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CNN Sunday Morning
16 Killed in Helicopter Crash Near Kandahar; Video Shows Captured American Soldier
Aired July 19, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING for July the 19th. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for being with us.
It is 9:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 8:00 in Nashville, 6:00 a.m. for those waking up in Sacramento. Thanks for starting your day.
All right. We got a lot of breaking news to get to. Let's get right to it especially out of Afghanistan.
We understand, a civilian contracted helicopter has crashed at a Kandahar Air Field today. This is according to NATO. Sixteen of the 17 people on board have been killed.
I'm going to take you live to Afghanistan and CNN's Ivan Watson who has the latest on this story.
What do you know, Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you said, 16 people killed, five hospitalized. A NATO spokesman at Kandahar Air Field are not telling right now the nationalities of these passengers. They're only saying that none of them, Betty, were military personnel. They say that the helicopter crashed shortly before noon local time while taking off, a pretty terrible accident.
We visited that airfield just a few days ago. There's an incredible amount of air traffic there. Helicopters of all different types, big planes as well, cargo, that is the main logistics hub for southern Afghanistan for the NATO operation here. And "The Associated Press" is going on to report that this is a Mi-8 chopper, that's a Russian-made helicopter, owned by the Vertikal Aviation Company. It's a private contracting company.
And, Betty, this is really difficult, because this is the third helicopter or plane accident in just a few days. Because also today, we're getting U.S. military helicopter made an emergency landing in the eastern province of Kumar in Afghanistan, and yesterday, we had an F-15E Strike Eagle crashed into the ground in central Afghanistan. Both two members on board killed.
Now, when we've asked spokesmen both for NATO and the U.S. military, what are the causes of these crashes, they've all insist, none of these three incidents involved hostile fire. They insist no hostile fire is involved, but they cannot give us any explanation so far as to why these three aircrafts have crashed. Two lethal accidents, and in the case of that emergency helicopter landing in eastern Afghanistan, we are hearing that the passengers on board were being treated, were being given medical care after that crash.
No explanation if it is due to climate. If it is due to extreme heat here or were due to technical malfunctions -- Betty?
NGUYEN: Yes. It is very curious that three crashes in the past two days. The latest being that civilian helicopter where 16 people have died as a result of it according to NATO. Ivan Watson joining us live from Afghanistan -- thank you, Ivan.
HOLMES: Well, a video has surfaced that appears to show a missing American soldier in Afghanistan. The Taliban is claiming to be holding the man. Let's take a look at it here.
"The Associated Press" reporting that U.S. military officials confirm this is the American soldier who has been missing since June 30th. No name has been released publicly. "The A.P." provided a portion of the video to CNN. "The A.P." says the 28-minute video shows the man's military dog tag with his name and I.D. number. CNN has not been able to confirm this information.
Now, in this video that we're seeing, when the man speaks, he addresses several topics. He also includes his thoughts on being held captive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is on the phone with us this morning. Barbara, what's the Pentagon is saying about this video?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, T.J., there is no official comment, yet, but we do expect one in the coming hours. However, I can tell you, I've just spoken to a U.S. military official directly involved in this situation and although he says he's not making a public statement, he says that the U.S. military, quote, "strongly condemns this public exploitation and humiliation of a prisoner." That word now is coming from a U.S. military official very involved in these unfolding events.
The U.S. military, I have to tell you, views this video as a proof of life for this soldier. That he is alive at this point and being held by militants, most likely Taliban, most likely in eastern Afghanistan or somewhere along that Afghan/Pakistan border. They had made an announcement back in early July after this young soldier went missing. It is believed that he simply, for some reason, left his combat jut post and was captured at that time.
The tape, though, stated July 14th, so that's good news. There's at least a proof of life by them. And you might ask why things have been kept so quiet about all of this. Well, until the video came out, it was very quiet, other than that initial statement, because the military was trying desperately to do whatever they could to find him, even distributing flyers in that region, hoping to get him back as soon as they could.
Now, however, apparently, the militants have put out a video showing him -- T.J.?
HOLMES: And there's -- again, and we've only shown a portion so far, a 28-minute video, we understand. We're going to roll another portion of it and got another question for you on the other side. But let's listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have my girlfriend, who I was hoping to marry. I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family who I love back home in America. And I miss them every day. When I'm gone, I miss them, and I'm afraid that I might never see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again and I'll never be able to hug them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And we hear the soldier there talking about his family, including his girlfriend he says he hopes to marry.
Barbara, what does the military do from here? What are the options?
STARR: Well, first, let's tell people that we do know that this soldier's family has been kept informed of all of these events around the clock by the U.S. military. They do have family liaison officer assigned to them who is keeping the family fully informed of all of this. So, his family members are not seeing this on TV for the first time. They certainly are privately very aware of what is going on.
As for the options, T.J., they are continuing to use -- they tell us -- all means of intelligence gathering, surveillance, moving through that area, trying to get any leads they can on where he is, talking to the Afghan people in this very remote area, villagers, saying, "If you have seen anything, tell us. If you have any means of telling us where he is, get him to us."
They are just doing everything they can to search for him -- T.J.?
HOLMES: Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr -- Barbara, we appreciate you working your sources this morning on this story and hopping on the phone with us. Thanks so much.
NGUYEN: Well, Republicans and some Democrats in Washington are expressing concerns over whether health care reform can actually happen. But President Obama wants health care reform legislation passed this year. And as White House correspondent Ed Henry reports, the president plans to turn up the pressure on Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An abrupt add to the president's schedule late on a Friday, raising questions about whether his health care push may be unraveling. But Mr. Obama insisted otherwise.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those who are betting against this happening this year are badly mistaken. We are going to get this done. We will reform health care. It will happen this year. I'm absolutely convinced of that.
HENRY: The president declaring progress has been made on several fronts. Key players at the table are agreeing to sacrifices they've never made before to pay for an overhaul. Hospitals, health care providers, and drug companies agreeing to cut hundreds of billions of dollars in costs, all helping to make reform closer to a reality than it's been in decades.
OBAMA: Now, we've got to get over the finish line. And part of this process is figuring out how to pay for it. I've said that health insurance reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade and I mean it. Let me repeat. Health insurance reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade and I mean it.
HENRY: But that's where the president is running into a wall from not just Republicans, but conservative Democrats as well after a new budget analysis revealed the leading Democratic health proposals will increase the debt and not provide the savings Mr. Obama promised.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, CNN RADIO, "44 WITH ED HENRY")
SEN. BEN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: I think it's a devastating blow.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HENRY: Democratic Senator Ben Nelson is leading a bipartisan group, urging the president to slow down and give up his August deadline so Congress can get it right. But Mr. Obama is showing no willingness to compromise on that.
OBAMA: I realize that the last few miles of any race are the hardest to run. But I have to say now is not the time to slow down and now is certainly not the time to lose heart. Make no mistake, if we step back from this challenge -- at this moment -- we are consigning our children to a future of skyrocketing premiums and crushing deficits. There's no argument about that.
HENRY (on camera): Top aides are still confident of victory and are planning to use their best asset, the president, to get it done. He's having a prime-time news conference next Wednesday night, and then on Thursday, he heads to the key state of Ohio to continue to his sales pitch.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: President Obama's prime-time news conference is scheduled for Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern and CNN, of course, will bring that to you live when it happens.
HOLMES: And, of course, we've been talking about Walter Cronkite, remembering him this weekend.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: He died on Friday at the age of 92. The longtime most trusted man in America, longtime news anchor, well, he we're getting word that his funeral, in fact, will happen on Thursday in New York. That's where he died with his family by his side, in New York.
Also, the body is going to be cremated and he's going to be buried next to his wife, Betsy, in Kansas City. Also, a memorial at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will take place in a few weeks as well.
He, of course, was a huge fan of the space program, which is about to mark a major anniversary tomorrow.
NGUYEN: Yes, man walking on the moon.
HOLMES: Yes. That's a pretty big anniversary.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. Josh Levs has a preview of that.
Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's a pretty big anniversary. Hey there to you, guys.
You can follow the mission online. You can also zoom in to see the actual locations of other Apollo missions. It's true. You can zoom in to the moon. We're going to show you that right here -- Betty?
NGUYEN: Also, we're going to take a look at the weather outside, because it's getting a little interesting in some parts.
Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Going from the moon back to Earth, we're going to be dealing with a cool down. Temperatures are well below normal for this time of year for millions of Americans. We're going to tell you how long that cool down is going to last and we're going to talk about that possibility of severe weather -- that's all coming up right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. See you in a few.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: I think this song is called "Drops of Jupiter." It's pretty fitting. Wow. Look at this taking -- yes, by Train. There is the group. Looking at a spacewalk from yesterday.
Pictures of the shuttles Endeavour in fact at the International Space Station -- the first of five planned space walks has occurred and another inspection of Endeavour's heat shield -- that is coming up today. But these are just outstanding pictures from outer space. Just to be able to see this.
And, you know, I'm here with Josh to talk about the 40th anniversary of when man first stepped foot on the moon. But look where we've come from that time to seeing those live pictures from outer space as an astronaut is conducting a spacewalk.
LEVS: Would you go up there? Would you do it?
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
LEVS: Yes?
NGUYEN: Although, I don't know if I could handle the ride up there. I can't even do a rollercoaster.
LEVS: I know.
NGUYEN: Forget about it.
LEVS: It's the training that gets me.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: The horror stories.
But these Web sites are really cool. You can zoom into the moon now.
NGUYEN: Really?
LEVS: Yes. I didn't -- I just learning this in the last few days.
NGUYEN: How do you that?
LEVS: Yes, let's take a look.
NGUYEN: OK.
LEVS: We'll zoom in here. I want to show one of the few things that we got going, which are really cool. This one is called WeChooseTheMoon.org and talks you to some of the really great -- basically, it talks to you through each step of the mission, Apollo 11, way back when. And this is linked to the JFK library. And you can actually see over there -- they've created some fake tweets that help kind of young people today understand what happened at each stage along the mission. If you're a Twitter kind of thinker, they talk you through every little step.
Also, I want to show you what we got at CNN.com. Right here, we talk you through various Apollo missions that have gone up to the moon. It says 40 years after that first step on the moon and 37 years since we last stepped there.
Let's take a look at the other Apollo missions. So, you can click on these usually -- there you go -- and it talks you there what with all the various Apollo missions have planned, including let's just click on 17 for a second. This is back in 1972. And they say the final Apollo mission and they talk about what happened there. And you can see (INAUDIBLE). Some amazing stuff there.
Before I go, one more thing I want to point you to which is NASA's Web site. They have some amazing images as well that zoom way into the surface of the moon and we can actually expect even more interactives to hit tomorrow.
So, Betty, T.J., I definitely encourage people to check out these Web sites tomorrow and also today, but especially tomorrow, on the anniversary, when a lot of new stuff gets released and see how close you can actually check out the surface of the moon there.
NGUYEN: That is just incredible.
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: And it's just, you know, an indication of all that we've learned from these different missions into space, to the technology that's come from all of it as well, too.
LEVS: All right.
NGUYEN: Josh, thanks for that.
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: And, in fact, we've been getting a lot of responses from you today because we've asked you when it came to that precious moment, that moment in history when man walked on the moon for the very first time -- were you watching? Where were you? What are your memories of it?
And you're starting to share them with us today.
Let me take you to my Twitter site first of all. And Dongalasso says "Armstrong, meaning Neil Armstrong, bouncing on the moon is still the most amazing thing I have ever seen, every boy's dream to be him." And quickly over at my Facebook page -- this is a really touching story. This is from Theo, who says, "Just a 15-year-old boy all the way in Bangladesh, our first black and white TV and watching the landing on the moon live. I made a promise that I will some day come to the USA where dreams come true and here I am today, a proud U.S. citizen."
So a lot of you sharing your thoughts on that moment in time with us today. And keep them coming. We want to hear from you today and we'll continue reading them on the air.
T.J., those are just some really great stories of people who watched it when it happened and it really made an impression on their lives.
HOLMES: It did. But, as Reynolds pointed over here...
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: ... you have one guy there, Kevin Henry who said, "I was not born yet."
WOLF: Yes.
NGUYEN: Yes. I think a lot of us can raise our hands to that, too. But we've seen the pictures. So, it's not like...
HOLMES: We've seen...
NGUYEN: .. they're brand-new to us. We've been around for quite a while.
HOLMES: Yes. We do appreciate Kevin's contribution, yes, and all of our followers. Betty, thank you. I'll chat with you over here. Yes, it is Sunday. It happens.
WOLF: It's Sunday. Yes. During the last break, I mentioned that it's Saturday, which somewhere in my mind it may be Saturday, but right now for us, it is Sunday.
HOLMES: It's Sunday and it's a cool Sunday. It felt pretty good coming in this morning.
WOLF: It did. I mean, we're way below normal, where we should be in terms of temperatures this time of the year. When you step outside, it feels almost like October.
HOLMES: You said way below, what's way below?
WOLF: Well, what I say, we should be in the 70s this morning. Right now, we were in the upper 50s. Simply said, mid-50s here in Atlanta.
Right now, we got a shot for you of Atlanta. It looked pretty good. A little bit of a crescent move earlier today.
Actually, this is Minneapolis you'd see. And that is part of the I-35 Bridge. You see the Mississippi River right there. Things are looking pretty good, feeling pretty good there today. Temperatures in part of Minnesota were actually in the 40s this day, earlier today. Hard to believe but that's the case. And later on today, we're warming up, much warmer, possibly into the 70s in a few spots. Let's go back to magic wall. And as we go to the magic wall, you'll notice the temperatures that we have for you in the Twin Cities, 55 degrees currently, 55 over in Detroit, 57 degrees in Cincinnati, Atlanta with 65, Orlando with 74 degrees. And we were headed for highs in the Twin Cities about 78 degrees, 73 in Chicago, and 81 in Kansas City.
Now, there's a reason why we've had this big cool down in parts of the country. Now, the reason is actually pretty simple. We have this high pressure building up over parts of the Corn Belt. At the same time, we have an area of low pressure that's warming right over the Carolinas. Now, these two systems are almost actually like a flywheels and this would be like a giant conveyor belt in the atmosphere.
Wind spins around a high clockwise, counterclockwise around a low. So, that's going to draw in quite a bit of cold air into parts of the southeast. That's the reason why we've had the cool down.
On the same side of things, on the other part of the country, we're getting entirely different. That something different, it's going to be the warm temperatures coming in from the Gulf of California and then the desert southwest. One hundred and eleven degrees is expected in Las Vegas; 113 for Phoenix. And later on today, as we wrap things up, you can expect the chance of severe weather in parts of the front range of the Rockies, central and southern plains, and even the Texas coast by the late afternoon.
That is your forecast. Let's send it back to you at the desk.
NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds, we do appreciate it.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: And coming up next: We'll be talking about what's happening at the White House, on Capitol Hill, and all over the world in politics -- and who better -- our John King will be live with us for the latest.
NGUYEN: Also, Nelson Mandela marks a milestone with family while some of his most famous friends throw a party in his honor. We're going to show you. It's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We are just minutes away from the top of the hour and minutes away from seeing John King with "STATE OF THE UNION." A lot of stuff is going on in politics and all over the world today. And there he is.
NGUYEN: There he is.
John, we have got some breaking news that we've been talking about this morning. And a lot of that is centering on this U.S. soldier that we have seen in videotape -- believed to have been captured. I'm sure you're going to be talking about that on the show as well today.
JOHN KING, "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: And we're going to check in, as you did, with Barbara Starr. We're going to try to get the latest from the Pentagon and the White House. And, Betty and T.J., as you know, this is an incredibly heart-wrenching story, and to see this video is heart-wrenching.
It's also a very sensitive story for both the president and the Pentagon, which is why, publicly, they're not saying very much right now to the point of trying to make sure they check with the family, check with the military units, check with the generals on the scene. And it is obviously in part a propaganda ploy by those holding this soldier.
So, it's a very sensitive issue but we are tracking the latest.
HOLMES: All right. We'll turn to politics now and what a week it was for health care and health care reform. It was almost weird, last week in some ways, John. We had that emergency press conference on Friday by the president. Now, we have a press conference coming to -- I shouldn't say press conference. He spoke on Friday; a press conference coming up on Wednesday.
Just the way he's reacting to what happened last week, does this -- is it clear that there is reason for alarm at the White House?
KING: Yes, there is reason for alarm. And that's a great way to put it. A president does not add an event to his schedule unless there's a political reason to do so. On Friday afternoon, the president came out and what did he say? He said, "Everybody, calm down."
Why did he do that? Because the health care debate went off the rails this past week because the Congressional Budget Office said, "Guess what, this costs more than you think and it doesn't bring down the long-term trajectory of rising health care costs." And that means the president's plans in a bit of trouble right now. Not time to panic, but certainly, the time to push the alarm button as you put it.
So, the president came out on Friday. His weekly address this week and it's about health care. Now, a prime-time news conference.
Look, the president's poll numbers have come back down to Earth, but he still has the most political capital in American politics, and he's going to have to use some of it, Betty and T.J., to get his signature priority right now, health care reform, back on track.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, he's been trying to push this through on a fast track, but we heard this week, the Congressional Budget Office come out and say, "Slow down for a minute because...
KING: Right.
NGUYEN: ... estimates of saving big dollars is not the case. In fact, it may cost you some money." How big of a blow was that? KING: It's a huge blow because the moral argument for health care reforms from the president has been to cover most if not all of those who don't have health care insurance. That's the moral argument. The policy argument is: health care costs are spiraling out of control and guess what, the federal government pays much of that money and the only way to get the budget deficit down is to get health care costs down.
So, the president says his plan has to do that. Then the CBO says, "Well, guess what, it doesn't. Unless, as it's written now, not only will costs not come down, but they're going to keep way up as you bring more people in and give more people insurance. You have to pay for it.
So, they're at the most difficult point, we also knew, would be: how do you pay for this?
NGUYEN: Right.
KING: Is it a mix of tax increases, squeezing and cost savings and the like? And conservative Democrats and vulnerable Democrats in next year's elections are getting jitters. And when you have jitters in Congress, you have a problem. That's what the president is trying to fix.
HOLMES: And last thing we want to hit on here with you. Sonia Sotomayor, the confirmation hearings we watched. A lot of people are essentially saying she's going to be a shoo-in. There's no way Republicans were going to get a chance to defeat her.
KING: Right.
HOLMES: But still, did they make some gains this week? Did they get their point across and are they certainly looking down the road in their questioning of her this past week?
KING: It's an interesting question. Because Republicans concede -- even those who are very critical of Judge Sotomayor -- concede she's going to be confirmed by a pretty healthy margin.
We're going to have the top Republican on the judiciary committee in here for "STATE OF THE UNION," Jeff Sessions, as well as the chairman, Democrat Pat Leahy, and we want to ask them about that. Do you think you exposed anything in her record that maybe helps you politically?
And more importantly, we've been through this since Robert Bork in the 1980s. The judges in the chair, the nominees in the chair don't want to say much and that frustrates senators, and also frustrates some of the American people because this person is going to be, for 30 years or more, having a lifetime appointment on the nation's highest court. So, we want to ask them: is there anything we can do down the road to try to make this process a little bit more interactive, a little bit more revealing?
NGUYEN: All right. John King is coming up at the top of the hour. We look forward to it.
KING: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: "STATE OF THE UNION" -- thank you, John. See you very shortly, again...
HOLMES: See you, John.
NGUYEN: ... at the top of the hour, right here on CNN.
Well, the latest on that civilian helicopter crash in Afghanistan -- that is coming up.
HOLMES: Also, we'll look at the issue that's dividing one of the country's biggest religious groups and how it could affect the way millions of people worship.
NGUYEN: And a queen pays tribute to Nelson Mandela. Listen a little bit right now to Queen Latifah from the party that was held in honor of Mandela's 91st birthday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello and good morning and welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
Here's a quick check of what is happening today.
HOLMES: Yes, 16 people killed when a helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. That's according to NATO. Five others were hurt. No word on those five conditions. It happened during takeoff at a Kandahar airfield.
NATO says the helicopter wasn't a military helicopter. Also, that all of the dead are civilians. No word on the cause just yet, but NATO says this was not a result of any enemy fire.
NGUYEN: I want you to take a look at this. A video that appears to show a missing American soldier in Afghanistan has surfaced on the Internet. The Taliban claim, to hold this man and the Associated Press reports that U.S. military officials confirmed that this is the American soldier missing since June 30th.
Now, no name has been released publicly. The Associated Press provided a portion of the video to CNN, but CNN has not been able to confirm this information.
HOLMES: And delegates for ousted Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya have agreed for a seven-point proposal for returning him to power. However, not a done deal, because representatives for provisional president Roberto Micheletti said late last night they want more time to study that proposal.
Well, there has been a laptop found now at the scene of those bombings in Jakarta that authorities believe may belong to one of the bombers. You'll remember that at least nine people were killed in the blast. They believe that among those nine, two of them were the suicide bombers. Investigators looking into possible links now with an Islamist terrorist network.
NGUYEN: While police in Tennessee say they have a man in custody who has confessed to killing six people. Five bodies were found in two houses in Fayetteville, Tennessee. Another was found in Huntsville, Alabama, 30 miles South of Fayetteville.
Police say the motive was a domestic dispute. The victims, most of whom are related, include four adults and two juveniles. Thirty- year-old Jacob Shaffer of Fayetteville is in custody -- he's a picture of him right there. He's charged with five counts of homicide in Tennessee and he is expected to be charged with murder in Huntsville as well.
Well, a Chicago minister is offering a $5,000 reward to track down who shot two teens outside of his church. The shooting happened while an anti-violence vigil was taking place inside. The irony of it all, the pastor is Father Michael Pfleger, who is a long time activist against gangs and guns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. MICHAEL PFLEGER, PASTOR, ST. SABINA CHURCH: I'm hurt and I'm angry. Our kids are being shot up all over this damn city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, police say one of the boys was shot four times. He is listed in stable condition.
HOLMES: Well I got a few topics today in our "Faces of Faith" segment.
The first one is South Carolina's Governor Mark Sanford. He is saying that God will make him a better man. Governor Sanford is once again asking residents to forgive him for an extramarital affair. And he details how he's a changed man in an op-ed letter that's making the rounds this morning.
We've got a few quotes here we can pull from it. The Governor writes -- "It is true that I did wrong and failed at the largest levels, but equally true is the fact that God can make good of our respective wrongs in life."
He also says -- life is indeed about "recognizing that none of us are the arbiters of truth; that there are moral absolutes and that there is a God to whom we will all report for our actions."
He goes on to make this promise to the people of South Carolina. He says, "It's in the spirit of making good from bad that I am committing to you and the larger family of South Carolinians to use this experience to both trust in God and in his larger work of changing me and from my end to work for becoming a better and more effective leader." Sanford still has 18 months left in office.
The other topic for you in our "Faces of Faith" this morning, the Episcopal Church embracing change this morning, but in doing so, it's also alienating some of its membership, some of the more conservative members.
Here's what happening, at its national convention this week or last week, I should say, leaders first voted for openly gay ministers to be ordained, then they cleared the way for bishops to then bless same-sex unions.
So two big topics there they're taking on. The convention is now over, the debate however, is not. We've got two bishops joining us this morning in our "Faces of Faith."
First Bishop C. Andrew Boyle -- there he is -- of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. He's in Houston and he's voted against these new policies. And James Curry, an Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut voted in favor of some of these changes.
Gentlemen, I appreciate you both being here.
BISHOP C. ANDREW DOYLE, EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF TEXAS: Thank you.
BISHOP JAMES E. CURRY, EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT: Thank you.
HOLMES: I'll start, Bishop Curry, you tell me why you voted the way you did.
CURRY: In Connecticut, we have the possibility -- civil marriage for same-gendered couples is legal and the resolution of general convention gives the Episcopal church here flexibility to give pastoral response to the great needs and hopes of all our people.
That also allows us to open beyond ourselves the expression of God's love for all.
HOLMES: Well, Bishop Doyle, what's wrong with that? You tell me why you voted against it.
DOYLE: I voted against this because I was very much in favor of ensuring that we continued to participate in a conversation with our larger church that is the global communion.
At the same time, I would have to say that I understand completely Bishop Curry's context and his ministry and need to do these things. And I would say we had a very good conversation about it. I think the tendency will be to divide us up into different camps.
There are so many things we agree on, but on this one, we did have a divided vote and feel like I represented well the majority of people in Texas.
But like Bishop Curry, I also have a large population of gay and lesbians who are excited about the changes in the Episcopal Church.
HOLMES: So I guess Bishop Doyle -- oh excuse me. And let me jump in here and just ask you, Bishop Doyle, like was what damage do you think was done by the action that you all took at the convention?
DOYLE: Well, we don't know exactly how the larger communion will react to this. I do think we have to wait and allow the communion to listen to what's been said at our convention and respond to us.
And that's an important thing to do. It's simply to wait and be patient for that communication. It was just simply out of a concern that I had, to not only represent the majority of folks in my own diocese, but also to keep us in conversation with that larger communion.
HOLMES: Well, Bishop Curry, let me bring you back in here. And certainly, the argument is that, yes, by doing this, by blessing the same-sex unions and allowing gay bishops, you may be welcoming more people in, because they are attracted to the inclusiveness of the church, but you may also be turning a lot of people who are in the church now, turning them away.
So what do you think, are you gaining more or losing more people by this?
CURRY: I think that we're gaining and we're gaining a deeper theological understanding about the comprehensive nature of God's love.
One of the great things about this discussion at the general convention was that we listened deeply to each other with compassion and great love, across theological divide. And I think that that's the great gift that the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion has for the world.
HOLMES: And Bishop Doyle, I'll bring you back in here. A lot of people would argue that the church I guess is changing in a lot of ways with society.
Are you ok with that or would you like to see the church more so stick to its traditional principles, no matter what is happening in society?
DOYLE: Well, I'm afraid I'm going to give you both end. I think that -- there are parts of our tradition that are very important to us, that we also minister and our missionaries within a particular context.
I do want to say another piece of this argument. It would be wrong to characterize me or the people of the diocese of Texas as folks who are leaving the Episcopal Church though. I am devoted and committed to my relationship with Bishop Curry and the rest of my brothers and sisters in the House of Bishops.
People in the diocese of Texas aren't going anywhere. We believe this is our church and we'll participate in it. And I think we're going to have to figure out how we're going to do this together. And how do you hold in tension those two varying ideas.
And I think that's part of the blessing of the Episcopal Church, which is that we can be together and have different opinions about how to move forward.
HOLMES: Well, this will be the last thing I'll ask both of you and a quick answer. And I'll start with you Bishop Doyle. People will hear that you voted against this, so that might mean that you're automatically against same-sex unions.
So I guess, give me your official stance there? Are you for or against gay marriage, no matter who might be performing the ceremony?
DOYLE: Well, I think that it doesn't break up for me that easy, I'm sorry. I just think there's an issue with the state and the issues around what people, every person as an American citizen, ought to have offered and available to them versus those things which the church blesses or does.
And I think the conversation is not over. We're still in the midst of figuring that out and what these resolutions did do is allow for room for Bishop Curry and myself to continue that conversation and discover what's going to happen, but right now where we are is pretty clear.
HOLMES: Well, Bishop Curry, I'll let you answer it as well. Maybe you can give me a quicker and clearer answer, but I'll let you answer that same question as well.
Bishop Curry, last word.
CURRY: I think it's important for the church to support committed relationships and wherever love can be expressed as a symbol of hope in a broken world.
HOLMES: All right, well, Bishop Curry and Bishop Doyle, gentleman, this is probably the best way for conversations and debates to happen; two people who can calmly sit down and respect each other's opinions, but also agree that they can disagree on things.
Gentleman, I appreciate you both and hope to see you again down the road.
DOYLE: Thank you very much.
CURRY: Thank you very much.
NGUYEN: Very interesting.
Coming up, a birthday party fit for Nelson Mandela. Yes, a bash so big, that it brought out superstars like this lady right here, Aretha Franklin, of course. We have more highlights, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, we want to show you a birthday party so big, so celebrated, that it spanned at least two continents for that man right there, Nelson Mandela. Former South African president; he celebrated his 91st birthday yesterday. It was also South Africa's first National Mandela Day.
I just love seeing this video. He is so full of life; 91 years old, but still full of life. But for his gift, Mandela didn't want anything except for people to spend the day doing something good.
We're also going to show you some video of the star-studded celebration in New York in honor of Mandela's 91st birthday.
HOLMES: And you know that lady there. Let me let her hit this last note for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(ARETHA FRANKLIN PERFORMING FOR NELSON MANDELA'S BIRTHDAY)
HOLMES: Never just one note with Aretha, is it?
NGUYEN: No, but boy, was she good.
HOLMES: She was among those celebrities there. This is the concert Betty mentioned in New York that celebrates his birthday. And among them, Stevie Wonder.
NGUYEN: And he actually took the moment to not only celebrate with Mandela and wish him the best on his birthday, but he also paid tribute to Michael Jackson. I want you to take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVIE WONDER, SINGER: And I send a special prayer to the Jackson family and Mr. Michael. And I want to say to all the artists throughout the world, please be careful with your lives, be careful with the people that are around you. Make sure that they love you, all of them, because God has left us with a special gift to spread the message of love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: There's Cyndi Lauper there. Boy, they brought out the stars for this celebration; and of course, Michael Jackson being remembered there. But it was all truly in honor of Nelson Mandela, his 91st birthday and the proceeds from those who attended that concert went to Nelson Mandela's AIDS Foundation.
HOLMES: All right.
Well we will turn back to the senate. And you can take the senator out of the comedy show, but you can't really take the comedy out of the senator, can you?
Of course, you know who we're talking about.
NGUYEN: Al Franken, of course, and he brought some humor to the Sotomayor hearings.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A little Rolling Stones for you. That will wake you up and cause you to drop your pen and all kinds of stuff.
All right, we are talking about Minnesota Senator Al Franken because he got a little cranked up this week. We knew it was going to happen; it was just a matter of when.
And the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian even showed a hint of humor in Washington's stiff shirt setting.
HOLMES: You know to someone just sitting there and watching him, it's kind of tough to take him seriously sometimes. I mean, sure he knew his stuff. You could tell he was prepared, but it's Al Franken.
NGUYEN: Right. It's Al Franken.
HOLMES: As a member of the judiciary committee, he got his turn to step into the spotlight and question the Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
Here now is our national political correspondent, Jessica Yellin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The senate's newest star seems comfortable in front of the cameras, but less at ease with Congressional procedure. Here, Senator Al Franken looks to his committee chairman to approve a request.
SEN. AL FRANKEN (D) MINNESOTA: I would ask that it be entered into the record. Sir, can I enter it into the record? Thank you.
YELLIN: Franken's national debut seems to be amusing his old peers on the comedy circuit.
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": I keep expecting him to go, "Live from New York!"
YELLIN: And his new peers in the senate here earning chuckles after switching seats with Committee Chairman Leahy. Franken also hit some serious notes, reading from a pocket constitution.
FRANKEN: Section 1, the right of citizens of the United States to vote...
YELLIN: Asking Judge Sotomayor about the Voting Rights act, whether Internet access should be protected and for the definition of an activist judge. He even went where the administration did not want Democrats to go, pressing the judge on abortion rights. He argued that abortion rights don't have to be written into the Constitution to be protected.
FRANKEN: Are the words "birth control" in the constitution? SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: No, sir.
FRANKEN: Are the words "privacy" in the constitution? Or the word?
SOTOMAYOR: The word "privacy" is not.
YELLIN: But the water cooler moment of the hearing came when Franken asked the judge who had revealed that she's a lifelong fan of the TV show "Perry Mason" to name one case Perry Mason lost.
FRANKEN: And you don't remember that case?
SOTOMAYOR: I know that I should remember the name of it. But I haven't looked up the episode.
FRANKEN: Didn't the White House prepare you for that?
YELLIN (on camera): Next Franken said he would like to lay low and learn the ropes of the Senate. But if the intense media interest to him during this hearing is any indication that will be a difficult task.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And we were thinking about it, I think there were three cases that he lost.
HOLMES: Three?
NGUYEN: Yes, I was not really a Perry Mason watcher.
HOLMES: Wasn't in our day, I don't think.
NGUYEN: No.
Ok, so we tracked down our stimulus money and find out that some of it -- your stimulus money too -- by the way, some of it's going to teenagers.
HOLMES: That doesn't sound good. Is that the best way to get America out of a recession?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right.
So school's out right now, but finding summer work during this recession, not so easy especially for troubled teens. But thanks to the stimulus money, a new program is in effect.
HOLMES: Yes, it's helping the young folks find a summer job. A lot of these are disadvantaged or troubled children, but as CNN's Kate Bolduan reports, not everybody is supporting this. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 20-year-old Sean Branch searched eight months for a job with no success.
SEAN BRANCH, COMMUNITY OUTREACH ASSISTANT: I'd go everywhere, from big-time places to just mom and pop shop, but nobody's hiring.
BOLDUAN: 15-year-old Kenise Terry said she needed to keep herself busy during the summer break.
(on camera): If you hadn't gotten this job, what do you think you'd be doing this summer?
KENICE TERRY, WORKING FOR RADIO STATION: Getting into trouble.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Now for at least the summer, both are hard at work for Richmond, Virginia businesses.
Terry at a radio station, Branch at a community outreach program.
BRANCH: I'm hoping that this job can beam me into just the realm of being a business man.
BOLDUAN: All thanks to the economic stimulus package, $1.2 billion targeted to job training for disadvantaged youth.
President Obama has promised the money would create 125,000 summer jobs.
ROBERT BOLLING, DIRECTOR, WILLIAM BYRD COMMUNITY HOUSE: It provides us another opportunity to help young people.
BOLDUAN: Robert Bolling helped Branch and Terry find work. His organization, the William Byrd Community House received $439,000 from the stimulus for its summer employment program. Bowling says that money means he can put nearly 200 young people to work this summer compared to 137 last year.
BOLLING: It is very difficult for a young person with no job skills at all to compete in a marketplace where individuals are losing work all the time.
BOLDUAN: But these are temporary jobs, which is why some, like Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor, are questioning whether summer employment is the most effective use of stimulus money.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), VIRGINIA: I think the American people are just frustrated seeing their taxpayer dollars wasted. And when you say that you want to see a stimulus bill work, they -- the American people -- expect that stimulus bill will be focused like a laser on creating jobs.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Are they wrong? BOLLING: To say that this summer program does not work doesn't really hit the point. The point is you're training young people for the future.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Sean Branch, at least, already views this stimulus project as a success.
BRANCH: Somebody like me, I'd never think in a million years that I would have the opportunity to just sit in a beautiful office, air-conditioning and just file papers. I never think that.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Here in Richmond, they estimate each summer job costs between $1,000 and $2,000 in stimulus spending. It's a one- time cash infusion, so come next summer, programs like this across the country will need to look elsewhere to maintain this level of funding.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Richmond, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. We're going to take a closer look at the stimulus plan with President Obama's budget and the point man on that, of course, John King.
HOLMES: He's coming up at the top of the hour with "STATE OF THE UNION."
But we have a few headlines we want to pass along to you first.
The video that appears to show a missing American soldier in Afghanistan, it has surfaced on an Islamic Web site. The Taliban claims to be holding the man. U.S. military officials confirm this is the American soldier missing since June 30th. However, a name is not being released. A spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan condemns the video, saying it exploits and humiliates the prisoner and violates the U.S. law of war.
Also 16 people killed in a helicopter crash in Southern Afghanistan. This is according to NATO. This happened during take off at a Kandahar airfield. NATO says it was civilian contracted, not a military helicopter. The cause not yet known, but NATO is saying that they don't believe this is the result of any hostile fire.
That's it from here and I want to hand it over to "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King.
