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Pope Talks to Congress; Pope Goes to New York City; Stampede Kills Pilgrims; Coach Quits in Ref Attack. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired September 24, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:06] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And you are watching CNN's special coverage of the pope's first visit to America. His time in the nation's capital may be fleeting, but the electricity he generated there over the past couple of days certainly remains. He is now back at the Nunciature, an embassy of sorts for the Vatican there in Washington. A bit of a break before his flight here to New York after a very big, final morning there in D.C.

I can tell you that he just wrapped up lunch with Washington's homeless population there, the people who are wonderful enough each and every day to serve them. And before that, just a really incredible moment up on Capitol Hill. The first time ever a pope has addressed the U.S. Congress, bringing everyone inside of that chamber, both sides of the aisle, to their feet on more than one occasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS: We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us - because most of us were once foreigners.

Knowing that so many of you are also descendants of immigrants.

Thank you very much. And God bless America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Incredible, Jeff Zeleny, seeing some hardened politicians emotional. Seeing the throngs of supporters there on the National Mall. Jeff Zeleny with me, our senior Washington correspondent.

So I just want to begin, though, with, you know, specifically when the pope was addressing members of Congress, you know, certainly he got into those hot button issues that we anticipated and ever so gently though, beforehand, you know, rebuking both sides for their well-known dysfunction. What was his message and how was it received?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, I think if it was a scolding, you would have to call it a gentle scolding. Maybe a parental, you know, I'm disappointed in your behavior kind of a speech. But it was a moment unlike any other that we've seen in the halls of Congress. You saw just a clip there at the end, John Boehner, the speaker of the House, Republican from Ohio, who invited the pope and the pope accepted. He was wiping a tear from his eye. We've seen John Boehner cry before, but we also saw Marco Rubio appearing to be wiping a tear from his eye on the immigration reference. So I think that sort of set the tone for all of this.

There was a lot of discussion beforehand that the pope was going to be too sort of critical of some issues like climate change and the environment. But, Brooke, I'll tell you, to a person, the Republican senators and representatives I talked to afterward said that they were so happy to hear his message. The tone and spirit in which he delivered it was such that it was hard to walk away from, they were too critical of him. And he left so much to think about. So much - so many things - so much good food for thought here. So it was a moment on Capitol Hill like - unlike any other I've seen. The question is, will this change anything in this very divided country and city of ours? It's an open question at this point, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You mentioned some of the issues that he - that he tackled today. There were seven people in the audience, seven presidential candidates, I just wanted to point out.

ZELENY: Right.

BALDWIN: And one issue that's really been, you know, on the forefront with this - with this campaign has been immigration. And there's a clip where the pope mentioned that, you know, most of us are the descendants of immigrants and for that he got a standing ovation. Were you surprised by that?

ZELENY: I was a little surprised by that. And we saw John Boehner, the speaker of the House, the Republican speaker of the House, he was sort of leading the round of applause there when the pope said that. But it's an indisputable fact, we are a country of immigrants. We are a country of foreigners who came here.

So I think what was most impressive about this speech, it was written in such a way where it really, you know, sort of wove this tapestry and this narrative of connecting the past to what's happening in the present. And perhaps a mindful reminder of, you know, just a connecting what's happening with the immigration crisis here with the migrant crisis in Europe. So I think it was definitely food for thought here how he threaded all of these things skillfully, skillfully together.

[14:05:05] BALDWIN: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much, my friend, in Washington.

ZELENY: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And if you thought the turnout of fans in our nation's capital was something to see, wait until he touches down in just a couple of hours at JFK International Airport in New York City. My colleague John Berman is live at St. Patrick's Cathedral here in the city.

And, I mean, you could tell just the barricades are up, people are ready, they're starting - they shut down streets. The excitement is in the air, John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, about three hours to touch down at JFK. By the time he leaves here Saturday morning, you know, well over 100,000 people will get a chance to see the pope. Some of the highlights, he'll address the General Assembly at the United Nations, a prayer service at Ground Zero. He'll do a procession, almost a parade through Central Park with some 80,000 people there. And then a mass at Madison Square Garden.

But behind me is really the first chance where New Yorkers are going to get to see in person Pope Francis. He'll chopper from JFK here to Manhattan. He'll drive nearby here. Then he'll get in the Popemobile, an open air car, and drive through this ten-block or so area right here where people are already lined up five or six deep here.

Now, behind me is St. Patrick's Cathedral, which in some ways has been getting ready for this for the last three years. A $177 million renovation on this cathedral. Some 18,000 fixes here. Now, if you've been to New York in the last 40 years or you've lived here for 20 years like I have, you have never seen the cathedral looking so beautiful. It's absolutely a different color. A (ph) splendid, almost glowing right now.

The pope will come here and at 6:45 tonight he'll do an evening prayer service. Vespers (ph), not the full mass. Inside, some 3,000 people, most of them clergy or connected to the clergy. A hundred (ph) of them will be priests. They are all very excited, no doubt, to be here with Pope Francis. They have not started arriving, but, Brooke, as you said, the streets here already shut down. Fifth Avenue, which if you know you've been to New York you know is very, very busy all the time, there's no one here right now because it's just completely shut down waiting for the arrival of the pope.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: What a rarity and what a special time just in our nation's history to bear witness to this.

John Berman, thank you very much, still looking ahead there in New York.

But let's take a step back in Washington, D.C., because for some in Congress, just being mere feet from the holy father of the catholic church was emotional. And for others like, as we mentioned a second ago, House Speaker John Boehner, it was really emotional. Boehner at points breaking down, got the Kleenex, ready to roll, teary while the pope addressed the sea of people there on the National Mall.

And so let me bring in Jerry Vanden Eynden, one of Speaker Boehner's guests for Pope Francis' Congress address, who has known him for years and years and years.

Jerry, so wonderful to have you on. Nice to meet you.

JERRY VANDEN EYNDEN, SPEAKER BOEHNER'S GUEST FOR POPE FRANCIS' CONGRESS ADDRESS: Oh, thank you. Thanks for having me. BALDWIN: So in doing my homework on you, sir, I understand you go so

far back with John Boehner that in your teen years you would roll up newspapers at 2:00 a.m. in the morning ahead of your paper route. You would go to Sunday morning mass and then you would head out, you know, tossing those newspapers. So just to speak about your friendship, who - who was - who was better at the paper toss, Jerry?

EYNDEN: We weren't allowed to - we weren't allowed to toss it. That was the boss's job. But we had to do the grunt work of getting there early and stuffing the ads and getting them rolled up. And then before we went out and threw them, we had to go like 5:00 or 5:30 mass and make sure our parents and our boss made sure we didn't miss mass.

BALDWIN: Incredible. So from those years up until now, I would imagine it's fair to say that getting the pope to come speak to Congress was on your pal, Speaker Boehner's, bucket list. Can you tell me the role his faith, Catholicism, plays really just each and every day for him?

EYNDEN: Well, I get asked that pretty much, but I think it all goes back to our background growing up in little Reading, Ohio. There were two churches actually in Reading, in such a small town. And as you know, John had 12 brothers and sisters, so that's pretty catholic. And it was - it was stress to us. We went to a parochial grade school and we went to Moeller High School and he went on to XU to finish up his college. So the catholic faith for us has been - has been part of our life forever. And then - then we even played - played football for Gerry Faust and he made sure that we kept it up and made us honorable men, I guess you could say.

BALDWIN: I guess we could say and I understand some hail Marys, I know he's a golfer, some hail Marys have been said on the golf course as well. So from the football field to the golf course to Capitol Hill, I mean, his faith and your faith very important in your lives.

And as we watch the pictures today, I mean there he was, Speaker Boehner, right over the pope's shoulder as he was addressing Congress. Have you, since this - since then, have you talked to your dear friend? I mean what was - what were his impressions? What was the highlight?

[14:10:10] EYNDEN: Well, I just had - I just went back to his office before I came here. And one is, I think he's relieved that it's over. He was under a lot of pressure to pull this off. It's taken him 20 years. So I don't know if you'd say it was his bucket list or not, but he -

BALDWIN: What would you call it then?

EYNDEN: Well, I guess, maybe that was one of his goals. I don't know what his goals were, but I know he had a list of five goals when he came up here and I don't know back then, 20 something years ago, if bringing the pope here was one of them, but I know that he's - he's tried and tried. So to pull this off, it's just amazing that he did it.

And I think one of the - one of the most touching things for John that happened to him is his daughter Lindsey gave him his first grandson. So the grandson was here this morning. And he got blessings by the pope. I mean how often does that happen? And I think a lot of that was on John's mind when he was sitting behind there and you could see him thinking about what just happened or what he's - what he's watching.

And then when he was up on the balcony, when he saw that throng of people, I think - my opinion would be that it finally hit him that, man, I pulled this off. I did it for the people. And, you know, we delivered. So it was pretty exciting.

BALDWIN: What a moment. And I think I'd need some Kleenex as well for that one. Jerry Vanden Eynden, thank you so much for joining me here on CNN. I appreciate it.

EYNDEN: No problem. Thank you.

BALDWIN: We will take you back to our pope coverage in a second.

But breaking, moments ago, the coach who apparently told his players to blind side this referee, coach just quit. He's explaining his reasons behind the tackle ahead.

Plus, Donald Trump's lead is shrinking in the polls. So who is he taking on? The guy who's climbing. His harsh words for Marco Rubio.

And more than 700 people trampled to death during a stampede. Worshippers in a holy city.

You're watching CNN. Stay with us.

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[14:16:23] BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

A tragedy unfolding right now. More than 700 worshipers are dead and hundreds more injured after a stampede at the annual Hajj pilgrimage near Mecca. We have some video that we've just turned around here that shows the aftermath. And I just have to warn you, the images are disturbing.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It is a tangled mess of clothes and bodies. The crush happened while Hajj pilgrims were heading for a ritual called stoning the devil. CNN's Hala Gorani joins me live from London.

And, Hala, what happened?

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, unbelievable images. And you're right, Brooke, some of our viewers may find these disturbing. It was really a tragic day. It was the last day of the Muslim pilgrimage. It's the annual gathering of people. More than 700 people, I believe last count 717 people killed. There was a moment of chaos and a stampede erupted. It all happened during the stoning of the devil ritual there. Now, some reports, Brooke, are suggesting that there were two flows of people going in opposite directions and that created gridlock, ultimately chaos, that led to all of this. Witnesses reported having seen people climbing over bodies already piled on top of each other. The aftermath, a scene of horror, really, hundreds of bodies of pilgrims lying out in the open. You showed some of the images to our viewers earlier.

Rescue workers, by the way, still rushing to save those clinging to life because, you know, during a stampede, you have suffocation, you have people lying on the ground and people climbing on top of them, so their airways become obstructed. Over 800 are reported injured.

And, Brooke, I want to put this in context. This is the deadliest incident in Mecca since 1990. Almost 1,500 people died in a stampede there. But Saudi authorities really are going to have to start answering some tough questions because they have spent billions of dollars trying to make this ritual safer. They've improved the infrastructure. They've built decks around these pillars. They've improved crowd control. But, clearly, not enough to prevent this massive death toll.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: That's precisely what I was going to ask you, if that many people died in 1990, what was being done. But, obviously, they've been taking measures. Just horrendous.

Hala Gorani, thank you very much.

Coming up next here on CNN, moments from now, Pope Francis will be leaving Washington, D.C., and heading to New York. The crowds are building, the anticipation rising. We will take you there.

Plus, a high school football coach resigns after his players violently tackled a referee on the field during a game. Hear his version of what happened, next.

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[14:23:29] BALDWIN: In San Antonio, Texas, the assistant high school football coach who's been embroiled in controversy now for weeks and weeks over whether or not he told his players to take out this referee now says he is resigning. This incident happened earlier this month. You've seen the video over and over here. We'll spotlight it for you. There's the ref spotlighted. Wait for it. You'll see one player, then a second blind side him in the middle of this game. The two players, Victor Rojas and Michael Moreno, talked to ABC News last week. They allege that that referee was directing racial slurs toward their teammates and that didn't sit well with the coach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MORENO: While on the sideline he pulled me and another player over and he - he told us, and I quote, "you need to hit him."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another player said this?

MORENO: No, no, the coach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The coach. For what?

MORENO: I guess for everything that's been going on in the game. There was racial slurs being thrown at, you know, players from this referee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right, Martin Savidge is on this for us today. The coach is resigning. What is he saying?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Brooke, there is so much finger pointing going on deep in the heart of Texas as a result of this game September 4th, as you point out. It took place between Marble Falls High School and John Jay High School. And, of course, there's the incident where the referee is tackled.

Racial slurs seem to be at the heart of this. Whether they were really said or not, it doesn't seem to matter. They were perceived and that apparently is what may have motivated these students. Because apparently one of the members of John Jay High School heard, they claim, Robert Watts, the referee, use the "n" word. He went back to the sidelines, told his fellow players. They certainly got angry, as did the assistant coach, Mack Breed. And it's then that it's said that he was sort of ranting and carrying on and that's when two of the players got the idea what he meant for them to do was to strike out against the ref, knocking him to the ground. Not once, but twice.

[14:25:25] There was a statement that was attributed to Coach Breed. It reads like this. It came from his attorney. "Coach Breed let his anger get the best of him and he made some regrettable comments. Witnesses can't agree on what the comments were, but they were interpreted by two players to mean hit the referee. The witnesses agreed that Breed never explicitly told them to hit the referee, except for Michael Moreno, whose story continues to evolve."

Meanwhile, the referee in all of this, Robert Watts, has issued a statement both to authorities and in the public saying that he never once used any kind of racial epithet. He denies that ever happened.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Do we know, quickly, if that ref is taking any kind of legal action?

SAVIDGE: He is saying that he suffered a concussion. He's been medically evaluated. He has an attorney. Let's just say all the indicators may be there.

BALDWIN: Martin Savidge, thank you.

SAVIDGE: Uh-huh.

BALDWIN: Next, Donald Trump speaking to CNN this morning. His thoughts on Pope Francis' historic visit. He also weighs in on why he hasn't been very specific when it comes to policy plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): You've got to be cool and you've got to be unpredictable and you just - you just can't go in and say exactly here's my plan. And I do have plans. And, by the way, plans are always subject to massive change. And they change. You've got to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He didn't stop there. More of what Donald Trump told CNN, after the break.

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