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Researchers: Toddler Cured of HIV; Washington's New Spending Reality; Car Bomb Kills 42, Injures 145; Britain's Queen Hospitalized; Gun-Shaped Pastry Leads to Suspension; Car Crash Kills Expectant Parents; 2018 Mission to Mars; Cardinal O'Brien Apologized; Budweiser Watered Down

Aired March 3, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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


ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: A shocking apology from a Catholic cardinal mired in scandal. Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien has been dogged by allegations of abusing four men studying to be priests back in the 1980s. O'Brien initially contested the claim. Today he reversed course and apologized saying his sexual conduct had fallen below standards expected of a priest. He resigned last month from his post as archbishop of Scotland.

More than a billion Catholics worldwide are in limbo for the first time in nearly eight years. There was no Sunday papal blessing in Rome's St. Peter's square. A nun in the Square says today's mood was very sad and that she feels a bit like an orphan. Cardinals will meet tomorrow to start setting up a special election otherwise known as a conclave to choose the next pope.

An expanding sinkhole has taken a Florida man's life and has cost his family their home. Crews are demolishing the house where that sinkhole opened up on Thursday night. It swallowed Jeff Bush while he was sleeping in his bed. Officials have called off the search for Bush's body saying the sinkhole is simply too deep and too dangerous. The demolition is expected to continue tomorrow.

Doctors working to cure AIDS and HIV announcing a thunderous break through today -- the case of a little girl just two years old and infected with HIV, her doctors have declared that she is free of the virus. In short, this little girl is cured.

Our Elizabeth Cohen is here, our senior medical correspondent. Elizabeth this is pretty shocking to me. How big of a breakthrough is this?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know potentially, this is a big break through because for what it could mean for other babies. So before I talk about that I want to talk about this baby because it's really an incredible story.

So this baby was born in Mississippi to a mom who was HIV positive. And she then went on drugs for about 15 months. So the baby was on drugs for 15 months and then she got lost basically. The doctors never saw her. The mother didn't bring her in. It turns out the mother stopped giving her the drugs. The baby was off the drugs -- CHO: You're kidding me.

COHEN: She just -- yes is not the most responsible mom in the world. Baby was off the drugs for eight to 10 months then Social Services knocked on the mom's door said get back to the doctor. The mom went back to the doctor and the baby had no signs of HIV.

CHO: That's incredible.

COHEN: She had been off drugs for eight to 10 months.

CHO: What does that say to you?

COHEN: So what this says possibly is that maybe other babies can do this. It's possible that other babies could do this.

Now, this baby got drugs very quickly in the second day of life. She got three drugs at very high doses. Usually it's one or two drugs at lower doses at that point in time. So it may be that these babies need to get drugs very quickly, it maybe they need to get three of them, it maybe they may need to be at high doses.

And here -- I want to tell you something that Johns Hopkins said because they then got involved in this. They said this may help pave the way to eliminating HIV infection in children.

(CROSSTALK)

CHO: Right so let's talk about that.

COHEN: I mean that's huge.

CHO: That's enormous because as you say 350,000 babies are born each year with HIV. So what does this potentially mean for them?

COHEN: This --

CHO: It is good news, right?

COHEN: It is good news out there. They're not going to start taking babies off their HIV meds. They're not going to do that at all but what they will likely do, what they are going to do is start studying it. They're going to study it and see geez maybe can we take other babies off of their drugs because these babies Alina when they're born HIV positive they were on drugs for life.

CHO: Right.

COHEN: These drugs are hard to take. These drugs can be very toxic, especially to the liver. It would be great if babies only had to stay on them for a year.

CHO: Sure, sure.

COHEN: So that's their next step.

CHO: Fewer meds are always better, right?

COHEN: And fewer meds are always better, especially these medications, right?

CHO: Right.

Cohen: So they're going to see now can we take other babies off their medications at one year. They need to study that before they actually start taking children off their medications.

CHO: Yes but what -- what a remarkable breakthrough. I mean pretty --

COHEN: And because of a mother's goof is what's really amazing.

CHO: Right, yes.

COHEN: It's not because of some new technology in medicine or whatever. It's because a mom goofed but they learned from her goof.

CHO: Well, it's great for that baby and hopefully great for many other babies.

All right, Elizabeth Cohen thanks so much.

COHEN: We hope so. Thanks.

CHO: Great to see you as always.

We are heading into the first full week of those mandatory federal spending cuts. Top lawmakers on the Sunday morning shows didn't give much hope of any end in sight. Our Emily Schmidt has more from Washington.

EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRRESPONDENT: Alina, there are two different situations that are unfolding at the same time here. First, is there talk between the parties about finding compromise on cuts? The President's senior economic aide says yes. In fact, Gene Sperling said President Obama talked on the phone to both Republicans and Democrats on Saturday but will it result in action?

Just listen to Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: The President is free to call whoever he chooses to. He doesn't have to go through the Speaker and myself to talk to our members and I fully expect him to do that but so far I haven't heard a single Senate Republican say they're willing to raise one dime in taxes in order to avoid a spending reduction commitment that we made on a bipartisan basis just a year and a half ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHMIDT: With no new compromise in the works, the $85 billion in spending cuts now begin to kick in. They're going to impact everything from Defense spending to airline security lines to Head Start programs. House Speaker John Boehner said in an interview that was taped Friday for "Meet the Press" that the House will work this week to avoid yet another potential road block. They're going to be putting together legislation, he says, to keep the government funded beyond the date when money would otherwise run out later this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: Absolutely. We at the House next week will act to -- to extend the continuing resolution through the end of the fiscal year, September 30th.

The President this morning agreed that -- that we should not have any talk of a government shutdown. So I'm hopeful that the House and Senate will be able to work through this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHMIDT: But when it comes to the budget cuts that are already beginning, Speaker Boehner said he doesn't think anyone quite understands how the cuts will really work or if they will hurt the economy -- Alina.

CHO: All right. Emily Schmidt, live for us in Washington. Emily, thank you very much.

There is plenty of confusion surrounding those cuts. Tomorrow was expected to be the day that the FAA began closing some of those air-traffic control towers, but the agency has since backed off that plan. In a conference call on Friday, the FAA retracted an earlier announcement that the cuts would force some 168 towers to close. Contractors who were invited to listen into that call were told that the original announcement had not been authorized.

Queen Elizabeth II rushed to the hospital. We are getting the very latest on her condition with a report from London. That's next.

And a devastating car crash, a young expectant couple killed. Their child miraculously survives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: No group has claimed responsibility for a huge car bomb that killed at least 42 people in Pakistan today.

Another 145 people were injured in the blast. It happened in Karachi. Police believe Shiite Muslims were the target.

Government officials say the death toll is expected to rise as teams for more bodies.

Syria's President has just spoken to a British newspaper prompting one U.K. official to call it, quote, "One of the most delusional interviews any national leader has given in modern times." Bashar al Assad told the "Sunday Times" that British leaders are, quote, "Shallow and immature." He also said the U.K. is trying to arm rebels pushing to overthrow him. For the last two years Syria has been in a civil war that has killed nearly 70,000 people.

New Secretary of State John Kerry pledged a quarter billion dollars today to help Egypt. Kerry met with Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi and promised more aid if the country implements certain economic and political reforms.

Also today Egypt's state run news agency reports that former President Hosni Mubarak will be retried in April. The 84-year-old Mubarak is appealing a life sentence for his role in the deaths of protesters two years ago.

News from the British royal family this weekend -- it's about the health of Queen Elizabeth II. She's 86 years old and spending tonight and probably tomorrow night in a London hospital.

A few minutes ago I talked with our royal correspondent Max Foster in London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a lot of speculation around this. We get very little information. We have had the statement and I have had some chats with some people in the palace today as well. And what they're telling me is that she's in good health and in good spirits actually.

But you have to look at what's happened here. She hasn't been in hospital for a decade. She's in hospital. This is the sort of person who doesn't like fuss. She doesn't rush into hospital at the drop of a hat. She was -- we were told about this gastroenteritis on Friday. She probably had it before. And now we go to Sunday and she's in hospital.

And there has been some analysis I have to say at the statement Alina -- Alina because they're not saying that she has gastroenteritis, they're saying she has the symptoms of gastroenteritis and people are reading things into that but we haven't got clarity on that and people are just concerned because this doesn't happen very often to someone who is so dedicated to her job and also dedicated to not creating a fuss.

CHO: Almost 87 years old and by all accounts still strong and in great health, but nonetheless and forgive me if you did mention this already, but, Max, she did cancel I believe I heard you say she did cancel her -- her -- her public appearances for the next week, right? And she doesn't often do this.

FOSTER: Well -- no. I mean the last one I can remember is in October and that was because she had a bad back and before that I can't really remember. It's been years since she's canceled anything because she absolutely commits to everything that she's going to do.

And this week was really important because there was a big visit to Rome. She was going to meet the President there. It was very high profile. Lots of journalists are going to go with her. That's one event that she just wouldn't have canceled. But she doesn't like to cancel anything at all.

It was interesting today that she had a private event. She was giving a medal to a member of long-serving staff and she carried on with that when clearly she must have been feeling awful because in the afternoon she had to go to hospital and that just really sums up her commitment to her work and the fact that she's canceled a whole week's worth of engagements at the beginning of the week. It has to feel very serious to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: That was Max Foster in London, our royal correspondent.

Just ahead a newlywed couple rushing to the hospital for the birth of their child killed when a car slams into their cab. The baby incredibly survives. We'll have that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: 15 minutes after the hour.

A second grader suspended after he shapes his pastry into a shape of a gun. Seven-year-old Josh Welch then held the food while saying bang-bang -- that's according to our Baltimore affiliate WBFF. Josh denies he did that but his teacher definitely took notice of the problem pastry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH WELCH, SUSPENDED SECOND-GRADER: She was pretty mad, and I think I was in big trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Administrators kicked Josh out of class for two days, even sent a letter home to parents. His dad thinks, well, the school is overreacting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

B.J. WELCH, FATHER: I would say -- I almost call it insanity. I mean with all the potential issues that could be dealt with in school, you know, real threats, you know, bullies, whatever the issue is. I mean it's a pastry, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: It's a pastry, you know? School officials told WBFF they would not comment on the case for privacy reasons.

A fire that shut down Interstate 95 in Florida is now about 75 percent contained. The interstate has reopened and many people who evacuated from 300 homes near Daytona Beach are now being allowed to return home. High winds and dry conditions are fueling the remaining flames which have burned more than 1,000 acres so far.

Six members of a Wisconsin family died in a fiery crash on a Kentucky interstate. A tractor-trailer rear ended their SUV on Interstate 65 near Elizabethtown causing it to burst into flames. Two other family members were injured. Just minutes later a crash happened at the very same spot but in the other direction. That injured three people -- one of them critically.

A young expectant couple looked forward to the birth of their first child, a son. Tragically they died before they ever held him, but the real story is how the baby survived this terrible accident.

Susan Candiotti joins us from New York. So, Susan, I guess, first of all, how is this baby doing? And tell us what happened.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does seem like a miracle that this baby survived -- Alina. And at last check the baby was listed in critical condition. Grief-stricken family and friends attending an emotional funeral and burial following that horrific hit and run crash in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn today as a Hasidic Jewish community rallies to give support.

A young couple, 21-year-old parents-to-be were on their way at a hospital at about midnight last night because the expectant mother wasn't feeling well. Police say a hit and run driver crashed into the side of their cab killing the couple. The dark-colored cab was totalled.

Thanks to quick action by doctors at New York's Bellevue Hospital a premature baby boy, three months shy of his due date, was delivered by C-section after his mother died. He was the couple's first child. Police say the infant boy is in critical condition and relatives are standing watch while investigators are trying to track down the driver of a light colored BMW who fled the scene on foot. There was a passenger in the car, who also vanished.

Police will only say they've spoke to the registered owner but not much more. We don't know whether the car was stolen. Relatives and friends are trying to come to grips with what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIRIAM STERN, FRIEND: Just got along so beautifully. Just lovely, lovely couple and they're truly going to be missed by everyone. Everyone is just so heartbroken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: The driver of the cab survived and is in stable condition. Relatives tell us the couple had been married, Alina, less than a year.

CHO: That's incredible. Now, tell us a little bit more about the investigation, Susan. I know that they are looking for those two people in the BMW who apparently fled on foot. Any leads on that front? CANDIOTTI: Well, I tell you, we've been asking every hour on the hour police what they have found. We know that they've been working on it since about midnight last night since this happened, and so far they will only tell us that they have spoken to the owner of the vehicle but are still saying that the driver that was behind the wheel is still on the run. They don't know what happened to the passenger who was with that driver. And they're following up on as many leads as they can to try to find them.

CHO: Is it believed that the driver stole the vehicle?

CANDIOTTI: You know, we've asked that, too, but they're not revealing it. If they know the answer, they're keeping it close to their vest.

CHO: All right. Susan Candiotti, I know you will be on top of it. Thank you very much.

Meanwhile, coming up, 501 days in space -- think you're up for the mission? Hear why one married couple says they're more than ready.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Another high-tech space milestone today way over our heads in earth's orbit. The Space X Dragon capsule hooked up to the International Space Station. The Dragon is an unmanned cargo ship built by a private company contracted to NASA. Space X engineers were a bit nervous because of a little glitch that happened right after launch on Friday, but everything thankfully worked out just fine. The capsule took supplies and equipment to the space station crew.

Well, some of that tech used to hook up with the space station could be part of a bold new adventure to Mars announced just this past week. Our John Zarrella is our go-to guy for all things space. So John, what's the plan?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alina, the Inspiration Mars Foundation announced this week it's going to be sending two people, a man and a woman, to Mars. What makes this a lot easier than what NASA wants to do is that this is only going to fly by Mars, fly around it and then come back to earth. That's why it only takes 501 days to get there.

And the other thing that they are planning to do is that they're going to have to, they say, use an older couple because they want them out of the child-bearing years because of the fact that there's a lot of radiation exposure that these people, this couple, would endure on this trip.

Now, I have talked to a lot of the NASA astronauts since this came out, and the astronauts tell us, well, you know what? It's probably a good idea to send a man and a woman, a husband and wife, because that will raise the social value of this adventure. But they don't believe that there's any way that it can be pulled off. So many technical hurdles, so many psychological issues that the crew would face that it's just too much to overcome.

But Dennis Tito, who is a former JPO engineer, he says that he thinks they can pull it off. This is not a pipe dream. It's not crazy talk. Well, they've got five short years to do it. We'll see -- Alina.

CHO: All right. 2018. Thanks, John Zarrella.

Two people who were part of the Inspiration Mars team are, in fact, a married couple. And as you will hear in just a moment, they are a couple very familiar with long-term confinement. Earlier I spoke with Taber MacCallum and Jane Pointer, and, yes, they have thrown their hat into the ring to be the couple who goes on this trip.

But, first, I asked them what they tell people who say this can't be done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TABER MACCALLUM, INSPIRATION MARS: That's the tragedy. That's what's occurred that we've stopped dreaming, and that it used to be that we thought we've been to the moon, you know, Mars could happen.

Now people go, yes, Mars is never going to happen. And I hear so many people say that's the way America used to be, that we had bold dreams and, you know, we all got behind making them happen. Well, I think that's the way America needs to be now.

CHO: 501 days straight in space is some people's idea of pure torture and yet this is something that you desperately want to do. I mean I think we should tell our viewers that you were part of that famed Biosphere 2 experiment in the early '90s where the both of you lived in basically a three acre bubble in the Arizona desert.

What is it about this type of work that is so thrilling, so exciting for you?

MACCALLUM: Being inside and being separate from the earth's biosphere gave us a perspective that was interesting and unique and a way to sort of see what's going on in our world and what's going on earth and having a spacecraft going -- flying by Mars where you look back at earth is literally just a pale blue star like all the other stars.

I think it's going to give an interesting perspective. You know, maybe in its own subtle way that missions like this help give us perspective.

CHO: I have two more questions. Number one, as a married couple, how do you not kill each other being together 501 days straight, 24/7, inside a space capsule?

JANE POINTER, INSPIRATION MARS: Well, I think it really does have to be a tested relationship. Whoever goes on this, yes, it's got to be a relationship that's really solid. Taber and myself, we have actually had some experience with this in the biosphere as you mentioned.

And for me it was incredibly comforting to have somebody there that I trusted, that was, you know, in it with me, that could help me when I was down, that could problem solve with me, but also share in those wonderful moments. You know, I can't imagine that the crew that goes on this isn't just going to be in awe of the experience at times.

CHO: And I'm going to ask both of you this as well. I have been ordered to ask this, so don't hold it against me. I have read the research and it says -- I'm almost embarrassed to say this -- that sex in space is wetter and hotter. Now, how long is it going to take for you two to become members of the 7 million mile high club? I'm afraid to ask.

(CROSSTALK)

MACCALLUM: Well, you know, this is a mission for all ages, and there's clearly going to be private time that the two crew members will have and I think we should sort of just leave it at that, though it is an interesting survey.

CHO: Well, Taber McCallum and Jane Pointer, I'm going to leave it there. I don't know where you can go from here but I wish you the best of luck on your quest to travel to Mars in space.

POINTER: Thank you. Now we just have to build a vehicle.

MACCALLUM: Thank you.

CHO: Yes, you do. I wish you the best of luck.

POINTER: Awesome. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: What a fun discussion.

High-powered Facebook exec Sheryl Sandberg says women should blame themselves if they don't have leadership jobs. Outraged women say Sandberg's advice is useless. So the age-old question, can women really have it all -- a glamorous job, a happy family. Don't miss our eye-opening discussion next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Half past the hour now. Let's take a look at the headlines, including this. Britain's Queen Elizabeth is expected to spend the next two days in the hospital. Doctors admitted the Queen today with a stomach flu. Buckingham Palace says the 86-year-old Queen is in good health and good spirits and that she's in the hospital as a precautionary measure.

A shocking apology from a Catholic cardinal mired in scandal. Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien has been dogged by allegations of abusing four men studying to be priests back in the 1980s. O'Brien initially contested the claims. Today he reversed course and apologized saying his sexual conduct had fallen below standards expected of a priest. He resigned last month from his post as archbishop of Scotland.

More than one billion Catholics worldwide are now in limbo for first time in nearly eight years. There was no Sunday papal blessing in Rome's St. Peter's square. A nun in the square says today's mood was very sad and that she feels like a bit like an orphan. Cardinals will meet tomorrow to start setting up a special election otherwise known as a conclave, to choose the new pope.

The vice president apologized today for something he didn't do. He joined hundreds of others in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate Bloody Sunday. That was the day in 1965 when civil rights marchers were attacked by state police on a now famous bridge in Selma. They were marching to pressure Congress to pass the Voting Rights Bill, and Biden said today he should have been there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I was involved in my state in a small way, which was still fighting the lingering vestiges of Jim Crow, but I regret, and although it's not part of what I'm supposed to say, apologize. It took me 48 years to get here. I should have been here. I should have been here. It's one of the regrets that I have and many of my generation have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Biden marched today with Georgia Congressman John Lewis who was among those beaten on Bloody Sunday.

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg says women have an ambition gap in the workplace. She says women should take more responsibility for owning their careers and it's sparking controversy even before her book officially goes on sale.

And then there's this, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer banned telecommuting for all Yahoo! employees. That announcement came this week. A few months ago Mayer boasted she only needed two weeks of maternity leave.

Well, the backlash is intense and it brings us to familiar ground. The question is this, can women really have it all? A glamorous high-powered career, thriving children, and a rock solid marriage? "Feminister" editor Jill Filipovic, say it for me, Jill.

JILL FILIPOVIC: Filipovic.

CHO: Filipovic, close enough. She joins me live from New York. Jill, great to see you. You know, I want to read a quote from this blogger, Joanne Bamberger, getting a lot of attention. There you see it. "Guilt is never a good motivator," she says. Sandberg's argument that equality in the workplace just requires women to pull themselves up by Louboutin straps is just as damaging as Mayer's office only work proclamation that sends us back to the pre-internet era of power suits with floppy bow ties."

You know she says this message is coming from what she calls C suite moms and it's less about empowerment and accountability than it is about guilt. You say that women can have it all but that it means something different for everyone. What do you mean by that?

FILIPOVIC: Sure. I mean, if having it all means having a career and having a family and having a happy life, there are plenty of women and plenty of men that do already do that. You know, Joanne seems to do that. I'm a fan of Joanne's work. I think that she's wonderful. You know, and she also has a child, is married, and has a thriving career as a writer. That's something many women do. You might not be able to do every single thing that you want to do at one time, but nobody can do that. That's impossible.

CHO: You have read Sheryl Sandberg's book already, and you were buying much of what she says in it, right? So what do you think her message is?

FILIPOVIC: Well, I think her message is that women - the title is "Lean In" by which she basically means women should assert themselves, stay in the game so don't start making plans to leave your job before you actually are ready to leave your job. You know, negotiate, be assertive, and let go of guilt. She actually has a whole chapter contrary to what Joanne says in her "USA Today" piece basically saying we're all pretty much doing the best that we can.

CHO: Listen, you talk about being assertive and, you know, there are some women who might take issue with that. Because, you know, as you write in this article I see here, women become more successful, they're perceived as less likable. For men it's the opposite. And, you know, you do find that true. Women who are seen as assertive and tough are seen as the "B" word. Men who are seen as assertive or tough are seen as being strong, assertive and tough. Don't we suffer from a perception problem, an image problem that, you know, a culture problem we got to change as well.

FILIPOVIC: Yes, absolutely. I think that's actually one reason why having more women in leadership positions is quite valuable. It normalizes female authority. It gets us used to seeing powerful and assertive women and so that perception gap then hopefully will decrease.

CHO: But how do we get there then?

FILIPOVIC: Right. It's sort of a chicken and egg problem, right?

CHO: Right. FILIPOVIC: You know, on the one hand, we need both. We need women to be more assertive and we need women to take individual steps to help pull themselves up to positions of power, but we also need major institutional and cultural changes. We're the only developed country on earth that doesn't have federally mandated maternity leave. We don't have federally mandated sick days. We don't have federally- mandated vacation days. It really makes us an outlier and it's incredibly harmful to women in all levels of employment.

CHO: You know, I spoke with Bobbi Brown, the makeup maven, this week about these very issues and one thing she told me which I thought was really fascinating is she said "You know." She's written seven books or something like that and she said "You know, I write all my best books in traffic jams." It's just about sort of multitasking and prioritizing which some might argue that women are better at anyway, right?

FILIPOVIC: I think women are great at that. There are some men that are great at that. I think one of the big issues is we also need men to pitch in more. We really center these discussions around women and what women are doing or aren't doing. And frankly, part of the problem is that women have to take on so much more at home because those of us who are married and are married are partnered with men don't have partners who are doing an equal share of the work and that's really something that men need to work on and men need to change. They need to step up.

CHO: All right. Well, Jill, say your last name one more time?

FILIPOVIC: Filipovic.

CHO: Great to talk to you. Interesting discussion.

FILIPOVIC: Thank you.

CHO: And we'll be talking about it in the coming days. Thank you so much for joining us.

FILIPOVIC: Thank you so much.

CHO: And we should mention this, CNN is taking a closer look at challenges facing working women this week. Be sure to watch CNN "Newsroom" Wednesday through Friday at this week for some very special live guests and taped segments as well.

The king of beers accused. Drinkers say Budweiser waters down their brew. We'll have that story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back. Four straight weeks and the fourth straight drop in gas prices. AAA reports this weekend that prices at the pump fell again this week. Not by much, just 0.8 of a cent but better than nothing. The national average this weekend for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.75. Another company says it was the victim of computer hackers. Evernote Corporation is a digital notetaking service. It says it has reset all user passwords after the hacking. The company also says the passwords are encrypted so the content is safe. So far it says it has not found any evidence that information stored on Evernote was ever compromised.

One of America's best-known beer makers is fighting a lawsuit from drinkers. They charge that Anhueser-Busch is watering down its beer.

CNN's Brian Todd is looking into this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The so-called king of beers and its affiliated brands. They're clearly the king of the American beer market, famous for their entertaining ads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a sure sign of a good time.

TODD: Anhueser-Busch, brewer of Budweiser and so many other beers sells nearly half of the beer purchased in America. And according to a newly filed series of lawsuits it's ripping off customers.

ROBERT MILLS, ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFFS: The lawsuits allege that Anhueser-Busch adds water to their beers, waters it down, and mislabels the stated alcohol content on the labels of the cans of the beer they sell.

TODD: Robert Mills represents dozens of customers suing Anhueser- Busch for more than %5 million. Their complaint says the real alcohol content in Budweiser, Michelob, and other Anhueser-Busch beers is less than the five percent mark on the label and that's a big money saver. Quote, "By doing so, AB is able to produce a significantly higher number of units of beer from the same starting batch of ingredients."

(on camera): Even the plaintiff's lawyers admit taste isn't the issue as far as they're concerned. They say many beer consumers place a premium on alcohol content and simply think it's important to get an accurate reading from the label.

(voice-over): The attorneys bringing the lawsuit "their clients were not available to speak to us on camera. They could not give us physical proof of the alleged watering down. But they say the process is systematic and sophisticated. They say they found out about it from people who worked at Anhueser-Busch.

MILLS: People that calibrate the instruments, the people who are in charge in these breweries of handling these issues have told us this is what's happening.

TODD: Mills says those people will testify and says he'll get documents from the company. Contacted by CNN, Anhueser-Busch rejected the allegations. In a statement saying, "The claims against Anhueser- Busch are completely false and these lawsuits are groundless. Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers."

I asked Greg (INAUDIBLE), who procures beers for several restaurants and bars in Washington about macrobrewers practices?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Large brew houses it is somewhat commonplace to "dilute the beer." However what they're doing is, take, for example, if you had 1,000 barrels of beer, you know, like 2,000 kegs' worth of beer and you brew that to say 6.5 percent, seven percent, and then you cut it with some water before bottling, you could bring it down to somewhere between four and five percent.

TODD (on camera): And that doesn't mean your mislabeling it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. You get it to the level you want and then you label it that way.

TODD (voice-over): Ingert (ph) says that practice enables the major brewers to make and sell more beer out of their original ingredients. It gives the beer a cleaner taste, he says, with a lot of consumers like and it's not deceptive as long as you label it accurately.

I asked an Anheuser-Busch official if the company engages in that program. He said he couldn't comment beyond their written statement.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: All right. CNN decided to test the alcohol content for ourselves using an independent lab. Here's what we found. Budweiser showed 4.94 percent instead of five percent. Bud Light showed 4.13 percent instead of 4.2. Well, now that's not exactly evidence of watered down beer, and well within the government standards for accuracy. The samples were bought in the San Diego area and different bottles from different batches might produce different results naturally. The lawsuit said it relied not on lab results but on accounts from former brewery employees.

Lots of American Catholics believe the church is out of touch. Fewer Catholic weddings for one thing.

Just ahead, American Catholics reveal big changes they want the most.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Well, is it cold where you are? Too cold for a dip? It wasn't too cold for a thousand Chicagoans who showed up on the shore of Lake Michigan and took part in that polar bear plunge today. All of them having a really good time even though the sand was covered in a layer of frigid slush. It only got worse once those people hit the water. They found it hovering at the freezing mark, 32 degrees. Ouch. The iditarod dog sled race is under way in Alaska. The 1,000 mile race started today. 66 teams are competing. The winner gets a new truck and $50,000.

She set out to make NFL history, but an injury forced her to drop out today. She's Lauren Silberman, the first woman invited to an NFL sponsored try out. She had hoped to be the league's first female kicker. But she aggravated a quad injury, had to quit after just two kickoffs. Silberman is not giving up. She said she will try again and we wish her the best of luck.

The Roman Catholic Church has endured for more than 2,000 years. Now many people say it's got a chance not just to survive, but thrive when it picks its next pope. Could he be black or Latina? Will he bring the reform that many American Catholics are calling for?

CNN's Deborah Feyerick is in depth about the challenges ahead for the new leader of the church.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alina, just imagine sitting inside the Vatican right now listening to the conversations and deliberations about the legacy of Benedict XVI and the future of the Catholic Church will be defined by a new Pope. Well a number of Catholics, especially in the United States, are hoping that some changes will be made to reflect the reality of the times.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): When the new pope tries to reach out to American Catholics, he may find himself face-to-face with many who have Latin-American roots. Across the nation, the face of the U.S. Catholic Church is changing fast.

GREG SMITH, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: We've reached the point where about one-third of all Catholics in the United States are Latinos. And among Catholics who under the age of 40, about half are Latinos.

FEYERICK: But the face of the church hierarchy hasn't changed much at all. Just over 10 percent of U.S. Catholic bishops and seven percent of priests are Latino.

BILL MURRAY, CATHOLIC: I think we have challenges in the church that are pretty wide known. You know, increasing the congregation, less and less people going to the Catholic Church. I think maybe even a South American pope would help. It doesn't have to be a European, or an Italian.

FEYERICK: Demographic shifts are not the only issues the Vatican faces in the U.S. church. Bad news for Catholics when their numbers are growing, yet participation is falling.

SMITH: When we ask Catholics, what do you think the next Pope should do? What are your hopes for the next Pope? We see definite indicators that many Catholics want to see some changes. Most Catholics tell us, for instance, that it would be a good thing if the next pope allows priests to get married. Most Catholics tell us that would be a good thing if the next pope is from the developing world.

FEYERICK: And as the number of priests decline, some question whether women should fill the void. A quarter of all Americans are Catholic, making them the fourth largest Catholic population in the world. But that doesn't mean the church will change to address their concerns.

REV. CURTIS SEIDEL, CATHOLIC PRIEST: When it comes to faith and morals that the church's teachings are, while they need to be in dialogue with contemporary culture, they need to stand independent of that culture.

FEYERICK: Meanwhile some U.S. Catholics are voting with their feet. Catholic elementary schools lost a quarter of their student population in 10 years. There are fewer baptisms, burials, even fewer Catholic weddings.

SEIDEL: There's a lot of discord in the American Catholic Church, I think. There's a lot of tension between different factions and whatnot. And to help reconcile all of these different elements and to help the church move forward, I think it's something that t needs to be of concern to all Catholics.

FEYERICK: So as we await the white smoke signaling a new Pope and hope for the American faithful, it remains to be seen whether the latest smoke signals will be influenced by the winds of change.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: All eyes right now on the Vatican. The faithful, the hopeful, and the optimistic. Alina?

CHO: All right. Deborah Feyerick for us in New York. Thank you very much.

Let's be honest, it can be refreshing when journalists just tell it like it is. That's what makes this reporter from one of our affiliates our new favorite person. What she said live on the air that won us all over. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: I think it's safe to say that it's not every day that a TV reporter uses some choice language on the air and ends up getting a standing ovation for it. Well, this time you can blame, or credit a snowstorm.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sometimes the television veil is momentarily lifted and the ever-present, ever- pleasant smiles come off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it live! MOOS: And TV people act like they're not on TV.

(on camera): But those words were uttered by anchors who thought they were safely off the air. Those were bloopers.

(voice-over): What happened in the middle of a Wisconsin snowstorm falls in the category of blurted out truth.

OK, maybe it's not the profound kind of truth shouted by the anchor man and network.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!

MOOS: Angelica Duria didn't mind taking it. The 26-year-old reporter for CNN affiliate, WITI in Milwaukee had been standing out in the snowstorm for hours doing live shot after live shot.

ANGELICA DURIA, REPORTER, WITI: I have been here since 3:30 this morning. It is now - I don't even know what time it is, 9:45. I'm exhausted. I've run out of things to say. It is snowing and it sucks here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angelica, welcome to real Milwaukee!

MOOS: Most viewers loved it, the station's general manager loved it, and Angelica's mother loved it. A TV critic wrote that this apparently famous weather instrument the WITI snow stick probably blushed. Maybe Angelica wasn't as posh as, say, Prince Charles, the time he did the weather.

PRINCE CHARLES: Cold, wet and windy across most of Scotland.

MOOS: But at least Angelica is not getting teased like the "Today's Show" Al Roker did when he had what he described as a brain freeze to which some YouTuber added a sound track.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You unlock this door with the key of imagination.

MOOS: Angelica was in her own twilight zone of ambivalence when she tweeted, "not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed at that moment. Lol."

Be proud, Angelica. They say the truth shall set you free, even if it doesn't free from freezing your butt of doing live shots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm mad as hell -

DURIA: And it sucks here.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: She just said on the air what every reporter who has ever covered a snowstorm feels. Good for you, Angelica.

Well, as the world awaits a selection of a new pope, "Saturday Night Live" is getting in on the action. In a skit last night during a mock "Situation Room" report with our own Wolf Blitzer. Well, their Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Retired Pope Benedit is trying to compete in cuteness. And now he's attempting an, oh, no, you didn't gesture. Not even registering with the crowd. Because the new pope is riding a cardinal like a horsey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at that. Wow. I can watch that all day, huh? How about that. Horsey rides in the Vatican. That has got to be a first, but probably isn't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Wolf, she is cute as hell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But is she enough to turn the fortunes of this beleaguered church.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the Pope Catholic?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is not. And I don't think anyone cares.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: All right. That's great.

I'm Alina Cho. See you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. See you then.