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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Pope Francis Gets To Work; Pope Francis' First Day On The Job; A Pope Of Firsts; Another Carnival Cruise Nightmare; New York State Shooting Spree; Working Parents are Stressed Out

Aired March 14, 2013 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: -- a question a lot of people are asking is what do we know about Jorge Mario Bergoglio and what will his papacy mean for the Catholic Church? We have discovered from all over the place.

Miguel Marquez and Jim Bitterman reporting from Rome this morning and Shasta Darlington is in Buenos Aires where Argentines know the new pontiff simply as Father Jorge.

Our coverage begins with Miguel Marquez live from Rome this morning. Good morning, Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. One thing we do know for sure about Pope Francis is Rome is pretty darn crazy about him. The national newspapers here check this out, thank you, Roma. He thanked them for coming out, wished them well.

This is the coolest one. Even the newspapers here are beautiful, in Latin today for this newspaper, but the moment that he was named out there in that crowd of 150,000 people, the grandeur of it, unforgettable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The anticipation intense. The crowd 150,000 strong, jammed into St. Peter's Square. White smoke billowed and the largest bell in the basilica signalled the election of a new pope. And within minutes, the square filled to capacity and then --

(on camera): This is the moment, the moment that the tens of thousands of people gathered here in the square have been waiting for. It's electrifying. It's an extraordinary moment. Look this way. Look at the cameras, snapping a picture of the new pope!

(voice-over): Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis. He asked the crowds to pray for his predecessor, Pope Benedict. Then, in a dramatic and touching moment, he asked for a silent prayer.

From the massive crowd, not a word, not a sound, the prayer, he said, was for him, to help him in his new role.

(on camera): A 100,000 people, probably more, and the silence. LAURA HIDDEMEN, WITNESS: I know. I was shocked too, definitely. I think it's just -- you're in the moment. You wanted that one curtain to drop and see who it was.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): For his fellow Argentines, it's a moment not only for their country, but the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a very humble person. Everybody in Argentina knows that. He doesn't use a car. He uses the metro, the subway. He doesn't like to be -- call himself monsignor, his eminence. Just Jorge Mario -- the maximum you can call him is "Father."

MARQUEZ: A humble man about to embark on an extraordinary journey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Perhaps the most telling moment of the night was when this humble man came back out on to the balcony almost sheepishly and thanked people for coming out, almost embarrassed that they were there. Bid them, have a good night, and safe travels home. Really sweet. Back to you.

BERMAN: Miguel, he did it with a smile that almost seemed to melt the masses. Miguel Marquez in Rome this morning. Our thanks to you.

MARQUEZ: He's a funny guy.

BERMAN: A funny pope. All right, Miguel, thanks very much -- Zoraida.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: I would agree. He has a sense of humor. He's also a pope of firsts. The man who now sits on St. Peters throne is already gaining a reputation as a humble man who likes to do things his own way. Here's Jim Bittermann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Let us begin this journey.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His journey began Wednesday when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected the lead of the Catholic Church. He's the first non-European pope since the 8th Century and the first pope ever from South America.

He will be called Pope Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Bergoglio was born on December 17th, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the son of an Italian immigrant, a railway worker. He had four brothers and sisters.

He studied to become a chemist before receiving a call to the priesthood. The 76-year-old was ordained a Jesuit in December of 1969 and has served as archbishop of Buenos Aires. He was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 21st, 2001.

Bergoglio is said to have been the runner-up in the 2005 conclave. And in 2013, he was the oldest of the possible candidates, barely mentioned as a top pick. Some fellow Argentines are looking forward to his new chapter in the Catholic Church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we will move forward. Hopefully make some good changes. Hopefully he will be similar to John Pope II in some ways in being very progressive. We'll just have to wait and see.

BITTERMAN: Bergoglio is the 266th bishop of Rome, leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. But to many, he's known as simply Father Jorge. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: That was Jim Bittermann. We want to talk more now about Pope Francis and the new challenges facing him going forward. We're joined again by John Allen, CNN senior Vatican analyst and Father Edward Beck, a CNN contributor there in Rome for us this morning.

You know, during this type of time we talk a lot about miracles. One of the miracles is that you guys are still conscious after the amount of work you've been doing. So I do thank you both for joining us this morning.

John, let me start with you. Because one of the striking things about yesterday was your surprised, frankly, you are shocked when Cardinal Bergoglio took the name Pope Francis. It made me wonder. What did those first few actions of this pope mean, do you think, about what he will do going forward?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Well, you're absolutely right, John. I mean, you know, this is a pope of firsts in many ways. You ticked off the first, but to me the most remarkable first is he is the first pope to take the name St. Francis. This may be a slightly insider Catholic thing.

I think you have to have grown up in a Catholic environment to get this all at once. But there are sort of two faces to the Catholic Church in a way. There's the face of the institution, which is the face of the bureaucracy and power and social influence and wealth and all that.

And then there's the other face, the face of the gospel, the face of closeness to the people, particularly the poor and suffering. For Catholics, iconically, that second phase of the church is represented by St. Francis of Assisi.

So for the new pope to make his very first decision -- remember, John, the way it works inside the conclave is as soon as the pope gets two- thirds of the candidate gets two-thirds of the vote, a cardinal comes to him and asks, do you accept your election. When he says yes, at that moment he becomes the pope.

The second question is, by what name will you be known? Meaning this is his very first decision as pope and his first decision was to embrace the second face of the church and try to put that institutional powerful face of the church and that humble closeness to people face back together again. To me, John, it's a whole program of a governance in a name.

BERMAN: Father Beck, let me ask this of you. What do you think that Americans can expect to see? People here in the United States, the Catholics here, what can they expect to see, what do they want to see from this pope going forward?

FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, we've heard a lot about we want a reforming pope, right? We want a change in image, a change in perspective. Certainly we do get that in Pope Francis. Just think about the fact that the papacy used to be like a coronation. You would have the pope crowned.

He would be like over the futile system. This pope, though, will not have any of those trappings, it seems. We've gotten away from all of that. The humility represented in this man is stunning from what John was saying. I think what we're going to see is all of the critique of the wealth of the Vatican and not in touch with the common person.

I think we're going to see a Pope Francis who wants to be more in touch with the common person. We heard that he rode the buses in Argentina. I'm not sure he's going to be able to ride the buses here, obviously. It will be interesting to see how will he make that connection and keep that connection that has been so important to him in the past.

BERMAN: John, what do you think he needs to do in the next couple of months? What are the first few actions you expect him to take?

ALLEN: Well, first of all, he's projected an image of humility and closeness to the people. I think we're all going to be watching for the follow-through there. You know, will there be additional changes in papal style, as Father Ed said, will he tone down the pomp and circumstance.

Then there are the hard governance questions waiting for him because let's face it, there are some unfinished business from Benedict's papacy waiting for Pope Francis to take up, leading the recovery t from the child sexual abuse scandals that have dawned in the Catholic Church.

Will he enforce accountability and not just for priests who abuse, but for bishops who covered it up. That's one thing that critics would like to see. In terms of financial transparency in the Vatican, will he push forward the reform that began under Pope Benedict.

The most important thing he needs to do is build on that performance of his first five minutes on the public stage last night. If he can keep striking that tone the world is going to continue to fall in love with this man.

BERMAN: That is what we will be watching for. John Allen, Father Edward Beck, thank you so much for your hard work and thanks again for joining us this morning.

SAMBOLIN: When Pope Francis is formally installed last week Vice President Biden will lead the U.S. delegation to the Vatican. President Obama says the selection of the first Latin American pope highlights the strength and vitality of a region that's increasingly shaping our world. It's also energized American Catholics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ran from work and I'm like, I have to come to the church. I work a couple of blocks down. I have to come to the church and thank God that we have this pope that we are not alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's exciting for the Catholic Church especially in America to have a South American cardinal named pope. That's good for anyone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Especially he's a man of the people, raised poor, rode buses so they made a wise choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: House Speaker John Boehner who is also Catholic calls the election of a non-European pope a big step in the right direction for the church.

Coming up in our next half, we're going to speak with Ann Barrett Doyle, she is co-director of a watch dog group, "The Documents Sexual Abuse Within The Church." Her thoughts on Pope Francis and how she hopes he will address the scandal.

BERMAN: It's 10 minutes after the hour right now, developing story at this very minute, another Carnival Cruiseliner apparently having some trouble. This time it's the Carnival Dream, which is docked right now in St. Maarten in Eastern Caribbean.

Several passengers have contacted CNN complaining of nightmare conditions. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): The bathrooms are not working. They're backing up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (via telephone): The toilets are backing up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Go ahead. You said the elevators?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The elevators have not been working. They've been turning them on and off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: When told about the complaints, a Carnival representative told CNN he was not aware of the problems. Several calls since to the cruise line have gone answered. Last month thousands of passengers were stranded on board the Carnival Cruiseship Triumph for four days. That ship was towed closely to shore. I guess the good news here is we believe this ship in St. Maarten is docked right now. So it may not be same type of problems.

SAMBOLIN: Not as bad. We're continuing to check that for you.

BERMAN: Right now, there is a tense standoff under way between police and a gunman suspected of killing four people and blowing up his own house.

SAMBOLIN: We are live at the scene coming up. You are watching EARLY START.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Deb, what's happening right now?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, right now, Zoraida, this is really a waiting game. The standoff began early yesterday afternoon.

The police still don't have the suspect in custody. He's 64-year-old Kurt Myers, a local man who had never been in trouble before by all accounts. He had a DUI about 40 years ago.

But the building just behind me down the block there, and to situate you, this is main street that we're on right now, and it's right by the police and the fire stations. He has been barricaded inside an empty store for the last 16 hours. Police are preceding very cautiously after he went on yesterday morning's early morning rampage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: The police believe they have him in a location in the building that was just discussed, however, until he is apprehended, until the police are sure, we suggest that people in the immediate vicinity remain in their homes and stay in a safe place and stay off the streets in the meantime.

JOSEPH D'AMICO, NEW YORK STATE POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: At this time, you know, basically we're concerned about officer safety. So, we're in no rush to bring this to a conclusion. We want to make sure no one else gets injured today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, it is very cold. It is very windy. Snow has been kicking up all night. Sharpshooters are on the scene as well as SWAT teams, police officers have various agencies.

But the shooting began yesterday about 9:30. Kurt Myers allegedly set his own home on fire. Police later discovered other guns inside that home. He then went to a nearby barber shop, killed two people, injuring two others. And then went over to a jiffy lube where he opened fire on two others. No motive as to what triggered this, why he is doing this. Police have been trying to make contact with him throughout the evening. They've been using bullhorns to try to get inside.

Initially, there had been reports that they were going to use some sort of tear gas. But right now, they still have that building under surveillance. That is the target. They're just waiting for either him to come out or for an opportunity for them to go in -- Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: All right. We appreciate the update. Deb Feyerick, reporting live -- thank you.

BERMAN: Sixteen minutes after the hour right now.

We have been just plain ridiculous pictures to show you right now. California sky diver who survived a fall to earth after two parachutes --

SAMBOLIN: Look, look.

BERMAN: He said he was going to be jumping out of airplanes again by end of the month.

What happened there, Craig Stapleton's main chute got tangled up last Sunday while he was diving over California. His backup parachute also got tangled up. He began to spin.

He hit the ground at 30 miles an hour. That is pretty fast. And what's worse, he hit the ground just a few feet from iron stakes that hold up grapevines at a local vineyard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG STAPLETON, SKYDIVER: I landed parallel to the grapes. One of my last thoughts before I hit was, I really hope I don't hit an iron spike because it will be messy. I knew it was bad when I was living it.

And when I saw the video I was like, wow, that's a lot worse than I thought. How did I walk away from that? How did I manage to survive?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Really short of a miracle there.

BERMAN: It really is. What's miraculous is he suffered only a separated shoulder and some bumps and bruises.

SAMBOLIN: You know, I jumped with Golden Knights and I was scared to death. I would never, ever, ever jump again if I was that gentleman.

BERMAN: Wow, look at you, skydiver.

SAMBOLIN: No, no, no, I was scared to death. I can't imagine surviving something like that and saying, hey, I'm going to go back up again next week. BERMAN: Still, I find you impressive.

SAMBOLIN: Yes, thank you.

All right. So how long is your commute to work, 15, 20 minutes or is it much, much, much longer? There's a growing number of what experts are calling extreme commuters in major cities across the country.

BERMAN: Christine Romans is here to tell us all about that in this morning's education of "Road Warriors."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And they are extreme, extreme commuters.

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

ROMANS: And they can be seen in most major cities traveling upwards of 90 minutes to work each way. According to a study by the NYU Rudin Center, extreme commuting is on the rise, especially in Texas. In fact, in both Dallas and Houston, super commuters make up 13 percent of the workforce.

Now, despite driven by the economy, the study authors saying more Americans are opting for marathon commutes because they're taking advantage of higher salaries in one area and lower housing costs in another. Super commuters typically make less than $40,000 a year. The NYU study also finds some extreme commuters are stuck, unable to sell their homes while others would rather work far from home than uproot their families.

Contributing to the trend are mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops. They make it much easier to connect to the office while on the way to work or working from home.

OK. The fastest growing super commuter community included not only Houston and Dallas but New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. And the fastest growing super commuting trek, John Berman, Boston to New York. That is a super commute

BERMAN: That's beyond 90 minutes. I mean, you're dealing --

ROMANS: That's insanity.

BERMAN: That is.

You know, I talked to people in Scranton, Pennsylvania, or far out from coming in here and that's far.

ROMANS: It's far. And you're sensitive to gas prices. You're saving on housing or you're getting a higher salary, don't want to up root your kids from a good school district but the gas prices, so sensitive to gas prices.

SAMBOLIN: I had a girlfriend from Chicago used to come in from Wisconsin. It would take an hour and a half every single day. But you do what you have to do, right? BERMAN: You do what you have to do.

SAMBOLIN: Thank you.

ROMANS: All right.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Look across the breakfast table right now.

BERMAN: Whether you're looking at a mother or a father you are looking at one stressed out person. We will take a closer look.

SAMBOLIN: Can I say especially a mom, or no?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We're minding your business this morning.

Stock futures are pointing up. That means it could be another record high and this would be the 10th -- 10th straight win we've had on Wall Street. We haven't had a streak that good since, wow, 1996.

SAMBOLIN: And also this morning, a major study showing the roles moms and dads play. And in this day and age, it's more of an "all hands on deck" attitude.

But parents are still stressed out.

Christine Romans has all the details.

ROMANS: This fits into this national debate we've been having about women at work and men at home, women at home, men at work, the whole shebang. It's Pew Research examining what it was like in 1965 of male and female roles in the workplace and at home, and today.

I want to show you today how men and women are spending their time according to this very, very deep Pew analysis. Look at this. Mothers today, 21 percent of their hours are work, 18 hours housework, 14 hours of child care.

Look at fathers. Fathers are working more than women are but they're starting to spend more time on housework and a little bit more time on child care. That's vastly different from a generation ago.

So, how are they feeling about it, the work-life balance? What are they saying about it?

Well, working mothers, no surprise, 56 percent of them say, it's pretty difficult or very difficult for them to manage it all. They are stressed out. Working dads, it's about 50 percent.

So we're changing our roles and we're stressed out about it and we're also conflicted about how much time we're spending with our kids. We want to spend more time with our kids -- both genders want to spend more time with their kids.

(CROSSTALK) ROMANS: It's interesting, right? So women are working more outside of the house but they're not giving them -- themselves as much grief as fathers seem to be, 46 percent of them.

So I also found what was very interesting about this study and I'll put it on Facebook and tweet it out so people can look at the nuances of it. But I found it interest that men and women both said they feel pretty good about the job other doing overall.

SAMBOLIN: Oh, really?

ROMANS: They are stressed out. They want to spend more time with their kids. Men are doing more house work. Women are working more hours outside the home.

But overall, they feel like they're getting it all done.

SAMBOLIN: Well, maybe they compare it to how they were raised, right? And it's just so different now.

ROMANS: It really is very, very different.

SAMBOLIN: What is the one thing we need to know about our money?

ROMANS: The housing recovery, new element showing you that the housing market is moving forward. RealtyTrac says the numbers of homes repossessed by the banks, these are those foreclosures where the sheriff comes, the lowest level since 2007.

SAMBOLIN: Oh, that is a cause for celebration.

ROMANS: Yes, but most states including California, Georgia, Arizona, the places hit hardest by the housing crisis, you really those bank repossession dropped the lowest level since 2007. That's very good news.

BERMAN: Excellent.

SAMBOLIN: Thank you.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

SAMBOLIN: Twenty-six minutes past the hour.

Coming up, so-called study drugs under the microscope. It's a warning for any parent who was given their child ADHD medicine to try to give them a bit of an edge.

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