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Judgment Day: McChrystal's Job; Both Sides on Drilling Ban; Team USA Takes on Algeria

Aired June 23, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.

Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Wednesday, June 23rd.

A wounded warrior reports for duty at the White House, then leaves abruptly. General McChrystal learns whether he will keep his job as Afghan war commander.

The White House now hustling to rescue the president's temporary moratorium on deepwater oil drilling. A federal judge says the ban is not legal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What was your first reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was ecstatic. I was very happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I will be talking with Louisiana businessmen and women about the drilling moratorium's impact on their companies.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So, let's work through this. It is judgment day for the so- called "Runaway General." Stanley McChrystal, commander of troops in Afghanistan, just wrapped up his face-to-face with the commander-in- chief.

After disparaging comments McChrystal's team made about the president and his top officials, the question now: Will McChrystal stay or will he go?

Stanley McChrystal was seen leaving the White House a few minutes ago after meeting with President Obama. The White House made it clear the president was angry after reading the general's remarks in "Rolling Stone" magazine.

Earlier, Stanley McChrystal met at the Pentagon with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. This hour, President Obama will hold his regularly scheduled national security meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

So, should the general get his marching orders? That's seems to be the question of the day, and you are certainly weighing in. We will be following your comments throughout the next two hours.

Here are just a couple for you.

Chris writes, "He spoke the truth. Why is the president such a baby? Get real. We have a so-called freedom of speech. What a joke."

And Georgia says, "The general should be court-martialed. He set the tone for the troops in his command. Insubordination cannot be tolerated at any level."

We are bringing you all the angles on this breaking story.

First, let's get to the White House and White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, if you would, bring us up to speed on how things are playing out at your post.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tony, we've seen a lot of activity here, a lot of movement. We don't yet have a lot of answers yet, but all of this is going to play out fairly shortly.

We just saw General David Petraeus entering the White House. We want to let you know that there is a very important meeting that's coming up within the hour, 11:45 in the Situation Room. That is where the president's national security team will be gather to talk about the mission in Afghanistan and obviously the fate of General McChrystal.

The big question, whether or not the general will come back to the White House and attend that meeting. Senior officials are telling us they do not yet know the answer to that question.

But we saw him leave about 10:51 from the White House after a meeting with the president, face to face, just the two of them in the Oval Office. It lasted for about 22 minutes.

Tony, it is fair to say that today is going to be a game-changer. It is decision time.

We will very likely hear from President Obama about General McChrystal's fate today. We have been told that they are simply working out the logistics, the timing of all of this. But so far, we know that that meeting that's going to take place in the Situation Room will still happen. We know that this meeting has taken place between the president and General McChrystal, and we will be getting an update from the president about the fate of General McChrystal, as well as looking forward for the U.S./Afghanistan mission.

All of that is going to be unfolding, Tony, throughout the day. HARRIS: Oh, man. What a day.

At the White House for us, following all of it, Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, good to see you. Thank you.

Now, for the military impact, let's get to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

Barbara, Stanley McChrystal met with Secretary Gates earlier. Anything come out of that?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know, Tony. Pins and needles over here at the Pentagon. Everybody is keeping very quiet. Anybody who knows anything about this isn't talking.

It had been the feeling, I must tell you, inside the McChrystal team this morning -- we know from sources that General McChrystal would know his fate from the president at the close of that one-on-one meeting at the White House that wrapped up just a little while ago. General McChrystal leaving the White House after that.

We don't know what happened. We don't know if the general will be returning to the White House. But inside his own team, the feeling had been that he would get the answer from the president long before that larger NSC meeting started. Everyone waiting to see what the answer is -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Barbara, let's move forward here.

Who are the possible replacements should the general be relieved of his command?

STARR: Should it come to that -- should it come to that, there are certainly any number of three-and-four-star generals out there, or general officers, that should be capable of doing it. You know, let's just start at the beginning, which is McChrystal has the job because Bob Gates said about a year ago that he had to have McChrystal, he was the only one. Well, now, if that doesn't work out, who else?

Perhaps the easiest choice would be General Dave Rodriguez. He is essentially the number two U.S. general in Afghanistan. He handles all the day-to-day operational military combat details.

Very competent, was the former military assistant to Bob Gates. Gates knows him, trusts him.

General Rodriguez not very outgoing, I must say. And maybe that's to his advantage right now.

There are a number of other generals that could be on tap. Some of them you see here -- Marine Corps General Jim Mattis, known to be quite an open public speaker. That may not be too appealing.

As we move down the line, General Allen, the number two man at the U.S. Central Command; General Rodriguez. General Dempsey, a four- star Army general, has done a number of tours in Iraq, very popular. Admiral James Stavridis, the top U.S. officer at NATO in Europe, he has all those NATO relationships. He can help keep the alliance together in Afghanistan.

That may be very appealing -- a very skilled diplomat, not a ground combat officer, however. He is a Navy admiral.

So, if it comes to that, a large list out there, a lot of choices to be made.

HARRIS: Barbara, I know this is difficult to do on this day, but can we attempt here to put the personalities and drama aside for a moment and ask the question: How does all of this impact the mission on the ground in Afghanistan?

STARR: No, Tony, that is the absolute real bottom line. I can tell you that a number of officers, and even enlisted soldiers I've spoken to over the last couple of days, keep making that point.

Let's remember, it is the troops who are out there on the line. Even President Obama, of course, alluding to that yesterday. What they want is to see a decision made one way or the other, and then to get on with it.

The strategy is not likely to change. And it's not going very fast in Afghanistan right now. They need to show some progress by the end of the year.

The thing really on the table right now is, can you make the strategy work? Is this really all about Stan McChrystal, or is this about squaring your shoulders, moving on, and getting this job done in Afghanistan?

HARRIS: Well said.

At the Pentagon for us, Barbara Starr.

Barbara, appreciate it. Thank you.

STARR: Sure.

HARRIS: A former Baghdad correspondent for "Newsweek," Michael Hastings got extensive access to Stanley McChrystal for that "Rolling Stone" article that may cost McChrystal his job. It's titled "The Runaway General." Hastings says he was shocked at how free McChrystal was with his quotes and criticisms of the Obama administration.

Hastings tells our Anderson Cooper he thought McChrystal wanted to shake things up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": Why would they do this? In what way do you think they wanted to shake things up?

MICHAEL HASTINGS, CONTRIBUTOR, "ROLLING STONE" MAGAZINE: That's just my speculation. I mean, you'd really have to ask them.

But because of what they were saying to that, sort of an agenda to it in that it -- you know, very critical of many of the civilian policymakers. You know, (INAUDIBLE) trying to figure out, OK, am I being played here? Whose agenda are they trying to push?

I'm trying to be as accurate and fair as possible. Why are they saying these things in front of me? Is it just bad judgment, or are they trying to get a message out to shake things up in the policy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. We expect to hear from President Obama sometime today. Of course, we will bring you those comments live when they happen, along with any other comments coming from administration officials.

Still to come, a federal judge tells the president he can't halt new deepwater drilling in the Gulf. The White House moves to Plan B today.

And let's see the numbers, Big Board, New York Stock Exchange. Negative territory. We are trading down 20 points.

Following these numbers throughout the day for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So here we go, day 65 of the Gulf oil disaster. The White House scrambling today to rescue the president's moratorium on new deepwater drilling.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Capitol Hill right now. He will roll out a revised, beefed-up ban soon, one outlining legal justifications in greater detail. That's because a federal judge has blocked the current moratorium. He says it is too generic and too punitive.

In addition to a new moratorium, the Obama administration is appealing to the judge and appealing that ruling. The president's order stopped work at 33 exploratory wells while the Deepwater Horizon explosion is under investigation.

The moratorium pits business against environmentalists.

Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence in New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): The last ships are sailing for small businesses that supply the oil rigs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take it off.

LAWRENCE: Some of these companies thought they had months before they ran out of work.

VELMA MOCK, OPPOSES MORATORIUM: But it all happened pretty much in a couple of weeks. And now, you know, we're dead in the water.

LAWRENCE: Then a judge overturned a six-month moratorium after just four weeks.

(on camera): What was your first reaction?

MOCK: I was ecstatic. I was very happy. But it didn't last long.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Because right after the ruling, the federal government indicated it plans to appeal which means no deepwater drilling until it plays out in court.

As oil companies consider moving rigs to South America or Africa, Governor Bobby Jindal asked the Obama administration --

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Don't appeal this ruling. Don't prolong the uncertainty. Give them a final answer.

LAWRENCE: Environmentalists were not happy with the judge's ruling.

AARON VILES, GULF RESTORATION NETWORK: It's hard for us to understand as we look at the Gulf of Mexico and see the oil washing in the Barataria Bay and, you know, disturbing pelicans on their nests and coming in to Pensacola and disturbing the tourism that's so critical for that region, why we couldn't have a time out.

LAWRENCE: They say government oversight is still too weak to start drilling again.

VILES: The inspection process isn't really worth the paper it's printed on because it's been exposed that the paper was printed on by the oil industry.

LAWRENCE: So, what now?

MOCK: Personally, I feel like it's going to stay tied up in legalities. He's going to appeal, they'll hopefully block it again, and then there will be another appeal.

LAWRENCE: If so, others in the industry say, some oil rigs are bound to leave the Gulf.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. The industry's going to see that there is no end in sight. It's time to cut your losses.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. Chris Lawrence joining me live now from New Orleans.

So, Chris, will any of the oil companies attempt to get their wells back up and running here?

LAWRENCE: No, Tony. Nobody's going to work anytime soon.

These oil companies aren't going to reopen their wells and recall their workers while that threat of an appeal is still out there, because a different court order could shut them down all over again. This has the potential to drag out with an appeal after -- the government appealing this and it going back to court.

But I talked to some of the experts, some of the folks in the industry, and they say no matter what happens in court, there are ways to slow down this process. If the government is hostile to the idea of these wells being drilled, you know, they can slow down the paperwork, they can kick it back every 30 days.

So, really, what I'm hearing is they are looking not just from the court, but a signal from the U.S. federal government that is it no longer hostile to this deepwater drilling. And what some people are saying now is that perhaps -- perhaps there is a possibility that with the court order going against the federal government, that it may open a small window for some negotiation in which the U.S. government gets some of the safety regulations that they want to impose, and maybe the industry gets a speeded-up timeline to reopen some of these deepwater wells.

HARRIS: Yes. Good stuff.

All right. Chris Lawrence for us in New Orleans.

Chris, good to see you. Thank you.

And in just a couple of minutes here, I will be talking with three Louisiana entrepreneurs about the deepwater drilling ban and how it is impacting their businesses, live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

An Arizona wildfire has now consumed 14,000 acres around Flagstaff. Calmer winds and cooler temperatures today are helping firefighters, to be sure.

Good news for hundreds of people evacuated Sunday. They may be allowed to return today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE MAYER, WILDLIFE EVACUEE: I want to go home, and I'm waiting and waiting to hear when we can go home. We like our wide open spaces and love the forest, and the saddest thing about this fire is the forest, from this view, will never be the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You know, officials say 20 percent of the fire is contained. Now it could take another two weeks to put it out completely.

Team USA fighting right now to stay alive in this year's World Cup.

We're back with an update on the game, on the match, in just a minute.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, we can't show the video right now. I know you want to see the game, but we're going to get you a bit of an update in South Africa.

We're a little more than an hour into a pair of really crucial matches at the World Cup. Team USA is playing Algeria, and so far it's scoreless.

We haven't scored a goal against Algeria?

And England is leading Slovenia, 1-0. That's not good news. For Slovenia, even a draw will be enough to get them out of the first round into the next round.

The U.S., England and Algeria all need to go for a win. You've got to win here.

So, the Americans could still advance with a draw with Algeria, depending on what happens in the England game. And England is up 1-0 against Slovenia. American fans have seen enough draws. Now we really need a win.

Let's get to Richard Roth.

Richard, what's the mood where you are? I see folks downing a couple of beers there behind you.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think frustration is certainly growing here as the United States team misses what seems to be great scoring opportunities.

Let's take a look at their facial reactions here at Stout, a bar in the middle of Midtown Manhattan.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: USA! USA! USA! USA!

ROTH: This is the first time I'm hearing the chant in full voice as nervous American fans look at these large screens. You may have just mentioned this, Tony. If the United States does not win this game and England does defeat Slovenia, the United States will not advance and will be eliminated at the group stage, which would be a big failure for United States soccer.

Let's get some quick reaction from fans who are watching this game.

What do you think so far? A lot of easy chances. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Algeria came out strong in the second half, but the USA has had a few good chances. And if we can finish, we're going to come out on top.

ROTH: You've got to be a little bit more worried now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, of course. You know, it's been an exciting second half so far, but the U.S. is going to pull out, I think.

ROTH: What do you think of how it's going, England leading, U.S. tied, still?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the U.S. is in trouble right now, but I think (INAUDIBLE) is going to put one in, 1-0, USA; 1-0 England right now.

ROTH: What happened on that last attempt by Dempsey?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. I saw he hit a post and then Dempsey missed it completely. But I think the USA will still pull it out at the end of the day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about the refereeing today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The refereeing has been OK. Slovenia game, the called that off sides. That was wrong. But I think right now, the referees have been doing a good job. But the USA will end in (ph).

ROTH: All right. I can't believe you're not watching the developments at the White House between the general and the president, but we'll discuss that later after the game.

Tony, back to you here. Big tension and drama here. England game playing on one monitor, the United States game/match, playing on a lot of other monitors.

HARRIS: Hey, Richard, very quickly, how many minutes into this game are we at this point? I know we've got 90 minutes of play and then we've got some stoppage time.

Where are we?

ROTH: I'm estimating you have got about 30 minutes of the match still to go. All the U.S. needs is one big goal.

HARRIS: Yes. OK, Richard. Appreciate it. Thank you.

We're going to keep an eye on that. You've got to get some wins. You just can't play to draws in all of these things. If you're going to win the World Cup, you've got to win some matches.

We'll keep an eye on this.

Let's take a break now. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The power of teaching, words from a college freshman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON MASTIN, STUDENT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: I did have one African-American male teacher, one role model that took me under his wing and stuck with me through the rough, hard, sticky, nasty, grimy times. His name was William Marcel Hayes (ph), and he definitely looked out for me like someone should look out for other people like me in the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Next hour, the final report in our three-part series, "Education: The Next Generation." It is also one of our blog questions.

Is placing black men in the classroom the answer to solving some -- OK, not all -- some of the problems in the black community? Send us your comments to CNN.com/Tony.

Day 65 of the Gulf oil disaster. Here is the latest at this hour.

The Obama administration is working now to save the president's moratorium on exploratory deepwater drilling.

Live pictures now. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Capitol Hill. There he is. He plans to issue a new moratorium.

A federal judge has blocked the current ban. He says it didn't offer specific legal justification.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: The commander-in-chief on a collision course with the top general in Afghanistan. We will hit the CNN NEWSROOM blog for your comments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: President Obama right now set to begin his national security team meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The question is, will General Stanley McChrystal join them? That would give us a clue, possibly, about whether McChrystal has been fired over disparaging comments about the president and his top officials. The general and the president met face to face last hour. After their talk McChrystal was seen leaving the White House. We are told we will hear from the President on this matter sometime today.

We are asking if you think the general should keep his job. And a lot of you are weighing in. Where is Ines Ferre on this?

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right here.

HARRIS: Ines following blog topics.

All right. So I'm hoping we're getting a big response to this.

FERRE: We're getting tons of comments from people sounding off on this, Tony.

HARRIS: Good, good.

FERRE: So let's start with this.

Sharon says, I believe McChrystal and his aides should be court marshaled. Ask General McChrystal how he would have handled a major doing this to him and damages the chain of command.

Also, we've got S. Roudefield saying that "I think you better listen to the general. McChrystal is right."

And then we've got Lee that says, "I believe General McChrystal should be forced to resign. The disrespect shows he is not totally committed to the mission of President Obama.

And lastly, we've got K. Harvey that says, "It was a breath of fresh air to hear General McChrystal's comments not because it was right or wrong but because finally the general was speaking like a soldier instead of a politician."

And we invite folks to leave their comments. Go to CNN.com/tony. Also leave a comment on Twitter or Facebook.

Tony, we're getting tons of them right now.

HARRIS: So we need to get some iReports going on this, we need to get folks weighing in. All right. Twitter, Facebook, the blog page. Let's get you engaged on this today.

Ines, see you a little later. Appreciate it. Thank you.

And again, we expect to hear from President Obama sometime today. Of course, we will bring you the president's comments live, along with any other comments on this matter from any other administration officials.

Let's take a break. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Boy, I'm really looking forward to this segment. The Obama administration plans to issue a new moratorium on deepwater oil drilling. We've told you that. That comes after a federal judge blocked the first one. The government is also appealing, which means the ban stays in place for now. The moratorium's money impact is felt all along the Gulf Coast. Laurie Shannon's company sells household supplies to oil rigs. In industry slang, rope, soap, and dope. Marty Theriot is sales manager at Huey Ice Company. And Brian Chaisson's company is NREC Power Systems and runs a diesel engine repair yard in Homa, Louisiana.

All right. Let's get started here.

Laurie, let me start with you. The president's order stopped work at 33 exploratory wells while the accident, the explosion is under investigation. I don't know where you stand on this.

But I do want to ask you, is that too much to ask for given that this is an accident that killed 11 workers?

LAURIE SHANNON, SHANNON'S HARDWARE: Yes, it is a little bit excessive in what he has required with the oil fields. This was probably human error, and it is excessive that he would shut down all 33 deepwater platforms at this point. They should just up the regulations and do better inspections and let everybody get back to work.

HARRIS: Laurie, you're the second person in two days who has said the very same thing to me. That the accident on the DeepWater Horizon rig was human error.

Where is that coming from? Why do you believe that? Why am I hearing that so much now?

SHANNON: Well, there are inspections in place and protocols that should have been followed and it sounds like they had some warnings prior to this that weren't heeded to the necessary degree that they needed to be done with.

HARRIS: So you don't think that this was equipment failure?

SHANNON: It was equipment failure but I do believe that they had some warnings on this equipment failure that they could have preempted the accident had the necessary precautions been put in place.

HARRIS: So, Marty, where do you stand on this?

MARTY THERIOT, HUEY ICE COMPANY: I agree with what she says. I think what happened is somebody didn't do their job. The inspectors, something failed. And you have safety inspectors out there and wasn't doing their job. None of this probably would have happened.

HARRIS: So even if that's the case, don't you need to work through the chain of command to make sure it doesn't happen or to be absolutely clear about what did happen here?

I'm still back to the question, is six months too much to ask?

THERIOT: You need to find out exactly what happened and go from there. What they need to do now, instead of shutting down all of the rigs out in the Gulf, they need to do one inspection at a time, make sure everything is working properly before you can start drilling. HARRIS: Bryan, where do you stand on this?

BRYAN CHAISSON, NREC POWER SYSTEMS: Well where I stand on it is basically like this. Was it an accident? Yes, it was. Accidents do happen in life, just like a plane will crash. When a plane crashes, it takes a couple of hundred people with it. Did our president or our federal government shut down the airlines? When there's a train accident, did he shut down the whole rail system? No, he hasn't.

So it's a tragedy that these 11 people lost their lives. This is the life they decided to do and the line of work they decided to do and that was in God's hands. It's just a shame now that the economy of the United States is in such bad shape. The only place in the world -- I mean in the United States where business was doing well was the Gulf Coast.

Now, the Gulf Coast people purchase a lot of equipment from companies up north when the business is there. By shutting us down, that's not only shutting us down here. It's going to hurt the people up north. They are counting on the Gulf Coast.

HARRIS: I got you, but, Laurie, look, there is a process in place. It may not be moving as quickly as anyone would like, but there is a process in place for those who are aggrieved by this, companies that sustained losses, to get some of those losses made up.

SHANNON: Well I think if protocol was followed with the regulations we had in place, the accident would not have happened. But at this point what we need to move forward with is due diligence in the regulations that are already in place and make sure that when somebody on a rig has recorded an unsafe condition, that the people above them are doing their diligence and heeding these warnings that are coming from the people that are actually on the derrick floor.

HARRIS: OK. So Marty, have you filed a claim to get what you have been losing?

THERIOT: Well I sell shrimp -- I sell ice and fuel the shrimp boats and they can't go out because the waters are polluted with oil. I usually sell like to 300 blocks a day, and that's equivalent to 90,000 pounds of ice a day. And now I'm down to about 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of ice a day. That's not doing -- that's no good for me.

HARRIS: I got you. But Marty, I'm asking whether you filed a claim?

THERIOT: Yes, I filed a claim with BP. They got my paperwork and we still never received any payment or any compensation for what we lost.

HARRIS: OK. Are you willing to help in the cleanup effort and earn some money for your business?

THERIOT: Right, yes we have some trollers that are out there working for BP. That's my biggest problem. A lot of my bigger boats are working for BP cleaning up the oil out in the Gulf and in the inland waters and trying to protect our shores so that the oil doesn't get into our shores.

HARRIS: OK. So it's not what you're used to doing but these are extraordinary circumstances so you have to do what you can to make ends meet.

So, Bryan, have you filed a claim?

CHAISSON: No, I have not. I'm going to follow through. Hopefully this moratorium will get lifted. The moratorium will get lifted. If the moratorium gets lifted -- and I've got to agree with what Laurie said in the beginning. If these rigs are inspected, OPHA's been out there, the federal government's been out there. If it's safe, they should allow them to lift the moratorium. If they can lift the moratorium, the fishing industry will hurt. I've got to say that for the ice companies, for Mike and them. But if the moratorium is lifted in a short period, we can go on about our lives. We're working people. We don't let things like this stop us.

HARRIS: OK, Bryan, good to talk to you. Marty, you as well. Laurie thanks for your comments. Good conversation.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a church torn apart about an issue that is really dividing America. We will find out how gay unions tested the faith of one long time member of a prominent African- American church in Washington, D.C.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Same sex marriage. It is a divisive issue across America even in the nation's pulpits. What do you do if you are against gay unions and your pastor is not? One church in the nation's capital faced that question head on.

The story from CNN's special correspondent Soledad O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yvonne Moore is a life long Baptist. And she did what you'd never expect a faithful parishioner to do. She sued the church she'd been going to for 37 years. Covenant Baptist in Washington, D.C.

YVONNE MOORE, CHURCH MEMBER: why did I do it? That's a good question. It's funny now because that's not of God. That was me. I just got pissed off and did it.

O'BRIEN: She sued to get a portion of her weekly donations back. Over 37 years, Yvonne estimates she had given over $250,000 to her church.

MOORE: I was upset that I had given 10 cents out of every dollar -- I paid (INAUDIBLE) and they didn't respect the members enough to listen to us.

O'BRIEN: What got under her skin was her pastor's belief that gay couples have a right to be joined in same-sex unions.

MOORE: I don't believe in that. I'm southern Baptist and the bible speaks against that. You can not take that into church.

DENNIS WILEY, PASTOR, COVENANT BAPTIST CHURCHARRIS: You cannot just read a bible and think that somehow you have now mastered the word of God.

O'BRIEN: Her former pastors Christine and Dennis Wiley, a husband and wife team, presented their beliefs to their black church in a vision statement calling for a quote, "inclusive body of biblical believers."

(on camera): When you wrote the word "inclusion" in the vision statement, were you thinking sexual orientation?

CHRISTINE WILEY, PASTOR, COVENANT BAPTIST CHURCHARRIS: We mean everything, yes.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): In 2007, more than two years before D.C. legalized gay marriages, the pastors performed their first commitment ceremony at the alter in their church.

MOORE: I went to the wedding because I didn't believe it. I wanted to see it for myself. And I went and I was like, oh, this is totally disgusting.

O'BRIEN: That ceremony, and another that summer, split the Wiley's congregation.

C. WILEY: We lost half of our congregation.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Half? 250 families?

C. WILEY: Yes.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): But the pastors pushed forward, in part because they believed that fighting for gay rights was a natural extension of the black civil rights movement.

D. WILEY: I don't think we as a people have a lock on civil rights.

MOORE: I grew up in Florida. And in my hometown, I was one of the first persons to eat in a restaurant. I was the first person to eat at a lunch counter.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Do you think the struggle of black Americans has anything that aligns it with the struggle of homosexuals who want to get married?

MOORE: You know, Dennis Wiley asked me that because he knows one of my friends that's gay and put that person in that position. Now, how do you feel about the way you were treated and just think about the way he's been treated. I was like, oh, OK.

O'BRIEN: Do you think he a point.

MOORE: Probably. Yes. That is a point.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Earlier this spring, just days after D.C. legalized gay marriages, Toni Webb (ph) and her partner Sandrene Shabu (ph) were wed at the altar. It was the first legal gay marriage at Covenant.

Yvonne eventually dropped her lawsuit, but she vows, she's never going back to that church.

Soledad O'Brien, in America, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. The concept of family can mean one thing to you and another to someone else. CNN's Soledad O'Brien follows a same-sex couple in their struggle against the legal and personal obstacles to become parents. Can these men achieve a life as mainstream as their parents? Watch "Gary and Tony Have a Baby." That's Thursday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern only at CNN.

Are you ready? Let's take a live shot of a bar in New York. OK. We've got an update on the score of U.S./Algeria. You see smiles, don't you? You see smiles? We're back in a moment.

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HARRIS: Come this way, quickly. We want to get to Richard Roth, right, in New York. He's at a bar for us, watching the World Cup. He's not having a drink. He's at a bar watching the World Cup. Richard is there. It is a good news result out of Bratoria (ph).

Richard, take it away.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Tony, big reaction here, obviously, when the goal was scored.

What did you think of what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's that?

ROTHARRIS: What did you think when it happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was surprise that we didn't get it but it was still good. We'll take a free goal.

ROTHARRIS: A lot of chances, finally, last few minutes, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had a ton of chances and this one they finally pulled it out.

ROTHARRIS: We can see over there that people are singing "America the Beautiful" over there. Tony.

CROWD: (SINGING) HARRIS: Which is why? We just want to hear the room. It's terrific. It is terrific.

Here it is. I think we've got the goal. Jenny, do we have the goal? OK. So it's not the goal. Maybe we will see the goal in this highlight package, but what you are absolutely going to see -- and there -- no, that was the offsides call. OK. This was the offsides call. Right? And so that goal was disallowed. Let's continue to roll through the highlight package here, and Richard jump in when you want to here. Because we have a one-nil score.

Go ahead, Richard.

ROTHARRIS: Well, I can't see the highlights you're playing.

We did have reaction that maybe we could show from the fans when the goal was scored in here. I mean, there were so many missed opportunities. I think there's such an air of resignation. Well there's a man cheering CNN. We're always glad for that. "America the Beautiful," we have heard being sung. The United States, I believe, wins the group. We'll have to find out later who the U.S. would play. It was packed in here.

HARRIS: There's the goal!

ROTHARRIS: They were so fed up with the U.S. falling behind.

HARRIS: Richard, we just saw the goal. Landon Donovan scored it. It was terrific. And the response to it was overwhelming on the pitch. And obviously, the response where you are right now was overwhelming, as well as folks start to stream out of the bar.

And I think what we have is a situation -- we get out of this group, we move on, regardless of what happens in the England game, correct?

ROTHARRIS: That's right. And the U.S. will play either Serbia, Ghana, Germany -- Germany may be rated the strongest. But, is the U.S. too exhausted after this? They had to use every inch of energy to the full game, to the full match just to get that goal. I mean, anything can happen, of course, in football or soccer. I believe the next match for the United States would be Saturday.

This is an achievement, but the U.S. did better in 2002. It will increase fan interest, TV ratings. There definitely would have been turmoil in the United States soccer camp if the U.S. was eliminated. And you saw the relief on U.S. coach Bob Bradley's face here. And people just went crazy here understandably when the U.S. scored the goal.

HARRIS: So there we go. We've got good news for you. (INAUDIBLE) and folks in the bar in New York heading back to work. OK. Let's check in on productivity later today at the job after watching exciting World Cup action.

Let's take a break. We've got to get to the top of the hour here. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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