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Stewart, Colbert, Serious Sarcasm; Secretary Gates Says Slow, Tough Progress in War; Preview of CNN Special Investigation Into Catholic Sex Abuse Cover-Up; Long Investigated in 2007; Holiday Travel Deals
Aired September 24, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROBERTS: What did you think about those puppies?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You know I'm not a big animal fan. I'm just going to admit it. I'm just glad it wasn't cats, otherwise I really would have gone off.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Happy weekend, guys.
ROBERTS: All right. Take it away.
PHILLIPS: Great. Now everybody's going to call me into the sun. I love animals, really.
Good morning, everyone.
A drug for diabetes or diabetics, rather, and a possible link to heart attacks. Avandia in the U.S. much harder to get now.
And what did the Pope know about sex abuse cases and when did he know it? We investigate one case from the American heartland.
And the Senate had questions about Bishop Eddie Long and other mega church pastors back in 2007. But that whole investigation just kind of faded away. We're trying to find out why.
I'm Kyra Phillips and you are live in CNN NEWSROOM.
Americans had been tuning in to Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert for reliable comedic relief from the news, right? And these days it's hard to tell where the sarcasm and satire actually end and the serious begins.
You see newsmakers going on "The Daily Show" to talk about very serious topics. I mean just last night King Abdullah of Jordan had a warning about Middle East peace talks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING ABDULLAH, JORDAN: The discussions that we had in Washington started out better than any of us could have expected. Both sides have made a lot of ground. And if the issues of settlements is still on the table on the 30th, then everybody walks away.
And if they do, how are we going to be able to get people back to the table? And I don't see that happening in the near future so if we fail on the 30th, expect another war by the end of the year.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Did you hear? The king of Jordan talking about war by the end of the year on Comedy Central. You just can't help but notice that Stewart and Colbert, the two guys who stick it to political leaders every week night, might be becoming leaders themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Tonight, I announce The Rally to Restore Sanity.
It is happening, people. It is happening. It is happening. A real gathering. We will gather. We will gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": So just what am I going to be testifying about? Well, here's a preview in part two of "Steven Colbert's Fallback Position, Migrant Worker."
Last night I interviewed chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on the Immigration and notorious Mexican cobbler Zo Lofran (ph). Tonight I prove I've got the right stuff to take farm working jobs for Americans. It was time to get my farm on and I was ready.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And an hour from now Colbert testifies before Congress about a huge issue in America right now -- immigration. And you can tell from the clip that Colbert's taking back farm working jobs for Americans is sarcastic and bombastic. It's his usual schtick but we understand he's actually going to play it straight before the House subcommittee and of course both men are planning big rallies in Washington for October 30th.
Stewart's has about 140,000 RSVPs and thumbs-up from Oprah. Don't underestimate her thumb.
Colbert might call it laughter-ship where humor, sarcasm, politics and news all go together and Americans are responding. You got to wonder if funny is the new serious.
We're talking about all this with our CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley and Howard Kurtz. He's the host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES". He's actually on the phone with us.
Candy, let's start with you. It's like the days of Walter Cronkite and the CBS Evening News are so archaic now.
(LAUGHTER) CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's hope. But listen, if there's anything that's funnier or more serious than politics, I don't know what it is. So it is a -- it is a very fertile field for these two guys who are obviously very talented.
I guess the question comes in, and I've heard Jon Stewart talk before and people say well, people are getting their news from you and he's basically said -- and this is, you know, I'm just kind of summing this up -- said, look, I'm not a newsman. I'm a comedian.
But when you talk to people -- we've had Pew poll after Pew poll showing that young people, in particular, are increasingly getting their news, all of their news, from Stewart or others that do sort of make fun of the news.
So the fact of the matter is that it is being taken seriously in all its comedic forms.
PHILLIPS: It's true. And -- you know, he says he's just a comedian. I mean how he -- he's clearly not just a comedian and neither is Colbert. I mean they're up on their issues. They have their opinions. They get major newsmakers on their show and they're gaining momentum by exposing the absurdity through satire.
Is that healthy for our country right now? Do you think this is a good way to go when it comes to, I guess, a new look at political power and influence?
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": It's better than more boring newscasts.
(LAUGHTER)
KURTZ: As somebody who --
PHILLIPS: Except for ours, Howie. Come on now.
KURTZ: Of course. I didn't say all newscasts are boring. As somebody who has survived appearances on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," as talked about these guys off the air, they really feel strongly -- I would say Jon Stewart, in particular -- about the extremes, dominant extreme voices dominating in politics, about the media being superficial and not giving us the high fiber diet that we need.
I mean they're both comedians. They make their living getting laughs but they do it in a way that makes serious points. And they've been doing it for a long time.
Now this rally, obviously, is something of a stunt and mimicking the big Glenn Beck rally at Lincoln Memorial. But I believe a serious point will come out of it.
PHILLIPS: So, Candy, maybe both of you want to weigh in on this. You know, do we know if they are non-partisan? And does that really matter? CROWLEY: Well, let me take the last one. I don't -- I don't think it matters. And, listen. There is enough absurdity in politics on both sides of the aisle to be able to rib all of them and make a point and be partisan because both sides sort of deserve that. And I think they do, you know, a very good job of taking on both sides.
Let me just say, also, we're kind of looking at -- when you have somebody like King Abdullah on, that's a whole different thing to me. That is King Abdullah looking at an audience here.
I mean I think the reason serious politicians go on there is they're looking at the audience that -- that Stewart and Colbert are getting. And it's a good one for them. So that's sort of the flip side of it is that they are not just, sort of, you know, giving the poke at news. They are making news so it's really quite a hybrid and very different from Walter Cronkite as you said first.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Howie.
KURTZ: I don't think Jon Stewart pretends to be non-partisan. He is a liberal. He is tougher on the Republicans and Democrats. But at the same time, you know, as somebody who makes his living getting laughs he has skewered the Obama administration.
In fact I once wrote a piece saying Jon Stewart has turned on Barack Obama who a lot of comedians didn't want to touch.
Also, I have to disagree with Candy's point about young people getting their news from these two gentlemen because I've actually talked to Stewart about this. You have to come to "The Daily Show" with some working knowledge of the headlines or you wouldn't get most of the jokes.
So I do think that -- you know a lot of people get information from it and maybe helps form their world view but I don't think that they know nothing when they tune in late at night.
PHILLIPS: Candy, do you -- do you think these newsmakers are picking these shows for viewership to get to a younger viewership? Or do you think that they look at the Jon Stewart and the Stephen Colbert as maybe smarter, more dynamic, more influential than, say, one of us? CNN, MSNBC, FOX News.
I'm just throwing them out there.
CROWLEY: I'm sure they probably do but I -- politicians don't have a limited amount of time to go on TV or talk to a newspaper or be on radio so they pick it very carefully and there is a reason they go on to Oprah and there's a reason they go on "The View" and there is a reason they go on Stewart it is because they get a lot of play there. Both to the young audience and to whatever bounce it gets after that.
KURTZ: And they want to appear to be hip. You know, they want to show they can trade jokes with a Jon Stewart or Jay Leno or David Letterman. And it's not like going on "STATE OF THE UNION" or "Meet the Press" where you're going to get -- you know, you're going to have a serious discussion of some issues as you saw in that clip of King Abdullah but you're not going to get, you know, absolutely grilled.
PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what, I want to see Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Candy's show on Sunday.
Candy, what do you think?
CROWLEY: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: That would be so -- that would be some good stuff.
KURTZ: I'd lobby for that.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I'd lobby, too. We'd all be watching that.
CROWLEY: The invitation is out there.
PHILLIPS: There we go. We're plugging them right now. Jon, Stephen, please.
CROWLEY: OK.
PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, "STATE OF THE UNION" on Sunday.
Howie, Candy, guys, thanks so much.
KURTZ: Thank you.
CROWLEY: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right. And a reminder you can always go and get more on this story, of course, at CNNPolitics.com.
Well, a walk-out at the United Nations. Diplomats leave the building after Iran's president blames the U.S. for 9/11.
And a controversial diabetes drug can stay on the market but only some patients can will be able to purchase Avandia. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the restrictions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is drawing international outrage for claiming that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were a plot of the U.S. government. He made those inflammatory remarks yesterday during a speech at the U.N. General Assembly.
Ahmadinejad also compared the death toll in the attacks to the casualty counts in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Delegates from the U.S., Great Britain, Australia, Sweden and several other nations walked out during that fiery speech. The White House called the comments offensive. And Defense Secretary Gates says that the situation on the front lines in Afghanistan is looking better. Gates is marking progress in the war against the Taliban.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is at the Pentagon.
Chris, tell us about his assessment.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, he says the closer you get to the front lines the better the war actually looks.
He was also pretty blunt in assessing the big picture. He said, look, back in 2001, 2002, when we kicked out the Taliban, girls started going to school in Afghanistan, he said, we won that phase of the war.
He was also very honest in saying we then took out eye off the ball, we got districted in Iraq. He said Afghanistan was underfunded. And he really made a very strong point to say in the nine years this war has been going on, he said it's only in the last year and a half that he feels they have the resources to really make a change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I would say since the beginning of 2009, with the president's first decision to add another 21,000 troops and then his decision in January to add another 30,000, and the increase in civilians, that we have begun and I would say a tripling of the foreign -- of our partners' troops, that we have actually got the resources in Afghanistan to partner with the Afghans and have some prospect of dealing with a resurgent Taliban.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: He also gave us a preview of what we can expect for this next big Afghanistan strategy review in December. The secretary said this isn't going to be anything like what went on last year with months and months of debate like that.
He says it's more of a fine tuning, no any change in big strategy. One of the folks here in the building described it to me as sort of -- think of the old TVs, adjusting the rabbit ears on your old TV. Not necessarily changing the channel -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: So you also had a chance to ask the secretary about the new Bob Woodward book. This is obviously gaining a lot attention right now. What's his reaction to it?
LAWRENCE: Yes, Kyra. I wanted to know, you know, coming just a few months after the huge interview that General Stanley McChrystal did with "Rolling Stone" that effectively ended his military career, I asked him why would you speak to Bob Woodward?
And he told me, he said, look, I got the questions beforehand. The things he were -- he was asking about was the tone of some of these meetings, things I felt comfortable discussing. He also said that he was one of the last people that Woodward interviewed and so he felt more comfortable knowing all of the people in the Obama administration including the president himself had already sat down with Bob Woodward.
PHILLIPS: Chris Lawrence, live from the Pentagon. Chris, thanks.
Now the faces of those heart-wrenching number that is we report on far too often. The number of our fallen heroes in the Afghan War. Nine service members were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan just this week. Their bodies are now back on American soil.
This morning, we lift up Major Robert Baldwin, 37 years old, of New Boston, Illinois. He joined the army in February of 1994.
Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Wagstaff, 34 years old, of Orem, Utah, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
Chief Warrant Officer Jonah McClellan, 26 years, of Minnesota, also a Black Hawk pilot.
Staff Sergeant Joshua Powell, 25 years, of New Berlin, Illinois, Black Hawk crew chief.
Sergeant Marvin Calhoun, 23 years old, Osceola, Indiana, a construction equipment repairer serving as a door gunner.
Lieutenant Brendan J. Looney, 29 years old, Owings, Maryland. This Navy SEAL was an Annapolis graduate and an all-American lacrosse player.
Senior Chief Cryptologic Technician David McLendon, 30 years old, of Thomasville, Georgia. His fellow service members remembered him as a consummate Navy professional.
Special Warfare Operator Second Class Adam Smith, 26 years old, of Hurdland, Missouri. This Navy SEAL was a highly decorated combat veteran.
And Special Warfare Operator Third Class Denis Miranda, 24 years old, of Toms River, New Jersey. Teammates described him as a budding Navy SEAL superstar.
(SILENCE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "Dodgeball")
PATCHES O'HOULIHAN: If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.
JUSTIN: What? Ah! Oh! Ow!
(END VIDEO CLIP - "Dodgeball") PHILLIPS: Okay. You remember playing dodge ball as a kid, right? I bet that movie, "Dodgeball" brought back some pretty good memories of those big welts on your skin, the red marks, that burning sensation.
But Hollywood's got nothing on this game at the road -- or down the road, rather, at UC Irvine. Students actually set a Guinness record for the biggest dodge ball game ever. More than 1700 players split up into two teams chucking those rubber balls back and forth at each other. And Rob, I asked you if you played it as a kid.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, no.
PHILLIPS: I remember the big kids.
MARCIANO: Yes?
PHILLIPS: You know, you smarted off, right? And they would come at you hard, and they'd run right up to the line, and they'd kind of curl the ball up and swing around --
MARCIANO: Yes.
PHILLIPS: And it would get this whip effect and just -- boom!
MARCIANO: So, you're telling me you were a smart aleck? Is that why you --
PHILLIPS: I -- yes, I was a smart aleck.
MARCIANO: You got beamed? Come on, it's shocking.
PHILLIPS: And I was abused in dodge ball!
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Well --
PHILLIPS: I'm still haunted by it.
MARCIANO: Yes, I can see. What comes around goes around. Bean ball, dodge ball, it's a great equalizer of sorts on the playing field. That's for sure. And, you know, just keep it away from the head and the other sensitive parts of the body.
All right, listen. We've got some rain that's heading across the midwest. It's not nearly as torrential as it was yesterday. Boy, we had flooding rains across southern Minnesota and central and western parts of Wisconsin. Arcadia being evacuated, a number of communities across southern Minnesota also seeing rivers up rise, and these highlighted green areas, those are areas that will -- where rivers are either at flood stage or forecast to go above flood stage.
The Wisconsin River is expected to crest potentially near 1993 levels, so that's a scary proposition there. But the good news is, no more rain expected in the areas even though they've seen six to eight inches in some spots. The other big weather story I've got, of course, is the record- breaking heat across Memphis, back through DC. Temperatures again will be well into the 90s after an unbelievably warm summer for a lot of these spots. And until that front comes through the area later on this weekend, we are going to see temperatures that will be well above average.
Tropical Storm Matthew, this is heading towards Honduras and Nicaragua with 50 mile-an-hour winds. It is strengthening, could be near hurricane strength when it makes its initial landfall. And then, the forecast is to kind of bring it up through this area, and then what it does next week in through either the Gulf or the northwestern Caribbean, that is open for speculation. And that may very well bring the southeast US into play. We'll be watching this carefully.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Rob.
All right. Checking our top stories, Senate Democratic leaders say that there'll be no vote on extending middle class tax cuts before the November's election. The president and most Democrats are against extending the cuts for the wealthy. Democrats felt that Republicans would use a tax cut vote against them in the campaign.
State of Virginia has executed Teresa Lewis in a murder for hire case. Lewis is the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly a century. She was convicted of plotting the killing of her husband and stepson.
The Obama administration says an immediate end to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy may threaten combat operations. The government made the response to a judge's ruling that's keeping gays from serving openly.
One of the biggest singing stars of the 1950s has died. The family of Eddie Fisher says that he had never quite recovered from a recent hip surgery. Fisher sold millions of records. He also had a number of marriages to Hollywood beauties, as well. Remember Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and Connie Stevens? He's survived by four children, including actresses Carrie Fisher and Joely Fisher. Eddie Fisher was 82 years old.
(MUSIC - "Wedding Bells")
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Tough new restrictions on the diabetes drug Avandia. It's actually going to stay on the market, we are told, but only Type II diabetes patients who have no other option can actually take it now. And that's what CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta's talking about.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is interesting. People have been wanting a decision on this for some time, because there were these reports a few years ago saying there was an increased risk of heart attack with this medication.
In July, there were hearings on this, and the FDA finally has a sort of interesting ruling. What they say specifically is if you're on the medication now, you can continue to take it but you've got to sign a waiver that says you've been informed of the health risks. So, the doctor gives you a waiver saying -- it's almost like they --
PHILLIPS: How bad can it be?
GUPTA: Well --
PHILLIPS: If they're making you sign a waver?
GUPTA: That's the interesting part.
PHILLIPS: That's kind of scary.
GUPTA: They say there's evidence that this is linked to heart problems.
PHILLIPS: Right.
GUPTA: But how weighty is this evidence is a little bit in dispute. Because even among the FDA, it wasn't a unanimous decision by any means.
They also say that if you want to take this medication now, you haven't been taking it, you have to show some proof that other existing medications haven't worked for you. So there's going to be a protocol that the drug company's going to set up.
So it's a little bit of a cumbersome, awkward process. Usually they say either it's going to be available or it's not. In this case they've kind of really hedged it a little bit.
PHILLIPS: I mean, how are patients react -- and I don't even know if you've had a chance to talk to some of your patients, but has it been going so well for some of them that it's worth taking the risk?
GUPTA: Well, the interesting thing about diabetes, unlike a lot of other diseases out there, is that there are lots of options. There are at least 11 other classes of medications out there that can be made -- that could work for them. So Avandia is a good medication for some people, but now the question is, can something else work for them? That's what the FDA is really saying, try other things before you get here.
What was interesting, as well, is that there was a really interesting coordinated sort of response to Avandia yesterday on both sides of the pond, so that the US, the FDA said what we just talked about --
PHILLIPS: What about Europe?
GUPTA: Europe, they said, "Absolutely not. We're taking this medication completely off the market. Don't advertise for it, don't offer it, don't make this available at all."
PHILLIPS: Oh wow. GUPTA: Again, they're looking at the same exact evidence, but they're weighting it differently. In that case, they're saying let's not use it.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting. Do they have different influences in Europe than we do here? I mean, we've got drug companies, a lot of money, a lot of power there.
GUPTA: Usually the belief is that the FDA in the United States moves slower.
PHLLIPS: OK.
GUPTA: That's the general consensus. They take longer to bring something to market --
PHILLIPS: More red tape? OK.
GUPTA: More read tape. So, things that are available in Europe oftentimes are available there first before the United States. So this is a little bit different. And here in Europe they're saying, "We're not going to have this available at all."
I think the most interesting thing is that diabetes in and of itself can be linked to heart disease. So you have diabetes, then you have the treatment for diabetes. Which is it that's causing the problem? With this particular study, they found that people who were on other medications besides Avandia, they had less problems with heart disease. So it seems to be the drug.
PHILLIPS: OK. What if you're taking it? Are there certain signs that we should look for that something could be going wrong?
GUPTA: Right.
PHILLIPS: Or that it's not working properly?
GUPTA: The way this seems to cause a problem is it seems to cause fluid retention in the body.
PHILLIPS: OK. So you start feeling bloated?
GUPTA: You feel bloated, you may be gaining weight, water weight. It seems unusual. Things like that. And that water weight, that extra water in the body, seems to be what's causing the heart problems. So those may be some of your first indicators.
But I think the best bet is if you feel like you need to stay on Avandia, have the doctor monitor things like that, checking your sodium, checking your -- just simple things like your body weight and how it's changing.
PHILLIPS: Got it. All right, thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.
Priests raping and sexually abusing children. Before he was Pope Benedict, Cardinal Ratzinger actually played a major role in deciding how to handle some well-known cases. What he did and didn't do. We're investigating right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More tough news about the economy today. Gold prices actually hit a record high, and orders for big items like cars and computers actually took a hit last month.
Here to try to make sense of all of it is Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Hey, Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Believe it or not, stocks are rallying now at the open. That's despite a report showing that durable goods orders dropped last month by the biggest amount in a year, and it was actually orders for cars and airplanes that really took a hit. Now, that doesn't bode well for manufacturers.
And since investors are unsure about the economy these days, gold prices hit a record high of more than $1,300 an ounce. Investors buy gold whether there's a lot of uncertainty and they want a safer investment.
So, I know what you're thinking. Why are stocks rising right now? Well, we had a sell-off in the final hour of trading yesterday. And the previous two sessions, they were pretty quiet. One analyst says the weakness may have been a bit overdone, the market a little oversold. So, that's why we see people buying into the market today.
The Dow industrials now up about 97 points. NASDAQ higher by 27.
And finally, Kyra, it's Friday. Let's talk about movies that are coming out. Shall we? We're noticing a trend these days. Films that deal with the economy. Today, the "Wall Street" sequel hits theaters, and then four more films about money are going to be released. And you know the old saying made famous by the original "Wall Street." "Money never sleeps." You know, it's always in vogue, Kyra, and seems that it applies to the box office, too. Usually a big draw for moviegoers, money.
PHILLIPS: Money and also our Ali Velshi, who I understand has a big seven-second cameo in the movie.
KOSIK: Does he? I have to find him and get his autograph.
PHILLIPS: Yes, you should because he's acting like it's more like seven hours.
KOSIK: Ooh.
PHILLIPS: Yes, he walked the red carpet, he took some time off. He is kind of -- he's been a little bit in the -- you know, floating above us. We can't even get his head in the studio, according -- I just heard in my ear here. Yes.
KOSIK: That big?
PHILLIPS: Yes. Yes. So, he might need a little humble pie. Yes. I need you to get after him.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: He's still in New York. So, chase him down, would you?
KOSIK: I'll do that. I'll do that!
PHILLIPS: Okay. Thanks, Alison.
Before he was Pope Benedict, he was Cardinal Ratzinger. One of the most powerful men in the Vatican. It has recently come to light that as head of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, Cardinal Ratzinger had direct responsibility for decisions in some notorious sex abuse cases. CNN's Gary Tuchman has been examining his handling of one case from the heartland of the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By 2001, the sexual abuse crisis was beginning to engulf the Catholic Church. But Pope John Paul had not addressed the crisis. Priests in the U.S. were being on trial for abuse, even rape.
DAVID GIBSON, POPE BIOGRAPHER: The era of denial was clearly over. Ratzinger finally convinced his boss that we have to start doing something. He knew the sort of (INAUDIBLE) the media scandal was coming down.
TUCHMAN: The Pope gave Cardinal Ratzinger and CDF the power to cut through the bureaucracy and handle all sexual abuse cases directly. John Allen believes Ratzinger underwent a kind of conversion.
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Reading the case files with the detailed notes they contained about the testimony of victims, over and over again, convinced him that this wasn't just about smoke. That there was genuine fire here. And from 2001 forward, the congregation for the doctrine of the faith became the beachhead in the Vatican for an aggressive response to the crisis.
TUCHMAN: Behind the scenes at the Vatican, Cardinal Ratzinger was making waves. The new rules gave him the power to jumpstart the process for defrocking priests.
ALLEN: I think the bottom line is this. However bad you think the Vatican's response to the crisis has been, it would have been infinitely worse were it not for the personal leadership of Pope Benedict XVI.
TUCHMAN: Once Ratzinger became Pope Benedict, there were more unprecedented acts. Meetings with victims of abuse, public apologies. And finally, an acknowledgment that the crisis did not come from enemies of the church on the outside but was, quote, "borne from the sin within the Church."
(on camera): While the Pope has evolved and taken some strong measures the deal with the crisis, there is unfinished business that still haunts the victims of pedophile priests. And that is what about the bishops? The bishops who covered up priestly abuse and moved those priests from parish to parish?
(voice-over): Bishops like Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, who covered up the crimes of priests this assaulted dozens of children. He eventually was forced to resign, only to end up as a cardinal in Rome.
GIBSON: He has this grand title, great apartment, and real power, real authority in the Vatican. And yet he is one of the most notorious bishops from this whole era of scandal.
TUCHMAN: Gibson believes the pope will never publicly rebuke the bishops.
GIBSON: He doesn't want to open up that can of worms because he doesn't want to cause difficulties for his brother bishops. The bishops of the Church are his colleagues. That is his circle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Gary Tuchman is joining us now live from New York.
So Gary, it is interesting. This is something we have been very interested on this newscast and just this slew of scandals that keeps coming up within the Catholic Church. Most recently, we were talking about the Vatican bank, and now it's being investigated. Why are you doing this documentary now?
TUCHMAN: The reason we're doing it right now, Kyra, is because we were able to obtain previously secret Vatican documents literally in a Vatican safe for about 30 years. They were subpoenaed. We were able to get them, and they show unequivocally that Cardinal Ratzinger when he was the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith, before he was pope that discipline office of the Vatican did receive letters from various bishops in the United States in the early '80s. These bishops wrote them, pleading, "We have molester priests in our diocese. Please defrock them. Please formally get rid of them."
And what they got back from Cardinal Ratzinger in a signature on some of these letters, were delays or not doing anything. And sometimes it went on for years. These were priests who in some case were in jail, in some cases didn't want to be priests anymore, but nothing was done out of the Vatican, or very little done or it was delayed.
And now, we have talked to these victims in our documentary who didn't know they were molested as children. They've had miserable lives as they've grown up, and they just found out when we told them that we saw the documents that the chief people in the Vatican knew all about this.
PHILLIPS: So, Gary, what was the motivation for Cardinal Ratzinger not to defrock molesting priests?
TUCHMAN: What critics say is that Cardinal Ratzinger and other top officials in the Vatican were more concerned about the reputation of the Church than the children of the church. What we're being told by the Vatican -- this is very important. We would not have done the documentary unless we had been able to get an interview with one of the pope's top people, and we did.
Monsignor Charles Shicluna (ph), who is now with the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith. He's the chief prosecutor, and he tells us, listen, we are not asking for excuses. Things were not handled very well back then. However, things were different back then, and he's putting no blame on Pope Benedict and no blame on Pope John Paul II.
He's just saying things were different back then. It wasn't for the reputation. The belief was that through prayer and through pastoral care and not calling things out publicly, we don't want to embarrass the victims and we can make the priests better. But they say they are doing things differently now.
There are still problems now. We point that out in the documentary. But it's clearly different than it was in the 1980s. It was a horrifying spectacle of what was done back then. There's no question about it that people like Cardinal Ratzinger, today Pope Benedict, should have and could have done more.
PHILLIPS: Yes. It's disgusting when you see what took place for so many years, and now you're hearing al of these adults come forward and talk about what they went through as children. And what's even more heartbreaking, Gary, is that so many of the kids didn't have parents, they were orphans. They depended on the Catholic Church for sanctuary.
You know, do you think that the Church finally realizes the seriousness of this problem? Because there are a lot of Catholic that is are kind of -- many that are giving up on the church. The polls are out there that there's so much doubt that this is a religion they want to stay with.
TUCHMAN: That's what's amazing. There are hundreds of millions of people in the world who -- Catholicism is their faith. It's their inspiration.
The institution is wonderful. The idea sustains so many people. And there are priests who come up to me and they say, it's so sad. I got into this for all the right reasons, and I can no longer hug children because of what these other priests have done. I mean, they're mad, too.
So, what really offends us is that just a few years ago, we had bishops and archbishops in various parts of the world who were blaming the news media, who were blaming the victims, who were blaming Americans. "This is only an American problem." That's been proven wrong, and now even the pope himself knows that it was the Church that was the problem, not outside influences. PHILLIPS: I tell you what, this documentary, I'm truly looking forward to seeing, Gary. You did such a fabulous job, and we appreciate you bringing this forward.
TUCHMAN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, child abuse covered up. Guilty priests relocated. Sex abuse scandal that rocked the Church is exactly what we're talking about. As a cardinal and Vatican official, what did the pope really know and when? You got a glimpse there from Gary, who put this together.
But there's two chances to actually watch this CNN investigation in its entirety. That's Saturday and Sunday, this weekend, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. You don't want to miss it.
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PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. Democrats in the Senate have decided to put off a vote on extended some of the Bush-era tax cuts until after the November elections. President Obama wants to extend tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year before they expire at the end of the year.
The FDA is restricting the use of the diabetes drug Avandia because of evidence that it raises the risk of heart attacks. Now, the FDA says that doctors may only prescribe it to patients who can't control their Type II diabetes with other medications.
Police found four people shot to death in a Seattle home. One survivor ran out of the house, telling police my mom has gone crazy. According to our affiliate, KIRO TV, police say the suspected shooter was a 59-year-old woman who apparently took her own life.
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KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's see what's crossing the Political Ticker from "The Best Political Team on Television". That means checking in with CNN's senior political editor, Mark Preston. What's crossing Mark?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning Kyra. Just last week Michael Steele headed out on a national bus tour. He's hitting 48 states. He is trying to get the Republican base energized.
Well, our own Peter Handby did a little digging to try to find out how much support there was for this tour. We're getting some mixed reviews. Some people are very supportive, and thinks that it's very smart that Michael Steele is heading out on the road trying to rally the troops.
However, others are saying that you know what? The itinerary isn't very well planned out, it's not going to district that are really in play.
So, a really good story and check it out on CNNPolitics.com, lots of details.
Heading down to the White House, does President Obama have a CEO problem? Well, CNNMoney.com did a terrific story on what is going on with President Obama and -- and whether the business community thinks that they're well represented in the White House.
The fact that Larry Summers, the director of the White House National Economic Council is leaving at the end of the year has some folks on Wall Street saying, you know what this is the perfect time to get a titan of industry so to speak into the White House. There's a lot of academics, they need to diversify.
So check that story out as well on CNNPolitics.com.
And Kyra, chivalry might not be dead. Just a couple of days ago Chris Christie, the New Jersey Governor, is out on the campaign trail for Meg Whitman who is running in California.
Well, you know what? There was a heckler, started launching into Meg Whitman which prompted Chris Christie to get up and walk over to the heckler and really steer him down. And I've got to tell you what. If I learned anything this week, Kyra, in politics is that chivalry is not dead and if I need someone to watch my back in a barroom fright, it's going to be that New Jersey Governor -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Hey, I'll be there for you, too. Believe me I can throw a few punches when necessary. Mark Preston.
PRESTON: I could use all the help.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll check back in with you for the next political update in an hour. Mark thanks so much.
And a reminder you can always to go to our Web site at CNNPolitics.com.
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PHILLIPS: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. That's from the bible, First Timothy.
Keep that in mind as we talk about religion, money and red flags. This whole sex scandal surrounding Bishop Eddie Long has us wondering whatever happened to that Senate investigation into mega churches.
Back in 2007, Senator Charles Grassley took on several of them and their wealthy leaders, including Long. There were fears that the pastors were using billions of dollars in donations to lead lifestyles of the rich and famous and abusing their churches tax exempt status to cover it up.
Grassley wanted the pastors to answer some questions, questions like why did Bishop Long, who got called or got something called a love offering instead of a salary live in a million-dollar mansion with nine bathrooms and a Bentley in the garage. And why did Joyce Meyer of Missouri by among other things a $23,000 commode for her ministry headquarters.
And in the case of Kenneth Copeland of Texas, what was up with the $20 million ministry jet and those layovers in Hawaii and Fiji. Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar and Paula White also got similar letters from Grassley; Meyer and Copeland actually turned over some documents.
Bishop Eddie Long well, he called Grassley's request an attack on religious freedom and privacy right, then it seemed that the whole investigation just faded away. We've tried to contact Senator Grassley to ask him why. He only says that the investigation isn't over.
Of course, three men have filed lawsuits claiming that Long coerced them into sexual relationships, and if that's true, Long's money, power and influence certainly had everything to do with it. They were red flagged three years ago.
Come on, Senator, don't you think it's time to get to the bottom of all this root of all evil to prevent those from wandering from the faith and piercing themselves with more griefs?
We're keeping track of a lot of developments this hour. First let's check in with Gary Tuchman.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra, Stephen Colbert going to Capitol Hill to testify about his experience, a migrant worker picking vegetables. Well, earlier this summer, I got to do the same thing, picking fruit for eight hours in the hot fields of California. We'll have a unique perspective coming up.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Hurricane Headquarters, we're watching tropical storm Matthew as it bears down on Nicaragua and Honduras, and may very well take aim at the U.S. as well. That plus more record-breaking heat all in the next hour.
PHILLIPS: And a sex scandal rocks one of the largest churches in the country and puts a beloved pastor in the center of three separate lawsuits.
Next hour, you're going to hear from a church member who sees Bishop Eddie Long as his spiritual father.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were asteroids smashing into the hull of this ship. Also, we're flying without a navigational system and can't seem to change course.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss, are you telling us absolutely everything?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not exactly. We're also out of coffee.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: All right. Well, you may not face a travel nightmare like that one from the movie "Airplane," but what can be a nightmare is getting a good deal on a flight, especially during the holidays like Thanksgiving.
Luckily we've got Josh Levs with tips on finding cheaper flights with no panic lights going off. Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's forever a classic, isn't it?
PHILLIPS: We can bring that back on all kinds of issues, can't we?
LEVS: Oh my goodness, unfortunately it still speaks to people. And here's the thing and now is the time of the year when a lot of people are start looking ahead to Thanksgiving and making those plans. And we've just gotten word in the last couple of days from Travelocity.
They have been studying what's going on; it's going to cost you more this year. This Thanksgiving travel period is going to cost substantially more.
In fact, according to Travelocity, they are finding that the average flight right now for that holiday round trip is going to be $384, which is a substantial jump from last year, and what that means is you want to get going right now and start to make these plans earlier.
They're finding that the people who are planning flights Thanksgiving week, taking off on Tuesday and coming back on Sunday are paying -- not only are they paying more, they're in a lot of cases, on average playing $170 more for flights.
So Travelocity came out with this study looking at what's available out there. They say the best deals that you can get would be instead to take off on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day and come actually back on Friday or the following Tuesday. All of that information is up at travelocity.com. It's worth taking a look now.
Based on everything I'm seeing, when I look at CNN.com/travel it looks like it's going to keep getting more and more expensive again this year toward the holiday period.
Now, that's one thing going on in the Airline world. Let me tell you about something else. Take a look at this. This is an article that we had up yesterday, the "Mad as Hell" site. And if you're now alone; if you're frustrated out there with some of these hidden fees, you might not have heard about it.
It's all about this; madashellabouthiddenfees.com. They have tens of thousands of signatures from people out there, including some who work in the airline industry who are saying that they can't take it anymore. They can't take what happens when suddenly try to get your ticket, and you know what?
Everything that they thought they were going to pay, they didn't realize it was another $30, $40, $50. So they get to the airplane, they don't realize how much they were going to have to pay for their bags. A lot of people weighing in here and it seems that the airlines are starting to hear it.
I want to encourage you at all times to take a look at this, CNN.com/travel. We don't get a chance to talk a lot about it on the air. But you find your discounts here. You find good ideas, and between now and the end of the year, when all these people start flying home during all these with big trips, you might find this to be a valuable resource. Cnn.com/travel.
So Kyra, rough economy. Now is the time to start taking advantage of what deals are still out there while you still can.
PHILLIP: Thanks Josh.
LEVS: You got it.
