week, Fred, we're breaking down the Geek Speak -

WHITFIELD: Break it down for me.

SALTZMAN: You're not alone. All right. So my fifth and final tip for taking better care of your computer in 2012 is to take advantage of free antivirus tools. I call it malware, malicious software. It's more than just viruses. There are other potentially damaging files floating around in cyberspace. Often you get them in your inboxes through your e-mail.

So there are a lot of free solutions out there if you go to, for example, download.com and take a look at the top 20 list on the right- hand side of the page. You will see some of the most popular Windows software, free anti-malware programs. So, again, that's antivirus, anti-spyware, you know, firewalls, anything to protect your information, and there's a lot of good, free examples up there.

WHITFIELD: All right. All good stuff. All good house cleaning in a very different way, computer cleaning ideas for 2012.

SALTZMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Great resolution. Thanks so much, Marc Saltzman, and Happy New Year.

SALTZMAN: Thank you and to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

And for more high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to CNN.com/Tech and look for the "Gaming and Gadgets" tab or follow Marc Saltzman on Facebook, Twitter, and of course LinkedIn. He's everywhere.

All right, finding a job for the long haul, think high-tech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the Internet going to be gone tomorrow?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think the jobs will be gone tomorrow either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Poppy Harlow looking at the exploding computer science sector.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Millions of Americans are looking for work, and a lot of them aren't having any luck. But the technology sector is hiring and they need a lot of help. I've got details right after our top stories.

A strong warning from the British government about traveling to Kenya. The U.K. Foreign Office says terror groups in Kenya may be in the final stages of planning attacks. The U.S. issued a similar warning in November.

And Iranian officials say the U.S. Navy did a humanitarian act by rescuing 13 Iranian sailors from pirates in the Arabian Sea. Troops from the U.S. fleet responded to a distress call from an Iranian fishing vessel on Thursday. And they captured 15 pirates, most of them Somalis, the American sailors, that is, and then they freed the Iranians being held captive.

The U.S. Coast Guard's only Arctic ice breaker is cutting a path to the town of Nome, Alaska. The vessel is escorting a Russian ship that's bringing an emergency supply of diesel fuel and gas to the town after storms prevented the shipment in the fall.

Is musician Kanye West getting ready to be the next Steve Jobs? Well, if his tweets are anything to go by, maybe he is. He says, quote, "We need to pick up where Steve Jobs left off." West is planning to launch a design company called Donda where people will, quote, "make products and experiences that people want and can afford."

The December jobs report shows 200,000 jobs were added last month. The U.S. Labor Department says the unemployment rate is 8.5 percent.

Our Christine Romans shows where the jobs are.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Two hundred thousand jobs created in the last month of the year bringing the year's total to 1.6 million jobs. Two hundred thousand jobs looks like this. This is what the trend looks like for the year. And these last six months, six months of jobs gains of 100,000 or more, that hasn't happened since 2006.

What we know about the unemployment rate, it is now 8.5 percent, and that also is much better than the economists and analysts have been expecting.

This is what it looks like since the president took office. Because this is, of course, a very political story, that monthly jobs report. When the president took office, the economy was losing hundreds of thousands of jobs. It looked pretty rough here except from some hiring around stimulus and the census.

We talked about a double dip recession here, maybe there. We averted it. And then finally now, here you have six months in a row of some pretty steady jobs gains.

Where are the jobs come from? Retail, package delivery, warehousing, transportation, that's probably all seasonally related, but you also saw gains in health care, you saw gains as well in mining and also in manufacturing where you were seeing jobs created, the government.

Over the year, the government lost 280,000 jobs during the year. Just showing you how budget cuts are affecting the job market overall. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

WHITFIELD: All right. While millions of people are looking for a job, computer science majors are turning down offers. Our Poppy Harlow looks at the hot tech trends.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Social Network" is the Wall Street movie of this generation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys were the inventors of Facebook?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He invented Facebook.

EVAN KORTH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, NYU: I think a lot of students want to be next Mark Zuckerberg. They want to build something cool that's going to change the world.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg may have dropped out of college, but back on campus, Computer Science is hot, and students with coding skills are burning up the job market.

(on camera): By graduation, how many companies reached out to you about working for them?

TAL SAFRON, NYU COMPUTER SCIENCE GRADUATE: I'd say between 10 and 20 reached out to me before graduating.

HARLWO: How many job offers did you get?

SAFRON: Around four or five.

HARLOW: You haven't graduated yet. How many companies have reached out to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Between 10 and 20.

HARLOW (voice-over): It's a common story for Computer Science majors.

ADITYA MUKERJEE, COLUMBIA COMPUTER SCIENCE SENIOR: Most of my friends do have the similar feeling, they're not really worried about jobs.

HARLOW: Just look at tech job postings to see the demand. At NYU, that translated into a 94 percent placement rate for Computer Science grads last spring.

(on camera): For the class of 2011, Computer Science majors did the best on the job hunt, 56 percent had a job offer before graduation compared with 41 percent overall.

What are your friends telling you who aren't Computer Science majors about getting a job?

SAFRON: They think I don't live in reality.

HARLOW (voice-over): An average starting salary of $66,000 and job security may be why the major is taking off with enrolment at NYU up 50 percent since 2007.

KORTH: Many students whether they're Computer Science majors or not are starting to suns coding is literacy of the future and they want to get in on that.

SAFRON: When I started, the program was really small and had one section for each class, and now for the introductory ones, it's three or four at least.

HARLOW: Tal and Aditya, both participated in a summer program offered by Hack and Why, founded by Evan and Columbia Professor Chris Wiggins to cultivate the talents of budding tech stars show them their career choices are broader than just Google and Goldman Sachs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a backstage pass -- in addition to teaching them technical topics, we also wanted to explain to them the variety of career options available to them.

HARLOW: The hacking community may speak a slightly different language.

CHRIS WIGGINS, PROFESSOR OF APPLIED MATH, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: I mean, you can present Google's fundamental algorithm and then they sort of --

HARLOW (on camera): I can what?

(voice-over): But one thing is crystal clear, this is where the jobs are.

KORTH: I get e-mails every day asking me if I have a student that could build x or build y.

HARLOW (on camera): But is this just a fad? I mean, are the jobs here today gone tomorrow?

KORTH: Is the internet going to be gone tomorrow?

HARLOW: No.

KORTH: I don't think the jobs will be gone either.

HARLOW (voice-over): In New York, Poppy Harlow, CNN Money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, sometimes you just have to do the drive-thru thing, right? But you still want your kids to eat healthy. Well, now, one fast food chain says they're making the kids meals nutritious in a different way. Let's find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Video games, that's what I like to do by myself. I don't have to be with other kids. All they want to do is pick on me.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I don't like going to school because all the other kids pick on me. It hurts my feelings.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: It's tough to watch, tough to hear, but that's exactly the point of the stop child obesity campaign in Georgia. The Children's Health Alliance created the ad, and according to the CDC and a 2008 study, more than 1/3 of American teens and adolescents are overweight or obese.

And so come Monday, one fast food chain is unveiling a plan to help American children eat healthier. Introducing what is called one of nation's most nutritious kid meals. The company says it's part of an effort to address the issue of childhood obesity.

And Steve Robinson is here with me now to tell us how this came about. Steve is a senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Chick-Fil-A. All right, good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: So let's talk specifically about what's on the menu. Why this is different? And really where this idea came from? Were you patrons saying we want something better, something healthier for our kids?

STEVE ROBINSON, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CHICK-FIL-A: Yes, we have a large percentage of our customers with families with children, a lot of working moms, and we were hearing a lot from customers. Our founder has always been very customer focused. He taught us all to listen really well to what the customers say.

WHITFIELD: And while they like families and kids love the chicken, the nuggets, they love the French fries, the waffle fries. Parents said you've got to do something else. What do you have here?

ROBINSON: So the big change for us is we moved to having a protein, a center of the plate entree. For example, four of these grilled nuggets now, which are new Monday are only 1 gram of fat. This entire little meal you see here --

WHITFIELD: Gluten free.

ROBINSON: This little meal, the grilled nuggets, the fruit, and the 1 percent milk is only 1.5 grams of fat for the entire meal, 3 grams of fat for the entire meal and I think 220 calories.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So much lower in calories compared to what you were offering before, but you are still going to offer the waffle fries and fried nuggets?

ROBINSON: Well, people love the waffle fries, including me. I'll have some now and then. This is an option. We're also introducing the 100 percent pure apple sauce, and we've revamped our drinks. So besides soft drinks, we're going to offer our natural lemonade. We're going to offer 1 percent milk, fruit --

WHITFIELD: Juice boxes.

ROBINSON: Yes, the juice boxes. WHITFIELD: Kids still like to have chocolate milk.

ROBINSON: Fructose sugar has come out of this. So there are four options besides the soft drink now that are healthy and good for them.

WHITFIELD: So how did Chik-Fil-A say, you know what, this is smart for marketing. It's a good business proposal that we're offering here, but at the same time it gives us sort of a response to that moral obligation.

ROBINSON: Well, Fredricka, quite honestly, we've been the leaders with a lot of our products. We were the first of the sandwich. We've been the first with nuggets, strips.

We were the first with the full fruit cup. We want to be the first at providing people what they want to eat and they want to eat healthier. And so we have no hesitation about trying to be the leader in foods that people really appreciate and they reward us for it.

WHITFIELD: So you've already tested with kids?

ROBINSON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And what are they saying?

ROBINSON: Hundreds of thousands of kids, they like it. They like it a lot and just as importantly, their parents like it. But they do like it and we're excited to be able to offer the kind of variety that gives children and their parents a healthier choice.

WHITFIELD: And so while Chick-Fil-A is not the only fastfood place offering healthier, you know, foods for kids. Arby's added a couple of new items to its menu a couple of months ago and that includes like roasted turkey and cheese sandwich, sliced apples, strawberry yogurt dip, Kraft Mac and cheese.

And even McDonalds offered, you know, more sliced apples as well. It really does seem as though fastfood restaurants are saying they've got to do something here.

ROBINSON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: They're trying.

ROBINSON: Yes. Well, we've had a natural advantage. But all of our chicken is all breast meat natural meat. So whether it's nuggets or strips and whether they're cooked in 100 percent pure peanut oil, which we use, or they're grilled, we've always had healthier food. Nutritious food that's healthier.

WHITFIELD: And for a lot of families, it's an issue of affordability. It's been convenient to buy this, but at the same time, it meant often that came with high calorie count, high fat intake and this is Chick- Fil-A's way of addressing that.

ROBINSON: I think also when families come in and experience all these kind of healthier options they're also going to experience our service.

WHITFIELD: All right.

ROBINSON: We want them hooked on that too.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Steve Robinson, thanks so much. Good to see you. Appreciate it.

ROBINSON: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for helping us get a close-up view of what's about to be unveiled come Monday at Chick-Fil-A's across the country.

ROBINSON: Some of that in there, you can try it yourself.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll dig in.

ROBINSON: All right, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, perhaps you're not getting the gas mileage you thought you would when you purchased that car. Can you take the automakers to court? One woman is trying to do just that. Our legal guys weigh in next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. It's a whole new year of CNN Heroes. And as always, our year round campaign to honor every day people who are changing the world begins with you.

You can nominate someone special today at cnnheroes.com, and here's our own Anderson Cooper to show you how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight we gather to honor the best humanity has to offer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you join us, we'll be unstoppable.

COOPER (voice-over): CNN Heroes is looking for everyday people who are looking to change the world. How do we find these extraordinary people? With your help. You can nominate someone right now at cnnheroes.com. Maybe your hero is defending the planet by protecting the environment or helping people overcome obstacles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be no one left behind.

COOPER: Or finding a unique approach to solving a problem. Whatever their cause, nominating a CNN hero is easy. First, go to cnnheroes.com, then click nominate. We ask for some basic information about you and your nominee. Then tell us what makes your hero extraordinary. How are they changing lives for the better?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You did a great job. COOPER: It's really important to write from your heart because it's your words that will make your hero's stories stand out. A couple of tips, please don't nominate yourself, it's against the rules.

It's not necessary to nominate someone over and over. We read each and every nomination. Really, we do and be selective. Those heroes are truly dedicating their lives to serving others. After you've told us about your hero, click submit. It's that simple and that worthwhile. So nominate someone deserving today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much for this incredible honor. This has been the greatest night of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So inspiring. So do you know someone who is making a big difference in the lives of others? Go to cnnheroes.com and tell us about them. Your words just might change the life of someone working every day to help others. Nominate a 2012 CNN Hero today.

We all want our cars to get good gas mileage, but one woman is going to court over it. A hybrid Honda and an unhappy driver next.

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WHITFIELD: All right, a California woman is revved about taking Honda to small claims court over her hybrid. She says she should be getting 50 miles per gallon according to Honda advertising, but she only gets 30.

CNN legal contributors, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman put the pedal to the metal in this case in our legal brief.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: In the class action case, she walks away with $200. What she's doing -- and this is -- this is Ms. Peters who obviously has a lot of time on her hands. She is taking that differential between 50 and 30 miles a gallon times let's say 50,000 miles that she's driven in her 2006 Civic.

What she's calculated out is an enormous amount of money, actually if you calculate that difference, Fredricka, it's about $2,500. I guess her theory is, I got all the time in the world I'd rather get that rather than the 200 bucks.

WHITFIELD: Yes, except, Richard, a lot of times people make a purchase of a vehicle based on the mileage that is promised on that sticker. So she's, you know, likely alleging that she bought this Civic Hybrid in large part because it was going to save her money.

RICHARD HERMAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: But Fred, it's brilliant, she's bringing it in small claims court where the cap is $10,000. So even if she gets her $7,500 in the state she brought it, she is now going to probably represent -- she's not a lawyer. She used to be a lawyer. Now she's a paralegal. She's probably going to represent hundreds and hundreds of people in small claims court. They're going to get more money in small claims court than they would have gotten if they went in the class action.

That's why this is brilliant. She's going to win. It's going to be victorious and she will win it in small claims court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, you can catch our legal guys every day Saturday noon Eastern.

Fifteen million refugees around the world afraid to return to their countries. Coming up, the long journey to safety and freedom for refugee family in a new homeland, the United States.

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WHITFIELD: A massive international aid effort is under way this weekend in South Sudan. The U.N. says about 60,000 people fled their homes over the past week and they need food supplies immediately.

Two rival tribes are fighting there burning villages and sending frightened families running for their lives. U.N. negotiators mediated a cease-fire, but thousands of people have not yet returned home.

Emergency officials fear the food shortage could reach crisis level. South Sudan became an independent nation last July.

About 15 million people worldwide have fled their homelands permanently. These refugees often spent years waiting in camps until they find safety in a new country.

CNN's Julie Peterson spent time with one family.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIE PETERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Raising five children is hard work, especially when one of them is disabled. For this man, a 44-year-old refugee from Congo now living in suburban Atlanta, life has thrown many curveballs his way.

He and his wife were married 21 years ago. He supported his family by working as a nurse. But the husband and wife are from different countries. He's from Congo. She's from Rwanda. They say their mixed marriage made them targets for violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife was disliked in my country.

PETERSON: They feared for their lives. They had to get out. So in 2002, they fled Congo, moved to a Tanzanian refugee camp and claimed official refugee status. This is one of the camps where they spent eight years living with their kids. They say security was extremely tight and their movements were very restricted, which kept them safe from being beaten, raped or killed. When they needed a restroom, it was a walk down a dirt road to shared facilities.

Then in 2010, some good news. The United States government invited the family to move to America, to Clarkston, Georgia, a destination for thousands of refugees. Walked through the front door of their apartment and you sense you tight family bond.

The children are happy here. In just 18 months, their English has come a long way. And their studies are taken seriously. For their parents the days are long and the nights are short.

After sending their kids off to school in the morning, it's a drive to school themselves. He goes to English class from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. four days a week.

He's excelling working his way back to nursing. After class, it's a long drive back home to get ready for work. This is where a van picks him up at 3:00 and today, we get to ride along.

Separate vans take them 45 minutes north to the night shift jobs at a chicken processing factory. For a proud man who's trained to save lives, factory work might seem menial, but he says he's grateful for the opportunity and the paycheck.

The long ride to work provides time to reflect in the last 10 years. He talks about how he tried to stay busy in the refugee camp by working when he could as a nurse. He felt useful, describing it in French, one of the five languages he speaks.

He says, I did that job because I didn't want to be like a homeless person. I wanted to help my fellow refugees. If you're helping your fellow refugees, you feel better.

Today after packing chicken for eight to nine hours, the couple arrives back home between 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning. The kids are long asleep and the 19-hour day has finally ended.

(on camera): When he and his family moved here just over a year ago, there were agencies set up to help them get their life going, help them find a job, find an apartment and help their kids with schools. One of the agencies that's helped his family is Refugee Family Services.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are current and previous clients from all over the world.

PETERSON: Emily Pelton runs Refugee Family Services. For 20 years, the non-profits programs have served women and children. She says the refugee clients sometimes are misunderstood.

EMILY PELTON, REFUGEE FAMILY SERVICES: They go through an extensive screening process to come here and they're the invited guests of our nation. They are not illegal immigrants. PETERSON: Pelton says 85 percent of Georgia's refugees are employed within six months of relocating here. They pay U.S. taxes as they work towards citizenship.

PELTON: Refugees aren't here to be on welfare. They're here to work and to build a successful life in this country.

PETERSON (on camera): What have you learned from that, in what you do?

PELTON: It's been very humbling being in this job, seeing how hard people work, seeing what makes them grateful.

PETERSON (voice-over): He is deeply thankful for the opportunities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because my family is safe here, no problem. I am free to practice my religion.

PETERSON: The devout humble refugee is candid about his new life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard, but it is good.

PETERSON (on camera): Why is it hard?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard because you have to work hard. I work hard. I study hard, have no time to take rest.

PETERSON (voice-over): Dressed in a donated jacket, this chicken factory worker steadfast, he's determined to be a success.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think you're going to do quite well.

PETERSON: Julie Peterson, CNN, Clarkston, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)