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Judge Orders U.S. Military to Reinstate Openly Lesbian Nurse; Administration Urges for Dismissal of Awlaki Lawsuit

Aired September 25, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look at the headlines. The Obama administration wants to keep national security intelligence secret by urging the dismissal of a suit filed against the U.S. government.

And Bishop Eddie Long is facing another allegation of sexual misconduct. A fourth lawsuit has been filed against the mega church pastor. He has schedule a news conference for tomorrow.

And a federal judge has ruled against a military's don't ask, don't tell policy. We'll hear from an openly gay former Air Force nurse who was just reinstated years after her discharge.

Up first, National Security and the case of Yemeni-American cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki. The Obama administration is asking the judge to dismiss a case filed on behalf of the Muslim cleric's father. Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is in Washington. So Chris, what is this suit about and why is this administration trying to have it dismissed?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, what's going on here is the fact that the U.S. government is claiming that, you know, they have both a state secret privilege. In other words, they feel that to grant this injunction would expose a lot of the ways in which the military and intelligence officials are operating around the globe to fight terrorists. You've got two issues here.

On one hand, the ACLU is saying Awlaki, even though he lives in Yemen, is still a United States citizen and U.S. officials have confirmed that he is on a CIA hit list, you know, to be captured or killed. The ACLU is saying well he has a right not to be assassinated by his own government, that the executive branch of government should not be given a blank check when it comes to deciding the criteria by which it can assassinate American citizens.

On the other hand, you've got the government arguing that to inject the courts into decisions being made to fight terrorism would be unprecedented and that if Awlaki wants to avail himself of the American justice system, he's fully capable of just surrendering and putting himself through the legal process.

Take a look at what the White House counter terrorism director had to say about this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER: Individuals shouldn't be able to hide mind their U.S. passport, their U.S. citizenship. If they present a threat and challenge to us, we need to make sure we're able to address that threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: So what he's saying is Awlaki's citizenship is really irrelevant. He's claiming what is relevant is the fact that he could be an enemy combatant and should be able to be targeted.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Lawrence, thanks so much, appreciate that, from Washington.

LAWRENCE: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: So the case is controversial, and it raises some complex legal issues as well. The Obama administration invoking its state secrecy privileges and the cleric being a U.S. citizen. So earlier we asked our legal experts for their insights. Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and Richard Herman, a criminal defense attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: How often is this state secret privilege actually used?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, it's been raised in a number of very important high profile cases, Fredricka. This is especially significant because Al-Awlaki is a very powerful cleric, advocating jihad. What the plaintiff is arguing is that because Al Awlaki is a citizen of the United States, you can't kill him without a hearing, a notice, a 5th amendment right under our bill of rights. It's a fascinating case but I think what's going to happen is that the federal court will never get to the issue of state secrets.

Why? Simply because the suit brought by his father is going to be challenged as not having standing, meaning that he doesn't have the right to bring the lawsuit in the first place.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Richard, now I wonder, the Obama administration says going forward with this case would mean requiring "the disclosure of highly sensitive national security information." They don't want that to happen. So what court would make this decision whether indeed the government is making a good argument to have this father's case dismissed?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: A federal court, Fred, that's the answer. The federal court is going to dismiss this case based on standing as Avery just said. But isn't it sort of a dangerous precedent, Fred? This guy is on a kill or capture list, and his father is saying, look, let's just stop at this point in time, let's get a little due process here. Just because allegations are made about his criminal activity, don't we need to vet it, don't we need to litigate this? Aren't we entitled to some discovery? Can the government be wrong? What happens if they're wrong and they kill this guy? I don't know these answers but all I know is this is the United States, and it seems contra to our values and our laws that a mere allegation can result in a perhaps kill list.

WHITFIELD: So then how long will this process last? I wonder. How long before the federal court determines whether indeed the Department of Defense has a good argument here? National security has a good argument here? Richard, you first.

HERMAN: I think this is going to move very quickly, Fred. I think maybe 60 to 90 days this is going to be disposed of.

WHITFIELD: Avery?

FRIEDMAN: I totally agree with you. This is high priority, dealing with national security versus individual rights. The court's got to move right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman, thanks again. A case that is certain to be in the news in the coming days. Al Awlaki was born in New Mexico and lived in Virginia until late 2001. No charges have been publicly filed against him.

Freed American hiker Sarah Shourd is pinning her hopes on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to get her fiance, Shane Bauer, and her friend, Josh Fattal, out of jail. She made her case yesterday in New York where Ahmadinejad attended the U.N. General Assembly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SHOURD, FREED HIKER: I just wanted to thank President Ahmadinejad for this gesture of allowing my mother and I to meet with him and for the mothers of Shane and Josh to meet with his envoy. It was a very gracious gesture and a good meeting. For me to be able to talk to the president, something I've been waiting for a long time and I prayed for in prison. So it's a good feeling for me to be able to tell him my story directly. So I'm very thankful for this and hopeful it will make a difference for Shane and Josh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Shourd says for now, her focus will be to push every minute for the release of her companions.

All right. Bishop Eddie Long is set to address the allegations himself tomorrow. The announcement comes just a day after a fourth young man filed a lawsuit against the popular Atlanta pastor. CNN's Martin Savidge joins me now.

So, lots of little changes and explanations about will and what won't happen tomorrow as it pertains to hearing the voice of Eddie Long himself.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right, and this shows how closely this story has been followed, not just by members of the public, members of his congregation, but also by those who are close to his leadership. We were contacted in the interim between last we spoke and now by Art Franklin, who is Bishop Eddie Long's spokesperson.

And what he wanted to point out is give a reasoning as to whether changing things a bit. Bishop long is expected to address the congregation at 8:00 and 11:00 tomorrow. He's got a very large congregation, 25,000, a mega church. That's why the story is so huge for so many down here. And it was expected that he was going to relate to his congregation about what these allegations, how serious they are and whether he intends to refute them.

We were told that we could cover all of that. Now it appears that we will be barred, meaning members of the media, they will stop the feed at a certain time and our camera will be told to leave before he makes his explanation to the congregation. However, they have said in lieu of that there will be a news conference in which Bishop Eddie Long will be there with his wife and with his attorneys.

This is a new addition. The reason they want to do it this way is they believe that Bishop Long wants to speak to his family, as they put it, first, meaning to his congregation, without any disruption from the media. They believe that by allowing the press conference, this will allow the openness and the disclosure to go forward.

So this all comes after Friday, where we have this fourth lawsuit that came to light. This is now 23-year-old Spencer Legrande. He lives in Charlotte. He was actually member of a satellite congregation of New Birth and he too alleges that when, at age 17, he began this relationship with Bishop Eddie Long that eventually developed into a sexual relationship and from there the story gets very similar to the other three lawsuits that have now been brought forward. And of course, all of this, vehemently denied by Bishop Eddie Long.

WHITFIELD: And so what's interesting here is, the four young men are all consistent in their message, in that they were in this relationship with the pastor, but none are saying it's without their consent. None are trying to imply that criminal charges should be imposed. But instead they're saying that Eddie Long kind of used his leadership, he used the church -

SAVIDGE: He used the trust is what they're really getting at here.

WHITFIELD: He used the trust to coerced them to do this. So what is it that they're seeking, though, out of this case?

SAVIDGE: These are civil suits, they're not criminal suits. The main reason for that is because all of them, as far as we know, were over the age of 16 when this sexual relationship, if it occurred at all, would to have developed, which means they were of legal age to go forward as they would.

The difference here in the civil suit is, of course, that you're seeking some sort of damage as a result of this. And the charges that seem to be brought forward in these suits is that there was negligence, there was what they would imply sexual coercion, the misuse of trust here on the part of Bishop Long and by the leadership of the New Birth Church who they believe would have helped facilitate.

Now, again, these are allegations. They have not been proven. And eventually if it gets to it, it will end up in a court of law. But the threshold here for a civil case is different, you know, beyond a reasonable doubt is what it has to be in criminal case as far as conviction. In a civil case, it is a preponderance of the evidence. That means, you just have to have slightly more evidence on your side than (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: Well, it's interesting that he would come out for the press conference tomorrow, even after issuing written statements and attorneys will be with him tomorrow, that his attorneys think it is OK to have this Q and A, because that's going to be the format of this press conference tomorrow and that wouldn't jeopardize the case and make it more difficult for Bishop Long to continue this position.

SAVIDGE: Well, I thought the same thing. Originally, we thought we were just going to hear Bishop Long speaking from the pulpit, which is a very controlled environment, an environment he obviously knows very well.

WHITFIELD: Be careful about what you say.

SAVIDGE: No, he's going to speak in a press conference where you have no control over the questions that are asked. So very different here.

WHITFIELD: It will be very interesting.

SAVIDGE: And it will be very interesting.

WHITFIELD: This is super fascinating. All right. Well, we didn't know that the last hour things would change, we say it could and it did within the hour. So who knows what's going to happen in the next hour (INAUDIBLE)? All right. Thanks so much, Marty Savidge and again, of course, tomorrow during our coverage.

Also, have much more ahead on the controversy surrounding Bishop Eddie Long. We'll be talking to an expert on the black church and celebrity preachers and also much about the lessons that have been conveyed how the black church accepts or doesn't accept the lifestyle of homosexuality.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Just before the break, we were talking about the allegations surrounding Bishop Eddie Long, the leader of an Atlanta area mega church. Well, Shayne Lee is a sociology professor at Tulane University where his research interests includes African- American religion. In his book includes "Holy Mavericks" which studies the appeal of celebrity preachers and he's joining us right now from New Orleans. Shane, so good to see you.

PROF. SHAYNE LEE, TULANE UNIVERSITY: Oh, it's great to be here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: A lot to talk about. Perhaps you heard Martin Savidge's report earlier where there have been some changes as to how Bishop Long is going to approach the general public, approach his family of New Birth Church tomorrow morning. He will be in church. There will be a sermon. But the cameras are not going to be on.

The general public will not be able to hear his sermon. Yet he will have a press conference after that 8:00 a.m. service. So do you have any thoughts on how Bishop Long is handling these allegations in such a public way when he's the leader of a mega church, when it seems as though his word would be out there for his congregation to hear, yet now many of his I guess followers who are outside of New Birth Church won't be able to hear him immediately respond to those allegations. Any thoughts on that?

LEE: Oh sure. I think Bishop Long, being a savvy professional leader that he is, and he knows that he has to control the message, control the brand. There's no better place to control your message than at your own church, where people love you, where there's going to be support and applause. I think we have to watch for the tone in the sermon and the way Bishop Long approaches this.

Because if he wants to survive, he's going to have to make a fervent, rigorous and vigorous defense, to the point where the people are convinced that this is an attempt to shake him down, not that there are any legs to the allegations. So I think his tone, his temperament, if he's defiant, if he's as cocky as he usually tends to be, then we're going to have a long fight. If he decides to step down, if he comes with some humility, then we know that there might be some legs to these allegations.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know, what's interesting here, too, you know, Pastor Long had an interview with our Don Lemon last year at about this time. And there have been other forms in which he has spoken out and been asked about whether the church embraces homosexuality. And here's just a little snippet of what he had to say. Bottom line he said it's not god's way and this is what he told our Don Lemon just last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP EDDIE LONG, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: We've had members of our congregation with a gay lifestyle, et cetera, and that's nothing we can deny. A lot of times we never addressed it, we acted like it wasn't there, et cetera. When you get in the body of Christ, people of faith, I'm finding that different sides, the way you interpret scripture. But if my conviction would be, personally, my conviction was, well, I don't believe in the gay lifestyle and I believe it's not god's way. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So what's interesting here too, Shayne, is, you know, this isn't the first time we heard a pastor say this, particularly in the black church. We heard it in many black churches which would condemn homosexuality. And I wonder if this case might in any way directly impact that message coming from many black churches, whether this investigation will kind of change the tone of how some black churches approach the discussion, the reality of homosexuality.

LEE: Well, the interesting thing to think about it. First of all is Bishop Long's opinion does fit in with the context of majority of black churches. The National Pew study, their recent data on the issue shows that a large majority of black Christians and black churches affirm the possible statements against homosexuality.

So it's kind of an issue of biblical hermeneutics. How do you deal with the passages in Leviticus and in Romans that seem to preclude homosexual activity as being from god. I think if there is a silver lining in this whole thing, besides the scandal and the salacious details that are going to come out, it's the fact that a powerful leader like Bishop Long being associated with the potential of yielding to same-sex erotic urges is going to validate a lot of other people in the church who secretly struggle with that. And if we look at the statistics on the population -

WHITFIELD: But it will only validate it, right, though if Bishop Long comes out tomorrow, for example, during that press conference, or to his congregation and says, "you know what, I need to be honest with you, let me tell you something, the allegations that are coming from these four young men actually have merit." But would there be validation if he doesn't do that?

LEE: Not necessarily. I think the fact that we are all talking about this issue, talking about same-sex erotic urges and the potential for a powerful leader to be associated with that, to some degree puts the discourse in the forefront where it's been behind and under the table.

We know that there's homosexual activity in black churches, yet it's been silent. And I think the fact that the discourse now is elevated to the population, to black churches all over the country, on e-mail, I think what it does is it says that if you're secretly struggling as a homosexual Christian and you're feeling the existential struggle from that and you see that somebody who is a more powerful Christian than you potentially might be linked with that, I think the silver lining might be that it gives that person maybe a greater understanding of the complexity of their feelings and not to condemn themselves and to live in shame. So I think that might be something good out of all the conversations that have taken place about these salacious details.

WHITFIELD: Shayne Lee, fantastic discussion. Thanks so much. Appreciate your time.

LEE: Well, thanks for having me. WHITFIELD: And just a reminder, Bishop Long will have a press conference as we know it tomorrow after his 8:00 a.m. service. No longer is the church now allowing cameras to videotape, to stream live his sermon, his first sermon tomorrow morning after these allegations have now surfaced.

But of course, keep it right here on CNN. We'll keep you posted on what was said at least during that sermon and during that press conference scheduled for tomorrow.

Out of jail and on a mission. Michael Douglas reprises his Oscar-winning role in the sequel "Wall Street." Is greed still good? Our film critic weighs in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: High school rivals relive the past, the U.S. contractor wakes up buried alive and then Michael Douglas returns to "Wall Street." They're all in the theaters this weekend. And Pete Hammond, film critic for "Box Office Magazine" joins us now from Los Angeles with more on this week's movie preview. Good to see you.

PETE HAMMOND, FILM CRITIC, "BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE": Good to see you. Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, cool. Let's begin with "Wall Street." We're talking about Michael Douglas. Everybody knows that. Susan Sarandon, Josh Brolin. Let's take a little peek at what to expect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want to be in the family business -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which is what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pay back. I'm not in this business anymore. The one thing I learned in jail is that money is not the prime asset in life. Time is and your time is just about up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So is this -- well, you know, this is "Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps." But is this a perfect take off from the first "Wall Street," we remember? Did you like it?

HAMMOND: Well, it's been 23 years between the first one and this sequel and in answer to your question earlier, is greed good? Greed is very good this time. It's timely, it's pertinent again, especially with the financial meltdown we've had. I think Oliver Stone has perfectly timed this to go back to Wall Street and explore this story, and particularly with the character of Gordon Gekko.

Douglas is just great. It fits him like a glove. He won an Oscar the first time, he may be in contention again.

WHITFIELD: Wow! HAMMOND: He's that good. And it's a wonderful cast and it's a big adult drama. I think it's different from what we've had all summer. So I highly recommend it.

WHITFIELD: Boy, there has been great anticipation for this. So your grade?

HAMMOND: I give it an A minus.

WHITFIELD: Wow!

HAMMOND: I think the only problem with it is a little towards the end. I won't give it away. But basically, the movie just sails along wonderful script, and it's very entertaining.

WHITFIELD: OK. Good. Also entertaining or one would expect, to have Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver in the same movie. You again, it's kind of -- I don't know. They're re-uniting after their high school rivalry and it's still there. Let's take a quick peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you insane?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow, kitty likes to scratch. Two can play at this game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, they're having a little fun with this comedy. So is this great comic relief or a little ridiculous or just fun?

HAMMOND: It's a little ridiculous. I think the clip we just saw there shows what this movie really is. It's a lot of slapstick. It's a lot of degradation of the feminist movement quite frankly. I mean, this just really shows you what you were in high school, you still are, no matter what. And nobody grows up. Unfortunately they've pretty much wasted a terrific cast, particularly Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Both of them. Yes.

HAMMOND: Yes and they're great. And if you love them, OK, go see the movie. But it's no great shakes. It's just another formula comedy. It shouldn't be called "You Again," it should be called "This Again."

WHITFIELD: Oh, no. OK.

How about "Buried." Just the premise of this gives me the heebie jeebies. Nobody wants to envision themselves, you know, being in a box, in a coffin, buried alive with just a few things in which to -- I don't know, either get out or survive. Let's take a quick look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from Hastings, Michigan. (INAUDIBLE) My convoy was ambushed, I'm buried in a coffin, in the ground. And I need help. Send help. I'm begging you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you end up in the coffin, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was pushed here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh. All right. Pete, what did you think?

HAMMOND: Don't go see this movie if you have claustrophobia. It takes place six feet under in a coffin, all 90 minutes. Ryan Reynolds is on screen the entire time by himself with only a cell phone and a lighter. Actually, I must say, one thing about this movie, he gets great reception down there. It's a great product placement for Blackberry. But he's intense and he's wonderful in this movie. It really shows another side of his talent. But it is really, it's sweat inducing.

WHITFIELD: It really makes me think a little "Kill Bill-ish," you know, when she was buried alive. OK. So what was your grade on this?

HAMMOND: I give it a B plus. I think it's really a tricky movie to pull off. You know, it's been a confined space for 90 minutes but the B plus is really basically for his performance. It's really one of the year's best by an actor.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really? OK. Break out. Pete Hammond, thanks so much. Good to see you. I'm ready to go to the movies now.

HAMMOND: All right. Have fund.

WHITFIELD: Two out of three, that you liked, I'm ready to go see. Appreciate it. Good to see you from L.A.

HAMMOND: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Experts call it a strike against the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy." What a judge's ruling means for a former Air Force nurse who lost her job because of her relationship with another woman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Gay rights activists call it a blow against the government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. A judge has ordered the U.S. military to give an openly lesbian nurse her job back. Keith Eldridge with CNN affiliate KOMO was there when former Air Force Major Margaret Witt got the word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. MARGARET WITT, LESBIAN MILITARY NURSE REINSTATED: Big smile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you express what you feel?

WITT: I'm absolutely thrilled. I mean, all I have ever wanted to do is go back to my unit and do my job. Just for that chance I'm really excited.

KEITH ELDRIDGE, KOMO REPORTER: For a week and a half former Air Force Major Margaret Witt fought to convince a job to give her, her job back. She had risen through the ranks to major, and a decorated flight nurse, based out of McCord Field. But when the Air Force found out she was a lesbian, they kicked her out for violating the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Six years later, she convinced District Court Judge Ronald Layton that not only did her sexual preference not affect her unit's military readiness or cohesion, just the opposite. Her former unit members say her dismissal caused all the harm. He ordered the Air Force to reinstate her and he actually choked up at the end when he said she was blessed to have such loving parents stand with her.

WITT: I think he understands how important that is, and I -- I love them.

FRANK WITT, MARGARET WITT'S FATHER: She's courageous, she's dedicated. And she wants to go back.

ELDRIDGE: Her attorneys say the battle isn't over. The government is likely to appeal the decision. But in the meantime, they hope the Air Force does what the judge has ordered.

JAMES LOBSENZ, WITT'S ATTORNEY: Yes, I think she should be reinstated and soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know if its months, years?

LOBSENZ: Week, maybe months.

ELDRIDGE: As far as the other members of the military who are gay and lesbian, she says they have to continue to serve in silence.

WITT: They do, they do. Stay strong. It will happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It was a tough week for those wanting to overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals serving openly in the military. On Tuesday, the Senate temporarily turned aside legislation to repeal the law for gays serving in the military. The White House says the Obama administration remains committed to ending the policy, but wants it done by Congress.

Much more right after -- actually no, we're going to talk to Bonnie Schneider and talk about some nasty weather coming up here. Take a look at these strong storms and heavy rains, causing very serious flooding in western and central Wisconsin. This is just happening over the past couple of days. This is out of Wausau. Wisconsin's governor issued a state of emergency and the storms caused flooding, downed power lines, and washed out bridges and roads. Just a real mess. That's a very frightening weather, too.

Bonnie Schneider now, here in the Severe Weather Center.

This is the kind of stuff, I know it is tempting for folks to kind of wade in the water because it's weird to see your street turn into a lake, but don't do it.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, it's so dangerous.

WHITFIELD: It's dangerous.

SCHNEIDER: It is even dangerous, Fredricka, to wade in the water in your own basement, because wires can become loose. You don't know what you are going to be stepping on and you can really injure yourself. So the best thing to do is be on a high-level floor until the water recedes and let professionals help you when you have that sort of situation. It is really dangerous.

And the threat's not over yet. While the rain has subsided for parts of the Midwest, I can show you that we have flood warnings for Minneapolis across areas into Wisconsin. And south of Minneapolis is where we saw some of the worst flooding. Some areas in Minnesota received 10 inches of rain. It takes a long time for water like that to recede, because you have the runoff from all the streams and rivers trying to settle back to normal. But there is still rain out there.

Look what's happening in Iowa, into areas of Indiana. The rain is a little lighter towards areas northward toward Minnesota, Wisconsin. But it's still going to be a little bit treacherous out there.

We are also tracking some stormy conditions for those of you in traveling this weekend along the Gulf Coast, what out for that. Into parts of Texas and Louisiana, just south of Dallas, some of the rain has been a little hard.

Let's zoom in right here and I'll show you low pressure across parts of areas of the South. That's what's causing the thunderstorms across much of that region. That's where we're looking at stormy conditions across much of the South.

Now, it's important to note that the front that is working its way through the East is going to make a big difference in temperatures. Some of the numbers have soared all the way into the upper 90s yesterday. I know it is fall now, but D.C. saw incredible heat. Today, a little better, 88 degrees, 83 in New York. Look at the temperature in Chicago, 60. That's a taste of what's to come. It's almost October, so it's going to feel that way. A slow start to the fall season but it's going to get cold. So if you like the heat, just another couple of days-you know how that happens, it changes like that.

WHITFIELD: It's like a little light switch. SCHNEIDER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You know? Bing, time to warm stuff, now its cold. Nice and crispy, bring out those sweaters and all that good stuff.

SCHNEIDER: That's true.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, new health care reform changes just went into effect. Find out what they are and how it just might impact you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now.

The Obama administration is fighting national security to keep the case against a militant cleric from going to court. Anwar al Awlaki has been linked to Al Qaeda terrorists and he's on a CIA and military hit list to be captured or killed, according to U.S. officials. Al Awlaki's father is suing to prevent the U.S. from going after him. The Obama administration wants the suit dismissed saying it requires the U.S. to disclose classified national security information.

And the clock is ticking on what's being described as intense negotiations to salvage the Middle East peace talks. At issue is an end to an Israeli moratorium on new settlements in the West Bank. It is set to expire tomorrow. The U.S. is urging both sides to take the negotiations seriously. The Palestinians have said a construction restart would be reason enough to end the talks.

And American astronaut Tracy Dyson and two Russian cosmonauts are safely back on Earth. Their Soyuz spacecraft landed safely this morning in Kazakhstan. The three spent almost six months on the International Space Station. The return was delayed for a day after an undocking glitch.

Key provisions of the health care reform law kicked in just this past week, and that means major coverage changes for many Americans. Health care expert Andrew Rubin joins us now live from New York.

Andrew, good to see you.

ANDREW RUBIN, SIRIUS XM DOCTOR RADIO: Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: Lots of new changes that took effect on Thursday and some folks need some reminding, maybe they're a little too busy. So we are going to try and help them out. Beginning with say you have a child who is age 22, 23, 25. They don't have health insurance. Now you, a parent, can have your children up to the age of 26, as dependents on your coverage. RUBIN: Yeah, this is a big one. We talk about it a lot. Any child under age 26 can go on their parent's policy. It's a dependent child and it is defined as anyone who is a dependent of the parent and they don't have to be living in the parents' home and they, in fact, can be married.

WHITFIELD: That's huge.

RUBIN: But the spouse f the-yeah, it's huge but the spouse of the dependent child cannot, in fact, go on the policy. One little catch here, Fredricka, is if you're in a grandfather plan, as many Americans are through their large employers, they actually may not be eligible for this, if their employer is offering health insurance on their own and they just choose not to take it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I see. So this is really for the case if you do not have some kind of private plan, extended through your employer?

RUBIN: Correct, exactly.

WHITFIELD: Very good. And then, say your children have had preexisting conditions, they haven't been able to get coverage or they were dropped. No longer the case, right?

RUBIN: We hear about -- exactly. We hear about this in the news a lot. These horrible stories where children get sick, or are born sick, and can't get on their parent's policies. Insurance companies are no longer to be able to deny any child under age 19 for preexisting conditions.

WHITFIELD: Same goes for you, the adult, you who usually has the coverage, you cannot be dropped just because you are sick.

RUBIN: That's correct. It's called rescission. And under health care reform if you get sick while you have insurance and you completed your application honestly, meaning you weren't sick when you applied for insurance. The insurance companies can no longer drop you and in fact have to keep paying your bills. And relative to preexisting conditions, as we talked about before, in 2014, that's when all Americans will be able the get health care insurance without having a preexisting condition clause.

WHITFIELD: Now there's also some free preventative care that will be accessible to a lot of people. These are major perks, especially if you've been going for so long without this kind of preventive care.

RUBIN: I like to clarify it a little bit. You still have to pay your insurance premiums to be eligible for this. But a lot of studies by corporations have shown if you invest in preventative care, you can improve the quality of your health, and in fact, reduce health care costs long-term. So you will be eligible for mammograms and colonoscopies, without co-payments, without co-insurance amounts. And this is a big deal. The one catch here, Fredricka, again is that it doesn't apply to grandfathered plans. So, if you are covered by your large employer they are not obligated to do this. WHITFIELD: Preventative care-now what does this mean, the elimination of lifetime limits on health insurance?

RUBIN: It doesn't happen often, but when it happens, boy, is it bad. If you get sick, most insurance policies come with $1 million or $2-million lifetime caps. That means you're covered up to $2 million worth of healthcare expenditures. But if you get sick, something really bad happens, you can hit your cap pretty quickly. So the healthcare provisions in fact say you can no longer drop someone once they reach their annual -- there are no more annual lifetime caps. And those caps are gone and the insurance companies have to keep paying your claims.

Relative to annual caps, some insurance plans, not many, have an annual amount that you can spend in one given year. Over a sliding scale, those amounts have to be raised each year up through 2014.

WHITFIELD: So there are so many things that are now available, but there is talk after the November elections, depending on the outcome, that Republicans in particular feel like if they gain a significant majority, there's going to be an effort to repeal a lot of these changes. What is the likelihood of that? And how easy or difficult would that be?

RUBIN: Listen, without getting into the politics, there are a lot of people who can talk about the politics of this. But what I would like to tell you is that someone works in the health care industry, and understands it pretty well, health care reform does not work if you start picking apart pieces of this.

What Republicans are talking about doing is they're latching onto public opinion polls which say a good chunk of Americans don't support health care reform. But what they want to do is, quote, "fix it", and take provisions out of the bill that was turned into law. And quite frankly it just won't work. Because health care is so interconnected and it is so complicated, as we all know. So to start picking apart pieces of it, the whole thing will collapse.

I don't know what's going to happen. I got to tell you, if they start picking it apart, pieces of this, and they actually succeed in the political circles, then health care reform basically you have to start over because it won't work.

WHITFIELD: Health care expert, Andrew Rubin, always good to see you. Thanks for joining us from New York. Appreciate it.

RUBIN: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Black families in America are facing a wealth gap, earning less, saving less, leaving less for their kids. A special "Black In America" report is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time for a CNN = Politics update. We're keeping a close eye on all the latest headlines on the CNN.com/Political Ticker. Here's what's crossing right now.

Comedian Bill Maher has kept his promise to release more clips of Delaware Senate hopeful Christine O'Donnell's appearances on his old show "Politically Incorrect." Last night he showed a clip from 1998 where O'Donnell said evolution is a myth. When pressed, she asked, quote, "Then why aren't monkeys still evolving into humans?", end quote.

South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint is attacking his Republican counterparts in a fund-raising pitch. He's criticizing what he calls the Washington establishment for not removing Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski from her committee post this week. Murkowski lost her Republican primary last month but says she will run as a write-in candidate. DeMint has broken with party leaders to support less established candidates like Christine O'Donnell, in large part supporting many candidates with the Tea Party Movement.

President Obama used his weekly address to criticize the GOP's "Pledge to America". He called it an echo of a disastrous decade we can't afford to relive.

For the latest political news, logon to CNNpolitics.com.

When it comes to making and saving money in this country, there is a huge wealth gap. Black families have less than one-fourth the median wealth enjoyed by American families as a whole. Stephanie Elam introduces us to one black family working to improve its financial fortunes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Chris Rock has joked about black people and their money.

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: Shaq is rich. The white man who signs his check is wealthy. Wealth is passed down from generation to generation.

ELAM: There's a sad truth in his humor. Studies show black people tend to chronically make less, save less, and pass less money on to the next generation than their white counterparts. If you don't have assets, you can't pass them on.

Marvin and Cathy Dickerson are making sure their family doesn't follow the same pattern.

CATHY DICKERSON: One or two bad moves and it's going to follow you.

ELAM: Married for nine years, the couple started planning their finances well before welcoming six-year-old Kalyn (ph), and three- year-old Miles.

MARVIN DICKERSON, IT CONSULTANT: How is this a fair fight?

We knew we had to invest, because we knew one day we were going to have kids. And we wanted our kids to have more than what we had.

ELAM: The Dickersons developed a budget, paid off their debt, began investing and set up a will, a trust, and 529 plans to pay for their kids' college educations.

M. DICKERSON: We can pass that wealth, or those assets, onto our kids with a $1.5 million tax exemption.

ELAM: But this family is the exception. According to the Brookings Institution, the median net worth of black Americans is about $28,000. Compare that to $140,000 for the median household nationwide.

(On camera): What were your parents saying to you to make sure that it was so important? That you knew it?

C. DICKERSON: You work, you save.

ELAM: While Marvin is a spender, Cathy is a saver. So the couple make all big financial decisions together.

M. DICKERSON: Cathy had this guiding principle, you know, if she spent $100 she got a headache. As we got married and had more resources, you can add another zero. It was a few thousand dollars.

ELAM: Valerie Coleman Morris, who focuses on financial literacy for women, young people, and people of color, points to a couple of reasons black Americans are so behind in creating wealth and passing it on.

VALERIE COLEMAN MORRIS, AUTHOR, MIND OVER MONEY MATTERS: Money is still a very much off-limits topic in the average family. But in African-American families, it's almost taboo. The second thing is the 401(k). We are not participating and when we do participate, we are contributing far less than most other people. But in addition to that, there is this overwhelming need for becoming more financial literate, and we aren't.

ROCK: I'm not talking about rich, I'm talking about wealth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do we need it?

ELAM: It's more than just talk for the Dickersons, it's a way of life. Stephanie Elam, CNN, Montgomery County, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: "Almighty Debt" is a "Black in America" special coming Thursday October 21. You can catch that only on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Next hour, Don Lemon will take a look at YouTube and how people have turned it into a money-making opportunity. See you tomorrow.