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Pope Benedict XVI Will Speak to U.N. General Assembly; Hearing on Fate of More Than 400 Children in Texas

Aired April 18, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This one now about to land. After the pope arriving at Kennedy Airport which you saw less than 15 minute ago in terms of him emerging from his airplane and now, accompanying this other chopper here. Soon to emerge, Pope Benedict XVI making his New York visit, his three-day New York visit. And he will be at the U.N. speaking to the General Assembly. Of course, Richard Roth. Richard, if there is a way in which you can kind of look in the crystal ball and give us an idea of exactly what or around about what the pope will be saying to the General Assembly, what might that be.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Broad themes. He's going to talk about the need for the common good to be done by everyone in the world. For the big countries not to be muscling the small ones. Human rights, very important for the pope. It's the 60th anniversary of an important U.N. human rights treaty is one of the reasons he is here. The pope will be talking about global warming. And he will be just talking not picking on one particular country or a global crisis. And that's what we were told ahead of time. One Vatican official said look, there are too many problems in the world to specifically talk about one nation. This is the first visit by this pope to the U.N.. There have been several other visits by various popes, including two stops by Pope John Paul. The last one in 1995 there will be 192 countries represented in the U.N.. Fredricka, the Vatican is not a member state with voting rights but it is part of the U.N. system as an observer. It does participate in a lot of meetings.

WHITFIELD: While we mentioned there would be two helicopters. Now, we are seeing clearly, there are there. Let's see in the horizon, there is a fourth. On one of those choppers, the pope will emerge. So, you know, Richard, you talk about this - while this may be this pope's first visit to the U.S., his first visit to the U.S., there have been other popes. It seems like there is always like a universal message of peace to be sent around the world. Is there any expectation that perhaps this pope's approach might be different that his dialogue maybe a little bit more forthright given the tone of his presence, the tone of his speech, and talk over the last three days in Washington?

ROTH: Well, he is going to echo themes that the other popes have done, have said. But this is the perfect place for the pope. The Vatican certainly believes in world peace and has opposed the Iraq war. And has called for dialogue and that's what you hear often in the hallways and in the general assembly. But it is not practiced by the member countries. This pope is likely to talk about the need for dialogue and settling disputes before they erupt and following through. And even the U.N.'s own member countries can't do that because they don't provide enough troops or enough money and that's one of the big problems confronting the U.N..

In Washington, he had a veiled hint about Iraq or perhaps other aspects of the U.N. in front of President Bush by saying that the U.N. represents the legitimate aspirations of the people of the world.

WHITFIELD: How is the pope's visit different from other heads of state?

ROTH: Well, the security seems to be even more than in September when we have perhaps 190 kings, prime ministers, and presidents arrive here because there is - it's all a focus on one man, we heard a loudspeaker announcement seconds ago, a warning that everyone should close their windows in the tall tower here at the U.N. that we are currently sitting in. There is a huge amount of security outside. And I guess what's different because is because it is a personality- led visit, it's one man that people are quite aware of, the U.N. staff lined up, hundreds at a time to get tickets to have their own meeting with this pope which will occur after he talks to the 192-member countries. We saw the U.N. Building there. And we're obviously still on helicopter watch. The U.N. used to have helicopter rivals in the backyard. One day, I believe, Fidel Castro or someone arrived decades ago. But that has not happened in recent years.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Richard Roth, thank you so much. We will be checking back with you periodically throughout the morning. As the pope's visit to the U.N. is scheduled this hour. Again, we are still waiting the arrival of the pope there in midtown Manhattan. A whole lot of helicopters. Richard talked about security stepped up. This is kind of one of the tactics to the decoys that are used by having more than one vehicle in which -- that would seemingly be transporting the Pope. And it's anyone's guess as to which one he might be in right now.

TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: All right. Let's continue now as we keep these live pictures in the mix this morning. Pope Benedict's visit to America. Our guests have an extraordinary view of the trip. He has been at the Pope's side these last couple of days in Washington, D.C.. In fact, Archbishop Timothy Broglio is just back from Andrews Air Force Base where minutes ago Pope Benedict left for New York.

And as we squeezed the pictures there in the lower right hand portion of the screen, the Pope about to land in lower Manhattan. Wall Street district, the business district of America. And Archbishop, great to see you. Thanks for your time this morning.

ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY BROGLIO, U.S. MILITARY SERVICES: Well, it's great to be here. Thank you.

HARRIS: I'm going to ask you a very generic basic kind of vanilla question. What has it been like for you the last two days?

Well, it had really been incredible days with the visit of the Holy Father and all of these moments that we have been sharing with him. So they -- it is an extraordinary time filled with very important messages. But also just the experience of being in the Pope's presence and having him here and in our midst in our country.

HARRIS: Has it been more than just being in his presence, Archbishop Broglio, have you had an opportunity to actually to speak with him, to have a conversation with the Pope?

BROGLIO: Well, very brief conversation. When he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base last Tuesday, I was among those who greeted him so I had an opportunity to shake his hands and to welcome him and then just now, just before he left, we spoke very, very briefly before he got on the plane to go back to New York or to go to New York.

HARRIS: I have to ask you, the Pope's response to the sex abuse scandal in the U.S. Church has been, boy, the story so far of this trip. Did you expect him to speak on the issue as often as he has, as forcefully as he has?

BROGLIO: Well, I certainly expected him to speak forcefully. We have to recall that it was his congregation when he was still cardinal that was asked by the Holy Father to take this question.

HARRIS: That's right.

BROGLIO: ... under it's charge. And so he would have followed it very closely. I did expect him to say something. I must confess that I was surprised that he mentioned that both to us gathered in the shrine and then he mentioned it again during the homily yesterday at Nationals Field. But it think those were very appropriate remarks and I hope that it also contributes to healing the pain.

HARRIS: Were you in the room when he met with some of the sex abuse victims?

BROGLIO: No, I was not.

HARRIS: OK. Let me play for you a bit of sound from AMERICAN MORNING, from two of those victims. Just highly emotional. Let me get your expanded thoughts on the Pope's words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNIE MCDAID, SEX ABUSE VICTIM: I've lived with the damages and didn't even know I had the problem from this until I was an adult, coming forward. You know, as in active alcoholism, drug addiction all through my teens, early 20s. Sober about 25 years now or something, whatever. But it is the mistrust and anger that you live with forever. This thing doesn't -- you don't graduate from this problem.

FAITH JOHNSTON, SEX ABUSE VICTIM: I had so much I wanted to say and then I got up to him and I just started - I just burst into tears. I think my tears spoke louder than words. And in a way I think in that moment, I almost felt like that 14, 15 year old Faith, the victim Faith and then he, the Pope just started talking to me, just so kindly, just so lovingly. Congratulating me about my upcoming wedding and I suddenly felt this hope and confidence, even - I felt even stronger than I did before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Archbishop Broglio, I have to ask you, listen to Faith there and I'm left to wonder why it took so long for moments like this to happen between the abused and the Holy Father of the Catholic church, whether it was John Paul II-clearly, this Pope gets it. I'm just wondering why it took so long for moments like this.

BROGLIO: Well, I would presume that in many of the situations, the local bishops would have met with the victims. But I think it is obviously very significant that the Holy Father does it. And this is -- you have to remember, this -- scandal broke in 2002.

HARRIS: True.

BROGLIO: And there really weren't opportunities for the Holy Father before that unless they would have gone to Rome. And I presume these were victims who were selected by Cardinal O'Malley. I noticed the one was very clearly from Boston.

HARRIS: Yes.

BROGLIO: And I - I'm just glad that they had this opportunity. I think it is a clear expression of the compassion of the church and I'm glad that it has happened.

HARRIS: Archbishop Broglio, as we see the Pope now, just off the military helicopter, and now about to begin the trip by vehicle, by limousine to the United Nations, how has he -- how has he held up over these days? We made mention of the fact that he turned 81 on Wednesday. Stamina? Vigor? How has he held up?

BROGLIO: I think he has held up very well for man 81 years old. He walks very confidently and with a certain amount of speed. I think it has been quite remarkable. Especially considering that for his body clock, it's six hours ahead.

HARRIS: That's right. That's right. I'm sort of curious, maybe some insights from you. We know that the Pope writes all of his addressed, any thoughts this morning on what we might expect the Pope to address before the General Assembly this morning. What do you think?

BROGLIO: I think you can count on the fact that he will talk about human rights and specifically about freedom of religion. I think we will also hear if you want a philosophical grounding in those rights in the very human condition, then obviously a relationship to the fact that men and women are created by Almighty God and therefore these rights are inherent. I'm sure he will also speak about the role of the United Nations in ensuring peace and justice for all people. And I'm sure he will also point out the fact that the Holy See does participate as an observer and in the United Nations.

HARRIS: Yes. I want to sneak in one more quick one. I'm sure we will probably stay with these pictures of the motorcade. You are the archbishop of the archdiocese of the U.S. military services. So I can't let you go without asking you a question about the challenges of your job, your work now with the U.S. military, particularly in this time of war.

BROGLIO: Well, it is a very challenging situation, especially because my faithful are spread out, really the sun never sets on my archdiocese. So, it is a constant concern as to how to meet the religious needs of the men and women in the armed services and particularly in the theater of operations in Iraq and in Afghanistan. We do not have enough chaplains. So one of my paramount tasks is to look for more priests who can serve our men and women in the military.

HARRIS: Archbishop Timothy Broglio, thank you so much for your time this morning.

BROGLIO: You're quite welcome.

HARRIS: We deeply appreciate it. Thank you.

Pope Benedict begins another full day of events this morning. He addresses the United Nations general assembly. Live coverage right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.. Later, he visits a Manhattan synagogue. Many see that as an important gesture of reaching out to all faiths. That theme carries through the end of the day. He will attend a prayer service of other leaders of Christian denominations. And on Sunday, he will visit ground zero and there he will meet with 9/11 survivors and the families of those killed in the terror attack. He will also celebrate Sunday mass at the Yankee Stadium.

WHITFIELD: Also, new this morning, a shocking wakeup call. An earthquake rocked the Midwest early this morning. The 5.2 magnitude quake was centered about 38 miles north-northwest of Evansville, Indiana. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the region in 40 years. People felt that hundreds of miles away. All the way, in fact, to Iowa and Tennessee. The building in Louisville, Kentucky was damaged clearly. And skyscrapers were shaking in Chicago, Indianapolis as well. No injuries and very little damage reported but in an area that doesn't often get earthquakes nerves were certainly rattled. The news station in Evansville, right near the epicenter was on the air when the quake hit. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we're in for another warm day in the tri-state. But it sounds like rain is on the way, Byron.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We are hearing some shaking here. It sounds like we have an earthquake here. So, I have to check that out here and get - OK, I'm just guessing. Maybe we had some brief gusty winds. Is it an earthquake? OK. So, we see a little shake here. It is not uncommon. We live here along the New Madrid fault here where it's 73.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Rob Marciano is also tracking some aftershocks associated with that quake. We will talk to him in a few minutes here in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Citigroup is slimming down the big bank eliminating another 9,000 jobs after first quarter losses added up to more than $5 billion. Big. That follows a $10 billion loss in the fourth quarter of last year. So far more than 13,000 workers at Citigroup have been laid off. Poor bets of mortgages and leveraged loans devouring company assets. Keep watching. CNN, our money team, has you covered whether it's jobs, debt, housing, or savings. Join us for this special report. It's called "Issue #1, the Economy." All this week wrapping up today, noon Eastern, only on CNN.

WHITFIELD: You have seen the images for about two weeks now. Mothers in prairie dresses, lawyers in suits. Children in limbo. Day two now of the custody battle between Texas authorities and a polygamist sect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris. The Pope on the world stage. Benedict's speech to the United Nations. See it live this morning in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A hearing on the fate of more than 400 children resumes this hour in Texas. It is a battle between Texas authorities and a polygamist sect. Susan Roesgen live now from San Angelo. And Suzanne, boy, the sheer numbers, the logistics on this, it just sort of boggles the mind.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: It really does. It is really difficult for all of the attorneys here representing so many children, so many mothers and fathers. And they are all trying to get a say in here and they are all trying to talk to the witnesses that take the stand that try to justify the state's position that it was right to take these children away.

You know, Tony, the investigators initially went to the YFZ, the Yearning for Zion ranch back on April 3rd because they were looking for one girl named Sarah whom they believe was 16 years old and had a baby. What they found was several girls named Sarah who may also believe were underage and then had babies.

And this is what the lead investigator Angie Voss has testified was a pattern of children having children. She has testified that the girls told her investigators that no age is too young to be spiritually united. That the girls were brought learning that no age is an underaged marriage. Also, she was told by the girls that mothers who complain, who fell out of favor for some reason, would be moved away from the ranch. One child said she had not seen her on own mother in two years.

And also the lead investigator Angie Voss says she believed the boys on the ranch were groomed to be perpetrators. To continue this pattern of children having children. Now, the attorneys, dozen of attorneys for the children and the families say that the investigators have been relying on hearsay. And the spokesman for the families, Rod Parker, says the families are not being treated fairly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROD PARKER, SPOKESMAN FOR FAMILIES: I think it is also apparent what the state is trying to do here is tar a few -- tar all the families with the problems of -- or the alleged problems of a few families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Now, one of the problems here, Tony, is that so many of these people on this ranch, the children and adults, have the same name. A lot of old testament first names, Sarah, Rebecca, Levi, Ezra. A lot of similar last names, Jessup, Barlow, Jeffs. As in Warren Jeffs, the prophet and the founder of this group who is now in prison on being an accessory to rape charges. So that's one issue here. Also, the investigators said that the children were not entirely honest. They don't believe that the children told the truth. They could not get accurate birth dates. They could not get accurate descriptions of what was going on there from some of the children. So, they initially took a DNA swab. They swabbed some or most of the children when they were being removed from the ranch. There was a gasp yesterday, Tony, in the overflow courtroom where I was listening to some of these hearing from the attorneys representing the families, how can they do this without lawyers' consent? But that was already done, a DNA swab, to try to figure out how these families work.

HARRIS: Susan Roesgen for us in San Angelo, Texas. Susan, great to see you. What a story. How disturbing. Thank you.

And just another mention here. Live pictures now. We saw the Pope's motorcade angling up to the United Nations. It has clearly arrived. The Pope to deliver an address before the General Assembly, scheduled for about 11:15. It is when we believe we will actually here the Pope's address, much to come before that. Obviously, we will continue to follow the events as they unfold right here in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: All right. Something else we're following, taking place overseas in Iraq. But out of Washington, we're getting reports now that U.S. intelligence has uncovered some potential suicide bombings plots to take place in Baghdad. Barbara Starr is following the developments from the Pentagon. And, Barbara initially, I guess the knee jerk reaction is that isn't this always impending danger in Baghdad? What is different about this particular report?

BARBARA STARR, CNN, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, what has happened is the U.S. military has now issued an official statement warning the people of Baghdad that they have uncovered, the military and Iraqi forces, what they call credible information that a number of Al Qaeda and Iraq terrorists have entered Baghdad in recent days and are planning to carry out a series of new attacks. It is basically a warning, a very serious warning, from the U.S. military, to the citizens of Baghdad. This coming out now in an official press statement that was just issued a little while ago.

What they are warning the people of Baghdad is that these terrorists, these Al Qaeda terrorists, have plans to carry out suicide bomb attacks, vehicle attacks, suicide vest attacks. Of course, this is of great concern because people are at risk, of course, but it will. Again if this was to be carried out, basically destabilizing the security situation in the capital that everyone has struggled so hard to get under control in recent days and weeks. So we will continue to watch this as well. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Barbara, thank you so much. And of course, on the right-hand side of your screen, you are seeing the arrival of the Pope there at the U.N. being escorted by the Secretary General. The Pope will be speaking to the entire general assembly within perhaps an hour or so from now. And you see a fairly sizable contingent there, folks that have come out to agree to take pictures with the Pope. And as we heard from Richard Roth earlier, there has been a lot of jockeying among the more than 190 countries, those representing the 190 countries there at the U.N., jockeying to try to get the one-on-one time with the Pope.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: And so now we are seeing the jockeying, trying to get at least a photo-op with the Pope during his historic visit to the U.S., three days will be in New York. He has a very full plate in addition to the U.N., he will, of course, be leading mass at Yankee Stadium. And of course, we will be visiting with victims of 9/11 at apartment ground zero as well. All that taking place over the next three days.

Meantime, the Pope's visit has really meant a lot, not just to Catholics but people in general here in the U.S., as you see right there, while in Washington, D.C., he was at the cultural - the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center last night. And while there, the pope had a chance to hear some beautiful music as well. From a group with a very funny name, it's called the Suspicious Cheese Lords, which is a very literal translation from a Latin name that you don't want to hear me attempt. But it male acappella group had a chance to perform for him And hear now, a little a taste of the music that the pope got a chance to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Beautiful music there from this acappella group. And only we could see them. You can hear them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But if we do have the pleasure of getting a chance to see one of the vocalists, Clifton Skip West. He's a member of the male acappella group. And I'm going to call you Skip because you and I have known each other for years, Skip.

CLIFTON "SKIP" WEST III, SUSPICIOUS CHEESE LORDS: Too many years. WHITFIELD: Too many years. And I know that - that you have forever had a great commitment to the church. And this had to be a dream come true to be able to bring your music right to the Pope in his company, all these taking place last night. What was it like?

WEST: It was both very humbling and very exhilarating at the same time. This Pope is quite frankly, one of the best patrons of music that we have had since Pius X. And his directives on church music and it should be more of a classically, seriously oriented type of liturgical music. You know, with Catholic tradition of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony that should be promulgated. That was sort of the spirit we tried to bring to this. And, again, it was just amazing. Words really cannot describe the feelings of singing at such a great gathering of Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, to be a part musically of the Pope's mission, of the - John Paul II's Cultural Center's mission, to bring people of different cultures, different faiths together.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And you - I mean, you founded this music group, this acappella group.

WEST: Yes, I did.

WHITFIELD: You have performed throughout Washington, whether it be the Kennedy Center, so many different centers. But this had to be different, Skip. I mean, you have to had to butterflies, did you not?

WEST: More than butterflies. It was more like armies jumping through my stomach. Sort of the whole world watching you. And especially the composer of that piece is also a cheese lord, George Cervantes. And he was just -- he was basically -- in the same caliber as (Pallestrin)ph or any of the other papal composers that have come through. I mean, you are writing for the Pope. What else can you do?

WHITFIELD: But you know, so extraordinary, too, is, you mentioned, we know that this Pope has a real affinity for music. I mean, he's a pianist himself. Quite accomplished.

WEST: Quite accomplished.

WHITFIELD: And he has heard some of America's best operatic music over his past three, I guess, now day four, you know day in the U.S. and to now for you and your group to be in the same category as your Placido Domingo, Denise Grace, all of them performed for him while in the United States, that has to be a tremendous honor.

WEST: It was a tremendous honor. And especially at the end, he sort of paused and as if to absorb, you know, last chord, or to savor the last chord. And then looked up and then started to applaud. I mean, it was a genuine smile on his face. I talked to a number of bishops and cardinals who know the Holy Father very well. And they say oh, he was -- he was elated. He was so pleased and pleasantly surprised to hear this interfaith meeting, the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi set to such beautiful music by George Cervantes.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Skip West, the Suspicious Cheese Lord. I will forever know you as Skip. So, good to see you. And there is the CD.

WEST: There's the new CD, Vivarex, on our Web site, cheeselords.org. We are also on myspace, YouTube and i-Tunes.

WHITFIELD: OK, What a plug. Skip. Smart.

HARRIS: Work it.

WHITFIELD: Well, thanks so much. And thank you for sharing your story and your experience and it is so great to see you after so many years even though we see each other probably all my life.

WEST: Likewise. Never thought that beginning a music group around my dinner table would come to this and especially to meeting you again.

WHITFIELD: And look at what happened, awesome. Fantastic. Skip, great to see you and hear your beautiful group, the music as well. Thanks so much.

WEST: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: We'll connect again.

HARRIS: How cool is that? Armies marching around.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I love that.

HARRIS: Nerves, you kidding me? Butterflies? Armies in my belly, that's great.

WHITFIELD: He really described that so succinctly, so well.

HARRIS: It's clever (ph).

WHITFIELD: Fantastic.

Well, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

What do you say we check the big board, New York Stock Exchange right now. A little concerned about how the markets might respond to a lium (ph). Why would I even be concerned? Why for a moment here? I'm telling you the focus is in the stateside right now. And you know, we're buying -- maybe we'll take some profits next week.

But this is a week for upticks in the market. The market up 172 points inside the first hour of the trading day. We are following the news, of course, about Citigroup, planning to cut 9,000 jobs over the course of the next year.

Susan Lisovicz and all of our money team, all hands on deck for you in the NEWSROOM.

Your money, your questions. Gerri Willis is here to answer your e-mails, financial advice ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK, and here's a moment with the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Pope Benedict XVI, a private moment. Kind of looks like he's just kind of giving him a ...

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: ...little tour there of the U.N. The pope now in the house what -- barely 15 minutes now there at the U.N. and what a whirlwind tour it has been.

Richard Roth, who is a resident there at the U.N., you can give us a better idea, Richard, of what's taking place here besides what seems to be a quick little nickel and dime tour. And probably followed by perhaps some brief discussions between the two.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I -- let's listen because I think the secretary general is pointing out a few things. Maybe we can hear some audio for a moment.

BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Normally, this is where I work alone. I do not receive guests in here.

POPE BENEDICT XVI: Oh, only alone right here (ph).

KI-MOON: Only alone. But I normally receive and have meeting in my conference room. But they have to clear all the tables for this special occasion for your Holiness.

POPE BENEDICT XVI: Oh, OK, clear the tables (ph). You meet (ph) with the essential groups?

KI-MOON: Oh yes.

ROTH: All right, that's the U.N. Secretary General pointing out various conference rooms. They are on a very high floor here at the U.N. Tower. Everyone in the building was told to close their windows for security purposes with the loudspeaker announcement earlier this morning.

Pope Benedict making his first visit here coming from Washington. It's his first stop inside New York City. But he's now on international soil, you might say, at the U.N. Headquarters -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow, well, this is extraordinary. And I guess -- well now, they're ushering ...

HARRIS: Everyone out, yes, yes.

WHITFIELD: ...most folks out, particularly the photographers out. But that was a nice private moment.

And then, Richard, what's your understanding as to what will be taking place after that kind of impromptu office meeting?

ROTH: Well, after a series of meetings here with senior U.N. officials as the pope is accompanied by archbishops and other Vatican officials that have connections to the U.N., the pope will be led to the General Assembly.

He's going to make, I think, a dramatic type of entrance down the center aisle where he will walk through the 192-member countries and then speak in the General Assembly Roster (ph), a message of hope, peace, appeals for working better together for the good of the world.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. Richard Roth, thanks so much. We'll touch back with you -- Tony.

HARRIS: Debts, savings, and the cost of college. Those are the topics of your questions. And here to answer the e-mails, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis. Where've you been, Gerri? This -- oh, the pope's been in town. We haven't been able to visit.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Been right here. Yes, yes.

HARRIS: Good to see you.

WILLIS: Let's get to those questions, yes.

HARRIS: You want to dive into these -- you ready to dive in?

WILLIS: Yes.

HARRIS: Sokun has the first question for you, Gerri. "I am 37 with two daughters. What should I do to save money for my daughters for college?"

WILLIS: Well, I think the best way to go is really a 529 savings plan. This vehicle lets your investment grow tax deferred. Distributions for college costs come out federally tax-free. Investigate the plans in your own state first, especially if you can get those state tax breaks. Then, look at direct sole (ph) plans as opposed to adviser sole plans because they're cheaper and compare the various plan features at finaid.org and savingforcollege.com -- Tony.

HARRIS: You ready for a question from Michel from Brooklyn?

WILLIS: Yes.

HARRIS: OK, Michel writes, "I am a student and I have saved $10,000. How can I invest this money, Gerri, safely?"

WILLIS: Well, you know, that's the problem: safely. There is no such thing as a safe investment. The longer time horizon you have for investing the better off you'll be. Once you have established an emergency safety cushion, think about investing in a broad market index fund or an exchange-traded fund. These types of products don't carry the fees associated with actively managed mutual funds. Keep your costs low and investigate products from Vanguard and Fidelity, two low-cost providers. You can also check out the track record of ETFs and index funds at morningstar.com.

HARRIS: That's great. Joanne from Vermont writes oh Gerri, "How safe and easy-to-use are the online money market savings plans? I have over $25,000 in a conventional savings account, locally, earning less than 3 percent."

WILLIS: Yes, that's the problem. Online money market accounts are safe and easy. And it's a good strategy since you'll be -- you'll make a better yield than on the traditional savings account. But, before you put your money into this kind of bank, make sure it's insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Many times, you'll see the FDIC logo and advertisements. That's one place to look for it. And it's the protection you need. You can check out some rates on money market accounts through bankrate.com.

HARRIS: Wow, and this next question is something. Hopeless in North Carolina writes, "Please tell me which way to go to get out of $395,000 worth of debt! This balance includes mortgage, credit cards and auto balances. My salary went from $95,000 yearly to $16,800 yearly. Gerri, can you please tell me how to turn this overwhelming debt situation around?

WILLIS: All right, well, Hopeless, look. You know, a lot of that is probably mortgage debt.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Your real problem is that you're losing income. The first thing you want to do is talk to a credit counselor. There are counselors who can help you negotiate a payment plan with creditors through what they call a dealt management plan.

Now, these credit counselors may also help you figure out whether you're a good candidate for bankruptcy. You can sit down with a counselor in your area or you can get a consultation over the phone. To find out what's available in your area, go to the National Foundation for Credit Counselors. The Web site, of course, nfcc.org.

And of course, if you have any questions ...

HARRIS: Yay.

WILLIS: ...come to us at "Top Tips" at CNN.com. We love hearing from you and we answer those questions right here every Friday.

HARRIS: Hey, a quick preview of "ISSUE #1," noon Eastern. I know you're joined by the money team.

WILLIS: That's right. You know, we're talking about what's important to you: your debt, your money, your 401(k). You name it, we're all over it on "ISSUE #1." And don't forget "OPEN HOUSE."

HARRIS: Terrific. WILLIS: You know, Tony, we talked to Suze Orman and she'll be in the show Saturday ...

HARRIS: I love her.

WILLIS: ...morning at 9:30. Great information, great advice. That's Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time on CNN.

HARRIS: There she is. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis, great to see you. Have a good weekend, Gerri.

WILLIS: Thank you, Tony. Have a good day.

HARRIS: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dallas takes a pounding. A hail of a storm. I've borrowed the word from my colleague over here, Tony Harris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New this morning: A shocking wakeup call. An earthquake rocked the Midwest early this morning. The 5.2 magnitude quake was centered about 38 miles north-northwest of Evansville, Indiana. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the region in 40 years. People felt it hundreds of miles away, all the way to Iowa and Tennessee.

This building, in fact, in Louisville was damaged. And skyscrapers were shaking in Chicago and in Indianapolis. No injuries and very little damage reported. But in an area that doesn't usually get earthquakes, nerves were certainly rattled. CNN affiliate WAVE in Louisville, Kentucky, was on the air when the quake hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, we are experiencing shaking right now in the studio, perhaps a tremor of sorts. We are not sure. The whole studio is shaking -- Kevin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can hear our lights right now. They are shaking overhead. And our computer is shaking just a little bit.

Kevin, what do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would have to think this is an earthquake of some sort that's going on. Look at our lights right there. They are shaking. We can feel it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole studio is shaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It started as a real small thing, and then right when we come off of that story you could really feel the whole studio here shake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a bit noisy. Just about 30 seconds. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It's their job, isn't it?

WHITFIELD: Thirty seconds of excitement and a little bit of terror, too, maybe.

HARRIS: It's their job to sort of sit there and explain it to folks as the lights overhead are...

WHITFIELD: But the one gentleman looked a little nervous.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Going after a couple of burglars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just grabbed him up and went like this.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I did.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Wow. And what did he do at that point?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was basically just shaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: He quivered. Carole, the good neighbor. You want her as your neighbor. On watch, in control, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Live pictures of the pope at the U.N. this morning. Maybe we'll get a comment after the signing.

Just moments after the meeting with the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. And we are going to continue to follow each and every moment that we can of the pope's visit to New York for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

HARRIS: An 8-year-old boy rescues a missing man. Wait until you see what that boy had waiting for him back at school.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In Michigan, call Carole Penzabene the good neighbor. You know, like a good neighbor? Here's what she did. She noticed a young man carrying two duffel bags out of her neighbor's home. That neighbor wasn't there. Penzabene went outside and confronted the thief and the young woman with him. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLE PENZABENE, STOPPED SUSPECTED BURGLARS: Well, I turned into a bear. I had the kid by the shirt and the girl like that. She was shorter. I was just walking them to the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Isn't that something?

WHITFIELD: Gosh, she is a bad mamma jamma.

HARRIS: Look, Like this, a little demonstration here. Penzabene says that she took the risk because she believes her neighbor would have done the same for her.

WHITFIELD: OK, and I know her neighbor appreciated that.

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So just walking down a country road, 8-year-old Zack Evans found a missing man and brought him home. That simple act of kindness got paid back -- or rather payback big time.

Jeff Door (ph) of Atlanta affiliate WSB has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF DOOR (ph), WSB REPORTER (voice-over): How could one boy stand out in a crowd like this? The blond one -- that's Zachary Evans. Last week he found Walter Wood, whop was confused and lost after brain surgery, out in the woods, and led Mr. Wood to safety. So at school, they made a huge deal out of Zack in front of the whole second grade. He met Mr. Wood's family.

MARY CUMMINGS, WALTER WOODS' DAUGHTER: The man you found, I'm his daughter, and I just want to say thank you. You are a big hero, you know that?

DOOR (on camera): They made a cake for him. Look at this, is this cool or what? This is a picture of Zack in front of the police car. Real firemen and police came to school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zack you did great. Thanks.

(APPLAUSE)

DOOR (voice-over): And gave him proclamations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We welcome you aboard as an honorary firefighter with the Cherokee County Fire Department Reserve (ph) unit.

(APPLAUSE)

DOOR: And he got his picture with the guys and sat in their truck and got to share the cake with his class.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's your hero cake right there.

DOOR: And Mr. Woods' family gave him tearful thanks.

So how does an 8-year-old stand out in the second grade? When the whole second grade stands up for him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Aw, that's so sweet. Well, Zack also got gift certificates to Wal-Mart. He got dinner, a movie, ice cream. The list goes on. Best of all, he got a trip to summer camp.

HARRIS: Love it. Love it. Love it.

WHITFIELD: All because of that fine deed.

HARRIS: Isn't that great?

WHITFIELD: Yes, sweet.

HARRIS: The pope and a mission of peace. This morning he address the world. His message, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)