into a really bad position and to have president obama do the best that he can to try and pull us out, it's been very interesting but it's not something that can happen overnight. >> you're a very wealthy guy, very successful, self-made. you've earned every cent. what is your advice for those who are out of work now, you've been in that position, craving employment and not being able to get it. what is your advice that 23 million other americans who currently are out of work and want a job? >> for me, i can tell you this. this may not be good advice for every person that's out of work but for a lot of people, what i found even when i was going through and homeless and trying to find a job and all those things, sometimes it means that you ought to try something else, something different, something new, because there were times in my life where i lost a lot. i lost an apartment but eventually i got a home. so i lost a job but i created a business. so if there is an opportunity

for one to create a business, this may be the time to do it, while things are the way they are, the way they are now, so as the economy changes, you'll see it grow. >> it's a fascinating race now, it's neck and neck in most of the polls that you see. what is your view? i know you've been an obama supporter publicly. you've also praised romney for his debate performance after the first debate. watching the second debate and looking forward to the third one, what -- >> i'm not actually looking forward to the third one. i thought the last one, watching it and looking at all the campaign ads and i live in georgia so there are a lot of ads there, i want it to all end. i want to get out, i want everybody in america to get out and vote, let's put all of this to bed so the country can start to move forward and stop all of the -- just all of the nasty back-biting and back and forth. it really disturbs me. >> it does seem to me a great shame in a country like america, which was built on being this tolerant, accepting country that took everyone in and treated you well when you got here, to watch two presidential candidates kind

of looking like they're about to slug it out onstage, calling each other liars and then these ridiculous attack ads that come out, whether it's big bird or binders of women, whatever they can latch on to to attack, missing the big point, which most americans want to focus on, what is going on there? why is it getting so fractious? >> unfortunately, being in the business that i'm in which is show business, i realize that a lot of things is smoke and mirrors. a lot of it is dust and let's hide the facts. i think that most americans, before you vote, you just should become as educated as you can about both president obama and the candidate and make your choice there. so i'm just, again, tired of the smoke and mirrors and i think it's all about let's hide the facts, let's bury the facts as best we can and the way you do that is with all these negative ads and pretty soon you start hearing it and you think is that true? and most times, people don't have the time to go and actually

fact check and that's what a lot of people are counting on. >> reminds me of stacy dash, who just because she said she wanted to support romney this time, exercising her right as anybody in america can do to vote for whoever they like, got absolutely annihilated on social media. it was a vicious, horrible manner. what did you think of that? >> i think it's awful that it happened but let me tell you, being a person who is in the spotlight and having some sort of recognition, i think that it is tricky, it is tricky to be in a spot where you would like to support a candidate and stand with them but you also are a celebrity and you have people from both sides who love what you do. >> right. >> so it's very tricky. you have to walk a very fine line not to offend. now, it's certainly not her fault. she can support whomever she would like, but i think the attacks on her, again, i am not a person that deals in negativity at all. i think it's awful. we are all allowed to support whoever we would like to in this

country. that's the greatest part about being american, one of them, that is. you know what i mean? so i think she has the right to do that. i think it's a bit unfair. >> how has barack obama done? obviously the first african-american president, first black president of this great country, huge moment for any other black american. tell me how you felt when he got elected, tell me how you think he's been doing since. >> i'll never forget the day he got elected because it was such a moment for me. i had fallen asleep because i was so exhausted, i was trying to wait for the numbers to come in and i hear screaming on the television. i open my eyes and it's ebenezer church in atlant where dr. king once was, and all the people are screaming and they're so excited. for me, what it meant was this country had evolved into a place where if you can go back to dr. king's dream, you know, not about the color of your skin but the content of your character. so just the thought that we could have an african-american president and these little brown faces, his children would be sleeping in the white house, was

beyond moving to me. and that didn't just say a lot about african-american people. that said a lot about the country and all of us collectively. so i think it was beyond moving. beyond moving. very exciting. >> was it a problem for obama that he became this almost god-like figure, the expectation level was so high, this hope and change ticket everyone thought my god, he's going to rid the world of all known diseases, you know, et cetera, no one could live up to that hype. >> well, here, the truth is, he said this, once he got into the white house, he realized that the problem was a lot worse than what he thought. i heard someone say this and i thought it was great, he volunteered to take over the titanic after it hit the iceberg, you know? so i think that he has done a great job in stabilizing the country and keeping the auto industry and other companies working and going, but i think there's still a great deal to be done. >> tell me the reason it's fascinating, the election, you could mark up a school report for obama, it's pretty positive. you could look at what he did in

detroit, saving the car industry. you can look at the ending of the war in iraq, the decision to pull troops out of afghanistan, the killing of osama bin laden. you could look at what he did with gay rights and coming out in favor of gay marriage and so on. all these things are big things that he's done, and you say okay, you've done well. on the other side, you look at nearly 8% unemployment, $16 trillion debt, $5 trillion more than when he started. and you start to think okay, does he deserve four more years, can any president deserve four more years if those two big figures loom large to the electorate? >> i think about it this way. here it is. if it took 8 to 12 years to get us in this situation, what is four years to get us out, no? you know, i am excited at the possibility of there being a plan in place that will pull this country out of the

situation that it's in. that's what i would like to see. that's what i'd like to know more about. >> is america more or less racist after four years of its first black president? >> that's a very interesting question, and my answer to that would be i'd like to think that it isn't, but the fact that he was elected as president says a great deal about the thought and mentality of many people, because african-american people alone could not have put him in office. so it says a great deal and he's not just an african-american president. he's a president of the united states for all americans, you know? so i'd like to think that it is. >> i see a recent poll, obama, 92%, romney 3% support among likely black voters. i just don't think that helps the debate either. it doesn't help that almost no black people in america want to vote for one of the two candidates. >> historically, african-american people are democratic. historically. >> but is that healthy? for america?

>> is it healthy for america? you know what i think is healthy for america? >> is it healthy that black people maybe can't feel they can be republicans? when stacy dash sticks her head above the paraput and immediately gets cut off, people tell her she sold out, is that helpful? >> first of all, i don't think it's healthy. i don't think it's helpful, i don't think it's healthy to attack her for her views. she's clearly allowed to have the views she has. she's allowed to vote for anyone she wants to. that's the country that we live in, right? but to think that again, i think a lot of it comes down to we as african-american people understanding what is best for us and if most of us feel that it is democratic, then that makes sense. >> we'll just take a short break, come back and talk about where it all started for you. you're a fascinating guy. you went through hell, i'm not overstating it, when you were young. looking at you now, you seem a man at peace but you may just be a good actor.

i know you're a good actor because your new movie is out, "alex cross." here's a clip. >> dr. cross, you're taking this personally. >> about as personal as you took running out of that building with your tail tucked between your legs. [ male announcer ] one in four americans can't sleep.

are you one of them? drink dream water, the natural, fast acting sleep aid that helps you wake refreshed. visit drinkdreamwater.com. back now with the one man entertainment empire, tyler perry. tyler, you weren't called tyler perry as a boy. you were named emmitt perry, jr. you changed your name you said to distance yourself from your father who let's be honest, sounds pretty brutal. used to beat you relentlessly as a young man which must have had an effect on you. >> well, of course it did. but you know, i was able to forgive him in my mid 20s and that changed my life, because what i did was, what i think a lot of people don't realize or understand is that their parents have a story, too. so whatever happened in your life, because of them, you really need to find out the story so that you can understand it. what i found about he and his

sister and his brother, they were all found by a white man in rural louisiana in a ditch. he was 2 years old at the time. he was brought to a 14-year-old woman named may to raise. her father was bedridden, very old man, was a slave, and everything that she knew to do to get these children to behave was to beat them. she would tie them in a potato sack, hang them in the tree and beat them. so that's what he knew. that's what he came from. >> he had been abused. >> he had been abused his entire life. third grade education -- >> how did you find this out? >> i found it out by asking questions finally of him. >> so he told you? >> he told me a lot about it. my aunt told me about it, other people in the town, small town in louisiana where he grew up, told me about the story. so it helped me to understand a lot of who he is, which made it easier for me to let go and forgive him. >> hard to forgive, though. >> it is. it is. but it's very necessary, because what i found is this. this is so true, if you do not forgive, you hold on to this thing inside of you that can change your life and take you in the wrong direction. nine times out of ten, the

people that have done things to you are asleep and at peace and you're holding on to it, and it can really literally become sickness in your body and make you physically ill. so i think that forgiveness is beyond important. >> is he still alive, your father? >> he is still alive. >> what kind of relationship do you have with him? >> we don't speak very much but i am taking care of him. i make sure he has everything he needs. >> you support him. >> absolutely. 100%. as a child, he wasn't a great father, but he was a great provider and he had an incredible work ethic, so he definitely gave me my work ethic. >> do you think despite the way that he manhandled you and beat you and so on, did you feel he loved you? >> no. never felt that. never felt that. i felt very strongly that there was something there and i didn't know what it was, and when i was about 30, my mother told me he never thought that i was his child. >> really. >> so that was another thing i didn't know, which caused a lot of issues as well.

>> did you have that out with him? >> i did. about four years ago, i asked why, and all he could tell me through his tears was this is what he said, you don't know what happened to me. which clearly made me stop and go you know what, i don't. but that doesn't justify what you did, but i will take that and i will try and consider it and understand it and make it work for the better of both of us and this relationship as father and son. >> has he ever said sorry? >> no. he hasn't. he hasn't. >> would you like him to? >> at this point, i don't know if it matters. i really don't know if it matters. because i really have, i really am done with it. so i don't know if it matters if he says i'm sorry. >> by contrast, you had this amazing relationship with your mother who sounds a fabulous woman. >> yeah. >> sadly died a few years ago. tell me about her. >> she was again, born in the same little small town. her mother died when she was 13 years old, she met my father when she was 17. he would visit her every week and show up in these new

cadillacs and buicks and she thought he was rich and would take her to live on his cattle ranch, this is what he told her. they get married, she goes down to new orleans, they end up in a juke joint for 12 hours looking for a place to live. she had no idea. so she left my grandfather and moved in with him and her sole support was my father. so that's all she knew. all she knew was she would go to my aunts and say we're having trouble, he's fighting me, he's hitting me, what should i do and they would say stay with that man, he's good, he's got a job. it was a different time back then. so she was a great woman, wonderful story. she worked at a jewish community center for many years, taking care of little kids there, and was just a beautiful, beautiful soul who only knew how to love. there were so many people, i remember as a boy waking up and there being people in the house all the time who needed a place to stay, who needed food, who needed anything. she was just a wonderful, wonderful woman. >> what would she make of what

happened to you? she must have been stunned or did she quietly think all the time he will make something big of himself? >> you mean of all the success? >> yeah. >> it was remarkable to her because she would always say to me, she always wanted to live like miss chancellor on "the young and the restless" and she never thought she would so the greatest -- the greatest gift in my life was what my audience has given me and that is the opportunity to take care of her and have her live the best life that she could. >> i read a lovely story that she passed a car on the road, a red jaguar and said i would love to have one of those. did you ever get the chance to buy her a red jaguar? >> i did. i was a little boy at the time. we were driving and she said i really like that car and i said when i get big, i'm going to buy you that car. i was in new orleans at the same theater, this is before katrina, and called her up onstage one night, i think it was close to mother's day and i gave her the keys to the car. that was a great moment. so many tears in the audience, so many tears from her.

>> what did she say to you? >> just -- she was speechless. just the thank you and the love. here's a woman who never asked me for a dime. never asked me for a dime. but as a little boy, watching all that she had gone through, i wanted to do everything i could to take care of her, to make sure she had the best life she could and because of my audience, god bless them, i was able to do that. >> after the break, let's talk about money, fame, love and oprah. >> okay. >> maybe they're all linked in some way. >> all together. you're a cute little thing. so... [ gasps ] these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence.

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you're a cute little thing. >> get your hands off of me. >> who you think you're talking to, old lady? >> you don't know me. i'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. now get the hell up from the table. >> i run this prison. i'm big sal. what big sal wants, big sal gets. >> i guess nobody told you that i'm madea. ma to the damn d-e-a. you understand that? >> tyler perry, grimacing there with a mixture of joy and horror of the character he created and

made a huge franchise. an amazing franchise actually came out of that. >> joy and horror. that's just about right, piers. yeah. yeah. >> you ever think when you were young and started treading the boards that one day you would be world famous for cross dressing? >> never in a million years. even the first time i did it i never thought it would last as long as it did. i just thought i saw eddie murphy do it, the brilliant eddie murphy and said okay, i'll try my hand at a female character and i did it. the audience won't let it go. >> oprah had a great line about this which is probably true. she said i think tyler grew up being raised by strong black women. so much of what he does is really in celebration of that. i think that's what madea really is, a compilation of all these strong black women that i know, maybe you do, too, and so the reason it works is because people see themselves. >> sure. sure. yeah. what i found is that as i've traveled the country, that madea isn't just a black woman. there are lots of other madeas from -- i met a jewish madea, an italian madea. >> it's about strong women. >> absolutely.

there were a lot of those women around me. my mother was one. my aunt was another. this woman carried a razor all the time. these women were very strong and you wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley. >> oprah has been a great role model to you. you've just joined her network to work with her, which is great for her and great for you, i think. tell me about oprah. i love oprah. she did my first show, she couldn't have been more gracious to me. >> great interview, too. you know, there's not much i can say about her that isn't known. what you see is what you get. >> that's true. >> she is who she is. i mean, i think that's why the oprah winfrey show and her legacy and everything that she's done has been so profound, because it is all authentic and real to the millionth of the inch, it's all very, very real. it comes from her soul and her heart and what she does and wants to do is inspire, uplift and encourage to be able to join forces and go in, because i'm moving toward having my own network and we get an

opportunity to help each other. i have programming and can produce content and she needs programming content and she has experience of starting her own network so it's a great tradeoff and great situation. >> last year, forbes listed you as the highest paid male entertainer, $130 million. wow. >> mm. >> any comment? >> no. next question? >> you feel uncomfortable talking about money? >> it drives me insane. it really drives me insane because i don't -- it's great. i'm grateful for it. i really, really, truly am but i don't -- i don't necessarily want it printed, you know. i don't think people want their income printed. >> if i had that kind of money i'd want it printed. what's the point of working that hard if you can't show it off? >> it's certainly not about showing it off. what it means to me honestly is to make that type of money means i get to reinvest in what i do because i invest in myself, and i'm able to hire a lot more people down there at the studio and do more films.

>> tyler perry studio, that's pretty cool. your motto is a place where even dreams believe. i love that. >> yeah. yeah. because i read the story of david in the bible and there was a moment in his life where he was a dreamer but he was in prison and the dream kept reminding him to keep going. so he stopped believing but the dream itself kept believing. so that's where the mantra came from. sometimes things get so rough and so bad in your life that your dream has to dream for you. and remind you to keep going. >> what is the best thing about money for you? >> again, the best thing which changed my entire life was being able to support my mother. that's where all the drive came from. >> i'm told you are ridiculously generous. you can't watch television without getting out the check book and wanting to help people. >> sometimes. that's why it's very difficult to watch the news. i always find a way to want to reach out. yeah. yeah. >> it's a nice idea. >> okay. thank you. >> why do you feel awkward talking about this? >> because i just feel that to

whom much is given, much is required and everybody doesn't have to know all the other sides of it. whatever you do for people and the kindness that you show, it's not necessarily for everybody to know. >> unlike most celebrities i've interviewed in your position who have been as successful, there doesn't seem to be any terrible drug, alcohol-related period where you had to go in the betty ford clinic for a year. none of that. how have you avoided the pitfalls that go with superstar fame, big money and all the rest of it? >> my faith. it has completely 100% been my faith in god and believing and praying all the time because this entire life, when i look at all these people and what they go through and how they go through it and whitney was a friend of mine and michael jackson and the struggle, i feel i understand what brings you to a point of i need some relief. i completely understand it, because the pressure of the situation can be really

difficult and demanding, and it affects -- it doesn't affect you as much as it affects everybody around you, which in turn will affect you. >> can get overwhelming for people. >> absolutely. and i understand why people turn to some sort of relief and i'm telling you, if i didn't have my faith in god, i don't know where i would be. >> we touched on whitney houston, a friend of yours. you have been quite candid about trying to help her. you rang her or felt compelled to ring her on the night that michael jackson died. >> yeah. >> because they were similar age, similar kind of problems. you realized she may be going through turmoil over that news. tell me about that. >> it was -- i haven't talked about it publicly, actually. i'm surprised that you know that. how do you know that? >> i know everything, tyler. >> i called her that night. i had been trying to get her all day. i called her that night and she had donny hathaway's "a song for you" blasting in the background. i'm surprised she could hear me. we talked for awhile. she was really broken up by his death and i didn't know if she was thinking about herself, but i was trying very desperately to

get her to let me come over to the house and just sit with her to make sure she was okay. and whitney in true fashion, after me trying for about five, ten different times, she said listen, i'm a mother and i'm a woman and i'm single and you're not coming over to my house in the middle of the night. in the way only she could. but it's beyond tragic and i was so disgusted, i must tell you, i was so disgusted at the media and the way that they handled her death. it was -- it was so blatantly disrespectful. the paparazzi, this is what i mean about fame, even in death, trying to get her, just her body from the morgue to the plane. >> you supplied the plane, didn't you? >> i did. i did. this was -- it was beyond awful. i tell you, we tried to send a decoy. they found out we had the body in a van and there were paparazzi 50 deep following the van.

i had to move the plane into the hangar, close the door and bring the van in. one person, one of the hired drivers is trying to take pictures of them putting her body on the plane. it was just beyond disrespectful for her family and everyone else and i understand she was a superstar but she didn't deserve to be treated that way in the media toward the end. you know? they asked me to come down to the beverly hilton and walking into that hotel room and seeing -- it was so bizarre, i'm thinking these people cannot know that she has died. there's a party going on. this can't be true, it can't be real. so surreal. i go upstairs to the floor and her family's there, they're all in tears, and i'm in the room with them and the coroners and the police are three doors down from where we are and i'm looking at the water on the table as the family's breaking down. it's vibrating from the bass below. i just think what is this? what is this, that this woman's life is not worth a moment of

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let me see your hands. let me see your hands! put down the gun. put down the weapon now. do it now! is this what you want to die doing? drop the gun! put your hands behind your back now, sir. [ gun shots ] >> action hero is tyler perry in the new film "alex cross." big departure for you. you enjoy playing an action hero? >> i looked at the character's arc which was very interesting to me. one thing that made me say no was morgan freeman. >> that's like replacing sean connery in bond or something.

he's my movie god. >> yeah, he played god in a movie. i couldn't -- i'm like -- but as i look at james patterson's description of the physicality and the age and family, and i thought, he's talking about me. so i gave it a second look and i loved the arc that i get to play in this role. i get to go from family man to the brilliant psychologist figuring things out to chasing down a bad guy to this lion being unleashed at the end of the movie. i'm super excited about it. >> let's talk about love, tyler. >> no. >> let me ask that again. let's talk about love, tyler. >> okay. fine. let's talk about love. >> how many times have you been properly in love in your life? >> what does that mean? what does that mean? >> that's what oprah said to me. i said the type that makes your heart ache or break. that's what it means. that kind of love. >> if i told you the truth, i would get in trouble. >> why? >> because -- so alex cross is

an amazing movie. >> tyler, tyler. i'm not letting you off the hook that easily. >> all right. once. >> really. >> once. yeah. yeah. >> and what went wrong? >> i think we were both very young. well, we were mid 30s. it was a very scary time in my life. i was just coming into success. i had spent 28 years of my life being very unhappy and i was very afraid of it. i was very afraid of the feeling of not being able to know if she loved me the way that i loved her. and the control i think scared me. >> was it in the end your decision to walk away? >> yes. it was. >> do you regret that? >> no, i don't. >> you thought it was the right thing? >> yeah, because we both were in a place where -- i just realized i should not have said this because -- i should not have

said this. >> why? why shouldn't you have said it? >> because i said too much. now she'll figure it out. yeah. >> what will she figure out? she knows what happened. >> why don't you ask another question. why don't you ask another question. >> this is a fascinating side to you because you're being so nice about it and so honest. >> okay. all right. so what do you want to talk about now? >> i suppose the obvious question after that is do you hope to have that again in your life? you're so busy, so successful -- >> that's part of the reason that i'm so busy. there's a woman that i'm seeing now that i love very very much. it's a different kind of love but i love her very, very much. >> now i'm beginning to work out why you dug yourself into a hole. >> now you see me trying to dig myself out of the hole. >> yes, i did. >> what i'm trying to do at this point is just enjoy it all. i'm not ready to settle down,

not ready to get married, not ready to be in a situation where i have a commitment. not ready for that. especially after that situation. >> i see. so you went through a very deep experience and you just want to be sure next time that it's right. >> what's the rush? >> yeah. >> i'm a guy. i'm 43. >> don't you wanttylers running around? >> yeah. i want that more than i want to be married, though. i have to find a way where i'm okay with that happening. >> i wish you luck. there's no hurry. you can do what you like. you probably have a queue -- you call them lines here. you have a line probably the length of manhattan of potential suitors, i would imagine. >> i appreciate that. moving on to something else? thank you so much. wow. all right. >> do you want a glass of water? >> i need a shot of vodka. that's what i need at this point. >> it's been a real pleasure. please come back again sooner than 20 months or whatever it was it took me to get you. it's been a real pleasure. best of luck with the movie. it opens at theaters this weekend. "alex cross." terrific film.

of course, all your numerous projects in 2013, particularly your work at o.w.n. with my friend oprah. good to see you. >> you as well. >> next, the founder of cnn himself, ted turner on business, politics and keeping america great. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save.

the 1980 presidential vote is now over three-quarters of the way recorded so let's take a look at some of the latest figures now. reagan leads with 51%. the latest united press international tallies and the national vote for president show that 82% of the precincts are now reporting with that total. 51-42% for reagan over carter. >> that was cnn covering the election night in 1980 when ronald reagan defeated jimmy carter. cnn was just five months old back then. joining me now for an exclusive, the father of cnn, a man who knows a lot about keeping america great, too. ted turner. ted, welcome.

>> nice to be here. >> how are you? >> i'm fine. >> what do you make of this election? it's getting very tight, very competitive, pretty nasty. >> yes. all of that. >> who do you think's going to win? >> i don't know. very close. whoever does the best job in the next couple of weeks. >> are you surprised by the sheer power of these debates from a television point of view? huge audiences, clearly moving the poll dial massively in the case of mitt romney's performance in the first debate. are you surprised how powerful television has now become? >> i'd say a little bit. i was a little surprised. and i was surprised about, you know, the relatively poor job that president obama did in the first debate. >> does he deserve a second term? >> if he gets elected. >> what do you think of his overall performance? clearly he inherited a very difficult situation. >> yes, a terrible situation. >> has he done enough, do you think? >> for me, he has.

for me, he has. >> when you look at america, you look at the fundamental economics of america right now, $16 trillion debt, 23 million people unemployed, gas prices double where they were four years ago and so on, house prices very depressed still, what is the answer? what do you want to see from whoever wins in three weeks time? >> hm. i want to see the best man win. >> one of the things, this is just a complete paralysis it seems in washington and the ability for the two sides to come together. >> i don't like that. i don't like to see the two presidential candidates getting personal and vindictive and anger. that's not -- not the way i think they ought to both be respectful because one of them is going to be president and the president certainly deserves respect. >> would you be happy if president obama wins to pay more tax?

he's indicated he wants to tax the rich more. >> sure. sure. >> you think -- >> i'd give all my money away, almost all of it. >> can a president do very much how can a president smartly revive things do you think? >> well, i think we spent too much money on the military. i mean, particularly the united states. spend half a trillion dollars or more now, and what are we getting for it? what did we gain by the war in iraq? what a disaster. the war in afghanistan, a disaster. the war in pakistan, a disaster. the war in vietnam, a disaster. we don't even know who wins and

who loses. the last time anybody surrendered was japan in 1945. nobody else has surrendered. just war is a waste of time and effort and it's consuming far too many of our resources, particularly here in the united states. our military budget is bigger than the whole rest of the world's budget put together. and, you know, there really isn't a threat that warrants that. but the military industrial complex is so entrenched, so strong now that none of the -- none of the congressional candidates have attacked the military budget. it's -- it's -- it's suicidal to do it. >> they get accused of being unpatriotic. >> that's not true. a patriot wants to see the country economically -- economically strong, not militarily strong. that was good -- 200 years ago,

but we live in the 21st century now in the third millennium. >> let's take a short break. 15th anniversary amazingly since you made the billion dollar donation to the united nations. shook the world. we'll bring back timothy worth, a very old friend of yours who runs the u.n. foundation and discuss why you did that. what's it like to give away a billion dollars? i can't imagine i'm ever going to know. >> first you got to make it. [ male announcer ] one in four americans can't sleep.

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the suggestion that anybody on my team, from the secretary of state, our u.n. ambassador, anybody on my team, would play politics or mislead when we've lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. that's not what we do. not what i do as president, not what i do as commander in chief. >> joining us now is ted turner and former senator tim worth.

pretty extraordinary thing to have done, give a billion dollars of your own money away. >> what it did more than just itself, it set a precedent for so many other people to give money while they are young, vibrant, alive, not after they died. look at what gate has done, buffett has done. we look at who are the biggest donors? who is being the most generous, contributing back, other than the safe churches and universities and so on, who is really working on the basic issues of our country and the world. >> do you think america's place in the new world order should be? always been seen as the global policeman, but it's hard to see all these military conflicts where the winner and loser lies, what should america be doing? >> i think the global policeman should be the united nations. and i don't think we should need one. i think we should use courts the way we do in civilian life, it's time to put war and conflict

behind us and move on. and start acting like civilized educated human beings. >> you made the point to me in the break there, more american servicemen have -- >> are dying now from suicide over there than are dying in combat. >> that's shocking, isn't it? >> well, no, i think it's -- i think it's good, because it's so so clear that we're programmed and we're born to love and help each other, not to kill each other, to destroy each other. that's an aberration, left over from hundreds of years ago. it's time for to us start acting enlightened. >> what's it like to give away a billion dollars? i can't even imagine. >> it was a third of what i had at the time. so it was significant. other, to destroy each other. that's an aberration, left over from hundreds of years ago. it's time for to us start acting enlightened. >> what's it like to give away a billion dollars? i can't even imagine. >> it was a third of what i had at the time. so it was significant.

you can't do it very often. so i made a special occasion out of it. it was -- you know, it was for the united nations to help the poorest people in the world. >> are you pleased with how the money is being used? >> absolutely. in the entire 15 years of the foundation, not one sign of any impropriety whatsoever. and if the board of directors represented, the whole world, all of the continents represented. and not a single major argument at the u.n. foundation. >> when you fly around the world and you check into hotels, and the only english speaking station is cnn. that must make you proud. >> absolutely. and i went around the world marketing it back 30 years ago. never heard of the a lot of places. >> still the most trusted news network.

>> absolutely. and we did that after being on the air for 20 years. the most respected and trusted network in the world and that included the bbc and "the new york times". news organizations that had been around for over 100 years, and we were only 15 years old. >> ted, good to see you. >> always. >> nice to see you. we begin tonight keeping them honest with breaking news about who knew what and when they knew it. all that in connection with the attack that killed four americans in benghazi, including america's ambassador to libya. the time line is crucial. both as a simple matter of fact and because it's become a political bone of contention. tonight, there are key new pieces of it. "360" has learned that even as the country was waking up to the fact that four americans were