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Obama Moves to Rein in the NSA; Search for School Shooting Suspect; Christie Headlines Fundraisers in Obama; Polls Show Voters Still Trust Gov. Christie; Obama Puts New Restrains on NSA; Dozens on Cruise Sickened with Stomach Bug; Killing Rhino to Save Them; Is Pope Francis Open to Exorcism?; Interview with John Lithgow and Alfred Molina; First Lady Michelle Obama Turns 50; Man Faces Trial for Flagging Speed Trap
Aired January 18, 2014 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to have much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead. In fact the next hour begins right now, the 1:00 Eastern hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Good to see you. Here are the top stories that we are following in the NEWSROOM.
New reforms have been laid out for the NSA's hotly debated surveillance methods. Critics say the reforms are not enough. What the changes mean for your privacy.
And people were furious when a hunter paid $350,000 for a permit to kill a black rhino. Now that man is giving his reason for bidding on the permit.
And Pope Francis has taken the world by surprise and taking the post as the head of the Catholic Church now. Some people think he also performed an exorcism. That story coming up.
The National Security Agency will keep saving records on your phone calls or e-mails at least for now. President Obama made that clear yesterday as he laid out a number of proposed reforms at the NSA.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ridiculed the president's modest proposals as, quote, "embarrassing."
CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty joins us now from Washington with the latest reaction to the president's reformed proposals -- Sunlen.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, these proposals are really helped to -- supposed to reassure Americans that are worried about potential privacy concerns and while there will be some added safeguards, that controversial bulk data collection program is sticking around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY (voice-over): The NSA reforms are meant to reassure.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States is not spying on ordinary people who don't threaten our national security.
SERFATY: Because there are people who do, the president says the surveillance program needs to stick around.
OBAMA: These efforts have prevented multiple attacks and saved innocent lives.
SERFATY: But to answer those wary of potential privacy abuses, the president proposed changing, but not ending NSA'S controversial bulk collection of phone numbers, times and lengths of calls.
Effective immediately, NSA analysts will now have to get court approval to tap into the data and he's recommending moving storage of those records out of the government's hands and into a third party's control. Potentially to phone companies.
OBAMA: This will not be simple. More work needs to be done to determine exactly how the system might work.
SERFATY: But he's punted hammering out the details to Congress. And before the government is given permission to look at phone records, he is proposing a new panel of independent advocates to argue against the government. In front of the Secret Foreign Surveillance Court.
A public voice that could include the ACLU.
ANTHONY ROMERO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU: A panel of advocates, privacy advocates, would ensure that they kick the tires on the issues, to make sure that the government has explained the reason why it wants the data.
SERFATY: But former NSA general counsel Stewart Baker says too many cooks in the intel kitchen will hurt.
STEWART BAKER, FORMER NSA GENERAL COUNSEL: It is another layer. It will slow things down. In many cases, it won't be needed.
SERFATY: Also scaled back, the president says unless there is a national security reason, the U.S. will no longer eavesdrop on friendly heads of state and world leaders.
OBAMA: Close friends and allies deserve to know that if I want to know what they think about an issue, I'll pick up the phone and call them rather than turning to surveillance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY: And critics of the president say that it was too short on specifics and really left too many of those details up to Congress to work on. And Capitol Hill is still very divided over so many of these issues, so it's really not clear, Fred, when, if at all, these changes will actually get made -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Sunlen. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
All right. So much more about this important issue coming up in just about 15 minutes or so from now. We'll debate privacy versus security with a civil rights attorney and a former head of Homeland Security in New York state.
All right. Governor Chris Christie in Florida helping to raise money for GOP governors. But what does that mean? Has he escaped the bridge scandal that he left behind in New Jersey? We'll have more on that later on.
And in Southern California, firefighters are scrambling to put on a fast growing wildfire east of Los Angeles. It's only 30 percent contained right now.
The Colby Fire underscores the severe drought across most of the state. The governor issued an emergency Friday and urged Californians to cut back on their water usage.
And in about an hour from now, family and friends will say good-bye today to a man shot and killed inside a movie theatre after a texting dispute.
Chad Oulsen's funeral is scheduled for today in Land O' Lakes, Florida. He was shot on Monday. His wife, Nicole, was injured. Retired police officer, 71-year-old Curtis Reeves is charged with his second-degree murder and held without bail. Police say Oulsen was texting his daughter's babysitter during movie previews when Reeves told Oulsen to put away his phone. Officers say the argument ended with that shooting.
Philadelphia Police are searching right now for the suspect in yet another school shooting. Investigators issued an arrest warrant this morning, a day after two students were shot at a high school gym. Both of them are expected to be OK, thankfully.
Nick Valencia is joining me now with more on the investigations. So what more do we know about this situation?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police are troubled right now because this juvenile suspect in this shooting, the alleged suspect, was supposed to turn himself in this morning. That didn't happen and at this hour, police are still waiting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA (voice-over): Police are on the hunt this morning for a young man who pulled a gun in a Philadelphia high school Friday afternoon, shooting two students in the arm.
LT. JOHN STANFORD, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: One student is a female. Approximately 15 years of age. The other student is a male student, approximately 15 years of age. And as I said, both students are in stable condition.
VALENCIA: The suspect is believed to have been in the gym with seven other students at the Delaware Valley Charter High School. The school was placed on lockdown immediately following the shooting and while one 17-year-old student was initially ID'd as the gunman, he has since been cleared and released.
Outside the school Friday, parents were anxiously awaiting word that their kids were OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am just still flabbergasted about how a child or whoever was able to bring a gun to school. I just want to know that. Just tell me. If you can tell me how that happened, I'm good.
VALENCIA: The incident was captured on surveillance video and investigators are reviewing the tape. As of late Friday, police were still looking for the weapon. Now they have one message for the shooter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come turn yourself in. Get it over with now. Come and turn yourself in because we are going to do the processing that we need to, looking at the video. Interviewing witnesses. And we're going to come get you in custody.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA: Initially, there were three persons of interest. Two have been questioned by police and released. Police right now are still waiting for that juvenile to turn himself in and as you mentioned, though, those two students who were shot, Fred, nonlife threatening injuries. They're expected to survive.
WHITFIELD: That's good. And so this young suspect, they know who this person is.
VALENCIA: They do.
WHITFIELD: Did he go to the school?
VALENCIA: We don't know those details. We know that he was in the gymnasium at the time. We know that he was friends with other students, especially those that were questioned in this alleged shooting, but we don't know too many details. We do know that police know a lot more than they're releasing to us -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.
VALENCIA: You bet.
WHITFIELD: All right. The FBI is joining in the search for "Wall Street Journal" reporter David Byrd, who's been missing. He vanished last Saturday after going for a walk. His family says he left without his cell phone or the medication that he takes twice a day following a liver transplant nine years ago.
Byrd's sister-in-law says the family is baffled by unconfirmed reports that his credit card may have been used in Mexico.
And new developments in the case of an autistic teenager who disappeared in New York City back in October. A lawyer for the teen's family told CNN that body parts were found next to the East River in Queens. Police believe it could be Avonte Oquendo. He went missing from his school in October and cannot communicate verbally. His mother will provide investigators with her DNA so that they can determine whether the remains are those of her child.
And a group of passengers who were aboard an Asiana Airlines flight that crashed last summer at San Francisco's airport are now suing the aircraft maker, Boeing. The suit claims that pilots got inadequate low airspeed warnings due to the equipment insulation error and defects that Boeing knew about. Boeing declined CNN's request for comments.
And government forces in South Sudan have retaken a key town of Bohr from rebels according to the town's mayor. The mayor fears even more civilian casualties than the hundreds killed when rebels held the town previously in December.
And Chris Christie is in Florida helping to raise money for Republicans. Has the scandal in New Jersey hurt his popularity?
And President Obama announces big changes for the NSA. How will it affect all of our privacy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Chris Christie is in Florida for several fundraisers as chair of the Republican Governors Association. GOP governors are hoping his star power turns into campaign cash.
Tory Dunnan is in Orlando.
So, Tory, is the bridge scandal and the federal probe of he spent Sandy relief money following him to Florida?
TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Fred, I talked to one woman who was inside during this fundraising event. She is in there when Governor Christie was there as well as Florida's governor and she said not once, never did any of the talk about these scandals come up.
I just mentioned that these are all-closed door fundraisers that are taking place today and Chris Christie's here in the state of Florida to fund raise for Rick Scott. But also for the Republican Governors Association.
Here's actually what Rick Scott had to say a few days ago about Christie's trip down here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: I know Chris. You know, he did the right thing. He apologized. He went to the community and apologized, so I look forward to seeing him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DUNNAN: So, Fred, up next is a trip where he heads to West Palm Beach for another fundraiser and then he's going to be in Ft. Lauderdale a little bit later on today, but this is really the first time that members of his own party are going to have the opportunity to ask him questions. Any questions they may want about these scandals that obviously are taking over the news right now.
WHITFIELD: All right, and then, how is he going to spend the rest of the -- the remaining weekend?
DUNNAN: So the big event is going to be on Sunday. That's in North Palm Beach. And this is called a donor outreach event. Basically what that means is there are potential donors there who are just there to meet Chris Christie. And that could be big if he decides to run in 2016. Important to point out that that fundraiser is going to be happening at the cofounder of Home Depot's house, Ken Langone's home. And he's also a billionaire.
CNN has been able to talk to him about this event and what he said is that actually the popularity of the event has gone up since the scandal from 200 people to 500 people. Now possibly more than that. He's saying people are calling and basically giving their opinions on how Chris Christie has acted during this thing, that they're impressed with the way he's handled this situation, but tomorrow is going to be a big test for him in terms of fundraising abilities down the line.
WHITFIELD: All right, Tory Dunnan. Thanks so much in Orlando.
So before the New Jersey bridge scandal, it almost seemed like Governor Christie could do no wrong. His plain spoken style hit a note with voters and there's been a swirl of speculation that he might make a run for the White House in 2016, but has the scandal changed people's perspectives now?
CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser, looks at the latest numbers.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Fred, first off, do you believe Chris Christie when he said that --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue. In its planning or its execution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: A plurality of Americans say yes. That they mostly believe the Republican governor from New Jersey. According to an NBC News/Marist poll. With about a third say they don't believe Christie and a quarter unsure.
The poll was conducted earlier this week entirely after Christie apologized for the closing of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge last September, which caused massive traffic jams on the New Jersey side of the nation's busiest bridge and entangled the governor in the biggest political controversy of his career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIE: I am who I am, but I am not a bully. (END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Said Christie in response to questions about his brash style of politics. It seems most of you agree. Only a quarter describe Christie as a bully, with nearly half calling him a strong leader.
The Republican governor is seriously considering a run for the White House. The poll suggests that Christie has lost ground to Hillary Clinton in a possible 2016 presidential match-up. They were nearly tied last month. Now he trails her by 13 points in a hypothetical showdown.
Remember, this is just one early poll with multiple investigations underway, this story could change over and over again over the coming weeks and months and that could change your opinion as well -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. So true. Thanks so much, Paul.
All right. President Obama's new restrictions on the NSA. Will changes mean more or less privacy for all of us?
And later, the man who paid big bucks for a chance to kill an endangered rhino. Hear his surprising explanation for his critics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: President Obama announced the restrictions on how much data the NSA will hold on to through phone call monitoring. He also pledged the U.S. would no longer directly spy on world leaders who were allies.
After the president's announcement, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spoke to CNN. He said these changes only came about because of the work of whistleblowers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: It's clear that the president would not be speaking today were it not for the actions of Edward Snowden and whistleblowers before him like Frank Drake and Bini. Those national security whistleblowers have forced this debate. This president has been dragged, kicking and screaming, to today's address. He'd been very reluctant to make any concrete reforms and unfortunately today we also see very few concrete reforms.
What we see is kicking off the ball into the congressional graphs. Kicking it off into panels of lawyers that he will -- that he will instruct to report back at some stage in the future. My greatest concern, I think looking at this broader package, is that there is what was not said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So did Obama go far enough in his reforms? I'm joined now by Michael Balboni, he is the former Homeland Security director for New York state. Good to see you. And Norman Siegel, he's a civil rights attorney and a former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Good to see you as well.
All right. So reviews of these change, these proposals, have been mixed.
And, Norman, let me begin with you. You know, what's your evaluation of what Julian Assange said, particularly at the end there? He says that this is more about what wasn't said.
NORMAN SIEGEL, CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES ATTORNEY: Well, I generally agree with what he said. I was disappointed in the speech and the proposals. I think rhetorical flourishes are not adequate anymore. We have a system where it's in effect a dragnet surveillance of suspicious unless people, which is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
What Obama did do go good --
WHITFIELD: What did you want to hear then?
SIEGEL: Excuse me?
WHITFIELD: What did you want to hear from the president?
SIEGEL: Well, I wanted him to say that we were going to end the bulk metadata information. He did say that he'll end NSA having access to it unless they get a court order, but the FISA court is secret. We shouldn't have secret courts in America. Who's going to appoint the judges and what is going to be the criteria for the public advocate? So there are some serious problems with regard to not having an adversarial system to have the checks and balances on the government's abuse of liberty and privacy.
WHITFIELD: And, Michael, is it your view that the president couldn't go further than this?
MICHAEL BALBONI, FORMER NEW YORK STATE HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR: You know, during the commission on the 9/11 attacks, they came back and they said you've got to connect the dots. Well, that's what the NSA does and now because of a revelation of someone who took an oath and broke it, we now understand that there's a lot more information out there than we ever suspected, yet this is all part of the intelligence community and the way they try to provide the protection for this country.
So frankly, I think the president did a very good job of trying to balance both the legitimate concerns on privacy, but also the need to continue providing security for this nation.
WHITFIELD: So, you know, I wonder, does this mean that there's a victory in this for Edward Snowden? That if he had not revealed these classified information, that we wouldn't even be at this juncture, Norman? SIEGEL: Absolutely. One of the questions is whether or not any of this bulk metadata is even effective. The judge in D.C., Judge Leon, said no. Snowden made this stuff available. Why did it take seven years before the American public learned this? Why did Obama sit on it for five years?
We wouldn't be here today discussing this issue. The speech would not have occurred yesterday and even the incremental changes would not have occurred but for the release of these documents. It's analogous to Daniel Ellsberg in releasing the Pentagon papers. This is what whistleblowers do. Do I think he's a hero? No. Do I think he's a traitor? Absolutely not.
WHITFIELD: And so, Michael, help people understand --
BALBONI: He's a traitor.
WHITFIELD: Yes?
BALBONI: He's a traitor. He's a traitor.
SIEGEL: He's not. Michael, with due respect, he's not.
BALBONI: He didn't go -- he didn't go out and leave the NSA and retire and then come and form an institute to try to reform the NSA. He went out and he put operations at risk, he put the United States at risk. I mean, come on, the guy's a traitor.
(CROSSTALK)
SIEGEL: He's not. He's not a traitor.
WHITFIELD: So might it have been different in your view, if he would have stayed state side and revealed this kind of information, Michael --
BALBONI: Absolutely. Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Your perception would be different.
BALBONI: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And so then, Norman -- Norman, if he would -- have stayed state side, do you believe that the impact would have been as great? What we have right here or is it the fact that he went abroad and looked for comfort abroad, namely, you know, going to China and then now to Russia. As opposed to just staying here in the United States and revealing what he thought was the right thing to do.
SIEGEL: First of all, your premise for comfort. He's not in comfort now. Second, I don't think it would have the same impact. And we know that when whistleblowers blow the whistle, very often they're put in jail and they're disciplined. I think that he is in the context of Americans who engage in civil disobedience. This idea that even Obama said yesterday that there was more noise and there was more heat than light, I disagree with the president on that. Snowden did something that is valuable and we're going to make some changes hopefully because of what Snowden did.
He's not a traitor, Michael. I think you're being too rhetorical and too good.
WHITFIELD: All right. And Michael, last word.
BALBONI: So he didn't -- the president said the review, no systemic abuses. One. Two, he goes to Russia. What's happening with the information? Did they take all the information that's Snowden gave and put it out at once? No. They're leaking it, slowly and surely. And it's not a lot of profound information. It's salacious, sensational. It's designed to embarrass and degrade the ability of the United States security force.
SIEGEL: It's to inform the American public what's going on.
BALBONI: No, that's not the point of it. That's not why Russia's doing this. This is a part of their --
SIEGEL: American public --
BALBONI: -- intelligence efforts to degrade our intelligence forces. This guy should be here in the United States --
SIEGEL: No, it's not. It's to improve our intelligence forces.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: All right.
BALBONI: Hey, Norman, if he believes in the United States why -- and the justice system, then why didn't he take a chance with the courts of the justice system of the United States? You can't have it both ways.
SIEGEL: Very often, it doesn't work.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there, gentlemen.
Michael Balboni and Normal Siegel, thanks to both of you. I appreciate your time.
All right. Still ahead, four NFL teams, four coaches, biting their nails this weekend, hoping big wins tomorrow will send them to the Super Bowl. Wait until you hear what one of the coaches reportedly warned his teammates about in tomorrow's game.
Plus, we'll take you live to Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival. You'll hear from actors John Lithgow and Alfred Molina about their new film, "Love is Strange."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. WHITFIELD: All right. Breaking news involving that school shooting in Philadelphia. Police say the suspect is now in police custody.
Nick Valencia is joining me with the latest.
VALENCIA: So police, I just got off the phone with them, Fredricka, and they told me that the suspect in the shooting that happened yesterday afternoon did turn himself into police about 1:00 p.m. local time, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, just a short time ago. No further details were given about this suspect. We do know that he is a juvenile. His name has not been leased by police because of his age.
Initially, they were looking for three persons of interest. They eliminated two persons of interest during the interview process. They were cleared and released. This guy was supposed to turn himself in earlier this morning. Clearly, that didn't happen. But just a short time ago, he showed up at the police station in northwest Philadelphia, turning himself in without incident alongside his attorney.
That's all we know at this hour -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Very good. Well, I'm sure we'll get more details about the circumstances a bit later on.
VALENCIA: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Nick. Appreciate that.
VALENCIA: You bet.
WHITFIELD: All right. A nightmarish end to a dream vacation. Dozens of passengers got sick on a royal Caribbean cruise.
Christi Paul has more on what caused the stomach bug.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I spent like the whole night on the toilet.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major health scare on the high seas after dozens of passengers on a dream cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas, experienced severe gastrointestinal issues including vomiting and diarrhea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Announcement were in English and in Spanish, they went all morning, all afternoon.
PAUL: Royal Caribbean says the ship arrived in Port Miami, Florida, Friday after four days in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys, then would depart on another cruise as originally scheduled.
Over the course of that sailing, 66 of 2,581 guests and two of 844 crew members experienced the illness, thought to be norovirus. Those affected by the short-lived illness responded well to over the counter medication administered on board the ship. The CDC describes norovirus as a very contagious virus that can be spread by infected persons, contaminated food or water, or through contact with contaminated surfaces.
A new set of passengers, including the Mendoza family, is getting ready to sail after the ship was thoroughly cleaned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are concerned. I mean, we all brought medication and will make sure that we're more cautious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is really scary. I'm surprised they didn't notify anybody that has booked a trip.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Passengers who boarded the ship yesterday were given a letter asking if they had experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days. Those who felt uncomfortable were allowed to reschedule their trip.
All right. Corey Knowlton says he cares about preserving black rhinos. So much so that he's willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for the right to kill one. His argument, the money is donated to black rhino conservation, but his decision is triggering outrage across the world now.
Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Corey Knowlton says he cares so much about the black rhino that he's willing to spend $350,000 of his own money, which is being donated to conservation causes, for the chance to hunt one, but still, to people around the world, this still seems totally illogical.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $350,000. $350,000.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This was the scene inside the Dallas Safari Club auction hall when Corey Knowlton dropped $350,000 for a hunting permit issued by the government of Namibia to hunt a black rhino. It didn't take long for Knowlton to get touted on social media and for the death threats to pour in.
COREY KNOWLTON: I had no idea that it would be this visceral. I had no idea that they would be attacking my 2-year-old daughter and my 7- year-old daughter, and my beautiful young wife and they'd want to kill us all and burn us.
LAVANDERA: Knowlton has hired a private security team while the FBI investigates the threats against him, but instead of hiding, Corey Knowlton says he wants to convince his critics that this hunt will actually help the black rhino population thrive in Namibia.
KNOWLTON: It's a belief system in -- a belief in conversation for me.
LAVANDERA: Knowlton started hunting as a young boy.
KNOWLTON: God bless you, gentlemen. Thank you.
LAVANDERA: Knowlton hosts hunting shows on the Outdoor Channel and he also organizes high-end hunting adventures around the world. Corey Knowlton describes himself as a passionate conservationist and argues that old rhinos that don't reproduce actually threaten to kill other younger rhinos.
KNOWLTON: They are actually the biggest killers in rhinos in the area. And so throughout -- you know, they put this group of experts together, they went out there, they identified them as a problem and they need to be, for lack of a better term, exterminated for the species that continue.
LAVANDERA: But Knowlton faces scathing criticism from other animal rights groups. Critics say these sanctioned hunts will only drive up the price of endangered animals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The message it sends around the world is that Americans will throw money to kill one of the last species. It's saying that this rarity of this animal means it's more valuable dead than alive and that is not going to help conserve the rhino in the long term.
LAVANDERA: Knowlton says he has not scheduled the time to hunt the black rhino in Namibia yet, but he says if the journey goes as planned, it could be the most amazing experience of his life.
KNOWLTON: So to that end, I'm a hunter, I want to experience a black rhino, I want to be there and be a part of it. OK? I believe in the cycle of life. I don't believe that meat, you know, comes from the grocery store. I believe that animal died and I respect it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: This black rhino hunt is authorized by the Namibian government. Every year, that country auctions off up to five of these hunting permits and they say that since this has been done in the last 15 year, the population of the black rhinos have come back from the brink of extinction -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Ed Lavandera.
All right, coming up, we're headed to the Sundance Film Festival where "Third Rock" actor John Lithgow and his buddy Alfred Molina are standing by.
And did the Pope perform an exorcism? That's all straight ahead in our NEWSROOM to your living room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Mortgage rates dipped this week. Take a look.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Not that this happens every day, but when you do think of exorcisms, you might think of the well-known movie, "The Exorcist." Well, now some people are thinking of a modern-day version carried out possibly by Pope Francis? He's getting a lot of attention over this video, which some say shows him performing an exorcism. The Vatican has denied it.
Frederik Pleitgen learns more about this mysterious ritual from Princeton, Italy, who are willing to speak out about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the image many people have of exorcisms. Scenes like this from the 2005 film "The Exorcism of Emily Rose."
But exorcism is very much a reality. People wait outside this church all night in the Italian village in Prunetto. People like filmmaker Lorenzo Raveggi.
"Someone put a curse on me and things started going very badly. I felt bad both physically and psychologically," he says.
Then he shows me items he brought for a blessing. Candles, water and even clothes to keep evil spirits away. People who believe they're possessed come from all over Italy to see this man -- Don Luigi Oropallo.
"The Pope is very open to exorcism," he says.
Last year, some observers thought this video shows Pope Francis performing an exorcism. That created a buzz on social media sites. The Vatican strongly denied that the Pope was performing an exorcism. It said the Pope was conveying blessings.
But something Pope Francis is putting more emphasis on exorcism after the pontiff mentioned the devil in several early sermons, including Andrea Gemma himself an exorcist priest.
"We believe in the existence of the devil," he says, "And Pope Francis from the very beginning has said we must be weary of the devil and the way to defend yourself against the devil is to go through the process of exorcism."
Exorcism simply means ridding a person of demons or curses. Rituals include everything from prayers to blessing items, to using special oils. But critics like priests Don Andrea Rigalli say many misunderstand the true meaning of fighting one's inner demons.
"There's a lot of superstition involved in all this," he says. "The truth is that the liturgical formula does not allow any obscure ritual."
But even though some rituals might deem obscure, people continue to flock to churches like this one in Prunetto in the hope that priests might be able to rid them of the curses and demons they believe they have inside.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in Prunetto, Italy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Two Americans and two British citizens have been killed after a suicide bomber and gunman attacked a restaurant in Kabul, Afghanistan. Nine foreigners and eight Afghans were also killed Friday. The Taliban took responsibility and said it was payback for an air strike this week that killed civilians. Security forces killed the gunman in a shootout.
A big event happening right now in Park City, Utah. It's the Sundance Film Festival. And we'll go there live and talk to two leading actors, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Tonight, a black female cast member joins "Saturday Night Live." Just a few weeks ago, Sasheer Zamata was relatively unknown, but tonight, all eyes will be on the former Upright Citizens Brigade comedian. She's making her big debut along with two new writers, who are also black.
The Sundance Film Festival is now underway in Park City, Utah. One new movie stands out as especially relevant. It's called "Love is Strange" and veteran actors John Lithgow and Alfred Molina portray a gay couple who finally gets married only to have their world turned upside down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALFRED MOLINA, ACTOR, "LOVE IS STRANGE": We have to sell the apartment and we found a buyer already. So pretty soon, we're going to have to move out. Now it won't be long before I get another job and shouldn't be long before we find another apartment, but in the meantime --
JOHN LITHGOW, ACTOR, "LOVE IS STRANGE": It's just a transition phase. Probably just a week or two.
MOLINA: We need to place to stay.
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WHITFIELD: Our Miguel Marquez is covering the Sundance Film Festival for us.
So, Miguel, this film, you know, seems to mirror a real-life story out of Seattle. Explain.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, this is -- you know, this is the toughest gig in the business and there is a real life story out of Seattle which I want to get to, but I want to get to our stars first.
John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, thank you very much for joining us.
(CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ: Love is strange. No matter what sort of love it is. Having to live in someone else's place for a while. This film is about testing the bonds of love, yes? Tell us about it.
LITHGOW: Well, Fred and I play a couple that's been together for 40 years, married in every way except the legal way and they finally do get married, at the very beginning of the film. Now Fred plays a teacher of music at a Catholic school and because of doctrine and rules, he's immediately let go from the school and that sends our lives and the lives of our family and friends into a kind of chaos.
MARQUEZ: Which of course reminds us of real life and the teacher in Seattle, Mark Zmuda. Are you familiar with this?
MOLINA: While we were shooting the movie, we were becoming aware that this very story was happening for real in places all around the country and so we were conscious that the film is somehow now out of the Zeitgeist getaway. It's a very timely story, but as John says, it's not a gay movie. It's really a movie about a universal theme, which is relationships and love and marriage and what holds and what binds people together.
John and I are both fortunate enough, we're both in marriages that have lasted more than 30 years. And we kind of -- we talked a lot while we were filming. So much of that experience was so relevant to the way we were playing these roles.
MARQUEZ: As I was reading about the film, it reminds me of the saying, fish and house guests go bad after about three days.
(LAUGHTER)
It's really about testing the bonds of relationships, not only between the couple, but also amongst friends and everything else and how much love -- the other thing that was interesting about it is that this really is sort of a post-gay marriage fight film. This is something -- this is sort of beyond that. But we happen to be in Utah, where they've just, you know, invalidated gay marriages here. I mean, and you talk about being in the Zeitgeist.
LITHGOW: For people like me who support marriage equality and same- sex marriage, this is a moment of great success, vindication, but it's a fight that is far from over. There are still so many people who are very uncomfortable with this and in a way we didn't set out to do a comical film. We're not sending a message. In a way, we're simply doing a character study about a marriage and a beautiful marriage.
A long and relationship to be celebrated, but the fact that it's a same-sex marriage, I don't think this story has been told in this way, which is a -- it is a way which I think can make a mainstream audience just that little bit more accepting.
MARQUEZ: And you don't see a lot of older gay men or relationships portrayed in the media, but for younger people, gay and straight, the whole gay marriage thing, it's the new civil rights movement.
MOLINA: And also, I mean, you don't see many movies about relationships at this end of the age spectrum.
(CROSSTALK)
MOLINA: And it's -- so it's nice that we're looking at a relationship towards the let's say in the autumn or the early winter of their lives and there's a kind of real -- what I loved about it was that all the same preoccupations, all the same concerns, all the same compromises and sort of fights that you have when you're -- when you're just married, things that are exactly the same when you've been together for 30 years.
LITHGOW: Yes. There's a lot of prickliness and discord but it's real.
MOLINA: Yes.
LITHGOW: It's real.
MARQUEZ: Well, the scene that they showed at the top of this thing with, you know, the discomforts you have in asking friends and you end up --
LITHGOW: Yes.
MARQUEZ: One of you ends up staying with gay cops next door.
MOLINA: Yes. That's my best -- my character ends up staying with his friends next door who are a gay couple, young. Both of them New York policemen.
LITHGOW: And I stay with my nephew and his wife, Darren Burrows and Marissa Tomei.
MARQUEZ: And Marissa Tomei.
LITHGOW: And their teenage son and my presence -- you can imagine having a 68-year-old queen just lying in your son's bunk bed. You know? It just disrupts everything. As much as they love us, I mean -- our little circle of family and friends are completely devoted and loyal to us. So --
MARQUEZ: The film opens tonight here in Sundance in Park City. What is it like to be part of the madness here -- in the official madness of Park City?
LITHGOW: Wow. It's my first.
MARQUEZ: Really?
LITHGOW: I've been hearing about it for years and it's incredible. You're swept along. That's why we almost missed this interview.
(LAUGHTER) MARQUEZ: We don't talk about that on live air.
MOLINA: But I tell you, it's only my second time. My first time actually was last year. So it's been -- you know, this is the place. But I love it.
MARQUEZ: Gentlemen, thank you very much. Very good luck to you. It's very nice to meet you.
MOLINA: Thank you.
MARQUEZ: Fred, I'm going to send it back to you for now.
WHITFIELD: All right. Very fun stuff. Thank you so much, gentlemen. Appreciate it.
All right. In Washington, D.C., the first lady turned 50. We'll give you a sneak peek at her birthday celebration right after this.
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WHITFIELD: The first lady is now 50. Her birthday was yesterday, and Michelle Obama has decided to celebrate with gusto. She's having a huge bash tonight at the White House.
CNN's Athena Jones tells us what to expect at the big party.
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ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you're a fan of the first lady -- it's the hottest ticket in town. An invitation to a White House dance party Saturday night to celebrate Michelle Obama's 50th birthday. And if you're picturing something like this --
OBAMA: My better half and my dance partner.
JONES: Instead think a little "Saturday Night Fever." After all, while the first lady may be tweeting about joining the AARP, she's known for her dancing prowess and the party's host, the president, has told guests to wear comfortable shoes because even with two Ivy League degrees --
KATHERINE SKIBA, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": She's got a really fun-loving streak. She loves to dance, she loves music, and why not -- you know, you only turn 50 once so why not make the most of it.
JONES: We've seen some of the first lady's moves before. Here she is doing "The Dougie" on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" last year and showing more moves with talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres back in 2008.
Saturday's celebration is set to last from 9:00 p.m. until midnight and it's being dubbed snacks and sips and dancing and dessert.
LYNN SWEET, COLUMNIST, "CHICAGO SUN TIMES": My guess, it won't be a cast of thousands. It might be big but not super big. JONES: The White House is making a special request that will affect how much guests can share about the event.
SWEET: Here's what's interesting about the invite to this late-night party for Mrs. Obama. The invitation does say no camera, no photographs. Well, I've covered many receptions at the White House and even big shots like to take pictures.
JONES: The Obama's inauguration after-party last year drew the likes of Usher, Katy Perry and Beyonce who is rumored to be performing at Saturday's event.
Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Well, happy birthday to the first lady.
All right. Perhaps you ask every now and then, whatever happened to this person or to that issue?
Well, chief business correspondent Christine Romans flashes back to the '80s in a preview of "YOUR MONEY."
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Remember the '80s? Remember the leg warmers and the power ballads? Do you remember Reaganomics? Whatever happened to trickle down? Why are record corporate profits not leading to better jobs with higher pay?
I'm going to go one-on-one with Newt Gingrich next on a brand new "YOUR MONEY."
WHITFIELD: All right. Very good. Thanks so much, Christine.
All right. Now to that Texas man who got charged for warning drivers of a speed trap ahead. He claims he was trying to help police by urging drivers to slow down, but they didn't buy it. Now he faces trial.
Here's Jason Whitley from our affiliate from WFAA.
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JASON WHITLEY, WFAA REPORTER: An approaching officer demanded he drop it. No weapon, just a sign, which read, "police ahead." Warning drivers of the speed trap these two Frisco officers set up minutes earlier.
Are you against these speed traps?
RON MARTIN, ARRESTED FOR PUTTING UP SIGN "POLICE AHEAD": Absolutely not. I think that it's very important for officers to actually be on the street and enforce laws.
WHITLEY: Police arrested Ron Martin last October along El Dorado Parkway near Preston Road. Wednesday he went to court.
MARTIN: Ultimately we're trying do the exact same thing. I'm just not wearing a police uniform. I'm pretty much the same thing as a speed limit sign or just reminding people that there is a limit here and --
WHITLEY: So but yours say police ahead. You actually say the officers cover it up.
MARTIN: Correct. If people are still speeding in the area they're not paying attention to the actual speed limit sign.
WHITLEY: Martin says he wants people to drive slower through his community. Officers, too. Still, Frisco Police cited him for violating the sign ordinance, which says the person holding the sign has to be on private property. Martin was in the median. Besides, he argues, this ordinance doesn't apply since he is not a business.
Officially Frisco Police don't want to talk about this case until courts settle it first and it is going to trial next month, February 21st, and Martin has pleaded not guilty.
Frisco police say they've seen Martin before, at least twice, doing the same thing. But other cities already warn drivers of traffic enforcement, he says. The issue is bigger than a simple sign along a busy road, Martin insists. It's free speech. Convincing a court of that, though, is another story.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks to Jason Whitley on that report.
All right. It's awards season, Hollywood. And tonight it's the Screen Actors Guild and it's handing out the hardware. A live report from the red carpet coming up at 3:00 Eastern Time.
Plus, actress Rita Moreno will be receiving a lifetime SAG Award. The actress dishes on her life off the screen with Marlon Brando and the king, Elvis Presley.
It's an '80s flashback that you don't want to miss. Christine Romans tackling trickle-down economics with Newt Gingrich.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
