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Danica Patrick's First in Daytona; Pistorius Back in Court in June; Spending Cuts Deadline Looming

Aired February 24, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You are in the "CNN Newsroom."

Drivers and Danica, start your engines. With those words, the Daytona 500 kicked off as scheduled. The historic start with female driver Danica Patrick in pole position nearly upstaged by this harrowing collision on the same track less than 24 hours ago. At least 28 fans were injured when more than a dozen cars crashed in the final curve of the nationwide race. Here's how one woman described what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a wreck and I got by an engine or a part of an engine and I got a broken leg.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And we will go live to Daytona just moments from now where there are fewer than 50 laps to go.

All right. In South Africa, the older brother of Oscar Pistorius is also charged in a woman's death. Carl Pistorius is charged with culpable homicide after an accident involving a motorcycle in 2010. The charges were initially dropped but he now faces a trial at the end of March. Prosecutors say Carl Pistorius had been driving recklessly at the time of the accident. Coming up in a few minutes, we will talk about how this could impact Oscar Pistorius' murder case.

And today was Pope Benedict XVI's last public prayer before he retires. Thousands gather in Vatican City to hear him speak but as the Pope prepares to step down, the Vatican is strongly denouncing Italian media reports that gay priests at the Vatican were being blackmailed by male prostitutes. I will speak to a journalist who covers the Vatican later on this hour.

And back in this country, a winter storm is slamming Colorado right now. Forecasters say Denver could get up to 10 inches of snow. The storm moves on to the plain states tomorrow and in the northeast, it's a pretty messy weekend there as well. This is what Manchester, New Hampshire, looks like. Lots of wet, heavy snow. About 6,000 homes and businesses are now without power.

Hollywood heavyweights are getting red carpet ready for the Oscars. The 85th Annual Academy Awards gets under way about three hours from now. And this year could be one for the record books. We will explain why in just a few moments, live from Hollywood.

All right. Back to Daytona. Can Danica Patrick race her way to victory lane? That's the question of the hour as Patrick remains near the front of the pack with less than 50 laps to go in the Daytona 500. Today's excitement is being tempered, however, by yesterday's disastrous crash.

CNN's John Zarrella is taking it all in right near the winner's circle. So clearly, the race went on as scheduled. They cleared up that track. But many people are still nursing their injuries, right, from yesterday?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Fredricka. There are still seven people in the hospital. Of the 28 or more who were originally injured during the accident. The Daytona 500, you can hear it, still going on here in front of me. And we are not far, just across the track from where that accident took place yesterday. One car being cut in two, part of one of its tires flying into the stands. And we had an opportunity today, we got here earlier, to talk with a couple of fans who saw what transpired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROCK RACE, WITNESSED TO NASCAR CRASH: It was, like, a loud thundering, almost like an explosion, I don't know if it was the cable snapping or the motor ring from the car, but it was just -- it was nothing like I had ever heard before. It was like mayhem and then aftermath, you saw, like, the engine actually in the stands burning you and it was like you couldn't believe what you were seeing.

ROBERT WHITE, NASCAR CRASH WITNESS: It was hard to explain, the last lap, right up against the fence looking for the cars to come across the start/finish line. I know the car was up in the fence, covered in oil, motor came through the fence. Car got all cut up and bruised up. It was bad. I thought I was burned. But I was all right. A lot of people weren't so lucky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now you wouldn't know there was a terrible wreck here yesterday. The fence area that retaining fence, the catch fence, was completely replaced and repaired. Those stairway there, they took that stairway out. We could see it up on the side inside the embankment.

Now, race officials say they are going to investigate and look into whether or there's anything more they can do to protect fans. Fans though, we talked to, say the race - the accident yesterday did not deter them from coming here and it won't deter them from going to future race. And Fredricka, you mentioned Danica. She became the first woman in history to catch the pole position in this race. And today, she became the first woman in Daytona history to lead at least one lap. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. And still less than 50 to go. See, how it all ends up. Appreciate that, John Zarrella there in Daytona.

ZARRELLA: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, let's still talk sports, a different note. Notre Dame football star, Manti Te'o, at the NFL scouting combine. Well instead of talking football, he had to address the bizarre saga involving his imaginary girlfriend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANTI TE'O, NOTRE DAME LINEBACKER: It was definitely embarrassing. You walk into grocery stores and you kind of like get people double takes and they are staring at you. It is definitely embarrassing. And it's - I guess part of the process, it's part of the journey. But, you know what, it is only going to make me stronger and it definitely has.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Despite the scandal, he is expected to be drafted by the league in April.

All right. Now let's talk politics and your money, what's going on in Washington or maybe not going on. Friday is the deadline to avoid forced spending cuts that will impact every American. They will go into effect unless a new budget deal is reached between the president and Congress.

Athena Jones is on the north lawn of the White House. All right, so, Athena is there any movement on this? Is it going to be down to the minute instead?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Fred. Well, it certainly looks like it is going to go down to the wire. There are no signs of movement from either side so far and that's really how these budget battles have been playing out for the last couple of years here, as you know. The big question is what can we see, what do we expect to see next week, starting tomorrow on Capitol Hill and what can we expect to see from the White House. Senator John McCain talked about what he would like to see happen on "State of the Union." Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: But I won't blame totally the president of the United States. But the president leads. The president should be calling us from somewhere, Camp David, the White House, somewhere and us sitting down and trying to (INAUDIBLE) these cuts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so there you have it. John McCain wants to see more activity from the White House. More leadership from the president. You know, one thing we have also been seeing is the blame game, both sides trying to make the American public feel like one party is more responsible for all the bad things that are going to happen if these cut goes through, like these long airport lines and no more money for food safety inspections, that sort of thing. There's a new poll out by Pew and "USA Today" that suggests that the White House may have the upper hand here in winning this argument that it is the GOP that is to blame. Thirty one percent of those polled said they would blame President Obama if these forced spending cuts go through. Forty nine percent would blame Republicans in Congress and only about 11 percent would blame both sides, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. And we have heard a bit about what agencies would be hit, such as transportation, even defense. Are there any departments or agencies that might be exempt from these cuts potentially?

JONES: Sure, there are that are exempt. Military personnel, the VA, Veterans Affairs, also exempt. The other big area that is exempt is entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid and social security. All of those areas are really big drivers of government spending. Some people say that the root of the deficit and those areas are protected. That's one of the big criticisms people have about these forced spending cuts. They are just not smart, they say. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones there from the White House. Appreciate it.

JONES: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: President Harry Truman said if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. Well, Chuck Hagel is learning that lesson the hard way after a self-proclaimed friend says he is unfit to serve as secretary of defense.

And Oscar Pistorius has the lead role in what could become South Africa's trial of the century. We will dive into the murder charges against the Olympic sprinter.

And two cardinals may not get a warm welcome when they get to the Vatican, as Catholic leaders prepare to pick a new pope.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. John Kerry's first international trip as U.S. secretary of state is on. He is in London right now. He is going to nine countries in 11 days. Besides England, he'll visit Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

There could be another addition to the president's cabinet this week. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense. Democrats believe they have the votes to confirm Hagel, despite opposition to the pick from Hagel's own Republican party.

The president and Congress go back to work this week and high on their agenda, the forced spending cuts, if they don't reach a budget deal by Friday, $85 billion across-the-board cut goes into effect. This will have an impact on, nearly all of us, everything from meats inspection to public safety, including longer lines at security checkpoints at the airport.

Candy Crowley anchors CNN's "State of the Union." Candy, you spoke with Ray Lahood, the transportation secretary about the cuts. Here is a portion of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY LAHOOD, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We are going to look at everything we possibly can to get to where we need to be, which is about $600 million in cuts. But we can't do it without also furloughing people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Candy, politically there is a lot at stake. Who is feeling the most pressure to try to avoid these cuts?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: If you watch carefully, I don't think anybody is feeling that much pressure. I mean, Fredricka, let's just look at last week, Congress is out on recess, the president had a weekend where he went golfing. Nobody is sitting in a room trying to hash this out.

The president's line of political attack has been they don't care about the middle class, they are just protecting tax hikes on the wealthy. They don't want to close loopholes on oil companies because, you know, we could do that and then have some cuts but also some revenue enhancement but Republicans only care about rich people so that has worked before, worked on the fiscal cliff, the Republicans did pretty much cave on that but here's what I would say, is that there is more - you know how we always talk about how Congress works up until the amount of time it has, just right up against that deadline?

I would argue that, yes, a lot of things are being put into place because of these automatic budget cuts but the actual effect may take two or three weeks in some of these places. The question is does Congress see a two to three-week window where they can do something and then avoid hour and a half-long waits for planes because there aren't enough air traffic controllers, et cetera. There's also, by the way, some doubt, particularly in regards to conservative or tea party types that this sort of scenario, although my goodness, they have to shutdown poultry factories because there won't be enough meat inspectors and that some of this is exaggerated.

That is at least the take of some conservatives, administration saying these worst case scenarios, oh, my goodness, life as we know is going to change. So we will see what happens. But I do think there is some lag time between the March 1st deadline and when people actually begin to feel the affect that may be where Congress and the White House gets together and figure something out.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime this may be a big nerve-wracking week, particularly for former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. Will he be confirmed as defense secretary? You asked his old friend, we will use the word friend very loosely - John McCain, about Hagel's chances. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: Because I do not believe that Chuck Hagel, who is a friend of mine, is qualified to be secretary of defense. But I do believe that elections have consequences. Unfortunately. And the president of the United States was reelected, I believe when the questions are answered and I believe they will be by this coming week, that the president deserves an up or down vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Despite what may appear by some as a personal grudge here between McCain and Hagel, will the votes be there for the confirmation of Hagel?

CROWLEY: The votes are there it takes 51, he clearly has that. What happened last time was that there were not enough votes to cut off a filibuster, they were shy of that. There are now enough Republicans who say "Hey we gave it another week, we have been looking at these things and therefore, we can now go ahead and vote." So, they do have enough votes, we believe, we should always add that, when it comes to the U.S. Senate to put that nomination on the floor and there are certainly enough votes to confirm Hagel as the next Pentagon chief.

WHITFIELD: All right. Candy Crowley, always good to see you. Thanks so much, host of "State of the Union." I appreciate it.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: The case against Oscar Pistorius, we will examine the evidence against the Olympic sprinter.

And do you love flight delays? I can't imagine that the answer is yes. But just in case, if so, no need to worry about the forced budget cuts. For the rest of us, those cut could cause a hassle at the airport. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Olympian Oscar Pistorius is not the only member of his family in trouble with the law. So is his brother, Carl. I asked Deborah (INAUDIBLE), the host and executive producer of E News Channel Africa's "Third Degree" about the details of that case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH PATTA, 3RD DEGREE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & HOST: It turns out that this particular incident happened about two years ago, in 2010. It's culpable homicide, which is not as serious, serious but not as serious as premeditated murder and it involves a car accident and initially, the charges were withdrawn and then reinstated because the mother of the girl felt there was enough to go ahead and prosecute.

And in fact, Carl was supposed to stand trial for this last week but that has been postponed and that looks like it will go ahead within the next fortnight and he could face his entire trial before his brother, Oscar, goes on trial of his own.

Yes, he was. This wonderful narrative of South Africa, this young boy overcoming against all odds, double amputation to actually participate as an able-bodied athlete and so we kind of just ignored all these things that have really been occurring over the past two years. Most recent year loaded gun going off in a public place and not a single person reporting that. In many other parts of world that would have provoked an entire debate on gun proliferation and yet, in Oscar Pistorius's case it is not even reported to the police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: People all over the world are following every detail in this Pistorius murder case. The testimony and evidence provided in court raised a lot of questions about Oscar Pistorius but not a whole lot of answers.

CNN legal contributor Paul Callan and defense attorney Rachel Self joining me now. Good see both of you.

RACHEL SELF, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good to see you.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: So we thought we would be talking about one Pistorius case involving the killing of a woman but we are, you know, talking about two now members of the family. So, I wonder, Paul, you first, now that you are learning a bit more about Carl Pistorius and this homicide case, will these two cases, Oscar and Carl, would these two cases kind of be intertwined? Will they influence one another?

CALLAN: Well, this is bizarre, Fredricka. You know, with the brother under arrest - (INAUDIBLE), the chief investigator in Oscar Pistorius's case charged with murder. It seems like everybody connected with the case is facing criminal charges. You know, the question about whether it will ultimately affect the cases is a hard one to answer. If this were on a jury trial situation, I would say, yes. I would say people on the jury might say "Hey, if one brother is bad, maybe the other is bad." But in South Africa, a decision is made by a judge or what they call a magistrate. And presumably, he is well educated enough and sophisticated enough not to hold the actions of one brother against another. So I think we have to assume the best and say no, it won't affect the ultimate outcome.

WHITFIELD: And Rachel, I wonder what else is different about how cases will be prosecute there in South Africa versus what we are accustomed to here in the U.S. where people are innocent until proven, you know, guilty and the burden of proof is on the prosecution. Are there any real parallels in how it will be adjudicated there?

SELF: Well, yes. There are. In fact, the most important thing, I think is that the prosecution is going to need to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. That's standard is the same over there but the thing that's going to be very interesting to me, as I follow this case, is going to be the fact that the judge hearing the case probably lives in one of these gated or secured communities him or herself. And he is used to this fear culture that exists in South Africa. And I'm just blown away.

I'm on the edge of my seat since the beginning of this whole thing started and I'm just blown away by the fact that, you know, we've got all of these people that think that it's OK to shoot first and ask questions later, appears to be the way that it is down there. You got people that got drop gates in their homes, their own security forces is a very common thing over there. So, we are all listening to this as Americans but we don't understand necessarily the South African fear culture.

WHITFIELD: Sure, well, it speaks to the culture there in South Africa, and so, you know, how this information is assessed and how it's received will be very different than what people are accustomed to here in the U.S., Carl. But what seems to be expected is that it would be assessed perhaps the same way might be here, the dynamics of the case, the evidence collected, the makeup of the room or the structure of the house. What could have plausibly happened as it pertains to the story that Oscar Pistorius has given and he gave that story in quite - in detail through this affidavit.

Well, that affidavit helps support, you know, the defense or will the defense find itself trying to you back pedal or kind of clean up the story?

CALLAN: Well I think his story is so patently ridiculous that defense attorneys probably are going to try to make a better presentation in front of a judge. You know, in fairness to South Africa, we got some situations in Florida with the stand your ground laws and whatnot, where people say Americans are using guns rather needlessly as well. Of course, we will see how that trial turns out in Florida.

But getting back to the facts of the case, you know, from a common sense standpoint, this is a circumstantial evidence case, which just means there's no eyewitness testimony. But here, Oscar Pistorius walks by a bed in which his girlfriend is sleeping, says he didn't notice that she wasn't there but he managed to reach under the bed and pull out an automatic weapon and he goes back or semiautomatic weapon. He goes into the bathroom then and opens fire through the door after yelling at the door, of course, she would have heard him yell and say why are you yelling at me? So these are just some of the (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Yes. Reportedly saying there was a window open and that helped substantiate his fear that maybe someone came in, but now we are talking about eyewitnesses, it's his word against whose word? I mean what about eyewitness accounts and how relevant that may be in this case?

CALLAN: Well, I would like to see what happened if Rachel Self walks into her condo in Boston and opens fire in the bathroom door. She would be led way in handcuffs based on circumstantial evidence. No witnesses required. Go ahead, Rachel.

WHITFIELD: Rachel, this going to be a big problem?

SELF: No Paul. Not necessarily.

WHITFIELD: Lack of eyewitness accounts?

SELF: There - well, thank you very much, Paul, I assure you, I'm not planning on walking in my apartment in Boston and opening fire.

CALLAN: All right.

SELF: But I do believe there's major problems with the - there's major problems with the prosecution's case here. It's all circumstantial. And Paul, he didn't walk by anywhere. He was apparently - he hadn't put on his prosthetic feet yet and he was apparently going out to the balcony to bring the fan in, and he was at a different level than the bed would have been at. So it's entirely possible that he didn't see her in the bed. And then he hears what he thinks is an intruder in this fear culture.

Let's remember he is only 26 years old and he's in this fear culture that he lives in, where he had been told before that a workman had left a leader by an unbarred window and it was possible someone was in there. And yes, I do not disagree that I think it is a problem that he didn't go, "Knock, knock, knock, honey are you in there?" before he opened fire but I think that reasonable doubt -

CALLAN: It would have been nice.

SELF: ... is going to be established by the - It would have been nice -

CALLAN: But why, why Rachel?

(CROSSTALK)

SELF: But reasonable doubt is going to be established by the prosecution.

CALLAN: Here's the real question. If - if his girlfriend is behind that door and he is yelling to an intruder, get out, get out of my house or he is yelling to her, why wouldn't she have said to him, "Hey, honey, it's me, are you flipping out tonight? " He has her saying nothing and then he opens fire. He didn't - she didn't hear him?

SELF: Here's what I think is a plausible - here is what I think is a plausible defense to that, Paul, if she went into the bathroom, he initially, according to his affidavit, came in from the balcony, thought he heard an intruder and said "Call the police to her," it's entirely possible he didn't realize she was in the bathroom and she was in the bathroom, heard him yell, thought he was in a different part of the house and was hiding from the intruder herself thinking I better stay quiet there might be an intruder here. So there are so many different versions that the defense is going to be - it's just what's your imagination say today? It is a circumstantial case. CALLAN: Well, you are giving him the benefit of a very sophisticated analysis here. But I think in the end, Fredricka, it's either a premeditated intentional homicide or he's not going to walk because it is a reckless homicide if it's not. Because anybody who opens fire into a bathroom door like that, not knowing who is behind the door is guilty of manslaughter in any civilized country in the world. In South Africa, they will call it culpable homicide. So one way or another, Pistorius, I think is in deep trouble, even if Rachel Self is defending him. OK. So - so, and the other thing I wanted to say is what people have to understand also is Mr. Pistorius got the benefit of a very favorable decision before the current magistrate.

Under the South African system, a higher court now can look at this and it won't necessarily be the same magistrate. So, after a period of six months or so we may see a new trial.

SELF: Well, I don't necessarily think that that's true. I mean this is such an interesting situation and we are all looking at that through our state of mind and what we have seen before and this is unlike anything that I have ever seen before for sure. And what is the subjective state of mind of Oscar Pistorius? What is the subjective state of mind of somebody living in a gated community in this fear culture? What is the subjective state of mind of somebody who is as famous as he is, OK? There have been reports saying that he is as important to South Africa right now and the emerging new South Africa as Nelson Mandela was to today's youth, as far as inspiration goes. And he is a very, very famous person and it's possible that he is more a target than the average Joe.

CALLAN: I got to tell you, Rachel, Nelson Mandela was locked up in prison for about 20 years and had a lot of reason to hate, maybe open fire on his enemies. I never remember him firing a gun at somebody when he got out of prison. So, if Oscar Pistorius is being compared by the South African populace to Nelson Mandela, we better start shipping some psychotropic medications over there. I don't think that's the case. I don't think that's the case. I think ultimately --

SELF: I don't disagree with you --

CALLAN: Common sense. Yes. And --

SELF: No the judge absolutely is going to do that but the thing that we are going to see here is a very different play of events than what we are used to seeing in the United States, I think. I mean, it's just going to -- we have less than a 10 percent conviction rate in South Africa. Over here that would be unheard of.

CALLAN: It is very true and there is a fear culture in South Africa. They are there are demographics and dynamics going on there that are very different from here. For instance there is no death penalty in South Africa, why no death penalty? Eliminated because, essentially, prior to the elimination of apartheid, they had the highest hanging rate on the earth. Everybody was being hung. Of course, it was the majority, you know, the black people who live in that country who were being oppressed. So, there are things going on in courtrooms there and fears I think we don't see in this country, so it is not fair to judge them the system by American standards, I agree with you there, Rachel.

SELF: But I -- Paul, you know what I want to see I want to see all of the forensic evidence come out. I can't wait to see whether he was dressed when he came down the stairs, whether she was dressed when she came down the stairs. What he was wearing. Whether there was a blood alcohol level for either of them, whether, you know, all of this stuff that we just don't know yet as it unfolds is definitely going to sway which way this case goes.

CALLAN: Well, thank you very much, Rachel. And this case is going to be one of the most closely followed criminal cases I think in the world in the months to come. So, we will be following it closely here at CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, welcome back, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Still in the newsroom, of course it looks a little different now because we really are literally are in the newsroom, if you were with us a few moments ago, we were in the studio, but we suffered a bit of a power outage, so we located, but hopefully uninterrupted, we can bring you're the rest of our news this afternoon.

All right. Topping the news, congress getting back to work this week with a Friday deadline to avoid $85 billion in forced spending cut if congress and the White House don't reach a budget deal. You can expect everything from longer security lines at the airport to reduced food inspections.

A suspect has been identified in that fatal shooting and crash on the Las Vegas strip that left three dead. Police are now looking for 26 year old Amar Harris. They believe he opened fire from a Range Rover Thursday morning killing rapper Kenneth Cherry, who was driving a Maserati. Cherry's Maserati smashed into a taxi which caught fire. The taxi driver and his passenger died. Cherry's father tells our affiliate KVVU, his son was a good guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN CHERRY SR., FATHER: There were no guns in my son's car. He was a victim just like any other victim, attempted to be carjacked or did something wrong, driving a car and a person got mad at them or they were just was jealous of my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Police have impounded the Range Rover they say Amar Harris was driving.

The Pope delivered his last public prayer today before he steps down, but his resignation comes at a time when the Vatican and the Catholic Church are in the middle of another controversy. Our Becky Anderson has details. BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Frederica, it was a very frail and tired looking Pope Benedict XVI who addressed tens of thousands of pilgrims who gathered in the square at St. Peter's behind me to hear what was the Pope's last public blessing. He had said sensationally only a week and a half ago that he was resigning because he was of an ailing health and that he was too old for the job.

But now, questions around who knew what when storm clouds gathering over the Roman Catholic Church. The Italian media is abuzz with allegations, that a network of gay clerics. They have made themselves vulnerable to blackmail from male prostitutes much the Vatican has responded to those allegations by saying, and I quote, "Its deplorable that as the time for the Roman Catholic Church to elect a new Pope approaches, talking, of course, to the conclave, a rash of often invented, unverifiable or completely false news stories has appeared."

To add to this, British media publishing stories about the top Scottish cleric and only eligible British cardinal for conclave reporting that four priests, three current priests and one former priest are alleging inappropriate behavior by Cardinal Keith O'Brien. Now, he should have been at mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Scotland earlier on Sunday. He wasn't there. The bishop who took that mass said that he is aware of those reports and that he is seeking legal advice. We are told by the Vatican that the Pope is aware of O'Brien's case.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thank you very much, Becky and in a moment, I will be talking to a Vatican analyst, Raymond Arroyo, about this controversy and what it could mean for the Catholic Church overall. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back this just in. To all you Nascar fans out there Jimmie Johnson has won the Daytona 500. This is Jimmie Johnson's second win at Daytona. His last victory was in 2006, Danica Patrick, who won pole position, finished in eighth place.

All right. Here is a look at what is trending online. The polls are open in Italy. People there are voting for not a new Pope but, instead, for a new parliament. Right now you its tight race between coalitions led by three-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Pierre Brezani.

And the youtube sensation known as kid president, there he is, got a shout out from the commander in chief himself. President Obama asked him to star in an announcement video for the White House Easter egg roll. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Kid president it looks like you got my message.

ROBBY NOVACK: I got your message this is historic. The White House Easter egg roll. There's dancing, egg rolling, come in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Robby Novak, well he is just 9 years old. His youtube videos get hundreds of thousands of views online. No wonder why. He is a star.

All right. Benedict's last week as Pope won't be a peaceful one. The Vatican is coping with one scandal in Rome and another abroad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Pope led the people in prayer for the last time today at the Vatican. An emotional crowd gathered to hear him speak. But the Pope's resignation comes in the middle of a lot of controversy. An Italian media report says gay priests at the Vatican were being blackmailed by male prostitutes. Raymond Arroyo is news director of Eternal World Television Network. He has covered numerous papal events in the industry. Good see you.

RAYMOND ARROYO, NEWS DIRECTOR, ETERNAL WORLD TELEVISION NETWORK: Great to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's begin with this report the Italian media reports, how the Vatican is trying to handle this and whether these reports, indeed, lead to the reason why Pope Benedict stepped down.

ARROYO: Frederica, let me tell you, I think there are a number of things we need to keep in perspective. First of all this man, Pope Benedict, his previous position in the Vatican and as Pope has looked thoroughly at these personnel files, many of which you and myself and so many around the world have gotten glimpses of in the various media accounts, whether it is in Los Angeles, or Boston, or else were.

He has seen the ugly underbelly of these scandals, personal sin involving priests and certainly, you know, gay clergy would not shock him at all. He -- lay aside something like 3,000 priests in his previous position. Sixty percent of those cases were homosexual in nature. So the very idea that he would suddenly be shocked by this is a little like people being shocked in Harvey Weinstein is thanked at the Academy Awards tonight so it is hardly going -- this is not the reason that he is stepping down.

I think it truly is he feels weakened at this point. Old age has gotten the best of him. He is blind in one eye. His hearing is going. And I just think he doesn't have the strength to run the Vatican and the kurall offices in Rome the way he believes they need to be run at this time. So he is handing it over to a younger man and obviously a different man. Wheel is what the cardinals --

WHITFIELD: Convergence of a lot of talk of different scandals. You wonder whether the Pope's resignation is now being overshadowed by whether it be the Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney, with his deposition yesterday as it relates to turning the other way during child abuse allegations or whether it's from Scotland, that Cardinal Keith O'Brien allegedly misbehaving. He is being accused of inappropriate behavior. All of these things taking place at a time when the Pope has stepped down. How do you see this influencing the selection of the next Pope?

ARROYO: Now, it's a good question. And we have to -- let's take them isolation first, with Cardinal Roger Mahoney. He has been at the center of this major scandal, more than $700 million paid out in the diocese. There are a number of people now pressuring him not attend the conclave. Chances are he is going to be at that conclave it is his right. The Vatican said, look, it is up to the cardinals that meet right after the Benedict retires to decide who can be absent and who should be absent. Chances are he will go, he will vote. Regarding Cardinal O'Brien in Scotland we don't know if these charges have any veracity at this point. But let's step back for a second there is a reason we are hearing about all of these scandals now.

WHITFIELD: Why?

ARROYO: This is the attempt, I think; of individuals who are opposed to certain candidacies, to, in a way damn them. You know, if you have read some of the reports in recent days, the "New York Post" had a piece on it today, about the movie industry and how they attack the other studios' picture to damn their nominations during the Academy Awards. We are seeing the same thing here a bit, where you see Americans on the rise, people talk of an American Pope, well suddenly now we hear Cardinal Dolan had his deposition and you Cardinal Mahoney is in a deposition it gives the taint that somehow, something's not quite right and they should look elsewhere for a candidate.

WHITFIELD: Well is there something, too, some discussions that perhaps the selection of a next Pope that it is likely the next Pope will come from somewhere other than Europe?

ARROYO: It could be. You know, I think it is an open game here, Fredricka. It's -- it could be any man's papacy at this point. Looking at the way this college breaks down though, half of those electors, more than half of them are European. So they will have a major influence. But I would -- I mean, if you're looking outside of Italy, you have to look at Cardinal Alouette in Canada who now works in the Vatican, known around the world, he speaks six languages, he is a very holy and sort of humble man, interviewed him before. He would certainly be somebody you would look at. Others are saying, you know, the Americans might be able to be in the running this time.

WHITFIELD: OK.

ARROYO: The Americans not a disqualifier. We will see.

WHITFIELD: I'm sure you and I are going to talk again about the potential candidates, as we get a little bit closer to that process. Thanks so much, Raymond Arroyo. Thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

ARROYO: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, back in this country, yes, it's a lot of fun but it is also very tense. It is a very tense afternoon in Tinseltown. After the Oscars, it's time for everyone to cut loose, however. More on the party before, during and after the Oscars.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Many of us have worked multiple jobs at one time or another. Well working six different jobs when you are in the prime of your career. Well that is a different story. In today's "Smart is the new rich." Christine Roman introduces us to a woman who was forced by the recession to piece together a new way to make a living.

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Charmaine Dacosta is a caterer, a pastor, office manager host for Air B and B.

CHARMAINE DACOSTA, WORKING 6 JOBS AND LOVING IT: They travel; people really appreciate some place clean.

ROMANS: English language tutor, professor and a singer/songwriter.

DACOSTA: I'm busy.

ROMANS: In 2007, Dacosta left her job as an executive assistant to pursue singing full time, then the recession hit.

DACOSTA: The bottom fell out.

ROMANS: Forcing Dacosta to get creative to make ends meet.

DACOSTA: Took music jobs, catering jobs, administrative work, and any job that would actually pay me and was legal. The economy is forcing people to use their talents.

ROMANS: And redesigning traditional careers from nine to five to 24/7.

DACOSTA: The office manager and the pastor jobs actually pay the same. The catering jobs vary and then there's the Air B and B, which actual is a bomb. I can make, in one week, Air B and B, what I make in two weeks at my other jobs.

ROMANS: Can being the operative word here. Six jobs don't equal six figures.

DACOSTA: Now I'm off to church to do my other things. Not the life that most people would choose, I'm sure. The con is I'm never quite sure when the mortgage is going to be made what bills are going to be paid and when. I don't have the security of planning next year.

ROMANS: While Dacosta says she thinks she could find a full-time job again, she chooses not to. DACOSTA: I'm the happiest I've ever been. Bar none. No time in my life have I been this happy.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

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WHITFIELD: All right. There was a time when too much was barely enough for Paula Deen, but the queen of southern cooking had to change her ways when she was diagnosed with diabetes.

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