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CNN Sunday Morning
Naked Student Shot By Police in Alabama; Battle Over Foreign Policy; Pastors Provoke the IRS with Politics; Pastors Argue for Free Speech; Naked Teen Shot at Alabama University; Undecided Voters, Undivided Attention; James Bond Turns 50
Aired October 07, 2012 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It's 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 a.m. out West. Thanks for starting your morning with us.
Here's what we're following this morning:
A student killed. A campus in shock. And a mother asking why a police officer shot her son.
And preaching politics from the pulpit. Hundreds of pastors plan to do it today. Why? They want the IRS to tax them.
Plus, hear from the man planning a death-defying, record-setting jump from the edge of space.
(MUSIC)
KAYE: We begin this morning with a deadly shooting on an Alabama college campus. A campus police officer shot and killed this 18-year- old freshman at the University of South Alabama yesterday. School officials say Gilbert Collar rushed the officer several times and kept threatening him. Collar reportedly was naked and acting erratically. His friends remembered a different student.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLGAN MEANOR, FRIEND: You could ask anyone that knew him. He was a great, loving guy, always made people smile. You know, he's not the kind of guy that people knew him and said he would do something like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: I want to bring in CNN legal contributor Paul Callan joining us this morning from New York.
Paul, good morning.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Randi.
KAYE: The victim in this case is 18 years old. He was a college freshman. Considering the circumstances, he was apparently, reportedly, naked. Wouldn't they have been able to see that he wasn't armed? I mean, why do you think it led to something like this?
CALLAN: You know, Randi, the early reports on this shooting are really quite shocking. He is a college kid. He is naked. I understand he may have been -- he is a college wrestler possibly. He was on a wrestling team in high school.
Obviously, there may have been intoxication involved. I don't see any reports that he was armed. I don't see reports that he was coming at the police officer with a knife or a weapon. Usually, that's what you see in these cases.
The report issued by the university simply indicates that he banged inappropriately on the side of one of these police stations on campus and refused to retreat when the officer tried to get him to retreat and then took what they describe as an aggressive stance and then he was shot to death.
KAYE: But, I mean, an aggressive stance. I mean, who responds to an aggressive stance with gunfire? I mean, was tasering or maybe tackling him an option, do you think? I mean, will they look at security camera video possibly to see exactly how this went down?
CALLAN: Most of these universities do now have security cameras. I haven't seen any reports as to whether they were present at this campus.
But, yes, tasering certainly might be available, but we don't know if this police officer was equipped with a taser.
There are lots of other ways to deal with a drunken naked college student without killing him. So, you know, I await the investigation to see why this officer reacted this way.
You know, I'll tell you something else that I found interesting when I was looking at this, this morning. Alabama also has virtually the identical stand your ground law that Florida has. So do you know that the officer in this case can probably say he was he felt that he was in danger of his life and he was standing his ground and shooting?
So, I'm betting as this proceeds, you may see that law that we've heard so much about in the Zimmerman case in Florida rear its head now in Alabama.
KAYE: That is really interesting to note.
Now, CNN, Paul, spoke with the victim's mother in this case. She is, understandably, in shock. When things do settle down for her, would she have any legal recourse against the school?
CALLAN: Well, it's hard to say. Obviously, if her son was heavily intoxicated and was trying to attack a police officer, that's going to be a -- that's going to be a tough case to win.
However, these campuses have alcohol problems. Virtually every campus in America today has problems with intoxicated kids, and they have to develop policies to deal with it. Now, this particular university, by the way, is a dry campus. You're not allowed to drink at this campus, even if you're over 21. But I noticed from some local news reports that, like college campuses every place, they have problems with drunken students and students binge drinking. They have been to be prepared to deal with this and to handle these students.
So, there are some hard questions that these campus officials have to answer to parents and particularly this parent.
KAYE: Yes. Tragedy, though, no matter how you look at it, for sure.
Paul, thank you. I know you're going to be back with us at the half hour. We're going to look at politics of religion.
CALLAN: OK.
KAYE: Can pastors make political pitches to their congregation without jeopardizing their church's tax-exempt status? So, we will see you then as well.
CALLAN: Look forward to it. Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: And now to Pennsylvania where the state's deputy attorney general and his wife are accused of severely abusing two children they adopted from Ethiopia.
Police arrested Douglas and Kristen Barbour after the kids had a doctor's visit. Investigators say the doctor noticed several fractures on the 18-month-old girl's head. They say they may have suffered a stroke and be permanently blind from her injuries. Police say the 6-year-old boy appeared starved.
The couple faces charges of assault and child endangerment. Their attorney has not commented.
The pharmacy responsible for making the steroid blamed for spreading fungal meningitis has recalled all of its products now nationwide. The move comes as the CDC reports two more deaths from the disease, bringing the total now to seven.
Take a look at this map: 64 cases of fungal meningitis are confirmed in the mine states that you see highlighted there, but that number, of course, could go up.
An Islamic cleric extradited to the U.S. on terror charges is set to be arraigned on Tuesday. Abu Hamza al-Masri faced a federal judge in New York yesterday for his first court appearance. He has only one eye and he wasn't allowed to wear either of his prosthetic arms. Al- Masri and four other suspects arrived here from London early Saturday after a long legal battle.
To politics now, and big money. President Obama's campaign says that they raised $181 million last month. That's easily the most for either candidate in any month in this election. The campaign says the average donation was just 53 bucks. So, what about Mitt Romney? Well, his campaign hasn't released their September numbers yet, but they have said that the campaign has raised $12 million just since Wednesday's debate.
There are just 30 days left until the election. That means every day and every event is even more critical.
CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser tells us what's on tap for this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Randi.
Foreign policy is in the campaign spotlight tomorrow when Mitt Romney gives what his team is billing as a big speech at the Virginia Military Institute, which happens to be in a crucial battleground state. We may hear Romney criticize the president over last month's killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We face a time when there's tumult in the Middle East and other parts of the world, and people are asking where is America, where is American leadership?
STEINHAUSER: As for the president, he starts the week out West before reaching out to voters Tuesday in another crucial swing state, Ohio.
Both campaigns will highlight high profile surrogate this week.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: This is a pivotal election.
STEINHAUSER: Former President Clinton teams up with Mr. Obama at a fundraiser tonight in California. Two days later, Clinton campaigns for the president in another battleground, Nevada.
ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: Mitt is up to the task. He is prepared.
STEINHAUSER: Romney's wife, Ann, goes in front of cameras Wednesday morning when she's a special co-host on ABC's "Good Morning America."
But the highlight of the week is the vice presidential debate.
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope it'd be a good debate.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I love debating. It's one of the things I like about this job.
STEINHAUSER: Both running mates are preparing for their only showdown which will take place Thursday in Danville, Kentucky.
BIDEN: I'm looking forward to it. I really am. The thing about Congressman Ryan is he has been straight forward up until now about everything he is -- all the significant changes he wants to make. We have a fundamentally different view on a whole range of issues.
RYAN: I've been studying. I'm reading Joe Biden's speeches. Watching Joe Biden tape and just studying on all the various issues.
STEINHAUSER: And thanks to Romney's strong performance at last week's debate, there's even more on the line at the V.P. showdown -- Randi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Paul Steinhauser, thank you.
Well, if you hear someone talking about the big debate today that went down Saturday night, they're not talking about President Obama, Governor Romney, or even "Saturday Night Live." They are talking about FOX News host Bill O'Reilly and "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.
Both men went at it and left no subject off the table during debate they billed as the rumble in the air conditioned auditorium at George Washington University in D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, THE DAILY SHOW: FOX News is sort of the lupus of news. They are -- they have seen something. It is there with a -- and FOX News has gone overboard.
BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS: Well, hey --
(APPLAUSE)
O'REILLY: FNC is making a billion dollars a year. So something is going right. I worked at ABC and CBS --
STEWART: You can't make money selling crap in this country, that's for sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: If you missed it last night, you can watch it online at the rumble2012.com.
Romney's foreign policy speech -- Afghanistan, Israel, Iran. Which issue will Romney focus on and which one gives him more ammunition against President Obama? We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Good morning, Washington, D.C.
Look at that nice shot of the Washington Monument. A drizzly morning in Washington there, but still a beautiful shot of that monument.
Glad you're with us this morning on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
A few minutes ago, we talked briefly about Mitt Romney making a major foreign policy speech on Monday. CNN will carry that address live in the 11:00 a.m. hour.
But now, we want to go a little deeper on the foreign policy issue. Joining me is Tim Mak, foreign policy and defense reporter for "Politico".
Tim, good morning.
So, what do you expect Romney to focus on in his speech at the Virginia Military Institute on Monday?
TIM MAK, POLITICO: Yes. The Virginia Military Institute speech is going to focus primarily on foreign policy. It's going to be a big, broad speech about what he'd do as commander-in-chief, and you can expect him to go straight to Benghazi, to go straight to what he views as the president's inability to kind of take an aggressive foreign policy stance on the global stage.
No doubt he is going to mention veterans, and I think he will also see him talk about his plan to raise defense spending. Up to 4 percent of GDP, which is higher than it is even now.
KAYE: This is certainly about posturing, about sounding presidential, but how does this compare to President Obama's last major foreign policy speech, the one that he made at the United Nations General Assembly?
MAK: It's going to be quite different. I mean, the president is probably more conciliatory and Mitt Romney is going to take a more aggressive tone towards Arab states. He is going to ramp up defense spending at a time when Congress is looking to contract it by up to $1 trillion.
You're going to probably see more of a reference to veterans also as well at VMI, just because it's not the kind of stage that is similar to the general assembly.
KAYE: If you look at, though, Obama's record, I mean, around two- thirds of al Qaeda's leadership has been killed during his time in office, including Osama bin Laden. How does Mitt Romney compete with something like that?
MAK: I mean, it's very difficult for Republicans who are facing a bit of an identity crisis in foreign policy. For cycle after cycle after cycle, they've been able to dominate the foreign policy sphere and say that they're better off on national security.
The president, on the other hand, has that great card to play, which is he killed Osama bin Laden, and it's very difficult to push back against that.
The Benghazi incident and the kind of the inability for the State Department to communicate within itself to protect the ambassador and other Americans in Benghazi, that's going to be something that Mitt Romney is going to try to seize upon in the speech on Monday.
KAYE: Yes. What about Iran and Israel? They've been a big talking point for Romney before on the campaign trail. Do you think this will be any different?
MAK: Well, they're definitely going to be mentioned, but I think at the very base level, both Mitt Romney and the president believed that it is unacceptable for Iran to develop nuclear weapons. On that, they agree. On their rhetoric, maybe not the case.
Mitt Romney has said and probably will say Monday that the president has not been good to Israel. He has said in the past that Barack Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. Whether that's true is debatable, but, you know, Israel and the United States remain very good allies under President Obama.
KAYE: "Politico's" Tim Mak -- Tim, nice to have you on the program this morning. Thank you.
MAK: Thank you.
KAYE: Reaching new heights. One man is planning a record-setting sky dive. Instead of the usual three miles up, try 23 miles. We'll hear from him next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Twenty minutes past the hour.
Checking stories across the country.
A heavily tattooed woman in North Carolina is facing charges for tattooing her 11-year-old daughter. The 30-year-old mom says she did it because her daughter just asked her to. She says she didn't know it was illegal. State law prohibits people under 18 from getting a tattoo, even with their parent's permission.
Jumping out to sea. The U.S. Coast Guard aided in the rescue of three missing fishermen. They were rescued in the Pacific about 2,500 miles from Honolulu. Their 16-foot boat was reported missing Monday. A Coast Guard crew flew out to deliver food, water, or radio, and an emergency beacon. While a South Korean fishing vessel moved in and brought the men to shore.
And always a cool sight to see. The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels performed at San Francisco's 31st Annual Fleet Week this weekend. The lead demonstration team is known to fly as close as 18 inches apart from each other.
I actually flew with those guys about 20 years ago, and that was amazing.
Well, the Blue Angels are thrilling. So are the Golden Knights. That's the Army's precision parachuting team.
But their sky dives are just a small step compared to just what one man is plan this week. Our Max Foster takes a look at a really far fall.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Set to do what no man has ever done before. Jump from a capsule attached to a giant balloon from 120,000 feet with a view that looks like this.
FELIX BAUMGARTNER, SKY DIVER: I'm going to slide the door open, and I'm going to be the first human person in freefall to break the speed of sound.
FOSTER: He makes it sound simple enough, but Felix Baumgartner's attempt to jump from the edge of space comes after five years of exhaustive testing, development, and even a legal hitch.
(on camera): What's the biggest challenge here? Why has no one tried it before, and what's the challenge that you have managed to overcome, to make it possible?
BAUMGARTNER: It needs a lot of research. It's not just you lock yourself in a pressure capsule and go up. You need a lot of research. You need to find the right people to work with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Now we're going to get serious. We're going to depressurize the cabin pit at 120,000 feet. So, hit (INAUDIBLE) and let's have a ride.
FOSTER (voice-over): Among those on his Red Bull Stratos team, Colonel Joe Kissinger who holds the 52-year-old record Baumgartner is attempting to break. The former U.S. Air Force test pilot helped develop the NASA astronaut program.
Baumgartner is no stranger to death-defying stunts. He has base jumped from the world's tallest buildings. Set a record for the lowest such jump off Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue, and completed the first crossing of the English Channel with a specially made fiber wing.
But freefalling from the edge of space is a whole new ballgame.
(on camera): I guess the people imagine someone diving off a diving board, have you to keep that position, don't you, because it would be very easy to spin out of control.
BAUMGARTNER: So the first 30 seconds you cannot use the air, and that requires really stable exit. That's the reason where we practice a lot of bungee jumps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Perfect.
BAUMGARTNER: Just to get the right motion into my mind.
FOSTER: Are you not scared in any way?
BAUMGARTNER: Well, I am scared because you go up to 120,000 feet, which is a really hostile environment, and no matter how much you have prepared yourself, you never know how it turns out until you do it for real.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Wow. That is a lot of nerve.
For real is right. Baumgartner is scheduled to jump on Tuesday, and he'll be up 23 miles in the air when he first jumped out of the capsule and will reach at least 690 miles per hour on the way down. That is remarkable. We wish him luck.
Today, 1,000 pastors plan on getting political, and that could cost them their tax exempt status. In fact, they actually hope it does. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye. Glad you're with us.
If you go to church today, you may hear a very different kind of sermon. Hundreds of pastors plan on defying the federal government and giving very political speeches. Some say they may even endorse a candidate for president. Then they'll mail the sermons to the IRS with hopes the IRS revokes their tax exempt status because the pastors have 2,000 lawyers ready to sue for violation of freedom of speech.
Now, it boils down to this part of the tax code which states, in part, "religious organizations cannot participate in or interfere in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate."
The annual movement called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" is growing in popularity. Here's what it sounded like back in 2008.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
PASTOR JODY HICE, BETHLEHEM FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: When you go into the voting booth, I urge you not to vote for Obama.
WILEY DRAKE, FIRST SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH: There's no way in the world a Christian could vote for Barack Hussein Obama. I do believe you could vote for John McCain.
HICE: This is who I'll be voting for and who I urge you to vote for.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
KAYE: Joining us now is a big supporter of "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," Jim Garlow, senior pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego.
Jim, good morning.
So, what do you plan on saying today -- I'm just curious -- to the congregation there? JIM GARLOW, SKYLINE WESLEYAN CHURCH: I'm going to walk through the various biblical issues in this year's election. I'll talk about candidates that are in support of those various biblical issues and candidates that are in opposition to them and urge those in the congregation to vote for those who come mostly in compliance with biblical principles.
KAYE: And will you be endorsing a specific candidate today as well?
GARLOW: I probably will. Church does not -- the church cannot vote, but I as a pastor did not surrender my freedom of speech and freedom of religion once I was ordained to be a pastor, so I very likely will be announcing who I will be voting for on a number of different elections, state, local and -- and federal as well.
KAYE: Are you willing then to lose your tax exempt status? I mean I'm just curious why you would speak this way in your church as opposed to maybe outside your church when that wouldn't be such a risk?
GARLOW: Well, I would speak in my church the same as I would outside my church. It's not the same reason why you're doing this in a studio and not Starbucks. It's because you have been given freedom of the press, and I too, by the same document, have been given freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
It's not a case, as you did in the setup that we're wanting to lose our tax exemption. We're wanting to reclaim what is ours constitutionally based on the First Amendment, freedom of speech and freedom of religion, which American pastors enjoyed for 166 years of American history until Lyndon Baines Johnson got it passed, the Johnson Amendment, with only a voice vote. No discussion through the U.S. Senate 58 years ago. It's never been taken to court in 58 years.
There's 2,200 attorneys who are prepared to defend this pro bono who believe it's unconstitutional as core. We're just trying to reclaim what we believe is our constitutional right based upon the First Amendment.
KAYE: Are you worried at all? I mean, if the law isn't being enforced by the IRS?
GARLOW: Well I'm not worried. The law being enforced by the IRS -- there's two issues on this. One is a legal issue. My attorney friends see it primarily from that light and I understand that. As a pastor, I see it from another standpoint and that is from the standpoint of the spiritual renewal in America.
Pastors have backed away from biblical application as it relates to national life. If I speak on for example biblical application to personal life, nobody seems to have a problem with that. If I speak on an application of family life or church life, that's fine, but if I speak on what the scripture has to say about application to national life or community life, then all of a sudden congregants say all across America to pastors or some people seem to think, oh, pastor, you're being too political. We're actually not being political. We're actually being biblical. We're speaking to what the scripture actually speaks to.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: But --
GARLOW: And freedom of religion, freedom of speech grants that.
KAYE: But freedom of speech aside, I mean do you think that this is what people want to hear at church? I mean do you think that preaching politics might be divisive for a church congregation?
GARLOW: Well, the precept of a citizen (ph) of the question is that we're speaking politics. I would contend, for example, if I say that carrying of a baby in the womb is a bad thing, that that's a biblical issue, and there's scriptures to back why it's a bad thing -- if I say that the --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: But if you're connecting it to --
GARLOW: If I say that the actual practice of homosexuality is unaccepted biblically, then there's a reason why I say that's a biblical aspect. It is not my fault if it happens to have implications in the political arena. It's a biblical truth and I will state it as a biblical truth. I don't see why anybody should be in opposition to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: But you're not just quoting -- you're not just quoting the scripture there because you are making the connection to candidates and their platforms and what they stand for as well.
GARLOW: Well, I suspect that that would be the nature of any kind of thing that's considered either right or wrong in the scriptures. If something is sin and you label it as such, I think that's what the right of a preacher is to do exactly that. It's application to the national and community life. Things that as a nation we should not be participating in that would be harmful or destructive to our nation, in the long-term.
KAYE: All right, Pastor Jim Garlow, I appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
GARLOW: Thank you. It's good being with you.
KAYE: You as well.
And now we're going to take a look at the legal argument here. Joining us from New York is Paul Callan, CNN legal contributor. Paul, good morning.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning. KAYE: So you heard the pastor there. Do these churches have a legitimate argument?
CALLAN: Well, the Pastor makes a compelling argument about religious free speech, and you have to know there's a rich history in the United States of pastors railing from the pulpit against originally the king and, of course, later, the political system when it sort of veers from their moral view of the world.
So there's always been a rife of political free speech in churches, but what's happened is in 1954 Lyndon Johnson, because he was threatened by this very minor candidate who was running against him, got this thing changed in the tax code that basically said any charitable organization that's, you know -- if you try to get a deduction for making a contribution to a charitable organization, that organization cannot explicitly endorse political candidates and it ended up being applied to churches.
So that's what we're talking about here. Is it free speech? Yes, it's free speech, but on the other hand, the church of course could say, well, we'll exercise our free speech, but we won't get the tax deduction, and then the IRS can't do anything.
KAYE: Right but what was the original intent, though, do you think of the Johnson Amendment?
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAN: Of the law?
KAYE: If not for -- if not for separation of church and state.
CALLAN: No, no. It's actually -- you know, it's so strange. All Johnson was doing was trying to cut the legs out of a political opponent who had some charities supporting him, and I think nobody ever anticipated that this could handcuff pastors across the United States from preaching on moral issues.
And Pastor Garlow made -- he -- he raises a legitimate point and that point being a lot of times moral issues intersect with the political system. I mean, if you are against abortion and you think abortion is murder and one candidate supports abortion, then your church is going to be against that candidate and of course, the flip side is true. There are churches on the other side who are pro-choice and who support gay marriage and perhaps they would like to preach about that from the pulpit as well.
So this thing now is going on to force the IRS to come down on a church so that we can go to court and litigate it and see if the Supreme Court says, hey, this is free speech. You can't restrict this or it's legal under the tax code.
KAYE: But -- but if the law was changed, I mean, couldn't any group just masquerade as a church and really be an extension of a political campaign, but -- but never pay taxes? CALLAN: You're absolutely right about that. And I was checking to see a number of charities in the United States, literally millions of them. So any group could come forward, and they could say we're the church of the Internet and we support this particular candidate because that candidate is consistent with our morality and we then should get a tax deduction for contributions to our church and by the way, I'm not making this stuff up.
Here's how crazy it's gotten with the Internet. You can go on the Internet and if I put down $50, I can be certified as a bishop of the church of my choice in the state of New Jersey legally able to perform marriages. So the government is so afraid to say, hey, one is a legitimate religion and one is not. I mean, who is to judge?
KAYE: Right.
CALLAN: So you're absolutely on to something there. You really are going to eliminate charitable deductions if, you know, this law is ultimately thrown out. So it's a tough, tough question.
KAYE: It certainly is. But it's a fascinating one to look at Paul.
CALLAN: Ok.
KAYE: And we certainly appreciate your insight on it. So thank you.
CALLAN: Always nice being with you.
KAYE: You as well.
CALLAN: Yes thank you Randi.
KAYE: And for more stories on faith, be sure to check out our widely popular belief blog at CNN.com/belief.
Now, here're some stories that we're watching this morning.
In Alabama a campus police officer at the University of South Alabama kills a student. Authorities say he was naked and acting erratically.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH AYERS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA SPOKESMAN: -- and repeatedly rushed towards the police officer and verbally challenged the officer in a fighting stance. The officer with weapon drawn ordered the individual to halt.
The officer retreated numerous times in an attempt to calm the situation. The individual continued to press towards the officer in a threatening manner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: 18-year-old Gilbert Connor's family says he was a varsity wrestler and a good-natured guy. An investigation has been launched into his death. In Israel the country's military says it has shot down an unmanned drone over the Negev Desert. Defense Minister Ehud Barak released a statement saying Israel views the flyover very severely and is considering a response. It is not clear where the drone originated. It was not carrying any weapons or explosives.
And check out these newly declassified pictures. Flying saucers yes, what you're seeing is real, but aliens and not even Orson Wells had anything to do with them. The U.S. government did. According to the National Archive back in the 1950s the U.S. Air Force tried to build a supersonic saucer that could reach a speed of mach four. "Wired" magazine reports that for reasons unknown, production was abruptly halted in 1959.
A soldier who fought for this country is now fighting against it for a good cause, trying to get a controversial law changed so she can take care of her family. Hear her emotional story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The Defense of Marriage Act has been under fire since it was first passed back in the mid-90s. It basically says that same-sex couples get no federal benefits, like military pensions or medical benefits. Earlier I spoke with chief warrant officer Charlie Morgan and her partner Karen Morgan. They are challenging the law, but also running out of time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER CHARLIE MORGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE NATIONAL GUARD: I've been recently diagnosed back in April with less than six months to live. That's been updated to 12. I'm doing really well under radiation, but that's a big concern because if I was to pass away, Karen wouldn't receive any of the spousal benefits, survivor benefits that are out there.
KAYE: At issue is thousands of dollars in medical benefits and other benefits, but certainly also the health and well being of your daughter. Can you tell us more about that?
KAREN MORGAN, MARRIED CWO MORGAN IN 2011: So some of the benefits that I'm missing are health insurance. There would be survivorship benefits like V.A. and Social Security, burial rights, those types of things.
KAYE: And there are other restrictions too, right, in addition to just -- to just those. I mean, you don't even have base access, right?
K. MORGAN: That's correct one of the things that we have found is that I cannot get on to base. I can't visit the commissary or take my daughter to appointments that might be necessary on base because I just simply can't get in. I don't have an identification card that would allow that.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: The couple is now part of a lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. They're also hoping that the Department of Defense steps in before it is too late for Charlie.
Joe Biden and Paul Ryan face off Thursday for the only vice presidential debate. Candy Crowley joins me live with all the expectations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. 47 minutes past the hour now.
One presidential debate down, two more to go, and only one vice presidential debate scheduled -- that is set for Thursday. "STATE OF THE UNION" host Candy Crowley joins us now from Washington. Candy, good morning.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: Good morning.
KAYE: So a lot of folks are going to be tuned in Thursday night. What are your expectations for the VP debate?
CROWLEY: I'm not sure which is what makes it such a great debate. I don't know. You know, I look -- we sort of are looking back over the history of debates of this morning, and what do we recall? We recall that when Lloyd Benson, who was running for vice president was debating Dan Quayle, also running on the Republican side. One was a sort of an elder statesman. The other, of course, Dan Quayle, new to the scene, and he -- Lloyd Benson, who wasn't known for the quick quip, just absolutely levelled Quayle when he mentioned John F. Kennedy and Benson took this sort of huge indignant exception to it and said, you know, "I knew Jack Kennedy, and you're no Jack Kennedy". And it became this famous sort of slice down. It was kind of the end of the debate.
And yet you look back when Ronald Reagan was debating Walter Mondale, and there was this kind of age issue about Reagan and whether he was -- you know, whether he was getting too old, et cetera, and he joked about it. It was after a bad debate, actually, and he joked about it and said "I'm not going to make my opponent's relative youth an issue here."
So there are things that can happen. The dynamic really is the senior statesman and the new young upstart as you go in the Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. I think it will be fascinating to watch not just for what they say. I imagine we're going to hear a lot of discussion about the Ryan Plan on Capitol Hill. But I think it's not just that. It's also just the dynamic between the two of them because there's what -- 30 years between them.
KAYE: Biden certainly likes to play the attack dog. But you know Ryan certainly isn't shy about speaking his mind either. So it could get pretty feisty.
CROWLEY: Absolutely. And, you know, Biden has done this over time for many, many years, and, again, Ryan is kind of new to the scene. Not that many debates under his belt. So it can kind of go I think either way here both optically and when it comes to the conversation. But it is -- you know, Paul Ryan is kind of a policy wonk.
He knows his stuff, but is he going to have to do from what Joe Biden has said in public. He has been studying that Ryan plan even though it's not a Romney plan, and Mitt Romney has sort of distanced himself a bit --
KAYE: Right.
CROWLEY: -- from some things that are in the Ryan plan. You can just sort of see Biden planning to kind of tie the two of them together around a plan and say, look, this is not for the middle class. It will ruin the middle class, and you know that's coming.
KAYE: You're moderating the second presidential debate coming up on October 16th, which is very exciting for all of us here at CNN. How are you preparing?
CROWLEY: Oh, man. Every way I can. You know, I'm listening. I'm reading. I'm talking.
We have a great -- as you know, we've got a great team here at CNN -- the folks you never see on the camera who bring me research stuff to say, hey, there's this, there's that, here's the other thing. So it's a little bit of everything, and you're also just sort of while this builds up, and the President will go out and do this. You're just trying to maintain a kind of Zen level here so that when you go out, it's just a good substantive debate and exchange between these two guys.
KAYE: Well, we're excited for you. We know you'll do a great job, Candy.
CROWLEY: Thank you.
KAYE: Thank you very much.
And keep it here, of course, for "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. It starts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time right here on CNN.
So how do you grab the undivided attention of the undecided voters? Well, maybe with some fresh political commentary from some pretty popular people.
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KAYE: Good morning, San Francisco -- so glad you're with us. You can see folks are waking up early there -- already some traffic on the bridge. A gorgeous shot. Glad you're with us on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
We're talking some politics now. If you're still not sure of who you are voting for in the presidential election, you have 30 days left to decide. And campaign rallies and debates are all designed to help grab the undivided attention of the undecideds. But sometimes, well, they just don't work. Comedian Dean Obeidallah has an idea about what might work. He's joining me now from New York. Dean, good morning.
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: Good morning.
KAYE: All right. I'm sort of afraid to ask what your plan is to engage the undecided voters, but come on, give it to me.
OBEIDALLAH: I have numerous ideas. There's a method to my madness, Randi. Hear me out, ok. There's about 6 to 7 percent of people undecided. Even worse than that in 2008 almost 40 percent of eligible voters didn't vote. We have to get these people engaged. We have to change the way this is done.
Here's my first idea. One debate -- we still have Candy Crowley moderating, but celebrity guests come in. We have Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. They're all the news --
KAYE: Oh my gosh.
OBEIDALLAH: -- they're fighting. People will tune in -- well people will tune in to see them fight more than the candidate.
KAYE: Wait. Are they going to ask questions? They're going to be there?
OBEIDALLAH: (inaudible) absolutely. And then they can fight with each other in between the question.
You have someone like Honey Boo-Boo. She's hot. She's big. Everyone's talking of Honey Boo-Boo. Bring her in. Have her ask a question about children. Maybe have Charlie Sheen and the cast of "Jersey Shore" come in, you know. Or --
KAYE: Oh, my gosh. Not Snooki.
OBEIDALLAH: Bring in Snooki. She's had a baby. There she is -- issues she can talk about as a mother.
The idea of combining celebrities and politics is nothing new. And you know I'm half-kidding but let's be honest, if -- last night they had John Stewart and Bill O'Reilly had a big debate.
KAYE: Right.
OBEIDALLAH: You actually had to moderate a debate. It would be funny and engaging. I think we view politics as a sacrosanct thing -- it's not anymore. Let's connect to those 40 percent of people who didn't vote in 2008 or the 6 percent or 7 percent that are still undecided. Let's have some fun with this.
KAYE: You know, a lot of people after the debates said they didn't really change their mind and some of them said I can't still make up my mind because it just didn't give them enough -- they weren't engaged. You're right. OBEIDALLAH: I have -- how about more -- how about we combine reality shows more. We have dancing with a potential candidate. Everybody loves Dancing with the Stars. They're used to voting for them. Right? This is great. You can vote -- there's no voter ID requirement. You can vote.
KAYE: All right. All right. I have another question for you, though, because I want to ask you about the vice presidential debate on Thursday. Do you have any advice, I'm just curious, for Paul Ryan and Joe Biden?
OBEIDALLAH: I actually do. I wrote a column about it. And it's going to again -- (inaudible) and I'm not. Be funny. Comedy can work. The politician's number one goal is to connect with us. If you tell us a joke and we laugh, you've connected organically with all of us. I don't mean like one-liners and zingers.
Look at the beginning of the debate this week. Mitt Romney had a very good joke at the top saying nothing more romantic than being with me on your anniversary to the President. That was a great line. Candy Crowley just spoke -- Ronald Reagan, 1984, making fun of the age issue.
KAYE: Make it memorable.
OBEIDALLAH: Make it memorable. Make it funny. If you make it slightly self-deprecating like Mitt Romney did, those are the best. It makes you more likable.
KAYE: I think you should moderate one in four years from now. We'll see.
OBEIDALLAH: Thank you. I'm there.
KAYE: We'll start a petition for you, Dean.
OBEIDALLAH: Thanks Randi.
KAYE: All right. Dean Obeidallah -- have a great Sunday. Thank you.
OBEIDALLAH: You too. Thanks a lot.
KAYE: From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, who is your favorite James Bond? You have to pick one. The cinematic spy has turned 50. We'll share some great Bond moments and some Bond trivia you may not already know.
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KAYE: From "Dr. No" to "Quantum of Solace", from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig -- super suave British secret agent James Bond has been entertaining moviegoers around the world for five decades now.
And here to celebrate this anniversary is Nadia Bilchik. She's joining us to talk a little bit more about this. So 50 years ago was the first Bond film? NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: 50 years ago. October 5th, 1962. The film premiered in London. Sean Connery is starring. Since then we've had 22 -- now 23 of the famous Bond movies. If you take inflation into account, it's probably the biggest and highest grossing movie franchise of all times around $5 billion.
KAYE: Wow. So why is it so popular? I mean, I know whenever there's a Bond marathon on, I can't get my husband away from the television.
BILCHIK: I think because men want to be Bond, and women want to be with Bond, so charming. He is a protector. Not to mention the gadgets. And Randi, let's face it, he is always a great lover.
KAYE: That's true. It is all about the toys, though. No doubt about it.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
KAYE: So do you have a favorite, speaking of great lovers?
BILCHIK: Sean Connery.
KAYE: Oh, he's your man.
BILCHIK: Absolutely. Although when the film debuted "Time" magazine said that he was a hairy marshmallow of a man. He is quite hairy if you look at him.
KAYE: Yes. But he is sexy in his own way.
BILCHIK: Absolutely. Who is yours?
KAYE: I would say Pierce Brosnan. It has to be Pierce Brosnan for me.
BILCHIK: I saw "Die Another Day" recently, and I have to say Pierce does encapsulate the debonair protector. Daniel Craig is a little rough for me.
KAYE: Yes. I mean he pulls it off, but he is just different. I don't know.
BILCHIK: He's different.
KAYE: Yes. He just doesn't do it the way Pierce --
BILCHIK: And he's got much lighter hair than Connery and Brosnan.
KAYE: So what about the Bond girls?
BILCHIK: Well, the Bond girls, Ursula Andress emerging from "Dr. No" from the Caribbean waters with the knife around her waist.
KAYE: And the bathing suit.
BILCHIK: Exactly. You know that Ursula Andress is now around 76, 77? KAYE: Wow, that's amazing.
BILCHIK: And many of the Bond girls have been made famous by Bond. It will be interesting to see in "Skyfall" who the next girls are.
KAYE: Yes. Yes. We'll watch it. All right, Nadia. Thank you very much.
And thank you for watching today. You can always continue the conversation with me on Twitter @RandiKayeCNN. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.
Enjoy your Sunday.
