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Washington Standoff: No End In Sight; U.S. Raids Terror Hideouts In Libya, Somalia; Navy SEAL Team Storms Somali House; At Least 28 Dead In Egypt Clashes; Shutdown's Impact On U.S. Global Image; Pope Keeps Pushing Reform Agenda; Miley Cyrus: Hannah Montana Is Dead

Aired October 06, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. These stories are topping the news this hour.

U.S. Special Forces launching daring raids in Libya and Somalia, capturing a most wanted terror suspect. The White House says the raids are a clear reminder of how the U.S. fights for victims of terrorism. All the details straight ahead.

U.S. senator Ted Cruz makes a bold statement on Obamacare and raising the debt ceiling. He says they too should be linked. Hear what he told CNN in an exclusive interview.

And one of the bikers in that swarm attack on an SUV driver has been arraigned. We are also hearing new details about exactly what may have happened.

We begin this afternoon with new details of those two raids in Africa by U.S. Special Forces, three thousand miles apart, in Libya and the other in Kenya. U.S. officials tell CNN the top al Qaeda leader captured in Tripoli will be headed to New York today or tomorrow. U.S. forces snatched Abu Anas al Libi on his way to prayers this morning. Right now, he is being held by the U.S. military in a secure, undisclosed location. Libi is wanted for his role in the twin bombings at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998.

And on the southern shores of Somalia, SEAL Team Six, the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden stormed a house frequented by top commanders of the Somali terror group al-Shabaab. The group is behind the deadly mall massacre in Kenya just last month. But the mission didn't go quite as planned. We'll have details on that in a moment.

So, first let's go to Tripoli for more on the capture of that al Qaeda leader. Jomana Karadsheh joins us live now. Jomana, tell us more about al Libi and the details about that capture.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): Well, Fredricka, we just returned from the house of Abu Anas al Libi where that raid took place, where he was captured. This is in a busy part of the capital in an upscale neighborhood and a commercial area. And speaking to his family members, his wife says that she was waiting for her husband, that top senior al Qaeda figure who has been in Tripoli since 2011. He returned to his home country. She said she was sitting and waiting for him to come back from morning prayers on Saturday when all of a sudden, she heard a lot of noise outside. She said she looked out the window, and she saw a number of vehicles. She said she saw more than 10 men, some of them masked, some of them unmasked who came out and basically took her husband away.

Now according to the wife, she said she heard Libyan dialect. She believed that the men who took her husband are Libyans. Now, that is not to say that this is the case. Libyan government so far has come out and said that it is demanding explanations from the United States, really kind of distancing itself from any involvement or knowing about this raid. It is not clear -- and according to the wife, it happened really fast. She said that she didn't know what had happened, who had taken her husband. She said there is a lot of criminal activity in the country. So she initially thought that this might have been some sort of an abduction. Any other kind of criminal activity until she heard the news last night and heard that her husband had been captured.

WHITFIELD: So, Jomana, you mentioned that the wife said she thought she heard Libyan dialect. She believed that some of these masked and some unmasked members, some may be Libyan or have at least some kind of connection. You've already said the Libyan government or installation there had denied or won't say much about that relationship.

Is she saying anything about what she believes or what she knows about what her husband is suspected of doing, the links that he has as an al Qaeda leader and any links he may have to those U.S. embassy bombings?

KARADSHEH: Well, according to his wife, Fredricka, she said her husband had been a member of al Qaeda, that he had been close to Osama bin Laden. But said she had been married to him since 1991. She said in 1996, her husband left al Qaeda. He was no longer a member of the organization, and she said -- she denied any involvement in those bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and in Kenya, saying that her husband was not involved in any of those bombings and attacks. She said that her husband had been working recently to try and clear his name, saying that he had returned to Tripoli in 2011 to join the revolution, to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi.

And ever since, they had been living here what she described a normal life. She said her husband was not hiding; he was out in public. People knew he was there. And she said that everything, all these charges against him, she says, are fabrications and that he was trying to clear his name.

What was surprising for her, Fredricka, was the timing of this. She said for some time, for the past couple of years, they did feel that there were under surveillance. They felt that there could be some sort of a drone strike at some point. But she said in recent months, it felt more normal. They felt that they were maybe out of the spotlight.

And she said the timing of this is really strange, and she doesn't know why this happened now. She said maybe it was linked somehow or they thought he might be linked to that Westgate Mall attack in Kenya, which she said is not true. She said that her husband has not had any contact with al Qaeda members in a very, very long time. Of course, this is not what we have been told by Western intelligence over the past year, saying that al Libi was back here to try to establish a presence (ph) for al Qaeda and Libya and North Africa.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jomana, thank you so much. So of course, again, CNN sources are learning that al Libi may be on his way to New York sometime tonight or tomorrow. Thanks so much, Jomana Karadsheh.

So, from Tripoli now, let's go to the southern coast of Somalia where just before dawn, SEAL Team Six stormed a hideout of top al-Shabaab commanders. A fierce firefight broke out, and U.S. forces withdrew, not knowing if their target was dead or alive, although U.S. officials are not saying who that target was. The compound belongs to al-Shabaab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubayr. The terror group confirms that one person was killed, but they have not revealed the identity.

Meanwhile, we have new footage of those attackers at that Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Again, al-Shabaab claiming responsibility for the attacks. And you can see in this video surveillance four armed men walking through a storeroom in the mall. Reports say all of them were killed eventually. Kenyan officials say one is from Sudan, one from Kenya, one is an American Somali, and the other person's origin is still unknown. Officials have said about 15 militants took part in that attack which killed 67 people just a couple of weekends ago.

The White House now reacting to the raids this morning. It released a statement that said in part, quote, "This operation should be a clear reminder that the United States will seek justice against those who would attack Americans and never forget those who are victims of terrorism." We're talking about the White House statement as it pertains to the two raids taking place in Africa this weekend.

Jill Dougherty now at the White House for us. So with this statement, is the White House also telling its critics that justice doesn't always come as quickly as many think? Remember there has been a lot of criticism about how the U.S. handled Benghazi.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Right. And you'd have to say that the message coming from the White House is no matter how long it takes. And in one case here, it took quite a long time. But, ultimately, as Secretary Kerry said - he's traveling -- he said members of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations literally can run, but they can't hide. That has been the mantra coming from this administration. And also that the U.S. will never stop in their efforts to go after terrorists. So, obviously, that is one part of it, although I think you would have to say that anyone on any political aisle would have to support this if they were in the United States.

Now also, (INAUDIBLE) Hayden, who is the NSC's spokesperson, did give a little bit of detail. They are not describing everything that the president did but she did say that this was the result of years of intelligence work, months of operational training, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: What about the president? How much was he looped into these operations, the planning, the execution of it. What do we know?

DOUGHERTY: Right. Very much so. In fact, they are saying that the operation was approved by the president, and you would expect that, something as big as this. And both operations were important, and that he monitored them closely and that he was given information and briefed by his security - national security people, including Lisa Monaco, who was the adviser on Homeland Security and counterterrorism efforts.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jill Dougherty, thank you so much from the White House. Keep us posted.

All right. And in less than 10 minutes from now, I'm going to be talking to a former Navy SEAL who knows what it's like to go up against terrorists and be on a mission like ones that we've described.

All right. Now to those new charges in the case of a biker group that swarmed an SUV driver, and then attacked him allegedly. One of the bikers who turned himself in on Friday has been arraigned on assault charges. Police say Robert Sims stomped the driver's head and body after he was dragged out of the SUV. Police say Sims also was among a group of bikers who used their helmets to beat the driver.

Margaret Conley is outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan. So Margaret, another biker accused in the attack turned himself in. We're talking about a lot of folks. It is hard to keep up with how many suspects or those who have turned themselves in. What is the latest?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Fredricka. We are outside the Manhattan criminal court right now. It just reopened after a lunch break. Outside the courtroom where these arraignments are happening, there is a list on the calendar for today with 117 names. Reginald Chance, he's number 84 on that list, but his arraignment could come at anytime. He is the one that we have seen in that video using his helmet to smash open that SUV car door. Now, police say that he could be charged with assault, gang assault and criminal mischief.

As you were saying, Robert Sims, he was charged. He was arraigned yesterday. He was the one that was seen opening up the door of the SUV while it was driving in the middle of traffic. And he has been charged with gang assault, assault in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon. And in these criminal complaints, they are saying that five to six of these bikers surrounded that driver, they beat him with their helmets and then they kicked his body and his head. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And also, Margaret, the bikers seen in the video seemingly slowing down in front of the SUV is now telling his side of the story. And everybody wants to know what preceded that moment, because that's the videotape that kind of begins for the most of us in the public. What is being said?

CONLEY: That is right. We have not seen that video of what happened before that. And hopefully all of that information will come out. But that motorcyclists' name is Christopher Cruz. And he's speaking out. We talked to his attorney today, Benjamin Perez. And he said basically with regards to his client, he had no intention of riding a 500-pound bike in front of a three-and-a-half ton vehicle going high- speed on a freeway. Why would he want to do that? That was not his intent. When you saw that video of him turning around, the attorney said his client was actually turning to see a friend.

Now he also said he doesn't know the other bikers that were in the group and that he did after the accident happened, he was standing by waiting for police. The other thing that his attorney says is that Cruz actually got injured when the SUV driver pulled away and hit those other bikers.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Still, a whole lot of unanswered questions. Thank you so much, Margaret Conley. Appreciate that.

Let's go to Kentucky now where more than 80 people have been evacuated from their homes after flooding hit parts of that state. Many of those people had to be rescued, in fact, by boat as rain lashed the area around Louisville. Water levels rose almost waist high in some places, and the area is still under a flash flood warning. And officials say the threat could continue through tomorrow.

A little sigh of relief on the Gulf Coast, however. Tropical warnings are being lifted, and residents are heading back home. Tropical Storm Karen has been downgraded now to a tropical depression. She has lost the name now. The storm is still packing 30-mile-an-hour winds and could dump up to three inches of rain on parts of the coast. It is expected to sputter out by tomorrow.

House speaker John Boehner dug his heels even deeper today in the fight that has led to the government shutdown. He said the House will not pass a clean spending bill. And on ABC's "This Week," he called for a conversation with the president and with Democrats. Boehner said there may be some backroom somewhere, but no one is in it in his view.

Erin McPike joining me live now from Washington. So, Erin, we know Democrats say negotiations on Obamacare should not be tied to the spending plan. So, what is the speaker's plan?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, so far he doesn't appear to have much of one going forward. As you know, spending has been a major issue for Republicans since President Obama took office. And the Republicans simply want to force a larger dialogue about that. Speaker Boehner said ths morning that this fight was coming all along. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: My thoughts -- I thought the fight would be over the debt ceiling. But you know, working with my members, they decided well, let's do it now. And the fact is this fight was going to come one way or the other. We're in the fight. We don't want to shut the government down. We have passed bills to pay the troops. We've passed bills to make sure that the federal employees know that they are going to be paid throughout this. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now of course, that doesn't exactly reopen the government. And Speaker Boehner has a lot of unmet policy demands as his entire party does. But the very first thing he wants is a conversation with the president. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOEHNER: The American people expect in Washington when we have a crisis like this that the leaders will sit down and have a conversation.

It begins with a simple conversation.

Listen, it's about having a conversation.

It is time for us to sit down and have a conversation. That is what the American people expect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: Now, he said conversation 21 times in that interview this morning. And it was just about 12 minutes. He wanted the president to pick up the phone and call him. He wants to see some negotiation. But essentially as far as we know, neither side, neither the White House or the speaker's office, has reached out to the other one yet.

And the last thing I can tell you, Fred, is that at the very end of that interview, the speaker was asked how does this end? He said if I knew, I'd tell you. So no end in sight so far. We're heading into week two of the shutdown tomorrow night. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Erin McPike. Appreciate that. We are going to talk more about that a little bit later on.

Coming up, I'll tell you what kind of strong language as well the pope, Pope Francis, used on a pilgrimage this week when he pushed once more for church reform.

And the Navy SEALs are back in action, and they capture one of the world's most wanted terrorists. How did that happen? We'll talk to a Navy SEAL, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We've been telling you about those two daring raids by U.S. Special Forces in Africa this weekend. One on the southern shores of Somalia that was a miss on their target, and the other on the streets of Tripoli in Libya where apparently Special Forces snatched top suspected al Qaeda leader. Right now, Abu Anas al Libi is being held by the U.S. military in a secure, undisclosed location, we're told. He is wanted for his role in the twin bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. And we also understand that sources are telling us that he will be on his way to New York, perhaps tonight or even tomorrow. So, joining us right now, former Navy SEAL Chad Williams, who served in the Iraq war. Good to see you!

CHAD WILLIAMS, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Thank you for having me on.

WHITFIELD: So, it looks like a hit in Libya, a miss in Somalia. Two very separate missions. Common denominator involving a suspected terrorist, or at least a terrorist group in one case. What kind of intelligence do you believe officials likely had to act onto carry out this simultaneous missions?

WILLIAMS: Well, my understanding is that they had a week to plan these operations out. So, they would have a pretty high degree of certainty of the targets they're actually going after. And I would hardly consider Somalia being a miss because no matter how you cut it, there is no rest for the wicked. Those guys are on their heels, they have to look over their shoulders. And I would consider it a win for the U.S. All of our guys came back home alive.

WHITFIELD: I see. But then what do you mean - you know it's a win in terms of the mission? If the mission is to go into this safe house or this home where you know there are a number of terrorists believed to be, and U.S. forces leave empty-handed, why is that still considered mission accomplished?

WILLIAMS: Sure. I think the point to be made is that there is no rest for them. At the very least, you have a spokesperson from al-Shabaab admitting that we had killed one of their guys, and now we are back home and they are looking over their shoulders. They're on their heels. They can't make plans to attack while they are constantly on the run.

WHITFIELD: So, Chad, you know, how do you carry out a mission like this? I mean, not asking you for detail because we heard from our White House correspondent that this is the mission that may have been years in the making in terms of collecting of evidence as it pertains to the Tanzania and Kenyan U.S. embassy bombings. And then you say they had, like, a week window in which to carry out the missions. What kind of intelligence is needed to really fuel these kinds of missions?

WILLIAMS: In all reality, there is I guess you could say a lifetime of intel put into these. But I know that at least a week they had to plan the assault on the target they are going after. So, you have these different sources of information. You plan out the attack. There are a number of different ways to do an OTB, an over-the-beach strike that the SEALs performed over there in Somalia.

One of the ways is you can go out of a submarine with a small inflatable boat and make your approach through the ocean. And just before you get to the shore, everyone gets off the boats. You have some pretty heavy machine guns that you can bring along for the assault. Or they could've gotten in there via STV. It's a sealed delivery vehicle similar to a - I guess you could say a submarine. It could take a few guys in right up to the beach. And they would quietly make their approach to the target. And again, there are a couple of different ways. They could make the attack; they could try to go quietly as long as possible, see if the door is unlocked. That happens sometimes, and you just go walking right through. And you wake the guy up that you are going after. Or you get into contact. You are in a gunfight, and the decision is made --

WHITFIELD: And then, Chad - OK, we're out of time. But quickly, we did talk to exclusively the wife of al Libi, who was taken in Tripoli. And she says that she believes that she heard some Libyan dialect and that they may not all have been U.S. special forces. In your view, really quick, would you as Special Forces, work with nationals on the ground to carry out their mission? Would it be unusual? Or do you think what she said is a real anomaly?

WILLIAMS: That's no secret. I worked with the Iraqi special operation forces in Iraq.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much. Chad Williams, appreciate it.

All right. We are headed into week two of the government shutdown. But a bigger deadline is approaching over the government's credit limit. And one senator, Ted Cruz, is telling the White House no. Candy Crowley joins us next to sort it all out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're heading into the second week of the government shutdown, and still no end in sight. And still looming, an eventual bigger potential crisis. Come October 17, the government will no longer be able to pay its bills if Congress does not raise its borrowing limit, the so-called debt ceiling. The U.S. senator who engineered the Republican's approach is Ted Cruz of Texas. He talked exclusively with Candy Crowley and reiterated he is deadest on killing the president's new health care law, but tying it to any budget vote.

Candy Crowley is CNN's chief political correspondent and anchor of "STATE OF THE UNION." So Candy, does Senator Cruz still have the support in the GOP to allow the country default on its obligations as long as Obamacare remains in place?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what goes before the House to be voted upon, the Republican majority House, depends on what Speaker Boehner wants to do.

However, Senator Ted Cruz has been very influential on a group of congressmen on the House side, urging them to hold the line. Essentially, he now sounds like he is going to hold the same line with the debt ceiling as he did with the spending bill or as he does with the spending bill. And that is even though he doesn't say he wants to defund all of the president's health care bill, he certainly wants something for passage of the debt ceiling. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: The debt ceiling historically has been among the best leverage that Congress has to reign in the executive.

CROWLEY: So, yes?

CRUZ: Yes. Yes.

CROWLEY: And what else?

CRUZ: But my point is that there's great historical precedence. Since 1978, we've raised the debt ceiling 55 times. A majority of those times, 28 times, Congress has attached very specific and stringent requirements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Candy, it seems the House speaker is following Senator Cruz and the Tea Party's lead. Earlier in the year, he said he would not tie a debt ceiling vote to Obamacare. But today on ABC, Boehner was asked would he offer a clean, no-strings attached bill to raise that limit, and here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOEHNER: We are not going to pass a clean debt limit increase.

(CROSSTALK)

BOEHNER: I told the president there's no way we're going to pass it. The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit. And the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOUS, ABC ANCHOR: So, under no circumstances will you pass a clean debt limit?

BOEHNER: We are not going down that path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so Candy, the speaker says no way on the debt limit. And he also says he is not ready to bring in a no-strings attached vote to the House to keep the government open.

So, Speaker Boehner, you know, kept saying everything is predicated on a conversation with the president. But the president says he's not negotiating on the health care law. Are the votes there in the House for a clean resolution, regardless of what Boehner says?

CROWLEY: Certainly when you're talking about the shutdown, government shutdown, there have been enough Republicans who have publicly said they would vote yes on a clean spending bill. But if you add them to all the Democrats, assuming they would votes yes, you would have a majority and pass it. he question is whether those same Republicans would defy their speaker and whether the speaker would put a clean spending bill on the floor.

When it comes to the debt ceiling, both the speaker and the president have said I would not allow this country to fall on its debts. It didn't mean that the speaker wouldn't ask for something in exchange for an increase in the debt ceiling. The president said he is not going to negotiate. Sooner or later something has to give and we are at the point where both sides are going to give a little. What kind of little they are willing to give neither one of them have sort of fess up to what that might be.

You can't keep the government closed forever or at least parts of the government close forever and you certainly cannot raise the debt ceiling because eventually the government will not be able to pay its debt. So someone has to blink here. It's just nobody at this point is showing leg about what in fact they would give up.

WHITFIELD: All in yet another tenuous week. All right, thank you so much, Candy Crowley, host of "STATE OF THE UNION."

All right, a child gets on the plane with no ticket, no guardian and no ID. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are three things crossing the CNN news desk right now. First up, those two daring raids in Africa by U.S. Special Forces in Libya and Somalia, U.S. officials tell CNN the top al Qaeda leader captured by U.S. force in Libya will be headed to New York today or tomorrow. Right now he is being held by the U.S. military in a secure, undisclosed location. He is wanted for his role in the twin bombings at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998.

And SEAL Team Six stormed a house in Somalia frequented by top commanders of the terror group al-Shabaab. The group is behind the deadly mall massacre in Kenya last month. The terror group confirms that one person was killed, but the identity has not been revealed.

Number two, at least 28 people are dead after clashes broke out in Cairo, Egypt. That's according to Reuters. The violence started this afternoon after Muslim Brotherhood protesters marched in several different locations. The protesters clash with police and residents supporting the military.

Number three, despite multiple security checkpoints, a 9-year-old boy was able to sneak onto a Delta flight headed from Minneapolis to Las Vegas. According to our affiliate, KARE, the boy got past attendance without a ticket or a guardian. Police believe the boy was a run away from the twin city. Delta says, quote, "We are investigating the incident and cooperating with the agencies involved."

All right, we continue to dig deeper into our top story, U.S. military forces carried out two operations in Africa targeting tariffs. One nabbed a wanted al Qaeda operative. We take a closer look at who he is.

And the pope keeps up his push for reform. His words against some church leaders are turning heads.

Plus Miley Cyrus took the "Saturday Night Live" stage and did she hit the mark? We'll break it down next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The government shutdown has many Americans shaking their heads angry and frustrated with Congress. And the question, why they can't figure this out, goes beyond our borders. The world is watching and America's image could be at stake. David Rennie is the Washington Bureau chief for "The Economist." He is joining me right now.

So David, you know, let's take a look at the cover of the latest issue of "The Economist." The headline reads, there it is, "No Way To Run A Country," it says it all. So David, to what degree is this shutdown impacting or damaging the reputation of America around the world?

DAVID RENNIE, WASHINTONG BUREAU CHIEF, "THE ECONOMIST": Well, if you go off the debt cliff, if you hit the debt ceiling as a default, clearly we don't think that is likeliest option then America is going to get blamed for plunging the world back into recession potentially. You know, there's a huge amount of anxiety and you're seeing -- you don't normally see foreign political leaders, finance ministers in country like France actually coming out and saying in public that America really needs to come a lot more responsible and step up to the plate.

If you want a vivid reminder of what this is doing to America's reputation think of where President Obama was supposed to be right now this weekend, a huge trip and it wasn't just photo ops in children's choirs. This was a serious reminder that America, the super power is a referee. It's not going to allow China to bully its allies, American allies in Asia.

A lot of countries are waiting to see President Obama carry that message kind of very possibly in Asia and he can't go because his own Congress has held his budget ransom. That sends a pretty bad signal.

WHITFIELD: So the White House clearly knew that there would be criticism if the president were to go. Criticism from within, you know, the confines of the U.S., but there is criticism that he didn't go from the international community, so what are they saying?

RENNIE: I think there's a lot of dismay and perhaps if you're an American viewer, the really depressing thing is some of the gloating. If you look at the Chinese state media, they have been running pieces saying America says it's a great role model of the rest of the world, American democracy. So they are proud of how that works. Well, it is not working very well.

The People's (inaudible), the main communist party in China saying, you know, their lack of unity is messing up their politics and you have the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, making a big show. He is getting all the headlines in Asia.

WHITFIELD: OK, so now, let's switch gears a bit. The news of this weekend, the apprehension of al Qaeda operative in Libya and then the raid taking place in Somalia, and you say as it pertains to that, America is willing to play so called global SWAT team by using drones and special forces, but not global policeman using massive force to impose democracy. So with a mission or with two missions like this, does this in any way kind of I guess, reclaim some of the credibility of this nation may have lost because of its government shutdown. Does it redefine the U.S. reputation in any way in your view?

RENNIE: I think it's a reminder and it's a useful reminder that America is still the world's most powerful country and even an American president who is domestically very frustrated wields extraordinary executive power. This is a country and a Congress and frankly a president who does not want to sort of play the global policeman meaning it's sending hundreds of thousands of soldiers to change regimes or believing you can impose American style democracy from abroad. This is definitely not that president.

He is not George Bush but that kind of global SWAT team role, American presidents do wield extraordinary ability to strike around the world and really if you want to know how strange this is. This new world we've inhabited since 9/11. It's the absence of a global reaction. No one is very surprised by this. This is now the daily business or the regular business of an American president to send these extraordinary Special Forces teams around the world to wipe America's enemies.

And even a president as reluctant to use military force. This is in a separate box. This is the normal business of being an American president.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Rennie, Washington Bureau Chief for "The Economist," thanks so much for your time. Good to see you. Thank you.

All right, the pope, well, he is not backing down on his message of reform. His harsh words about church leaders next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With six grand slam titles and the number one ranking in men's tennis, Novak Djokovic clearly likes the view from the top.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: All my life I have been dreaming to be the best in the world in tennis and my dreams came true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From humble beginning in war-torn Serbia, Djokovic overcame long odds to make it in tennis.

DJOKOVIC: There was a lot of struggle, difficulty financial. Thank God big support from my parents and family and they gave me home that I can actually succeed. I remember I was improvising and making little trophies out of materials and going in front of the mirror and saying I was a champion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Djokovic doesn't shy away from the attention that comes from being the top player in the men's game.

DJOKOVIC: I accept it as part of my work, part of my, but I do enjoy it as well. I do prefer televisions more. I like camera. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Pope Francis was in the Italian hilltop town of Assisi this past week, the birth of place of his namesake. The pope said that eight centuries later, Saint Francis is still a role model and the pontiff continued his push for reform in the church. Here's CNN's Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 11 gruelling hours, he spoke, he prayed, he pressed the flesh. Friday Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to the Italian hilltop town of Assisi on the feast day and in the birth place of the saint whose name he took. Eight centuries ago, Saint Francis was born into a life of wealth and privilege and gave it all up to serve the poor.

It's one of Pope Francis' favorite themes. The church, all of us should divest ourselves of worldliness, he said, worldliness is a murderer because it kills souls, kills people, kills the church. Earlier this week, he told an Italian journalist church leaders have become narcissistic and called Vatican court life the leprosy of the church.

Before coming to Assisi, Francis spent three days in closed door meetings with eight cardinals discussing the need for wide ranging reforms of a church that in recent years has been racked by scandals over pedophile priests, financials called daggery and vicious bureaucratic infighting.

Francis, who reacted angrily to the ship wreck off of the Italian island on Thursday by calling it a disgrace told the faithful in Assisi, Friday was also a day of tears for the victims. But the pope's gentler side was also on display. In one church, he told couples that it was natural that they should fight even throw plates, but at the end of the day, they should make peace with one another.

(on camera): The message and style are making waves throughout the Catholic world. His papacy isn't even seven months old and already Pope Francis is raising the roof of the church. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.

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WHITFIELD: All right, Miley Cyrus, yes, back in the headlines, taking over late night and this time she's not twerking, but she did give her take on the government shutdown.

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WHITFIELD: All righty, Miley Cyrus, there getting the last laugh or something, hosting "Saturday Night Live." She also poked fun at herself for that VMA twerking performance with Sianad O'Connor and Cher recently slammed her for. David Kaplan joining me now from New York. Cher and Sinead not the only ones talking about her, did she match her VMA performance? What is going on?

DAVID KAPLAN, CELEBRITY JOURNALIST: So she was great yesterday. I think she was funny and of course, she performed twice and did a great job doing that. Nothing could outdo the VMA's. It is Miley. She was racey. She does lick a doll of Abraham Lincoln. In the final sketch she alleges to have sex with one of the new SNL cast members. It wasn't super tame. There was no twerking. In the beginning she said now that white people are twerking, she said I'm done with it. She said where is Hanna Montana? She is murdered. It was shocking that she was talking about a Disney star.

WHITFIELD: And that is the adult audience and all of those people that loved and praised her maybe not laughing. And a lot of people are talking about it online. Can we look at it?

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MILEY CYRUS: In case anyone is concerned you should know there will be no twerking tonight, but now that white people are doing it seems kind of lame.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When are you going to put your clothes on for the show.

CYRUS: These are my clothes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shello.

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WHITFIELD: Hit or miss?

KAPLAN: I say hit. It was great. She did everything she was supposed to.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dave Kaplan, thanks so much for your review of SNL and Miley Cyrus' appearance on it. Thanks so much, Dave.

KAPLAN: Thanks a lot.

WHITFIELD: All right, we've got much more straight ahead here in the NEWSROOM. We are following those two us raids in Africa this weekend targeting terrorism. Navy SEALs were involved in one. Next we talk to a former SEAL about what might have gone into this operation.

And a biker who has been charged in connection with this fight is expected to be in court today. We have the latest on that developing story.

Plus you can now sign up for health insurance under the affordable care act. So what do the plans look like? We'll tell you depending on where you live.

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