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Report Emerges Concerning Gay Catholic Priests; Hotel Cecil in Los Angeles Experiences Another Murder; Danica Patrick Prepares For Daytona; Interview with Former NASCAR Racer Janet Guthrie; Hollywood Prepares for Oscars; Marathons Held For Charity; Civil War Within GOP Examined

Aired February 23, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. It's 2:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 11:00 a.m. out West. For those of you just tuning in, thanks for joining us in the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at the top stories we're following for you right now.

The Vatican is firing back against media reports on sex, money, and gay priests calling them unverified or completely false. Two Italian publications claim Pope Benedict decided to resign the same day he received an explosive report on a gay lobby lurking in the Vatican. CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Rome.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are blasting in uncharacteristically strong terms, Fredricka, are these reports, reports that appeared in a daily newspaper, "La Republica." and a week live magazine "Panorama," which suggests that indeed this group of three cardinals who were assigned by Pope benedict to look into wrongdoing in the Vatican found or allegedly uncovered, according to these publications, a network of gay priests within the Vatican who were being blackmailed according to these reports by a network of male prostitutes in Rome.

Now, the Vatican is roundly denying that these reports taking place, accusing the Italian media of trying to influence the Conclave, that group of 116 cardinals who will be meeting in the next few weeks in Rome or rather in the Vatican city to elect the next Pope. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: In general, are people taking this report seriously throughout Rome, or is there some reticence to embrace it?

WEDEMAN: Well, that depends who you speak to. Now, some of the so-called veteran Vatican watchers are somewhat skeptical about these reports. But many other people are taking them seriously. They've been picked up not only by these two publications but really they're appearing in all the Italian media. We've had in the past just three years ago, there were reports that were backed up by video and still pictures of gay priests within the Vatican. And so there is a historical precedence to that. So many people in fact, do take these reports very seriously despite the vigorous denials from the Vatican.

WHITFIELD: Ben Wedeman in Rome. One of the men who help elect the next Pope is Cardinal Roger Mahoney in this country. He is giving a legal deposition today about alleged sex crimes by priests when he was archbishop of Los Angeles. CNN's Miguel Marquez is in L.A. So Mahoney has been deposed in the past, but what's different this time?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the big difference is this is the first time he's been deposed since he's no longer cardinal, left in 2011. Plus, there were 12,000 pages of documents released by the diocese here under court order about past his involvement with priests who were charged with being pedophiles in the past. They are about two or three hours into that deposition, we believe. And they are going to talk to him about one particular father, father Nicolas Aguilar Rivera accused of having 26 victims that he was he abused. But they're also able to talk to him about 25 other priests, all of this against the backdrop of him going to Rome to cast his vote in the conclave in the coming days.

One person, Bill Donahue with the Catholic League, you would expect he might say that it would be all right for Mahoney to go over to Rome and it's his own business. That's not exactly what he told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DONAHUE, CATHOLIC LEAGUE: The answer is, he should stay in Los Angeles, Mahoney. For him to go to Rome is only going to create all kinds of clouds hanging over the whole Catholic Church. I would hope he would exercise more prudence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now, this afternoon, the location where we're at is where cardinal Mahoney actually lives, and there will be several members of the snap network, the network of survivors of abuse of the Catholic Church that will be here to deliver a petition, what they say has 8,000 names on it asking the cardinal to recuse himself from going to Rome. Fred?

WHITFIELD: So any idea as to whether he would actually consider that or do that?

MARQUEZ: It doesn't seem very likely. He tweeted last night that he was only a few short hours from his trip to Rome where he will be tweeting from there his spokesperson said that it is under canonical law that he has to go to Rome, but other Catholics I've talked to and other people in the church say he can recuse himself. It is possible that once he gets there, the other cardinals in the conclave could basically disinvite him.

WHITFIELD: All right, Miguel Marquez, thanks so much from Los Angeles.

Meantime, still in L.A., the coroner there is ordering a toxicology report for a Canadian tourist whose body was found in a hotel water tank. The body of 21-year-old Alisa Lam was found in the tank at the Cecil can hotel after she was reported missing in January. Her body was discovered when hotel guests complained about discolored water and water with a funny taste. Police say Lam's body may have been in that tank for weeks. The cause of her death still unknown and officials don't know if it was an accident or murder.

Lance Armstrong and the U.S. postal service cycling team received tens of millions of dollars in federal funds. Now the U.S. government wants it back. The Justice Department says it will join the lawsuit filed by former teammate Floyd Landis. That suit alleges Armstrong and managers defrauded the government by using performance enhancing substances in violation of sponsorship rules.

And now, a new winter storm in the northeast. Once again up to 10 inches of snow possible for parts of New England this weekend. Boston still has remnants of that big blizzard that hit just two weeks ago, if you recall. And even after the streets were cleared, the city was left with a whole lot of potholes to fill. Karen Maginnis back in the weather center, here we go again.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The third weekend in a row, but not like what we saw early part of February, Fred, when they got blasted with about 24 inches of snow. This one is going to pack a little bit of a punch. The computer models were all over the place. Yes, snow on the way not just for Boston, but Boston has seen 32 inches of snow so far of this month, not for the season. We've seen it for this month.

All right, I believe we are taking a look at a live picture of Boston, cloudy skies. The snow, rain will start later on tonight. I think it will be all snow by the early morning hours, then it looks like it's going to switch back a little bit. You've got some grungy looking 24 to 36 hours ahead.

But here's the reason why. An area of low pressure moving off for New England on the backside of this, that's where we'll look at the heavy wet snow. Talk about snow, iReporter, we have Amanda, she said, oh, we all thought it was an earthquake, but no, it was the ice and the snow falling off her office building in Wichita. Wichita saw 14 inches of snowfall. Some areas of Kansas saw 22 inches of snow. Amanda, love the video. Whoa. I don't know if I would have done that, Fred. That looks a little scary to me.

WHITFIELD: It looks like she had a little distance between those chunks falling and the camera.

MAGINNIS: Not a lot of wiggle room for me.

WHITFIELD: It seems like she stayed safe. But that is a fascinating thing to see. That's a whole lot of snow and ice for sure. Thanks so much, Karen, appreciate it.

In a minute, we'll go to South Africa for the latest on Oscar Pistorius and tell you what his first full day out on bail been like. And that woman's body found in that water tank in the L.A. hotel, it's not the first time something horrible and mysterious has happened there. We'll take you inside what's being dubbed the horror hotel. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We now know the identity of another victim of that deadly shoot and car crash on the Las Vegas strip. Our affiliate KOMO reports Sandra Sutton was the passenger in that taxi that burst noose flames after a Maserati crashed into it. The crash also killed the taxi driver. Someone in a black range rover opened fire early Thursday killing the driver of the Maserati. And he has since been identified as aspiring is rapper Kenneth Cherry. Police are hunting for the occupants of the range rover.

Let's get the latest on Oscar Pistorius. He is now due back in court June 4th. But this weekend, the Olympic hero is staying at his uncle's house in Pretoria after being released on $112 through bail accuse affidavit murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. CNN International Correspondent Nic Robertson is living in Johannesburg, South Africa. So Nic, the reaction from Steenkamp's family that he would be out on bail?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you can imagine, that's a family going through a lot of pain right now. Her father spoke out in one of the newspapers here, saying that if Pistorious has lied to get bail and if he is going to continue to lie, then this is something he's going to have to live with. This will be on his conscience forever. He clearly not happy about the situation right now, but he did say that if, if Oscar Pistorius is telling the truth, he said that maybe one day he can forgive him for his daughter's death. A family spokesman, though, said all they really want is justice to be done.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS VAN EDEN, STEENKAMP SPOKESMAN: I'm not sure what to feel in the case. They just want to know the truth, and whatever happens is not going to bring Reeva back. They just want justice and the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: It's not just the family, Reeva Steenkamp's family upset about Pistorius getting bail. A number of people in the country feel upset by it, too. People are divided over it.

WHITFIELD: It's very clear then at least from that article that the Steenkamp family isn't so sold on Pistorius' story, whereas initially, they said, you know, the relationship has been so great between them and Pistorius that they couldn't imagine that there was any intent. So they've changed their mind on this?

ROBERTSON: They've had a chance to hear what everyone else in the country has heard now, four days of the defense and prosecution, and the affidavit from Pistorius, and perhaps they really feel now that it just doesn't quite add up for them. We heard from the magistrate in the court saying it didn't add up for him.

And the big question on so many people's minds and it must be on the Steenkamps' mind, if Pistorius loved her so much, why didn't he sort of realize she wasn't in the bed when he went to the bathroom with the gun? Why didn't he try to wake her before the incident happened? So I think it's as the information's coming out, they're saying there are possible flaws in it here.

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, there's a new lead detective in this case because the other lead detective had legal problems of his own. Give me an idea of what the consensus is how the investigation will move forward with a new leader.

ROBERTSON: You know, I think the consensus is that the new inspector who's been put on is the job is a lieutenant general, a high ranking officer, 32 years in the police force, a lot of experience, well respected, that he will sort of bring this investigation back on track. A big investigative team will be put on it. They're not saying how many or how long it will last.

But certainly the defense is going to exploit the holes that have been created by Hilton Bota, the investigator officer who was taken off because he's accused of attempted murder. So the defense could still come out ahead because of this, but the investigation itself, I think most people think that's probably back on track.

But, you know, it's not the first time the police's reputation here has looked bad when the trials come -- when it's all come to court. The evidence has been presented. They're not going to hold their breath till they see exactly how the police do. I think some confidence restored.

WHITFIELD: It is a fascinating case that is has gripped the world for that matter. All right, thanks so much, Nic Robertson there in Johannesburg.

Let's talk movies straight ahead. It is Oscar weekend. "Argo," the thriller about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, that's the top contender in tomorrow night's Oscars. And Jimmy Carter was president at the time of the crisis and he takes issues with a few of the historical inaccuracies in his view. He sets the record straight with CNN's Piers Morgan.

Plus Grae Drake gives us her Oscar picks and all the latest Hollywood buzz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I know you can't wait, Hollywood's biggest night is tomorrow. And the movie "Argo" is a frontrunner for Oscar gold about a daring rescue during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979. President Jimmy Carter was in the White House at the time. He told Piers Morgan what he thought about the film's accuracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": You've seen "Argo" I take it.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes, I have.

MORGAN: How accurate is it from your memory?

CARTER: Well, let me say first of all, it's a great drama. I hope it gets the Academy Award for best film because I think it deserves it. The only thing that I would say it was that 90 percent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was Canadian. And the movie gives almost full credit to the American CIA. With that exception, the movie's very good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, he gives it two thumbs up. Let's find out what Grae Drake has to say about this. Good to see you, Grae, of RottenTomatoes.com. It's been too long.

GRAE DRAKE, MOVIE CRITIC: I know. So good to see you back.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK, good, big Oscar weekend. And, of course, "Argo" is winning so many predictions as to whether it's going to take home best movie. Let's take a look at "Argo" for those who maybe haven't seen it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aliens and robots?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you telling me that there is a movie company in Hollywood right now that is funded by the CIA?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. There are only bad options. It's about finding the best one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have a better bad idea than this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the best bad idea we have, sir, by far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Fake movie making in order to get into Tehran and help free those hostages. So, Grae, this movie really has gotten a lot of attention for a lot of reasons. Sometimes for the snub of Affleck and then sometimes just for, I guess, you know, the veracity of the movie.

DRAKE: Right. And when Ben Affleck did not receive a best director nomination, that made "Argo" the underdog. With all of the changes to academy voting this year, I think they are going to vote "Argo" best picture. That is a really rare thing that a film will win best picture when the director wasn't nominated. That's only happened three times, but I think that "Argo" is going to do it and we should congratulate Ben Affleck for growing such an amazing head of hair and give him an Oscar.

WHITFIELD: You think it's because of -- it's sort of payback for him?

DRAKE: Yes. I think that it is basically a like we're saying the academy will be saying, we're sorry. But also, world, Hollywood likes to show that them, too, cannot just entertain people but they can also help when the chips are down. Sometimes an organization as great as the CIA needs flair from Hollywood.

WHITFIELD: He acted, directed in "Argo." he's not up for best actor but others are. What are your brie predictions for who might walk away with best actor?

DRAKE: Pretty much a lock for Daniel Day-Lewis because his interpretation of "Lincoln" we've been saying for months is really spectacular. He brought something so amazing to that role. And he has won every award under the sun.

WHITFIELD: Golden Globes.

DRAKE: Yes, exactly. And the other reason that "Lincoln" -- Daniel Day-Lewis will win for "Lincoln." If you're unsure about a category, you can bet "Lincoln" will get a few more awards because most of the Academy Award voters were alive when Lincoln was president. So --

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: You're so funny and witty. How about best actress?

DRAKE: Best actress is a really tough category this year because Jessica Chastain and "Zero Dark Thirty" was magnificent and Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook" was every bit of good. "Silver Linings" has more of everybody's emotion behind it. Bipolar ballroom dancers attracted people this year. Plus she yells at Robert DeNiro, she holds her own in that movie.

WHITFIELD: Doesn't she slap somebody?

DRAKE: She slaps somebody, girl. She is crazy in that movie. Not literally but figuratively. I thought she was great. I think she has the slight advantage. The other thing that "Zero Dark Thirty" has against it was all the controversy about waterboarding and terrorism that it brought about. So Jennifer Lawrence led award ballroom dancers the award this year.

WHITFIELD: She got the golden globes. What is about best supporting actor and actress?

DRAKE: Best supporting actor is a category where all of the nominees have already won. So I have to admit that I'm bored by this category because if guys already have statues, then it's anybody's game. Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens for "Lincoln" once again was so spectacular that I think ultimately he has the edge. But there's a wildcard in this, which is that Robert DeNiro for "Silver Linings Playbook" just cried on Katie Couric's talk show because the role touched him so much.

WHITFIELD: It also underscored he can do anything. He can play any character and you believe him.

DRAKE: Yes, absolutely. He can be in any kind of movie. He goes from a "Meet the Faulkers" movie to "Heat" all the way to the "Silver Linings Playbook" and always fantastic. It's been a long time since he's won. There is a chance he's just hot on Tommy Lee Jones' heels.

WHITFIELD: Supporting actress?

DRAKE: Supporting actress I'm going to say is a lock again, Anne Hathaway, because she nails that song. And I think really when this whole award season started she dreamed a dream that sometime she would have time to take a nap. That girl has been busy.

WHITFIELD: She's a workaholic. Her role is very short in the movie. But it's that moment when she sings that kind of cements a real distinction you know, for her.

DRAKE: Absolutely. It just captivated the world. You were right. You were right, because that's the thing about this, critic or not, Anne Hathaway touched everybody's soul in that role. She nailed the song. She really captured us, and in best supporting actress roles, a lot of those actors and actresses aren't on screen a whole lot because they're supporting, right? I say let's just give her the award, viva the French Revolution, and who are ray for prostitutes on screen.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my. Grae Drake, thanks so much. Can't wait to find out how your picks fared, big old Oscar night.

DRAKE: Fingers crossed.

WHITFIELD: Grae Drake of rotten tomatos.com. You can always check in to her reviews by checking out that Web site.

All right, Danica Patrick, she's outpacing the boys in NASCAR. We'll look at how her race to pole position has kind of I guess brought new popularity to her and to the sport.

And the first lady like we've never seen her before as she let loose on the dance floor sort of, kind of, on late night television.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's 2:30 on the east coast, 11:30 out west. For those of you just tuning in, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here's a look at the top stories we're following in the CNN Newsroom.

The Vatican is slamming Italian media reports about why Pope Benedict decided to step down. A newspaper and a weekly magazine say it happened the same day the Pope reeve received a bombshell, a 300- page Vatican report documenting homosexuality in the priesthood. A Vatican spokesman calls the report gossip designed to influence the vote for a new Pope.

A cardinal who will be part of that the vote is tied up in a messy legal deposition in Los Angeles today. Cardinal Roger Mahoney is answering questions about pedophile priests in the Los Angeles dioceses during the time as archbishop. Church documents suggest Mahoney knew priests were abusing children but went out of his way to shield the men from prosecution.

Now a look at some of the stories trending right now. Microsoft says it has been hacked. Its investigators found malicious software in some computers. The techniques used were similar to those used to hack into computers at Facebook and Apple.

And a homeless man in Kansas City is being rewarded handsomely for a good deed. A woman dropped her diamond engagement ring into his donation cup by mistake. But when Billy Ray Harris returned two days later, she was so grateful she set up an online fund for him and in about a week, $95,000 in donations have flooded in.

And first lady Michelle Obama has come up with a few new movies right there. She's been grooving with TV host Jimmy Fallon dressed as a mom. They got on the floor there grooving, showing a little sprinkler action during what's called the evolution of mom dancing. A little shake it up, too. OK. Wave to the crowd.

All right, let's talk racetrack. Danica Patrick hoping to make NASCAR history again. Last week she became the first woman to qualify for the front spot at Daytona 500 getting what's called the pole position. Tomorrow she'll try to become the first woman in history to win the big race. Joe Carter has more on the woman everybody will be watching on the Daytona track.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANICA PATRICK, NASCAR DRIVER: I think there's an opinion that I'm probably hard or tough or too serious maybe, but I can tell you I'm probably like the opposite of that at home. Number one, I'm very girly. I like to go shopping. I like to go get pedicures. I like to wear high heels and dresses. I'm definitely a lot softer than I am at the racetrack where I'm doing my job.

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Love, as it turns out, has no caution flags. In November she announced the end of her seven-year marriage, but just weeks ago it was revealed she had a new love, fellow rookie driver Ricky Stenhouse junior, and her happiness couldn't be more parent.

PATRICK: We're enjoying it and I think that we both kind of laugh a lot when we get asked about each other. I think that's a good thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going go crash somebody because they crashed her. I'm going to go out there and drive hard every week.

CARTER: Being in the spotlight is nothing new for Danica. She's garnered worldwide fame for her provocative photo shoots and record 12 Super Bowl appearances. Danica is among NASCAR's top earners and biggest stars. But over the years, she's been a lightning rod for critics who point to her failure so far to win a race or accuse her of focusing more on self-promotion. But for racing, she brings a tremendous amount of exposure and popularity to a sport that could use attendance and TV ratings boosts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really created significant added interest from a fan base standpoint.

CARTER: Patrick struggled in this spotlight last year, her first racing with NASCAR after seven seasons with Indy Car. Just two lapse into her debut at the Daytona 500, she crashed and finished 38. Now after making history as the first women to win pole position for this year's race, it's clear her years of working to make it to the front row are paying off on the biggest stage.

PATRICK: I have a lot to learn, too. I understand that. I've got Jeff Gordon starting next to me and I've got, oh, my god, a herd of them behind me. Hopefully at the end we're rolling and we have a chance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARTER: When you talk about star power, you talk about popularity, I've got a cute story. Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon, big names in NASCAR, all three guys have daughters. All three of their daughters said dad, the one person that we want to meet this week is Danica Patrick. Jeff Gordon brought his daughter Ella who is five years old to victory lane after she won the pole position on Sunday. They snapped a picture together. We've seen firsthand going over to her garage this week the amount of young people, the amount of young girls that have lined up to sign Danica well wishes on her window and her crew chief saying yesterday he's passed out more lug nuts to little girls than he has in his entire career. They've been signing them and giving them away. Her impact on NASCAR goes all the way down to the littlest fan you can imagine.

WHITFIELD: That is so sweet. Those big NASCAR stars, their daughters, does that mean they're also rooting for Danica and not rooting for their dads?

CARTER: I think so. I think so.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll all be watching. Thanks so much, Joe carter there front and center at Daytona. Also watching someone else who made history. Before Danica there was Janet. The first woman to compete at the Daytona 500 talks about blazing a trail in the boys club of racing and paving the way for Danica Patrick.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Danica Patrick will make history tomorrow as the first woman ever to start at the front of the pack in the Daytona 500. Patrick says she loves the fact that she's breaking gender barriers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK: One of the coolest things is to be able to think that parents and their kids are having that conversation at home about it. And to -- I've heard stories about a kid, boy or girl, saying, but mommy, daddy, that's a girl that's out there racing. And then they can have that conversation to say, you can do anything you want to do, and gender doesn't matter. Your passion is what matters. And that's cool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But decades before Danica, there was Janet Guthrie, the first woman to race in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. I asked Janet how she felt about Danica breaking her record.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANET GUTHRIE, FORMER NASCAR DRIVER: Well, it was a 36-year-old record. It was about time it was broken. She has excellent equipment, and in qualifying last weekend, she made the most of it. The proof of the pudding, of course, will be on Sunday.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel like you paved the way for her?

GUTHRIE: Oh, when I first put a car in the field at Indianapolis for the 500 mile race there and also at the day tony nap 500, when I put a car in the field for Indianapolis, it was on the front page of the newspapers, not the sports page, the newspapers, in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, and so on and so forth. And that is the kind of effect that Danica will vin if she wins the race.

WHITFIELD: Wow. It seems like, you know, Danica really has the respect of a lot of other drivers and fans. And she will still tell you it's been a tough road going. But you, you know, were heckled. Some would say that you might even -- you were harassed. What kind of adversity overall did you face and how did that I guess either spur you along you know, really keep you on track and want to drive even faster?

GUTHRIE: Well, back then, the guys who drove at the top levels had never had the experience of running against a woman. And they were sure they weren't going to like it. And they weren't shy about making their opinions known. And you know, mostly I could laugh at it. Sometimes it made me mad. But what really mattered was what happened on the racetrack. As long as I could get my hands on that equipment, I could put everything else out of my mind. And that's what Danica will be doing also.

You even wrote in today's "Washington Post" that this moment for Danica this weekend at Daytona does transcend motorsports in your view. You also said that, quote, "For 36 years till last Sunday, I had been the best female qualifier in a cup race with ninth place starts at Talladega and Bristol in my rookie season." But describe, if you will, kind of the butterflies, anxieties, excitement that you felt when you got behind the wheel and if you feel that what you experienced is much of what Danica will feel tomorrow when she gets behind the wheel.

GUTHRIE: Well, Talladega a gag and Bristol were two different tracks. Of course, Talladega much more like Daytona. The drafting was tremendously important. So when I started that race in ninth place at Talladega, ahead of Richard Petty I might point out, I was mostly concerned about what effect the draft was going to have. As it turned out, another car's drive shaft came through my windshield in the first turn. So I really never got a chance to find out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. She is amazing and very courageous. Guthrie says Patrick has distinct advantage in money. We'll bring that part of the conversation with Janet tomorrow 2:00 eastern time.

Coming up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains why these people are running around in their underwear in cities all around the country. No kidding. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In some major cities all over the country, you may have recently seen a lot of people running around in their underwear. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains in this week's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What would compel thousands of people to run a mile in their underwear in the middle of winter? They are raising money to help this man, drew leathers, and many others like him who suffer from neurofibromatosis, or NF, which causes noncancerous tumors to grow in the body. Drew grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta. At 16 he was diagnosed with the rare disease.

DREW LEATHERS, NF PATIENT: By the senior year of high school, the pain was a daily experience for me.

GUPTA: By the time he was 23, the tumors were so bad he was not able to walk. His struggle inspired his brother to do something drastic. He gave up a successful graphics company and joined the children's tumor foundation to raise money and awareness for NF.

CHAD LEATHERS, DREW'S BROTHER: To see a life that you see so promise be stripped away, you know, the only thing to do is to reach out and do your best to try to find a solution, to educate other people about it.

GUPTA: Four years ago, the "Cupids Undie Run" started in D.C. more than $1.3 million will be raised this year. At 25, Drew is benefitting from his brother's efforts. After being bedridden for years, he's in a clinical trial that uses a cancer drug to shrink those tumors. He has less pain, he's out of bed, drives a car, and he plan to go back to school next fall. DREW LEATHERS: The fact that we have an option to stem the tide of that suffering in any way makes it the most important thing I could do with my life.

GUPTA: And Drew gives a lot of credit to his brother and their friends who are working to help him and others suffering from NF.

CHAD LEATHERS: Through all of this, you know, he's just been a -- he's been so strong, had such faith. It has been because of the community around him.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And remember this famous hug, that one right there between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama? What's stopping the Republicans from doing the same? Coming up, we'll examine what's behind a new civil war within the GOP.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There's a new political war under way in America. It's not Democrats versus Republicans. It's the new civil war within the GOP. There were competing state of the union responses from Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, the Republican, the Tea Party responses, and now Karl roving is targeting some Tea Party candidates. John Avlon is CNN contributor and senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast." Good to see you. Matt Kibbe is president of the conservative group Freedom Works which supports Tea Party candidates. Good to see you, both coming to us from Washington. Gentlemen, civil wars are often long bloody fights leaving both sides in the end. Is that the path the GOP is on? Why is the GOP allowing this fight to be so nasty and public?

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think the Republican Party has always contained a lot of competing conservative tribes. This factional fight is coming to the forefront, and it's in large part because of the disastrous election, the amount of money fueling these different factions and a deep philosophical division between more center right folks and social conservatives. So there's some fundamental contradictions that need to get worked out.

WHITFIELD: So Matt, can there possibly be a winner out of this kind of fight, the Republicans versus the Tea Party movement?

MATT KIBBE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FREEDOM WORKS: I think the American people are going to win. I'm not sure this is just a fight in the Republican Party. I think it's a broader paradigm shift. I think you have people all over the country becoming more informed, have better access to information, are able to organize out of the duopoly party structure. And that's the fight now between the insiders like Karl Rove and all of these grassroots citizens that feel like they're the ones that should decide who the candidate is that runs in a general election. But I don't think it's just a Republican thing. We believe in competition. And competition and having a healthy argument about the future of the Republican or the Democratic Party, I think it's a good idea right now.

WHITFIELD: In fact, you brought up, Matt, Karl Rove. Let's talk about what's taking place. The kind of fighting involving him, his legacy, his name, Karl Rove, you know. He's got a new Super PAC targeting GOP primary candidates who can't win general elections. There are many within the Tea Party and conservative Republicans who say this makes them very angry. It's hard to believe even Newt Gingrich is being one who's critical of the whole idea of big money supporting a candidate when he's somebody who benefited from big money from a so donor during the general -- during the presidential race. So what's going on here?

KIBBE: Well, Karl Rove has a history, so when he says conservative, you can look back at the candidates that he's gotten behind and understand what he's talking about with that. But I think it's a bad idea for any single person, Freedom Works or Karl Rove or the Republican party to dictate from the top do you know how this is going to work out. Like I said before, we believe in competition. We believe in the democratization of politics. Why wouldn't you let the candidates compete, state their positions, go through the process of proving whether or not they can cut it, and that candidate problems more viable.

But Karl Rove got behind Arlen Specter soon afterwards, he became a democrat and the 60 there vote for Obama care. He's been behind candidates who don't win. So I think it's a bad assumption to just assume that Tea Partiers have made mistakes. All politicians make mistakes. I would stand behind our record overall.

WHITFIELD: John?

AVLON: Yes, I mean, Matt, mistakes have been made. There's no question that's true. But the real question is what's the take away? From those five Tea Party Senate seats whether it's Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, Todd Akin, Richard Murdoch that could have made the difference, there's always going to be more competition, that's healthy but the hijacking in these close primaries that put forward candidates who can't win general elections, what's the take away for an organization like yours which has funded primaries in Republican primaries putting forward some candidates who are just disasters in a general election.

WHITFIELD: Where are the Dems in all this, sitting back and watching this fighting and just seeing where the chips fall, Matt?

KIBBE: Sure they are. They're probably having a lot of fun watching the fight right now. But I think that this fight is very healthy. And yes, there were Tea Party failures but look at Karl Rove's failures. Look at the Republican establishment failures starting with Mitt Romney. Look at Montana, look at North Dakota, look at Connecticut, look at Wisconsin. These were the candidates that could not lose. Very clear pickups for Republicans and they failed to do that. Look at some of our guys. Tim Scott would not be the only black senator in the U.S. Senate if it wasn't for his insurgent Tea Party challenge in South Carolina as a challenger to a Republican establishment guy. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, we're repopulating the Republican Party, I think with young energetic, philosophically minded people that are the future of the gop.

WHITFIELD: But it's still not clear whether it's going to pay off. It would seem the GOP would look at this infighting and see that they are handing some seats away, handing them off to the Democrats who were just going to say, you know what, as long as you have infighting, we're going to benefit. It would seem this strategy would backfire, John.

AVLON: I think that is the point. Matt makes a fair point. Rubio, Cruz, two cases where the Tea Party supported candidate went on to win the general election. But you can't pretend that Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle and Todd Akin and Richard Murdoch don't exist. They failed in part because of their social conservative philosophy. The question is, the Republican Party's going to have a real fight to reform. Does it care about reaching out to the center and reaching about its face or is it all about playing to the base philosophically.

And of course the big irony here is that Karl Rove pioneered a lot of the red state, blue state strategies. But folks are starting to realize there is such a thing as too extreme. The Tea Party is struggling with whether that is a problem or not.

WHITFIELD: This is the tip of the iceberg, we know. John Avlon, Matt Kibbe, thanks so much. Good to see you gentlemen from Washington.

The Vatican right now is in damage control mode. There are new allegations involving sex, money, and gay priests. Top Vatican officials say it's all a bunch of lies. We go live to Rome after this.

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