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Race Car Crashes Into Fence at Daytona; Vatican Tries To Squash Rumors; More Vatican Leaks; Tourist Found in Water Tank

Aired February 23, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Lemon.

The breaking news is that we are awaiting a press conference, a news conference that we expect to start in a momentarily. We're going to bring you that information as soon as possible and it is about the new information of that horrific crash this afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.

The video is incredible. Here it is, the final lap, seconds before the finish line, and then disaster. A rookie racer's car is sent hurdling into the fence, protecting the grandstand, it breaks into flaming pieces and tire and other debris fly through and over the fence. At least 17 fans were injured, one critically. No drivers were hurt.

Joe Carter, CNN Sports, is there, standing for us, along with associate producer John Newsome.

Let's start with Joe.

Joe, what can you tell us about the injured now?

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS (via telephone): Well, we are still waiting for an update, Don. I mean, we do know that, like you said, no drivers hurt in this. All 12 cars that were involved in the accident, all 12 drivers were checked out at the track hospital. It's standard operating procedure for NASCAR to have these drivers checked. They were all looked at. They were all released.

We are expecting the Joie Chitwood, Daytona International Speedway president, and Steve O'Donnell with NASCAR, both of them are expected to make an announcement at 7:00 p.m. and hopefully give us more information on the spectators that were injured, to the degree that they were injured.

We're also expecting an announcement on whether or not they're going to be able to start this race at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. I mean, that's less than 17 hours from now. You've got to figure, the amount of damage that was done to the retaining wall, that was done to the catch fence, that was done to the seats. It will take quite a lot of manpower and a lot of time to fix that.

So, I guess, we'll be waiting to see when we get that announcement, whether or not they're actually going to will be able to start the race at 1:00 p.m., Don.

LEMON: Exactly and we had video earlier from our affiliate WESH of them repairing the retaining wall and whether or not that can be fixed in time. Because, Joe, that's really what saves the spectators in the event -- a horrific event like this one.

CARTER: Yes, I mean, that's -- the catch fence did its job for the most part. And it was able to prevent a lot more injuries, perhaps even deaths. But, any time you know, NASCAR is a dangerous sport. I mean, the drivers understand it when they get behind the wheel with a practice or a race.

But any time you get fans involved, it's, you know, you expect a fan, that you're not to going to get caught up in that type of the situation. You expect to be sitting in a seat and you want to be close to the action, but you don't expect to be part of a dangerous sport.

As you said, we hopefully to get an update here soon from both Joie Chitwood and Steve O'Donnell so we can find out more information, Don.

LEMON: How much do you think the injured will play into if this race will go on in time tomorrow?

CARTER: Well, obviously, if there's fatality involved, it may have an impact on the start time or whether or not they decide to run the race at all. And I would imagine that NASCAR, because it's most prestigious race, it's the richest, the biggest race, often referred to as the Super Bowl of racing to the sport, you know, they are expecting a couple hundred thousand people, both inside the track and around, you know, millions are going to be tuning in because of the Danica Patrick factor, the fact that she's going to be making history starting from the front row.

So, I think it's going to be difficult for NASCAR to cancel the race. I wouldn't be surprised if NASCAR pushes back the start time a few hours to make sure they have enough time to repair the retaining wall and they have enough time to fix a catch fence. And then you have to think of the seats in the grandstand that were destroyed.

I mean, fans expect to be able to have the safe experience and they want to make sure that fence is completely repaired and up to code and up to standard so that in case, God forbid, there's another crash tomorrow, that nothing will be able to go through that catch fence -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Joe Carter -- Joe, absolutely. Stand by.

We're going to show our viewers, we're also awaiting a press conference. They are getting ready for it to start now. The person we want to speak has not walked up to the microphone. But as soon as it starts, we will get to you. They are preparing for it. They're going to update you on this horrific accident that happened in Daytona. Two major news events happening this weekend, this one and also the Catholic Church. But before we do that, I want to go to our producer who is there as well. John Newsome is on the ground.

John, what do you see now? You were there. You took pictures of this event as it was happening.

You also notice from the stands -- OK, I'm being told, let's go to Joie Chitwood in this press conference.

JOIE CHITWOOD, DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: Fourteen people off of property and treated fourteen people at the on-track care center. We are in the process of repairing the facility and will be ready to go racing tomorrow.

STEVE O'DONNELL, NASCAR: On behalf of NASCAR, I certainly want to echo Joie's statements about the fans that were injured here today. You know, our thoughts are certainly with them and their families.

As far as the drivers were concerned, all that were involved in the last lap accident have been treated and released from the in-field care center. We had one driver that was transported earlier during the race, Michael Annett. He has been treated and will be at the hospital and remaining there.

Joie talked about the track and we are -- the track is currently under way repairing the fencing. We are very confident that we will be ready for tomorrow's event with the 55th running of the Daytona 500. But as with any of these incidents, we'll conduct a thorough review and we'll work closely with the tracks as we do for all of our events, learn what we can and see what we can apply in the future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Steve. Thank you, Joie.

Listen, we'll take a handful of questions. We're going to start back there with George Diaz.

GEORGE DIAZ, ORLANDO SENTINEL: Yes. For either Joie or Steve, George Diaz, "Orlando Sentinel."

Do you have any idea in terms of the seriousness of the injuries involving the fans who were hurt?

CHITWOOD: George, I would have to refer you to Halifax for any of the conditions of the patients, it's not appropriate for me to comment on that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bob Pockrass, I think you had a question?

BOB POCKRASS, SPORTING NEWS: Bob Pockrass, "Sporting News."

What sections of stands were most of the people injured and do you know what they were hit with?

CHITWOOD: Yes, at this point, as we respond to the incident, we transported immediately those patients that need critical assistance. You know, we will review ourselves in terms of where the debris flew and what we need to do that. But it was the grandstands immediately, outside of the fence where the cars hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nate Ryan?

NATE RYAN, USA TODAY SPORTS: Nate Ryan, "USA Today Sports."

Besides replacing that section of fence and taking it down there, are you going to make any other changes with regards to safety?

CHITWOOD: You know, at this point, we review our property, both from the NASCAR perspective and fencing perspective. And so, we did that after the duels, after our track race. We'll do the same thing to measure that we're ready for tomorrow. You know, it's a property that's been here for over 55 years. We make sure we make the right investments in the property. The only changes that will occur with the fencing that goes back, we will not have time to put the cross over gate that was there. It will be fencing tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's take a couple more. Gina?

REPORTER: Steve, Joey mentioned that the crossover gate, I assume that was the point of impact. It seems that the most serious incidents involving fences are when the crossover gate is involved.

Is there something that NASCAR can do going forward or studies or anything that can be looked to prevent this?

O'DONNELL: I think we look at it after every incident. We have learned from them in the past. Some of the protocols that have been put in place today are a result of prior incidents.

So, again, our initial evaluation is still on going, but it's certainly something that we'll look at it if we can improve upon it. We'll absolutely put that in place as soon as we can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go with Allen right here and maybe a couple more after that. Allen?

REPORTER: Allen Cabano (ph), NASCAR.com, will fans be seated in the sections tomorrow? Do you anticipate having to move anything around in terms of fans?

CHITWOOD: We do not anticipate moving our fans. We have our safety protocols in place. Our security maintained a buffer that separates the fans from the fencing area and with the fence being repaired tonight to our safety protocols we expect to go to racing tomorrow with no changes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll go to Claire and we'll take one more. Go ahead, Claire. Right here, please. Claire B?

CLAIRE B. LANG, SIRIUS XM NASCAR RADIO: Claire B. Lang, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Joey, there was talk that the news conference can you had earlier in the week about the changes to Daytona, if it was changed, the layout of the track, as you were laying out in the news conference earlier, that this would probably not have happened. Can you address that?

CHITWOOD: I'm not sure, Claire, that it's fair to compare an incident that compared today with a future development of the property. The key was that we were prepared, we responded, we had the appropriate personnel in place, we were able to transport the individuals that needed the care off property. We dealt with the other patients on property and the team right now is repairing and will be ready for tomorrow. I don't think it's not fair to compare those two right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Mike Mistara (ph), and we'll finish back in the back with Pat.

REPORTER: This question is for Steve, over here. Steve.

It's rare that you see a car break apart the way that car did. How concerned are you with the way the car did break and what are your initial thoughts on that?

O'DONNELL: I think, again, Mike, really early in what we have seen, you know, some of the things we have in place, you know, tethers that sort of thing, held up and did their job. But certainly when you look at this incident, there's some things that we can learn and evaluate. We'll take the car and we'll do that. We'll evaluate the fencing and see if there's anything that we can learn from where gates are.

But again, really, it really initial right now, and I think, you know, we need to really take the time to really study it and see what we can improve on. If we can, you know, certainly the safety of our fans is first and foremost and we will make it happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Final question, back here, Pat. Get him a mic please.

PAT RICE, DAYTONA BEACH NEWS JOURNAL: Pat Rice, "Daytona Beach News Journal."

Joie, could you go over one more time the -- where people were transported because our understanding is that they were transported to Halifax, as well as other hospitals.

CHITWOOD: All I can report this time, Pat, is that 14 were transported off property and then at that point, emergency management make the decision on where they go. So, for us, we know that 14 were transported off property with 14 being seen on property.

LEMON: OK. So, there we go -- 28 people, a total of 28 people injured today. It's a lot of folks who were injured in this accident. Fourteen of them treated on property. You heard them saying 14 people were treated off property.

One of the people who was taken off was a driver, initially -- the initial reports were that, reports were that all of them, all of the drivers had walked away. But again, one driver, one driver, Michael Annett is being treated at the Halifax Health Center in Daytona Beach. He was complaining of pain in the chest and sternum.

So, one driver had to be taken away and be treated at a hospital. Fourteen people treated off property, treated at the hospital. Fourteen treated on property. All of the 10 drivers involved were looked at on property and checked out except for Michael Annett, OK?

And now they are discussing whether or not they will be able to start it on time. They said that they are removing that entire section of fence where this car crashed into and if that fence can be repaired on time, that's going to be the question of whether or not the Daytona 500, the big race, will happen tomorrow. That fence, that retaining wall, is essentially what keeps the fans safe in crashes like this one. If that wall wasn't there, obviously, there would have been more injuries today.

Let's go now to John Newsome, associate producer here at CNN, who happened to be at the race, saw it happening and took pictures as well.

John, 28 people injured. That was a lot of folks that you saw.

JOHN NEWSOME, CNN ASSOCIATE PRODUCER (via telephone): It is. And I don't, I think it was hard to tell at least at the time, it obviously happened very quickly. Now that we hear the number, it's potentially higher than what I thought, at least when I saw it happen. But I think now, it's turning all of the -- the fans are returning to their R.V.s and beginning to start dinner and watching the coverage and I think now it's becoming a sort of a fired conversation about safety after this.

I mean, so far, so good. Everyone seems to be doing OK. But now, I guess it's turning to a conversation about safety and people are talking about it here in the R.V. park where we are outside the track and then that was the top thing that everyone is talking about right now.

LEMON: And video that we saw earlier here on CNN, John. We saw a tire jump, actually bounce over this wall, land in the stands and the spectators were there trying to get emergency workers to come over and help people who either the tire had grazed or it possibly hit.

Do you, how far were you from that?

NEWSOME: Fairly close. I mean, I was sitting in the sprint tower, to give you perspective was on the front straight away. I was on the left side of the tower in turn four to the finish line. That was where the wreck occurred. Where the tire was thrown was sort of past the finish line. I was able to see an engine -- actually an engine from the car, as well as a tire that was right there by the fence, right by the first people, fans were watching the race and then I saw the same video you were referring to that was one section down.

I mean, that just gives you perspective where it hit versus where that tire ended up landing. I mean, it was fairly substantial. I would hasten the gut to say it was 25 or 50 yards.

LEMON: John Newsome, thank you, a CNN associate producer -- thank you very much -- was there at that event today when the car went crashing into the wall, burst into flames, and, luckily, all of the drivers, all of the drivers appeared to be OK. Michael Annett, one driver, taken offsite and is being treated now, and then 28 other fans, 28 other spectators injured as well -- 14 on premises, and 14 had to be taken off. We're going to update you on that, just as soon as we get more information.

In the meantime, there's a scandal involving the Vatican and the Pope. It is a sex scandal, it is a money scandal, it is a cover up. That's the allegation. Our report on the other side of this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Two major news events happening this weekend involving the Catholic Church: first, preparation for the Pope's final Sunday sermon at St. Peter Square, Pope Benedict will step down as leader of the church on Thursday.

Second, and this one, the Vatican did not see coming, a public relations emergency, a media scandal with allegations of sex, money and cover-ups at the highest levels of the church.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has all the details from Rome -- Ben.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, Pope Benedict is stepping down this coming Thursday, but it seems his last days as pope may not be so easy.

(voice-over): But reports broke in two leading Italian publications "la Republica" and "Panorama" suggest his reason for resigning was far more explosive, shock at the discovery of a network of gay priests at the Vatican blackmailed by a network of male prostitutes.

According to the reports the results of an investigation by three cardinals assigned to look into wrongdoing at the Vatican were submitted to Pope Benedict on December 17th last year. The reports say the dossier also suggests serious financial improprieties within the Vatican amounting to the violations of the Sixth and Seventh Commandments, "Thou shalt not steal," and "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

Benedict was so shocked by the investigation's findings, the publications alleged, he decided to resign.

The Vatican has responded with uncharacteristically strong language, saying this, quote, "Unverified, unverifiable, or completely false news stories cause damage to persons and institutions", and "are an attempt to use public opinion to influence the cardinal's free will in the election of a pope."

Cardinal Velasio de Paolis will take part in that election, the conclave and urges caution before credulity.

"We cannot say that things that are only guesswork or imagination are true," he told. "There's no proof and these allegations only serve to create a climate of division that helps no one."

But CNN Vatican analyst John Allen sniffs some truth in the allegations.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: To date, none of us have seen the secret report delivered by the three cardinals to Benedict XVI. So, it's impossible to say precisely what it contains. On the other hand, the core claim of the story, that the cardinals looked into the possibility that there may be a network of gay clergy inside the Vatican who were vulnerable to pressure, to me that passes the smell test.

WEDEMAN: And one postscript, those Italian publications say they still have a few reports left to file -- Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, thank you, Ben Wedeman. Appreciate that. One of the cardinals who will choose the next pope has legal issues of his own today.

Miguel Marquez in Los Angeles now.

So, help me out with this, Miguel. Cardinal Roger Mahoney had to answer questions about a child molestation case that dates back 25 years. Tell us about that.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a case on a priest named Nicolas Aguilar Rivera. He is accused of molesting 26 people, he fled to Mexico. There was a huge release of documents, Don, earlier this year, 12,000 pages of documents involving some 500 victims, over 100 priests, and this is the first time he has been deposed since those documents are out.

So, it is expected that there will be more information that will be asked of him under oath at that deposition and he's going to have to be very careful how he answers because he's been deposed so many times in the past.

All of that happening, keep in mind, while the people behind me were gathered at the cardinal's home where he now lives. Members of Catholics United and SNAP, the survivors network for those who have been abuse, they were here, delivering this.

It is a very simple, one -- it looks very big, it's a simple one- page request asking him not to attend the conclave. It is signed by 10,000 people all around the world asking the cardinal, Cardinal Mahoney, not go to Rome, not to attend the conclave, that he has been further implicated in the sex abuse scandal, that he covered up things in the past.

I mean, this is the thing that's been shocking about these documents that were released. It shows very, very clearly how much he knew directly about what was happening in his own diocese and he sought to cover it up. He has apologized. He has met with survivors. He has done it publicly. He has done it letters, in writing, in person.

But it's not good enough for the survivors. They want him to recuse himself from going to Rome. The cardinal said he is pushing ahead. He is probably headed to Rome perhaps tonight or tomorrow and he will take part in the conclave and vote for the next pope -- Don.

LEMON: All right. We shall see.

Miguel Marquez, thank you very much.

We are just days away from what many are calling America's financial apocalypse that will affect your bottom line. What will it take to avoid it? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Five days until the next American fiscal apocalypse. Forced spending cuts are set to kick in on Friday, Republican and Democrats are at an impasse. There is a new twist to this somewhat familiar routine, possible airport chaos, longer lines and canceled flights.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave a stern warning just yesterday -- without a deal, air traffic controllers will be furloughed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Once airlines see the potential impact of the furloughs, we expect that they will change their schedules and cancel flights. So we are beginning today discussions with our unions to likely close more than 100 air traffic control towers at airports with fewer than 150,000 flight operations per year. And we are talking about places like Boca Raton, Florida, Joplin, Missouri, Hilton Head, South Carolina, and San Marcos, Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Cancel flights to smaller airports. Is that a scare tactic or is it a promise?

Republican strategist Ana Navarro joins us in Miami, and ESPN senior writer L.Z. Granderson is in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

OK, so, Ana, first, we had the debt ceiling. Then we had the fiscal cliff, now we have this sequestration, which is really forced budget cuts. Doesn't matter what you call it. It's the third time that the sky is falling.

When are people going to stop believing that the sky is falling or stop the sky from falling, just vote in some new people? ANA NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think the American people have stopped believing the sky is falling already. I see a lot less anxiety and sense a lot less anxiety about this than we had during the fiscal cliff.

Look, Don, this has become like a bad Halloween movie. Jason never dies. He comes back and comes back and comes back and every time the movie is worse. It really has shown tremendous lack of responsibility.

You know, the president came up with this idea, he doesn't want to take ownership, the Republicans, the Congress passed it. They don't want to take ownership. And now, it is everybody's problem. But we cannot be having on the -- you know, being on the verge of a nervous break down --

LEMON: Every couple months.

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Now that we're talking Oscars, you know, every three months.

LEMON: Every three months. It seems like --

NAVARRO: We don't have the level of anxiety to be able to do it every three months.

LEMON: It seems like, I mean, is it like white noise? I talk to people and I say, what do you think of sequestration? They go, what are you talking about? I said, the forced budget cuts. And they're like, I don't know what he's talking about.

They are always doing something, they're always fighting and never get anything accomplished.

Do you think people are starting to tune out or have just tuned out automatically because every couple of months it's something else?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, absolutely. You know, I think it is kind of smart to try to find things like pointing out what would happen to our traffic in the air controllers and things like that and try to help make this tangible for the every day person.

But the reality is, is that Ana is right. We have been talking about this, it seems like nonstop for two years actually. It doesn't seem like every few months, it just seems like we just continue on with the same conversation, that is Congress and the president can't seem to work together. They can't seem to agree upon a basic grand scheme, whatever that scream is supposed to be. And so, it ends up putting the pseudo sort of panic.

But the real panic doesn't really come from voters. The real panic comes from people who have to make decisions based upon budgets that they do not know yet.

LEMON: Exactly.

GRANDERSON: People who are running businesses. People who are in charge of departments in Congress, or in the federal government, in the state governments, and local governments, people who are depending on contracts to go through. Those are the people upset about this the most because they are trying to make decisions with a Congress and White House that's incapable of making decisions.

LEMON: And people who's health care it's going to affect. When we talk about -- we saw LaHood talking air traffic, listen, that is an issue. I fly a lot. But the average American is not flying every day, maybe the business people.

But average Americans are picking up kids from school. They're going to their jobs in their communities and driving to work every day. They are not flying every day. Even that, no pun intended, goes over a lot of people's heads.

I want to switch gears now though and talk -- it's been a tough week for former Senator Pete Domenici. He admitted to fathering a secret son back in the '70s with a daughter of a Senate colleague. Michelle Laxalt was 24 years old when she and Senator Domenici had a child together, when she had his child.

L.Z., back in the day, I mean, Domenici blasted President Bill Clinton's affair, calling it tawdry. How does this Beltway soap opera affect him and his legacy?

GRANDERSON: You know, this is no longer about one individual person's legacy. This has no become that entire conversation in terms of the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the entire conversation about culture wars. The hypocrisy at its highest. I mean think about all the characters that were in play back then. Newt Gingrich, Mark Stanford. I mean, we are talking about men now that we found out 10, 15, 20 years later that who are adulterers themselves and now they have kids. So it's really an indictment of the Republican Party at that particular point in our political history and not just about one person in particular now.

LEMON: And I'll give you the last word. I have just a few seconds left though.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democrats have affairs too. John Edwards is sitting there scratching his head right now, going "Well, I wonder how they managed to keep it a secret for 30 years." I think -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the '70s.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a tough week for public trust period. We had the democrat mayor in New Orleans indicted on 21 counts -

LEMON: That is 20 seconds now. I had ten.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we have Jesse Jackson, Jr.. LEMON: You're going into 30. I get, everybody has affairs. But it's not real. It's about hypocrisy whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. If you are going to have an affair, you should not be saying, calling someone else an adulterer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. That's the big difference. You don't run (INAUDIBLE) affair.

LEMON: Many people have affairs. Thank you. We appreciate it guys. More of this talk will continue and we will have you both back tomorrow, as a matter of fact. We appreciate it.

In the meantime, we have some developing news happening here on CNN, at the Daytona International Speedway. Twenty eight people injured in a fiery crash on the racetrack when the debris came flying over the fence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Vatican officials are doing something unusual today. They are publicly denying some printed rumors about the senior church leadership and why the Pope decided to resign. The allegations involves sex, money, gay priests and a cover up at the highest levels. A Vatican spokesman says the rumors are gossiped designed to influence the vote for the next pope.

So who will be the next pope? There's no list of cardinals or public campaigning but let's look at a few faces that could be in the running here. First up is Cardinal Mark Ouellet who is from Canada. Pope Benedict chose him to head the Vatican's Office of Bishops, a major role within the church. The Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola, also been named on the possible short list. The 71-year-old son of a truck driver is known for his enthusiasm and charm and has written extensively on finding a solution between the west and Islam.

Next, a close friend of the cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the 70- year-old has a meteoric rise within the church and is a firm supporter of the current Pope. He is also said to be very popular among the cardinals. And then there's Timothy Dolan who is the archbishop of New York, who would be the first American pope. At 63 years old, he is considered young for the job. But he has become popular in the church community because of his conservative views.

And there's another candidate for the job that church analysts are buzzing about. A cardinal born in Ghana. And if elected, he would be the first black pope in the history of the Catholic church. One layman in particular is pulling for him. A doctor in upstate New York. Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Near Albany, New York, orthopedic surgeon Joe (INAUDIBLE) specializes in heeling broken bones. But among his friends, someone who helps heal broken souls.

(on camera): What is it like knowing somebody who could be the next pope?

DR. JOE MAROTTA, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON: Well, it's very exciting.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Vatican based cardinal Peter (INAUDIBLE) of Ghana is considered one of the top contenders. One book maker has him as the favorite at 2-1. If selected, Turkson would be the first black pope and a rare non-European.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's my idol.

CANDIOTTI: The two met a few years ago when his pastor introduced his colleague, Peter.

(on camera): And Peter turned out to be -

MAROTTA: Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council of Justice in Peace at the Vatican and a very close adviser and confidante to the Holy Father.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): With the cardinal's encouragement, Dr. Marotta has since done surgery in Ghana and is raising money for an orthopedic clinic there.

(on camera): When the cardinal visits Albany about once a year, he often stops to say mass at this small parish, St. Joan of Arc, where a friend of his, also from Ghana, is pastor.

(voice-over): Cardinal Turkson has deep ties to upstate New York where he attended seminary. On a recent U.S. trip, Marotta picked him up at the airport as the cardinal dozed off Marotta couldn't help but think.

MAROTTA: You know, here is a man who could be the next pope. I got a little nervous and started to take my foot off the gas and slowed way down.

CANDIOTTI: If Cardinal Turkson is elected, Dr. Marotta predicts high energy but has a low expectation for major change.

MAROTTA: He has told me that I need to understand that the church is thousands of years old. That change and adoption of new ideas in the church by necessity takes place very, very slowly.

CANDIOTTI: Marotta exchanges e-mails and phone calls with the cardinal but perhaps not for long.

(on camera): And would that change in your relationship make you sad?

MAROTTA: It does make me sad because I've come to, you know, love and appreciate him and to look up to him and to really rely on his counsel. It would make me sad.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Even arranging an audience with Pope Benedict to tell him about the clinic in Ghana.

(on camera): Do you remember your knees shaking?

MAROTTA: Oh, yes, I was very nervous and very pale and tongue tied at first.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): And it could turn out that he was in the presence of a future pope as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Well, CNN's Susan Candiotti joins me live. Susan, it seems a bit callous to maybe place bets on who will be the next pope. But one of the world's biggest book makers gives Cardinal Turkson, 4-1 odds. That is amazing. Does he stand a realistic chance of being chosen at the conclave though and becoming the next pope?

CANDIOTTI: Well of course, Don, the Vatican never officially would weigh in on anything like that. That really is the question, isn't it? Certainly there are a lot of Vatican watchers who say now may be the time for change to select a pope outside of Europe, for example, to go to Africa, to look at Asia, to look at Latin America, where quite frankly the most number of Catholics now live in the world. So, while this might not indicate a change in how church rules are interpreted, it would be a change, never the less. Don?

LEMON: It certainly would, Susan Candiotti. Thank you very much. Appreciate your reporting.

We will be right back, everyone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It could be weeks before we find out what killed a young tourist whose body was found inside a hotel water tank in Los Angeles. The autopsy was on 21-year-old Melissa Lamb was inconclusive and more tests need to be done. Lamb's decomposing body was discovered on Tuesday. She had been in the tank as long as 19 days while water flowed to rooms below.

CNN's Nick Valencia has done some digging on the Cecil Hotel's notorious past.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, it may seem unsuspecting from the outside, but the Cecil Hotel has a history of horrific incidents.

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VALENCIA (voice-over): Founded in the 1920s, the hotel sits in downtown Los Angeles, just a stone's throw from Skid Row. The neighborhood around the Cecil has changed over the decades. But despite the city's best efforts to gentrify it, the hotel remains a symbol of the area's dark past.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for calling the European style Cecil Hotel, the best affordable hotel in downtown Las Angeles. VALENCIA: Calling itself the premier choice of affordable downtown Los Angeles hotels, the Cecil attracts mostly low-income residents. In the '50s and '60s, it was known as a place where those at the end of their rope would end their life.

In 1985, it was the choice hideout for serial killer Richard Ramirez convicted of killing at least 13 people throughout Los Angeles. Ramirez reportedly lived at the hotel for months. An Austrian serial killer also found comfort at the Cecil. Jack Underweaker may have killed some of his prostitute victims there. It's even rumored that the actress known as Black Dahlia hung out in the hotel before her brutal murder in 1947.

And now this. The decomposing body of a Canadian tourist found in one of the hotel's water tanks. Guests here were noticeably upset.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wouldn't you be? If there was a dead body in the water you were using and drinking?

VALENCIA: Canadian tourist Elisa Lamb chose the hotel despite its seedy past. Her body may have been there for weeks.

SABINA BAUGH, HOTEL GUEST: The pressure in the water was terrible. The shower was awful. The water - when you turned the tap on, the water was coming black first.

VALENCIA: The 21-year-old's death, just the latest mystery for a hotel with a haunted past.

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VALENCIA: Some of the hotel residents tell CNN that hotel management did not alert them to Elisa Lamb's body being in the water tank. CNN's repeated phone calls to the hotel have gone unanswered. Now as far as the investigation is concerned, officials did conduct an autopsy on the body of Elisa Lamb whose results prove to be inconclusive. Officials now will wait weeks on the result of toxicology reports. Don.

LEMON: All right. Nick Valencia. Thank you very much, Nick.

A violent volcanic eruption. We'll take you there, next.

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LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. I want to get you up to speed on some of the other stories that we are watching today. And we are getting new information now, it's about the former Temptations singer, Damon Harris. Damon Harris, 62 years old, of formerly the Temptations, died. According to his family, he lost his 14-year long battle to prostate cancer after spending the last three months in a hospital.

Again this is just coming in. He is one of the members of the legendary Motown group, the Temptations. He died on Monday. We are told he is a three-time Grammy winner. Joined the Temptations in 1971 at the age of 21. That was following the departure of an original band member, Eddie Kendricks. And we all know that movie about Eddie Kendricks' life and the Temptations. Again, 62-year-old Damon Harris. Damon Harris, 62 years old, formerly of the Temptations, has passed away to prostate cancer.

In other news, Europe's tallest active volcano, Mount Etna (INAUDIBLE) erupting for the first time in a year. It spewed red hot lava and gas, lighting up Italy's night time sky.

The Vatican is in emergency rumor control mode this weekend, just a few days before Pope Benedict XVI steps down. Some major newspapers are printing details of an investigation that links senior Catholic leaders to a church cover up.

Two police officers were injured and 40 people arrested today in Spain.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched over cuts in education, health and social programs. This comes in the wake of Spain's financial crisis which has seen the unemployment rate jump to 26 percent. Protesters say the government does not listen to their calls for help.

A fierce winter storm is headed for the northeast. Parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts can expect up the to 10 inches of snow. And rain will soak most of the east coast, from Washington, D.C. to the south. Boston will get a slushy mix of rain and snow, the city is still cleaning up after that big blizzard that hit two weeks ago.

It's the must-have, most wanted, cutting edge prototype gadget that everyone in the tech world is clamoring for. And you can get to be an early tester. Here it is. Here's the catch. You've got to buy it first, though. And it's not cheap. That's next.

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LEMON: Even feel who love computers and smart phones and high tech are a bit stunned when they see Google's latest creation. Here's what you see when you while wearing Google's new eyewear. It's called Glass, simply Glass. It's like wearing a voice-activated computer. You can snap pictures and take video and you can look things up on Google. You can get directions, you have reminders pop-up in front of your eyes.

The price tag, you want to guess? $1,500. Laurie Segall joins me from New York. It isn't cheap.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH EXPERT: Yes.

LEMON: She's CNN's money tech expert. You (INAUDIBLE) familiar with these Google glasses than most of us. Do you think it's going to be something that people will flock to? I think it is. And I think it's a game changer. What about you? SEGALL: You know, I think you're absolutely right. This is kind - they put out - they said OK, who wants to be a beta tester. They had so many people pouring in because there's such an appetite for this kind of thing. I mean, the smart phone is now extending to different fashion and that kind of stuff. So, you know, it's the kind of thing I think that we are going to see these down the road. Also a lot of fashion designers are really excited about this. I have sources who say that Google is talking with different fashion designers and that kind of thing.

And the reason is they want these to be wearable. They don't want this to be so futuristic. They want people to look at these and say "Hey, I could actually wear those and those would look pretty good." Don?

LEMON: Yes. I said $1,500 to start with. It's a lot, but when you think about most people have a laptop, some people have an iPad on top of that. Then you might have your glasses. And you have a smart phone, if you combined them all into one, you know, see what I'm saying?

SEGALL: Maybe not that bad. And those prices will probably go down. You know, look, everything is very expensive at first. Then once the technology is out there, those prices could go down. I was speaking, with (INAUDIBLE) from Google the other day, he said look $1,500 is nothing compared to what it could have been like a year ago.

LEMON: Yes, agreed. OK. Let's move on real quick and talk about Playstation 4. What is going on with Playstation 4, PS4. We're being told that it promises to do much more than that. That there's some great new video games but it's going to be more than that. What's happening?

SEGALL: Look, it's been seven years since Sony has actually put out a Playstation. So there's a lot of pressure. This has got to be really cool. It's got a lot of bells and whistles and you know, it's a lot faster, the graphics are going to be much lot better. But what they're really saying is there's going to be a lot of social activity. The new controller has a button on there where you can share your game and broadcast it in real time. And Don, this is really cool. You can actually remotely access your friend's game. So if we were playing and you couldn't get past a certain level, I could go in and get past that level for you. So that's going to be really big. And they're saying that, you know, gaming has completely changed in the last seven years. They've got to get up to speed. Don.

LEMON: Yes. That sounds like hacking to me, Laurie.

But anyway, thank you. Laurie Segall, we appreciate it.

SEGALL: Thank you.

LEMON: First Lady Michelle Obama shows off her dance moves. We're going to show them to you next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: First lady Michelle Obama is back on the road promoting her fitness initiative. And last night her Let's Move campaign took on a whole new meaning when she cut the rug with none other than late night host Jimmy Fallon's show. Check it out.

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LEMON: That was hilarious. By the way, Mrs. Obama says the president is not as skilled a dancer as she is. I can certainly believe that.

I'm Don Lemon, thank you so much for joining us here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'm going to see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. If we get more on that NASCAR accident, we will update you between now and 10:00 p.m..

CNN presents "Murder in Mexico," it begins right now.