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Last U.S. Troops Pull Out of Yemen; Road Rage in Texas; Sen. Ted Cruz Expected to Officially Declare Run for 2016 Presidency; Tunisia's President Says Third Attacker on the Run; Ancient Catholic Ritual as Pope Visits Naples; What Happened to Jackie? Aired 4-5p ET

Aired March 22, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:18] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, Yemen in turmoil, a strategic city seized by rebels. The U.N. holding an emergency meeting on the situation right now. We're live at the United Nations.

Then a Florida couple returns home after getting caught in the crossfire of terrorists. Their terrifying account of being at the Bardo Museum during that Tunisian attack.

Plus it's the miracle that everyone is talking become. Pope Francis turns a vial of dried blood into liquid. We take a look at what happened. NEWSROOM starts now.

Hello again, everyone, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The last U.S. troops are now out of Yemen. The U.S. State Department said the evacuation involved about 100 special operations members, including Navy S.E.A.L.S and the Army's Delta Force. Also, this weekend, Houthi rebels have taken over the strategic city of Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, the takeover sparked protests by thousands of Yemenis who say they are rejecting the coup by the rebels.

And happening right now, the United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on the deteriorating conditions in Yemen. I want to bring in journalist Hakim Almasmari on the phone with us right now. He is in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

So lets start with the U.S. troops, will there be an impact on the ground with citizens there, knowing that no U.S. troops are there?

HAKIM ALMASMARI, JOURNALIST: The citizens didn't even know the U.S. troops existed in the first place, because they were located in an air base, so it will not affect the people, but I do - (INAUDIBLE) why the U.S. left. There's no central government in the country, it's chaotic. You have militant groups who want to control the country and you have the growth of terrorism, and the Houthis who are now in control refuse to even cooperate or deal with the United States in any way, so that's why the U.S. left, but I don't feel there's any reason that the people will feel the difference of the U.S. troops leaving Sanaa, since they were not mixing with the people other than to counter terror.

WHITFIELD: As it pertains to rebels taking control, there have been some citizens who have, you know, showed outrage, they are protesting, but is there a feeling that many feel unsafe or reluctant, don't trust the rebel? What is the feeling there?

ALSMASMARI: (INAUDIBLE) because the Houthi rebels they don't accept negotiations. They want people to accept what - it's their way or the highway, to be honest, and that's why negotiations have stalled and are now going to for months - they have not reached a deal. Houthis refused to step down a bit, and that's why this resulted into a big mix within the army, where half of the army is supporting the Houthis, while the other half is against the Houthis. This big, big margin is the reason why the country is divided right now, publicly, politically, militarilty. And right now this all could lead to a civil war if factions do not agree on a political solution very soon.

WHITFIELD: And so are people in general, are they staying in their homes? Those who are not bold enough to go out and protest, but are in general people staying in their homes? Are they afraid to go to work? Go to school? Give me an idea what it is to live there and worry about government control or who is in control?

ALMASMARI: Those who are politically involved, they are either protesting with or against, so they are in the streets protesting. Those who are not politically active in Yemen don't bother - or not bother, they continue their daily lives. It's very safe in the capital and has been safe for a couple months right now. Yes, there were attacks on the two mosques. Those terror attacks have happened at any given time. Other than that, it's pretty safe for the ordinary citizen, but will the safety continue if no political deal is reached in and each party continues to escalate and threaten the use of force in case their demands are not met.

WHITFIELD: Very real concerns. All right. Hakim Almasmari, thank you so much from Sanaa in Yemen.

As I mentioned, the United Nations also raised the concerns now over the deteriorating conditions there in Yemen.

The security council is holding an emergency meeting right now to discuss the situation. CNN's senior United Nations correspondent Richard Roth is there for us. So what is the latest on discussions there whether anything could be agreed upon and what kind of an impact would that make anyway?

[16:05:09]

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: The most important part of what we've heard so far, Fredricka is a briefing by the U.N.'s man who has been dealing with Yemen for years now. Jamal Benomar, briefed the security council from Doha by videoconference, it was a gloomy, dark forecast and summation of what's happening in that Middle East nation. Benomar told the security council that things are deteriorating, moving away from a political settlement and towards the edge of civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMAL BENOMAR, U.N. SPECIAL ADVISER: Mr. President, it would appear that the Houthis backed by members of the Yemeni armed forces are now moving further south towards (INAUDIBLE) unaided.

There is a prevailing sense amongst Yemenis that the situation is on a rapid downward spiral. Many are also concerned that the conflict has taken on warring sectarian tones and deepening north-south division.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The U.N. representative for Yemen said it's an illusion, if the Houthis say they can take over the entire nation of Yemen, and also an illusion of the current president in Aden thinks his forces can try to regain control of the whole country. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Richard, earlier you had mentioned that potentially there could be some kind of voter decision that would involve the 15 neighboring countries of Yemen. But have any of those cunning expressed any kind of commitment or worry or plan to want to help Yemen?

ROTH: The 15-nation security council issued yet another statement on Yemen calling for halted violence, calling everyone to starting discussing and negotiating, but past statements like these have not succeeded.

The representative from Yemen and Qatar in the area were on the side of the current president of Yemen, and they want what they called the coup leaders ousted, but they're the ones making the military progress on the ground.

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard Roth, very complex situation. Thank you so much. Keep us posted.

So let's talk more about this with our security analyst Bob BaEr. So Bob, let's talk first about Yemen, there are so many other things to talk about as it pertains to U.S. military troop pullout as well, but just hearing from our one guest, Hakim, who is there in Sanaa, he paints a grim picture. There is chaos. He expressed that.

It seems as though the civil war is imminent. What are your greatest concerns about the picture being painted there and the majority of those who do, who are willing to come out are those who are politically involved, but otherwise people are worried about their personal safety?

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE & SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think it's even grimmer than he portrayed, Fred. I mean, you have to look at Yemeni borders, they're wide open with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's security is directly affected. Many Arabs look at the Houthis as being backed by Iran. I think that's a little bit, you know, -- it's more complicated than that, and you also have to look at Saudi Arabia. Just talking about Iraq, they think that the Iranians are moving into Iraq. Whether it's true or not, they think they have occupied, so the Gulf Arabs look like they're surrounded by Iranian-backed forces.

I think the chances of a civil war not occurring in Yemen are very close to zero. You even have the former president Ali Abdulah Salah who has joined the Houthis. So it's more confusing and of course, Al Qaeda is filling the vacuum in any village, or town or military base if they can are going to take, and the Islamic state is going to take advantage of this power vacuum too and they're going to move in.

So it's totally unpredictable what's going to happen in the next coming months, but I don't think it's going to be good. There's nothing the United States can do nor the U.N., and we just have to watch this played out, unfortunately.

WHITFIELD: And so at the risk of making themselves even more vulnerable to, say the Islamic state, what neighboring Arab nation would want to get so involved as to assist Yemen directly?

BAER: I would say it would be Saudi Arabia, in as much as they're going to start hiring proxies. They've been trying to solve Yemen's security for the last 50 years, mostly successfully, but it's completely changed now. Remember, there's a large Yemeni population in Saudi Arabia, Osama Bin Laden was of Yemeni origin, so all these factors are playing into this Gulf politics.

Again, it goes back to Iran though because from the Saudis' standpoint, I can't emphasize this enough, they look at Bashar al Assad in Damascus as an Iranian proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon as Iranian proxy and of course, you've got the (INAUDIBLE) force fighting in Iraq.

So we are playing with very big pieces here. Let's not forget, at the end of the day Saudi Arabia has a quarter of the world's oil reserves, which will affect us if something happens to those.

WHITFIELD: And how much of a big defeat, or what is at stake for the U.S., in particular, when it wasn't that long ago, really a matter of month or two ago when the White House said that there has been measured progress made in Yemen, and now this. So what is at stake for the U.S.? Is it strictly a counterterrorism commitment that the U.S. has, and because it's such a porous nation and the U.S. intelligence needs to be there, in counterterrorism efforts, or is there something else?

BAER: Well, don't forget that (INAUDIBLE) was the American jihadi was killed with a drone strike. That was coordinated on the ground from in Yemen. Now we've lost that coordination. We cannot go after Asiri, the airplane bomber who's operating somewhere there, so our ability to -- you don't go after these people in Yemen, it's greatly reduced especially since there's no central government.

So it is as chaotic as Libya is today or as Syria, and you simply cannot take care of these targets from the air alone without local help.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bob Baer, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

BAER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, in this country, manhunt, a woman shot on a Texas freeway, in an apparent road rage incident and police are still hunting for the suspect today.

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WHITFIELD: Updating our breaking news in the war against ISIS, a member of Turkey's Parliament says a group of foreign medical students including seven Britains and Americans and a Canadian have gone to ISIS-controlled Syria. Let's get to Iraq for an update now with CNN's Jomana Karadshieh who has the very latest on Baghdad. Jomana.

[16:15:02]

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are still trying to piece put together the details of this story that is emerging on this day. According to a Turkish member of Parliament, he's an opposition MP, and he is telling CNN that a group of 11 individuals, eight of them medical students who have just graduated and three others in their final year, that these 11 include seven British nationals, one American, one Canadian and two Sudanese.

He says they entered Turkey in the last 10 days, from there they have travelled to Syria. In the words of this MP, this opposition MP, in an interview with Reuters, he said that they have traveled to Syria to treat rebels there.

Now, we're also hearing from the British media who also reported on their national traveling to Syria. These are again reports that are not independently verified at this point. What the British media are saying is that these individuals have traveled to ISIS-controlled territory and are working at a hospital there.

It is unclear what their motivations are and what are they are doing there. Now we are hearing in a statement from the British foreign office, they tell CNN "we are providing consular assistance to their families, and we have informed the Turkish police to try and ascertain their whereabouts."

No names of these individuals have been released yet, and according to this member of Parliament that we spoke to, the family members of these individuals, unclear if it's all or some of them, are in Turkey and have been there with him, and British media reports that they have been on the border there, trying to convince their children, their loved ones to return back.

This is the latest in a series of foreigners that we are seeing individuals, young individuals, from western nations that are crossing into Syria. But at this point in time, it is unclear what the motivation behind the travel of these students that, according to British media, were in Sudan. It is unclear what they are doing in Syria.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY GORMLEY, SCULPTOR: (INAUDIBLE) 3,000 kilometers straight down you will find liquid iron at about 1400 degrees and that is exactly the material I use to make these (INAUDIBLE) of the body.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anthony Gormley's obsession with the human form and the space it occupies has led him to make over 2,000 sculptures based on his own body.

Arguably the greatest of which is the angel of the north which towers over the British landscape. His work is exhibited in public spaces around the world. He has received prestigious international arts awards, including Britain's Turner Prize and Japan's Premium Imperiale.

Today he's in his studio in London giving three dimensions to a new idea.

GORMLEY: You don't get good work without good ideas, but the ideas come from the work. Sculpture of all the arts is perhaps the most silent. And learning to listen to the work that you have already made is really where all the core ideas come from. One work is another of the next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A manhunt is still under way in Texas after a violent road rage incident. Police are looking for a man they say shot a woman in the back of her head Friday morning after she honked at him. 28- year-old Kay Hafford underwent surgery and is now reportedly in good condition.

CNN's Shasta Darlington joins me with more on this.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think what's so scary here, Fred, is just how things can escalate and get out of control. 28- year-old Kay Hafford was on her way to work on Friday on rush hour traffic, a car tried to cut her off and she honked, as many of us would, but what happened next is pretty unthinkable.

An altercation began, the other driver pulled up alongside her car, on the right hand side and pulled out a gun. He shot the gun. A bullet went through the passenger side of Hafford's car and hit her in the back of the head. Now, remarkably she was able to pull her car over and called 911, she was eventually taken to the hospital where she underwent surgery. She's in good condition, the hospital said today that her condition

was upgraded to good. Her husband has also been speaking, Kendrick Hafford is understandably angry, but he's optimistic about her recovery. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENDRICK HAFFORD, VICTIM'S HUSBAND: I'm just glad she's going to be OK. May god deal with you. That's all I can say. If I ever find out who it is, it's not going to be that nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: Obviously the big problem here is that driver is still on the loose. Police know they're looking for a white SUV at the time of the incident the driver was wearing a blue baseball cap, but two days later and they haven't found him, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Shasta Darlington, thank you so much.

Also ahead, the first presidential candidate of the 2016 race appears ready to announce, and a major newspaper is calling on someone who refuses to run to actually get into that race.

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[16:25:00]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Senator John McCain taking issue today with President Obama's cool stance towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Obama has told Netanyahu the U.S. would reassess its relationship with Israel. That message coming after Netanyahu said before his re- election that he opposed Palestinian statehood. Comments Netanyahu has since walked back.

CNN's Erin McPike is at White House for us.

So McCain had some very strong words for the president today. I guess he usually does, doesn't he?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, he does, but today he said that President Obama's personal problems with Benjamin Netanyahu are getting in the way of shared policy goals between the U.S. and Israel. Listen here to more of those comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: There was a free and fair democratic election, the only nation in the region that will have such a thing. The president should get over it. Get over your temper tantrum, Mr. President, it's time that we work together with our Israeli friends and try to stem this tide of ISIS and Iranian movement throughout the region, which is threatening the very fabric of the region. The least of your problems is what Bibi Netanyahu said during an election campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now he said it's either that or President Obama is delusional, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. So McCain's comments coming on the heels of the president's interview with "Huffington Post," how influential was that?

MCPIKE: Well, in this interview he basically accused Netanyahu of reversing himself on his policy for a two-state solution, that he said one thing before he was reelected on Tuesday and then another thing afterward, meaning that it's hard to trust him and to get anything done. Listen to some of those comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, U.S.: I did indicate to him that we continue to believe that a two-state solution is the only way for the long-term security of Israel, if it wants to stay both a Jewish state and democratic. And I indicated to him that, given his statements prior to the election, it is going to be hard to find a path where people are seriously believing the negotiations are possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:30:00] MCPIKE: And in his conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, President Obama said he told Netanyahu that he thinks he should tone down his rhetoric. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Erin Pike, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

All right, so tomorrow, Texas Senator Ted Cruz is expected to become the first candidate to officially declare a run for president in 2016. Two aides of the republican lawmaker told CNN Cruz will make the announcement at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The 44- year-old in his first term in the U.S. senate would likely be joined by a long list of other potential candidates. As you can see in the CNN ORCP poll, right now, Cruz is low on that roster of republican choices, with only 4 percent favoring him. Joining me right now is Tharon Johnson. He is the former south regional director for Obama 2012. And from New York, we have Brian Morgenstern, a political strategist and lawyer. So, gentlemen, Ted Cruz is near the bottom of the popularity chart among republicans. What's the advantage of officially joining the race first, Tharon?

THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR OBAMA 2012: Well, it is really two things, one he gets an advantage on raising money. He's sort of doing it in an unusual sort of way. He's not creating an exploratory committee first. The second thing it will do is he'll get a chance to recruit some key staffers and begin to develop his message in primary states.

WHITFIELD: And so, Brian, what's the real chance of that, given that at least on those -- on many rosters of popularity, and there is something like almost 20 candidates, he is so close to the bottom.

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, POLITICAL STRATEGIST AND LAWYER: Well, if polls mattered at this stage, we would have President Rudy Giuliani and President Hillary Clinton back in 2008. So I wouldn't put too much stock in the polls, but you're right, there's a long list of credible candidates on the republican side. We will see Marco Rubio jump in, Governor Bush, Governor Walker among others. And its candidates with a certain populist appeal that I think Ted Cruz also tries to present.

WHITFIELD: And who does he appeal to in your view?

MORGENSTERN: Well, certainly, constitutionalists. That's one word he likes to use an awful lot. He likes to use the word populist, grassroots, you know regular folks. Certainly, not the donor class, that's generally not what he's been courting. He is running in a lane really for the grassroots activists to try to jump on board.

JOHNSON: But Senator Cruz is going to have some real challenges. I mean, he's going to have to talk to the American people and explain to seniors why he calls Social Security a Ponzi scheme. He also led the government shutdown that ultimately cost about $24 billion. He's also been very, very critical of ACA, which is now working, and then they have 10 million plus people that are insured. The other challenge he will have is that while he is definitely going to be able to appeal to the right wing of his party, but the mainstream electorate that I think is sort of out of touch with Senator Cruz right now.

WHITFIELD: All right. And let's look at you know those some 20 or so candidates. When you talk about Jeb Bush, Scott Walker who seemed to be kind of the front-runners and I guess conventional wisdom is that they probably have, you know, some deep pockets behind them. Ted Cruz, you know, where's the money behind him, because don't you need that in order to stand out, Brian?

MORGENSTERN: Well, certainly, but he's raised a great deal of money just in his few years in the public eye when he ran a campaign in Texas. He raised millions of dollars. I say a stat that he's raised something like 18 million of the last few years, so he'll certainly be able to I think raise enough money to compete in the early states, because frankly, it doesn't take that much money to compete in those very early states. It's a lot of retail politics and organizing caucus goers, and influential people on the ground. And so he'll be able to compete and he'll be echoing a lot of talking points, that a number of candidates will have which is we had the most liberal administration in history, we need to get back to caring about the constitution and talking about upward mobility and not tearing people down. So I think he will echo a lot of what many of the credibility candidates on the republican side have to say.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's shift gears a little bit because now you have got the Boston Globe editorial which is jumping into the game and calling on democratic senator Elizabeth Warren to run for president 2016. The paper saying these democrats would be making a big mistake if they let Hillary Clinton coast to the presidential nomination without real opposition, and the national leader Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren can make sure that doesn't happen. In the past, Warren has been very firm about her position.

JOHNSON: Yeah, I think Senator Warren...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: We're going to listen to her real quick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH WARREN, MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR: I am not running for president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But if Hillary didn't run, you might give it a shot?

WARREN: I am not running for president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So Tharon, you're ready to run out of the gate there. Why wouldn't she run?

[16:35:01]

JOHNSON: Well, I think it's two things. One she's made it clear that she's not running. I think it's because she's enjoying being a U.S. senator. I mean, she's sort of known as the policy wonk within the party. She definitely has a constituency in Massachusetts who are happy with her service. But the second reason is she's go up against a lot of money if and when Hillary Clinton decides to run, and also the Clintons have done a really good job of making sure that they are messaging the key constituencies that quite frankly Senator Warren doesn't have a great area of popularity. But I will tell you, there are a lot of people out there that are part of this Warren movement. A lot of folks who I have worked with on the campaign are encouraging her to run, but I think ultimately, she won't end up running.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, and so, Brian, is this just the state home paper that says, you know, we're endorsing our gal or, you know, is there any real movement behind possibly nudging her into a yes?

MORGENSTERN: Oh, I think there is a very real movement. It's this populist tide in America trying to find a relatable candidate, which Saturday Night Live taught us last week is not Hillary Clinton. So I think there's a real movement to try to draft an alternative and pull the democratic party farther to the left, which is quite a deserving proposition. And as I said, coming off such a liberal administration, so I think this is a Boston Globe really trying to drag the democratic party, as I said, even farther to the left than it already is.

WHITFIELD: All right, very interesting stuff. Brian Morgenstern and Tharon Johnson, thanks gentlemen. I appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, a Florida couple returns home after getting caught in crossfire of terrorists. They are recounting their terrifying experience of being at the Bardo museum during that Tunisia attack. Up next.

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[16:40:15]

WHITFIELD: Tunisia's president says a third attacker took part in Wednesday's deadly attack on foreign tourists at the country's national museum, and is on the run. The president insists he will not get far. We've gotten new surveillance video from inside the museum. And you see two gunmen and at one point, a man walking down the stairs, almost bumps into them. They let him go, but then they killed 23 other people. The Wall Street Journal reports the gunman fended off an elite squad of anti-terrorism police for nearly two hours. They were finally killed when one of their grenades failed to explode and police shot them.

Two of those tourists just returned home to Florida. Their trip to Tunisia should have been a happy occasion, celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Well, today, their happiest moments are greeting loved ones back on U.S. soil. Cynthia Demos from our affiliate WFOR reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYNTHIA DEMOS, WFOR-CNN CORRESPONDENT: Greeted by family with hugs, kisses and relief.

GIOVANNA GONZALES, SURVIVOR: It was a tragedy. It was something that it marked my life forever.

DEMOS: Giovanna and Hector Gonzales survived a terrorism attack in Tunisia. Here, they are running when two men with assault rifles and bags attacked, killing 21 people.

GONZALES: You know, we have to like run like crazy. The first thing that we heard was a bomb, and then him shooting.

DEMOS: They live in the homestead area, but they were on you a cruise for their anniversary that made a stop in Tunisia. They happened to be walking through Bardo the museum when the attack happened.

GONZALES: It is something for me a horrible nightmare. We went to celebrate or 25th anniversary, and what an experience for us. It was really bad.

DEMOS: And when the shooting began, they had one thought.

GONZALES: I was going to die.

DEMOS: They had to hide for about three hours inside the museum. Tunisia's interior ministry just released security video of the gunmen. The one-minute video was posted on the ministry's Facebook page showing the two men walking through the museum carrying assault riffles and bags. Tunisian prosecutors say 20 people are now being detained in connection with the attack. It was two Tunisians who trained in neighboring Libya who opened fire in the museum on Wednesday. They died in the shootout, and the Gonzales -- well, they are just happy to have survived.

GONZALES: I thank God I am here to just -- just go ahead and have my family and see my mom, see my daughter, and I'm happy to be home. I'm happy to be home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, amazing close call.

All right, still to come, the pope kisses an ancient vial and the bishop of Naples proclaims a miracle has happened. We'll tell you why, next.

Plus, I'll talk about the Vatican expert about the vial and its history of so-called miracles.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:50]

WHITFIELD: An ancient catholic ritual on full display during the pope's visit to Naples this week has many of the faithful using the word miracle. It happened Saturday when the dried blood of a Naples patron saint half-liquefied during a ceremony with Pope Francis and the archbishop of Naples. The catholic faithful believed it's a miracle when the saint's dry blood turns to liquid. So what is the story behind in saint and this vial of dry blood? For answers, let's bring in CNN's senior Vatican analyst John Allen. He joins us via Skype. So, John, who is this Naples patron saint and why is his dried blood in this vial?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Hey, Fredricka. In English we would call him St. Januarius. For the Italians, it is San Gennaro, but in any event, this is the patron saint of the city of Naples. Tradition says there aren't actually any historical records to attest to this, but tradition says that he was a bishop in the late 3rd and early 4th century, then a martyr during one of the periodic Roman persecutions. Supposedly he died in (inaudible). His body -- parts of his body were divided up among various sites, but there's this vial of his blood that's been preserved. It was lost for centuries, but then sort of unearthed in the 14th century and brought back to Naples by the guy who was then the (inaudible) bishop. And ever since, this vial has been on display in the cathedral in Naples. And, Fredricka, it is actually believed to liquefy, that is to take on a liquid state, at least three times a year, once in December, which is his feast day. Again in September, which is kind of a feast for the city of Naples, and also in May, which believe it or not was the day on the 14th century when all of the various parts of his body were reunified. This is a miracle that is believed to take place at least three times a year.

And it happens regardless of who is present, which is why in this case, if it is to partially liquefy and Pope Francis is there, he's getting some credit as to why it had liquefy a time outside of those three times a year? And also...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And it happens regardless who is present which is why in this case, it is partly liquefied and Pope Francis is there. He is getting some credit as to why it would liquefy time outside of those three times a year.

ALLEN: Yeah, that's right. This is the first time -- now, they will say it will occasionally liquefy on other special occasions, but according to the cardinals of Naples, Crescenzio Sepe, this is the first time it has ever happened in the presence of a pope. So you're right, he's getting some credit for it. Now, we should add, Fredricka, that even Francis himself was not over-selling the significance of this. He actually kind of cracked a joke about it. Because what he told the audience is look, this blood only partially liquefied today, which means the saint isn't fully happy with us. We're going to have to do better.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: OK. So what's the answer to the skeptics who say that it's really just that the vial was moved around that could cause it to partially liquefy or liquefy period?

ALLEN: Listen, there is some basis for that. The vial has been subjected to scientific testing over the years. There's a famous Italian scientist who looked at this and said look, when you have preserved blood, even if it's centuries old, when you jostle it around, it can take on a semi-liquid state without anything miraculous (inaudible). So, obviously, there are some grounds for skepticism there. But, Fredricka, I think this is one of those eyes of faith things, you know, St. Januarius is so near and dear to the hearts of the Neopolitans, the people who live in Naples, he is the one they turn to in times of need. When unemployment shoots through the roof or when a family has lost a child or there's been a civic tragedy, you know, this is the figure that people will turn to, and obviously, they are profoundly convinced this saint has the capacity to work miracles, including this miracle of the liquification of the blood. I'm not sure for them to be honest -- any scientific tests to be performed would mean a heck lot.

[16:50:50]

WHITFIELD: All right. John Allen, thank you. It's so fascinating indeed.

All right, we'll be right back.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a very active child. Anything I could see, I grab. I was barely 4 when I lost my vision in my left eye. The following years, I was so angry. This was an irreversible change.

[16:55:14] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty five percent of children ages 5 to 17

have a vision problem, 25 percent. How can you fully embrace all the opportunities available if you can't see them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Keep looking right at the light for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our program provides free vision screenings to all the school age children in Maui County.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We actually use advanced technology which allows us to test in seconds. We had this device, been around when I was four years old, it could have saved my vision. After the screenings, we deliver referral reports to the school health and for low-income families. We provide access to an eye care professional and financial assistance to cover the cost for corrective wear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daughter loves book. We never thought something was wrong. So when I got the letter, we were caught off- guard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Riley reminded me a lot of myself. We both turned out to have pretty severe conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Riley is only four years old. Because they caught it early, we can help her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just seeing her even today with glasses, knowing that her vision already completely fine because we caught it, that's what we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And each week, we honor a new CNN hero and ordinary person doing extraordinary work. Perhaps you want to get into the action or know someone, well, you can, just go to cnnheroes.com to nominate someone like Chelsea, who is making a difference.

And checking our top stories right now, in Florida, one person is reportedly dead after a helicopter crashed into a house near the Orlando executive airport. Robinson R-44 crashed into the house about two hours ago. The crash sparked a fire. No one inside the home is believed to be hurt. The FAA is now investigating.

A ski lift malfunctioned in Maine, injuring seven, four of whom were hospitalized. This all happened when a chair-lift started rolling backwards at Sugarloaf Mountain. More than 200 people had to be evacuated from the lift. No word yet on what caused that malfunction.

And the first full week of spring is starting off more like winter across the northeast with bitter cold temperatures. Tonight, parts of New England will have dangerous wind chills of minus 15 degrees. Meanwhile, Chicago is bracing for up to 5 inches of fresh snow.

And tomorrow, police will announce the results of their investigation into the alleged gang rape of a UVA student. A woman known as Jackie caused an uproar after telling Rolling Stone Magazine that she had been attacked at a fraternity party, but discrepancies in her story emerged causing Rolling Stone to apologize. Here is Sara Ganim.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We may finally learn what happened to the woman named Jackie, whose story in Rolling Stone caught national attention last fall. Charlottesville police are holding a news conference tomorrow to announce findings of their investigation. In the article, a University of Virginia student name Jackie claimed she was brutally raped by seven men during a fraternity party. University officials who acknowledge they did know some of the details of the Jackie's story months before the Rolling Stone article published, they asked police to launch a criminal investigation. Now, long before this criminal investigation concluded, a few important things happened. First, Rolling Stone apologized for its reporting when it became clear there were discrepancies in the woman's account. Second, friends of Jackie told CNN that they were with her that night and she told a very different story of what happened. They also showed us e-mails and text messages that appeared to show that Jackie had fabricated the man who she says orchestrated her rape, and police cleared the fraternity where Jackie said the alleged rape had happened, but police have always left open this possibility that Jackie was raped somewhere else, or on a different night. Now, it's important to remember that the police investigation is separate from the University of Virginia's internal investigation into whether they handled Jackie's claim and other reports of sexual assaults correctly.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Ganim, thank you so much. We have so much more straight ahead in NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for being with me this afternoon. Poppy Harlow is next.