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Obama Offers A Fix For Affordable Care Act; Toronto City Council To Strip Mayor Rob Ford's Of Some Key Powers; Meningitis B Spreading Through Princeton's Campus; Next Friday Marks 50th Anniversary Of JFK's Assassination; Sarah Palin On Why She Doesn't Want To Run For Office Again; Mars Currently The Subject Of Five Active NASA Missions; Rabbi Returns $98,000

Aired November 16, 2013 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's fantastic.

All right, for those of you joining us in the CNN NEWSROOM, welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A look at our top stories we are following this hour.

An Ivy League school scrambles to stop the spread of a rare deadly disease. And they may use vaccines only approved overseas to protect students. A live report in just moment.

Outrage grows as new allegations of misconduct against Toronto's mayor surfaced. But Rob Ford is fighting to stay in office. His latest jaw-dropping comments straight ahead.

And 50 years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, many are still convinced his murder was a conspiracy. We'll take a look and why with the shooting in detail believe Lee Harvey Oswald doesn't act alone.

Rare form of meningitis is spreading on the campus of Princeton University. Seven people have been diagnosed with the bacterial disease so far. And both the school and the federal government want to make sure no one else gets sick.

CNN's Alexandra Field has the story.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, there is no approved meningitis "b" vaccine approved in this country but in Houston parts of Europe and Australia. Now it's up to trustees of Princeton University to decide whether that vaccine could be made available for students on this campus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): Princeton University officials are meeting this weekend to discuss possible vaccinations on campus. It is an effort to combat an ongoing outbreak of meningitis "b" which could cause life threatening illness. The (INAUDIBLE) department of health says the first case developed when a student returned from spring break in March. After additional cases were reported an outbreak of the disease was declared in May. A total of six students and one visitor to Princeton are linked to the outbreak. The latest case was diagnosed last week. That student is still hospitalized this morning.

ADAM KROP, STUDENT: I remember it was pretty innocent. She went from feeling almost mine to the next minute 103 fever.

FIELD (voice-over): Bacterial meningitis is rare and the string causing this outbreak is very rare in the United States. It is not included in currently available vaccines. The bacteria can cause infections of the ling of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting, rashes and stiff neck. Those infected need to be treated right away. And even those who recover can suffer serious complications such as hearing loss, brain damage and limb amputations.

DR. MARTIN WHITMAN, CAPITAL HEALTH REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: They're treated quickly. So a community that may have other cases has to be aware of the symptoms because the quicker you put someone on antibiotics, the more likely they are to recover.

FIELD (voice-over): To combat the disease, the CDC has approval to import the only vaccine for meningitis "b" as an experimental drug called. It is called baxsero and is approved in Australia and Europe, but not yet in the United States. If university and health officials agree to offer the vaccine, it will be available on a voluntary basis, something students will likely consider.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a lot of people are concerned for the fact that it didn't go away over the summer after everybody left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: If a decision is made to bring the vaccine to Princeton, it would be available to some 8,000 students. Students tell us that the university has kept them up to speed on developments concerning the meningitis. The outbreak since the first case was reported back in March. They tell us they've received a number of e-mails -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Alexandra Field in Princeton.

All right, in Toronto this afternoon, protesters rallied outside city hall demanding the resignation of Mayor Rob Ford. The protest followed a move by city council to strip the mayor of some of his key powers. Ford admitted to drinking binges, smoking crack cocaine and has been accused of harassment.

Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson will set a fight between council and the mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The motion to introduce the bill carries, 41-2. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the sound of Toronto's city council pulling power from embattled Mayor Rob Ford. His reaction, I'll take you to court.

MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: This will cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Only he and his brother Counselor Doug Ford voting against the motion to cut his authority.

(on camera): 41-2, how does that feel?

JOE MIHVIC, CITY COUNCILOR, TORONTO: Well, on one level, of course it feels good that the motion it's went through. However, this is a sad day for the city of Toronto when council united, left, right, center, uptown, downtown, had to do what it had to do.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Yet, in this own unique and contradictory way, a seemingly, ever so lightly humbles Mayor Ford appeared to sympathize.

FORD: I would have done the same thing. If I had a mayor acting the way I conducted myself, I would have done the exact same thing. I'm not mad at anybody. I take full responsibility.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Even so, he'll keep fighting. Next week, more powers to be cut until what's he going to do what's he going to look like?

MIHVIC: Well the mayor will still have the right to vote on issues, but he will be one vote, one voice.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And that voice part of the city's problem, nice on Friday, following profanities Thursday reacting to allegations of sexual misconduct with a star.

FORD: Olivia (INAUDIBLE) said that I wanted to (bleep). I've never said that in my life to her. I would never do that. I'm happily married.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And if anyone thought curbing his power would cut his tongue, not so. Monday, he started his own TV show "Ford Nation." Questions then, if politicians can't reel him in, can his family.

(on camera): As we heard his brother say, maybe he should step back.

ANDREW COYNE, COLUMNIST, NATIONALMEDIA: It's clear he has a very complicated relationship with his brother, but probably not unusual. But, he, I think, looks up to his brother as it has been in the shadow. The brother is much more bullying, much more aggressive, much more inclined to fight it out.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And fight is what the Ford family is doing. For how long is what everyone's asking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Nic Robertson reporting.

Coming up in ten minutes our Bill Weire sits down with Ford's brother. He said he thinks the mayor should take some time off.

All right, part of a mystery solved, more than three years after being reported missing the bodies of a couple and presumably their two children have been found. Still lots of questions. Police say Joseph and Summer McStay along with two bodies believed their sons were buried in a shallow grave in the dessert near Los Angeles.

Nick Valencia joining me now with more on this.

What's next for investigators?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This investigation is far in over. And principally, the question is who did this. They got to find out who did this. They're ruling it a homicide, they believe this family was killed.

Now, this whole investigation started in early 2010 when the McStays were initially reported missing. And when investigators finally went to the home what they found inside baffled them. All signs pointed to this family leaving in a hurry but on their own accord. The two dogs were left behind, eggs were still on the counter, popcorn still on the table.

Also, investigators in their search found on the hard drives research by the family to travel to Mexico. Also, research into children's passports. Investigators initially said that this family crossed the border in New Mexico, and they released grainy video, surveillance tape that showed four people that match the description of the family.

Now, friends and family of these victims say that's impossible. They do not believe that the body ever crossed into Mexico. But their bodies found in California desert yesterday at the press conference. The brother of the husband that was found dead talked about how hard it was for him to stomach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MCSTAY, JOSEPH MCSTAY'S BROTHER: It gives us courage to know that they're together and they're in a better place. My family appreciates all the support and the love that we've been shown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: And Fred, we know that local agencies are involved in this investigation. There has to be a federal nexus for something like the FBI to get involved. We just don't know if they will get involved at this point. But we do know that local police and sheriff departments are looking into this.

WHITFIELD: Are investigators are saying anything about whether witnesses have said whether anyone was out to get them, whether there were any threats against that family?

VALENCIA: Well, the shocking part of that investigation over the years was how no one saw this family leave. There are no witnesses to say that the family left. No one saw them leave in the middle of the night or whatever hours they did leave. So, that's the puzzling point.

Also as you mentioned, those two children have not been positively identified by DNA yet. So that is going to be part of their investigations.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Valencia, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Much more ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, President Obama may be losing support from some Democrats. How he can navigate his way out of this mess? We'll talk to a man who knows a lot about White House troubles.

And our Jeanne Moos has her memories of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. What her story focus us, a horse.

And how do you learn $98,000 in cash? One woman actually managed to do just that but a very honest man saved her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A group of protesters showed up outside of city hall in Toronto this afternoon. They're demanding the resignation of Mayor Rob Ford after admitting to drug use and drinking binges, Toronto city council stripped the mayor of some of his key powers this week.

CNN's Bill Weire spoke with Rob Ford's biggest defender. That would be his brother. He is also a member of city council.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You said today that you think your brother should take a leave of absence, why?

DOUG FORD, TORONTO MAYOR'S BROTHER: Well, what I mentioned, Bill, I believe Rob should take a couple weeks off, let things cool down a bit. But we're going to be moving him forward. And Rob wants to stay focused at the job at hand here.

WEIRE: So he's not going to take that advice?

D. FORD: No, he wants to stay here, continue working, returning calls and dealing with city issues.

WEIRE: There is so much speculation about your brother, not just there in Toronto, from around the world. People just fascinated by the story that he has a real problem. Your sister and your mother have both come out and say they don't think he has an addiction problem with alcohol and drugs. What do you think?

D. FORD: Well, he definitely doesn't have a drug problem. As Rob has admitted, he feels like he's been drinking too much. I want to be very clear here. Rob doesn't come to work and drink. And he doesn't drink every single day. But he does admit that he has excess drinking at times. And he's getting the medical support from a team of doctors. And he's also gone on a pretty steady diet and exercise program. So we're confident that he's going to move forward.

WEIRE: But no one has ever seen anything like we've witnessed come out of your brother in the last week, such erratic behavior.

D. FORD: That's right.

WEIRE: So much impulse, control problems, obviously, can you not see why people are worried about him? Embarrassed about this whole thing?

D. FORD: Yes, that was unacceptable. And it was not appropriate, whatsoever, what he said. He's apologized and going to make sure that never happens again. And I'm sure, he'll move forward, and make sure he doesn't use that language.

WEIRE: At one point, I'm just so curious about the dynamic between you and your brother here. You're his fiercest defender. But there are moments where he really made you look like a fool. When you were defending him against the crack smoking allegations going after the police commissioner there and almost simultaneously, he was admitting, yes, he had smoked crack.

Has there ever been a moment where you two have come to blows, where you tried to straighten him out.

D. FORD: You know, Bill, I didn't know that until he announced it that day. And again, I believe in life when a family member has an issue, you don't throw him underneath the bus, you support them, deal with the issue. You move forward. And that's what we're going to do.

It's unprecedented that politicians would try to take the power off of the mayor. Number one, morally and legally, they've overstepped their bounds. And in our opinion, legally, they can't do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Up next, prices load up a different kind as some Democrats now leaving the president's side on health care. How does he get out of this mess?

But first, each week we're honoring CNN's top ten heroes. Today, a woman in Africa fighting for young girls. They're often not allowed to go to school. And she's making sure they do get an education.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAKENYA NTAIYA, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I avoided the ceremony as most of them, most of the girls undergo mutilation when they're 12. I really liked going to school. I knew that once I go through the cutting, I'm going to be married off. And my dream of becoming a teacher was going to end. My mind said runaway. But I had to face my dad and say I will only go through the cutting if he lets me go back to school. It was done in the morning using a very old recipe knife with no anesthesia. I can never forget that day. Eventually, I was the first girl in my community to go to college in the U.S.

I am Kakenya Ntaiya. And I returned to my village to start a school for girls so they too can obtain their full potential. When girls get to my school, they're very shy. But over time, you see they are very confident.

How are you, girls?

CROWD: Fine.

NTAIYA: They are very well. It's the most exciting thing. It's about empowering the girls. These girls, as they know to be cut, they're dreaming of becoming lawyers, teachers, doctors. Fathers are saying my daughter can do better than my son.

Why should you work hard, to achieve your goal.

I came back so girls in my community don't have to negotiate like I did to achieve their dreams. That's why I wake up every morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama is in crisis mode in the affordable care act as problem after problem comes up. He's getting criticized from all sides. And one tough blow came from former president Bill Clinton this week on the if you like your plan you can keep it, promise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, I personally believe, even if it takes changing the law, the president should honor his commitment to federal government made to those people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Two days later, President Obama did offer a fix. He said he wants to let people keep their plans for another year. But shortly after, certain states say they can't guarantee that. And it's unclear how many people really will be able to keep their plans.

I'm joined now by lawyer and crisis manager Lanny Davis. Good to see you. He served as special counsel during the Clinton administration. And he's also an author of the book "Crisis Tales." Perhaps, the president or his White House might be picking up this book in the coming days.

So Lanny, you say, you know, you support the affordable care act. But you see major problems with how the White House has been handling these issues. If you were to advise the president what would you ask him or tell him to do next?

LANNY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL COUNSEL, CLINTON ADMINISTRATION: Well, first of all, I think he got it right. His most recent time or thing that he got it wrong and President Clinton gave him good advice. And I think it's good that you have two presidents who are close and who are friends. And that President Clinton actually helps him by saying, look, we made a promise. It's not the perfect world where you have high-level coverage, which is what's intended by the affordable care act. It's an imperfect world. We can't make our promise.

But I hate blaming this on just President Obama. Let me say I have the misunderstanding that people didn't have to lose their policies. And we all share in that collective responsibility as Democrats who support this legislation. So if you mess up, fess up, and then if you want me to do one more little code word, slogan is don't end it, mend it. How's that for poetry?

WHITFIELD: OK. That's beautiful. And the president, you know, did vow that he wants to fix it. But now, he's trying to fix it. I know he said it's not all on him, but they were his words used. And now people, there are an awful lot of Americans, based on recent polling that they're not even sure whether he means what he says when he says he's going to fix it. The president, by the way, didn't even mention health care in his weekly address today. So do you get a sense, too, that the president, or the White House is feeling very defeated about this. And they may not even know if they can really fix it.

DAVIS: Well, I think you're right. There are two problems here. One is the technical issue that there is no excuse for it. They didn't get the Web site right. They wrote a law that allowed 16 different websites to be created, about hundreds of millions of dollars. That's the federal one and 15 state ones. And they got that wrong.

There's a private sector set of Web site that they could be used for free without paying the taxpayer. And he's not choosing those private websites. Full disclosure, one is my client ehealth.com. So, the technical problem is unforgivable. You ought to be angry the same we were angry over Katrina when President Bush didn't get something right.

On the technical problem of these policies being canceled and cost going up, we, Democrats simply have to rethink what for me was system we need. And we do have to take another look at whether we should try for 100 percent coverage or try to do it more incrementally which may be the perfect is the enemy of the good. It is the idea here we have to cut back and try to look at it again and do things more incrementally.

WHITFIELD: And now, adding insult to injury, the president is witnessing that some of the Democrats are kind of leading his team as it pertains to, you know, supporting this health care act, many of them siding with the Republican plan on a house proposal. Although the president says if it makes it to his desk that he's going to veto it.

How painful does it make it for the White House especially as it looked at another three years in which there are other matters that this president wants to address? DAVIS: My advice in a crisis is you look for allies. And there's a collective we among Democrats who supported this bill. It's not claiming this on President Obama. We all support it. We all got something wrong here. Nancy Pelosi should be saying we got this wrong. We never thought people would lose their policies and have to pay a lot more in premiums. I think the Democratic leadership in Congress should be engaging in crisis management, taking responsibility, working with Republicans and trying a bipartisan solution.

Now, I know that sounds idealistic right now. But President Obama needs some help from Democrats. It's not we versus they, it's us. And on this one, I think it's a really hard thing we're trying to do. President Obama shouldn't be blamed for intentionally misleading people. But now, we, Democrats, we all have a responsibility to fix this if we support some system on universal health insurance.

WHITFIELD: All right, Lanny Davis, thank you for your time. Good to see you this Saturday.

Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

And for your political fix, be sure to tune into "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley tomorrow. She interviewed, exclusive interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That's tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m. eastern time.

Next, remembering John. F. Kennedy, director Oliver Stone still believes Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't alone in killing the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most people who fire weapons at a high level, they know that this is a BS case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Next Friday marks the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, along with former president, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, will visit Kennedy's grave site on Wednesday to honor his legacy.

In the five decades since the president's assassination, countless theories as to who killed him have been debated. Was it a lone gunman? A conspiracy? The Cubans? The Russians? Or even the Chicago mob?

Oliver Stone, the filmmaker who directed the film "J.F.K." has very strong feelings on this topic. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLIVER STONE, J.F.K. DIRECTOR: The whole case (INAUDIBLE) that Kennedy was shot from two sides. That's enough with the case. You can't believe otherwise when you see the Zapruder film (INAUDIBLE). What the Warren commission says a three bullets case, two of them hit Kennedy, one of them is, of course, a single bullet which is an improbability. It is wonderland. And the other bullet is apparently the kill shot, is also improbable because of what this Zapruder film tells us. The shot came from the front. Kennedy say went back in to the left now. This is I'm repeating and repeating and repeating it to death in the movie but we mustn't take our eyes off that ball because when you start getting into all the allocutions of Arlen Specter and his crazy Warren commission, you know, you get confused. Now, the best thing to do is stick to your common sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Like Oliver Stone and so many other Americans, CNN's Jeanne Moos took the president's death personally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pick your most iconic moment of the aftermath of JFK's assassination, was as John-John's salute to his father's casket? Was the Jackie Kennedy refusing to take off the blood-stained suit, a favorite focus of Kennedy movies?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want someone to bring you a change of clothes from the plane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I want them to see what they've done to Jack.

MOOS (voice-over): But my most persistent memory was something else. For me, the early '60s were a time of transition. I went from long hair to short hair. Said good-bye to my pigtails.

(on camera): These pigtails. My mom actually saved them. In my baby book from 1963 there was this notice, took Kennedy death seriously. What caught the eye of this 9-year-old girl was a horse, of course. A rider-less horse, empty boots reversed in the stirrups, as if the rider were looking back over his past life.

The horse was named Black Jack. And the 19-year-old holding him was army private first class Andy Carlson.

ANDY CARLSON, FORMER BLACK JACK HANDLER: My skinny little arm was trying to control all of that horse.

MOOS (voice-over): Black Jack had a reputation as a hot horse. He got this job because he was too wild to ride. And after leading him about 14 miles, two days in a row, following behind JFK's casket on the caisson --

CARLSON: I felt beaten to death, worn out. MOOS (on camera): I was so taken with Black Jack that after the funeral, I wrote a poem about the rider of this horse.

Don't workers it disappeared over the years so you won't be subjected to the poetic ramblings of a kid.

CARLSON: At one point he was pawing the pavement. And he struck my right shoe. I wanted to fall down and cry but couldn't do that.

MOOS (voice-over): The rider-less horse made an impression on Mrs. Kennedy, she later asked for a saddle, rider boots and saver. Black jack died in 1976 and was buried with military honors. He's been immortalized. It is a statue by a book. He's even on facebook. Famous for champing at the bit for playing more than a bit part.

CARLSON: In the middle of this solemnity, there's one fool horse having the time of his life.

MOOS (voice-over): Seems like JFK would have liked that.

Jeanne moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And how about your thoughts, what are you saying? Was there conspiracy? Leave thoughts on my facebook page @fredrickawhitefiedcnn. And you'll also be surprised what you learn tomorrow night on our special of assassination of President Kennedy. It airs Sunday night at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. There's been a lot of talk about Hillary Clinton running for president. But she may not be the only woman up for the job. On the GOP side, there's former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. She sat down for an open-ended conversation in "all things political" with our Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: So I know you wouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton if she ran for president. But I remember in '08, after you got the nod, you talked about the unfair media treatment that Hillary Clinton got when she was running for president.

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Yes.

TAPPER: And you probably feel like you got some of that unfair media treatment as well. Sexism. If there's any woman out there thinking of running for president, what can she expect?

PALIN: She can expect that sexism. But you overcome that, you know, you ignore it. You thicken your skin and you march fourth with your message. Your priorities, your agenda. Yes, Hillary Clinton was mistreated when it came to appearances, when it came to wardrobe, you know, petty, superficial things that the men don't ever seem to hear much about, but a woman candidate will.

TAPPER: Governor Christie hears about his appearance.

PALIN: That's because it's extreme, OK. So, it's hard for some people not to comment on it. Speaking of Hillary Clinton, though, I'll never forget about Bill Clinton saying about Barack Obama and his story, agenda, you know, that is was the biggest the fairy tale there were seen and he was right. Barack Obama was not qualified. He wasn't prepared. And that the manifestation of that today is the problem that we see left and right in our economy.

TAPPER: You obviously feel very passionate about these issues. Why are you not in office anymore? Why don't you run for Senate, there's a Senate seat coming up?

PALIN: My goodness, because there are millions and millions of good Americans who have the ability and desire to serve. And you know, I want to help find those people and help propel them into positions of leadership.

TAPPER: Don't you think you could have more of an influence?

PALIN: I want to know that you don't need a title. You don't need a position to make a difference.

TAPPER: Obviously, the Republican party is going through a debate right now about where its soul is. I saw an article over the weekend, Senator John McCain, your friend and former running mate, talking about how some people were urging him to run for president again in 2016. It doesn't sound like he's necessarily interested in it. But he is talking about how the government shutdown was a mistake. And how there are some people that he could help right the ship.

If it weren't for your relationship with him, I can't help but think that you would -- that he personifies things that you don't like.

PALIN: Well, Senator McCain and I have never been shy about the expressing the fact that we agree to disagree on some issues. But, you know, I have respect for his service. Not only to our country in the military, but in the Senate and I will never bad mouth senator McCain. I have no desire to. I have no -- there's no need for me to do so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Next, we're headed from the CNN NEWSROOM to Mars, our science behind explains NASA's latest mission to the red planet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Billions of years ago, Mars may have looked more like the earth does now. Scientists think it may have even had some life on it. But now, it's just a cold barren desert. So what happened? A new mission to Mars hopes to find out.

Our Chad Myers takes a look at the science behind the red planet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): For scientists or space enthusiasts alike, Mars continues to amaze. It's still surprise the red planet is the currently the subject of five active NASA missions, three in orbit, and two on the surface.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And lift just of the atlas advisement with curiosity, she concludes to the planetary puzzle about life in Mars.

MYERS (voice-over): You have probably heard of curiosity, NASA's rover studying the geology and climate on the ground. Now NASA's sixth mission maven, is hoping to understand Mars from above. As for a four billion-year-old question, what made the fourth planet from the sun turn red and barren?

JIM GARVIN, CHIEF SCIENTIST, NASA: It's going from that polar desert, and geological world, kind of boring rocks, to this exciting, blooming world with a history that does include warm, wet times. Climate change. Dynamic atmosphere landslides, ice shield, buried ice, unbelievable.

MYERS (voice-over): Scientists believe that Mars may have looked like earth with blue skies warm temperatures.

(on camera): We do believe that mars had liquid water, correct?

GARVIN: Absolutely. Evidence in the rocks of curiosity is literally unassailable. And we see the record even in the frozen materials and the soils today.

MYERS (voice-over): Collecting new measurements on the planet's apparatus atmosphere will give those analyzing the data a better understanding of the climate change under the red planet's history.

GARVIN: We expect to learn now the modern Mars works, really in detail, to see its climate state, to understand how the atmosphere is lost in space. How Mars may have lost a magnetic field. To take that information and map it back in time.

MYERS (voice-over): The journey will be logged. Maven will have to travel ten months and millions of miles before reaching Mars' orbit. But NASA says the journey and maven $671 million price tag are worth it, especially if they can help unlock, a big question. Did life ever exist on Mars.

Chad Myers, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this big reveal is not a spaceship, but it was first seen this morning on "CNN NEW DAY." What a gorgeous ride. Automobile magazine taking the wraps off the 2014 automobile of the year. What does it look like to you? That would be the 2014 version of the Chevrolet corvette sting ray. The new corvette has more power. It has been a fuel-economy than last year's model. Prices for the base sting ray start at just under $52,000.

All right, if you stashed $98,000 anywhere in your house, do you think you would forget about it? One woman in Connecticut forgot where she had hid some cash, big cash, just like that. Where she put it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: With the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination Friday, Fareed Zakaria takes a look back at the JFK legacy.

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: Fredricka, next week marks 50 years since the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I had a conversation with the great Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Robert Carol.

One the things I asked him about why JFK's assassination continues to loom so large in our imagination. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT CAROL, HISTORIAN: It's almost like myth, Homeric smith. Young, handsome, athlete dying young at the height of his glory, you know. You say a beautiful, beautiful man, really, charming, handsome, idealistic. Murder, blood, violence, horror. You know, it's -- you say here has this crack of this gunshot and in an instant, this man is lying across his wife's lap basically in the back seat of a car with his head blown apart. Blood all over her, you know. You say, for that reason alone, it has all the qualities of the mythic drama in the highest terms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAKARIA: That's the great historian Robert Carol. He really has a way of bringing history to life -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes, indeed. Thank you, Fareed.

All right. Here's a question for you. How do you forget about $98,000, cash money? It happened to a woman in Connecticut. She stashed the cash in a desk, and then sold the desk online.

Noelle Gardner from affiliate WTNH in Connecticut reports a very honest man bought that desk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOELLE GARDNER, REPORTER, WTNH (voice-over): Imagine buying a desk under $200 on craigslist, only to find thousands hidden inside. That's exactly what happened to a new haven couple. A local rabbi and his wife found a huge pile of cash after buying this desk on craigslist. When the couple brought the desk home, it wouldn't fit through the door.

RABBI NOAH MUROFF, FOUND $98,000: The desk didn't fit into this office by a fraction of an inch. GARDNER (voice-over): The couple had to pull the desk apart, including the file cabinets. Behind the drawers, they discovered a plastic bag filled with cash.

MUROFF: Behind the drawers, there's this plastic bag, like a shopping bag and in the bag I can see through the bag, there is it looks like a $100 bill.

GARDNER (voice-over): After a closer look --

MUROFF: We open it up and it's full of cash. We count it and it's $98,000.

GARDNER (voice-over): The couple couldn't believe their eyes.

MUROFF: Right away, my wife and I sort of, you know, looked at each other and said we can't keep this money.

GARDNER (voice-over): They picked up the phone and called the original owner.

MUROFF: I said there's a bag back there, and I saw one $100 bill, and I'm like, there's money. Then I picked it up and brought it over to the table and counted it up. So yes --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

GARDNER (voice-over): The original owner, speechless. She stuffed her inheritance in the desk, forgetting where she put it. The good Samaritans returning the cash to the rightful owner. The rabbi says the most important thing in life is to be honest.

In new haven, Noelle Gardner, News 8.

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WHITFIELD: That is some stuff there. But hey, honestly pays, doesn't it?

All right, this next story will certainly make you smile, as well. And it's proof we're never too young to live out our dreams. Look at this little guy right here. (INAUDIBLE). He made his debut as a drum major with Florida's glaze central high school marching band where you see he is seriously stealing the show. And keeping up with everybody. So clearly he has rehearsed a long time with them, and look at him. Shy, he is not. All right, you go.

Now, for the high school take it very seriously with their marching band. This looks like college material. But it's a high school. How fun. And he's cute.

All right, thanks so much. We have much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead with my colleague Don Lemon. There he is.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: How cute is that kid?

WHITFIELD: Wasn't he a cutie pie?

LEMON: He is. He looks like he's doing a little Fredricka dance.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's my move right there.

LEMON: How old is he?

WHITFIELD: He's five.

LEMON: Did you teach little John to do that and the twins?

WHITFIELD: I don't have to teach little John anything. He's out there, you know, doing this whole, you know, sprinkler move. You name it. He's not a shy kid at all. He's got all kinds of interesting dance moves, you know. He is like breaks out and starts break dancing sometimes. We're like, where did you learn that from?

LEMON: I know where he got it. And he got it from that person right there in the red dress. OK, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEMON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Bye-bye.

LEMON: Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: Bye.

LEMON: Bye. Roll the open.

I'm having too much fun here with Fredricka Whitfield.