kind of conversations they had all last week during the congregation. one of the key things, because the cardinals don't campaign for this, he didn't have a platform, there is all the speculation, about what will he do as a reformer, a caretaker? he probably doesn't know yet. >> everyone looks for clues. he picked the name francis, what does that mean? he wore black and not the papal white, what does that mean? he told the cardinals hold on, i'm going to address the crowd, what does that mean? >> he will roll it out in his own good time. fascinating as he rolls forward with the american church, some people think of moving forward. my parents are very devout. my mother would say the church's job, not a popularity contest. not to move. people are voting this way. change all the doctrine and yet at the same time that is a challenge for the american church. how do you keep up with what people consider to be modern times, but keep to a doctrine that is obviously based in t

way past, in history? >> this is an issue. because people do have it in their minds that this is a democracy and that polls are the things that make the decisions. it's not. we're dealing with what we call eternal truth. the eternal truth of our faith and don't really change that much. we said earlier in the program, the key is the way you delivery the message. that's what people will look for in the next 40 years. >> it will endear him to the audience or push him to the audience. john paul ii, what people loved about him was the delivery of the message in a personal way. >> have the ability to engage the culture and have the conversation is key. >> pope john paul was 59, only two years older than me, when he became the pope. and we watched him become a grandfather. benedict walked out to the world statement stage as a grandfather. and it's true of this man.

we're looking for wisdom. the wisdom of many years in the church. >> he had the warmness immediately. it was his smile. >> felt like -- >> he looked like he didn't know what to do. >> and people loved him for that. >> tomorrow on "starting point," we'll talk to newt gingrich. always an interesting conversation. and carroll costello begins right now. we'll see you back here tomorrow morning. happening now in the newsroom -- school shocker. disturbing new cell phone video of a 14-year-old girl brutally beaten. >> i turned around, because i didn't want to fight her and she grabbed me by her hair. >> her mother furious, alleging the school dropped the ball on protecting her daughter. also, cruise ship hell, part two. >> there is human waste all over the floor and in the bathrooms. >> another black eye for

carnival. >> and they -- you know, they said that they were working on the ship and then the generators were having a problem. >> new ship, same problem, the caribbean vacation turned nightmare for thousands. plus, michelle obama revealed. the first lady in "vogue" striking in a midnight blue dress and black kitten heels. macattack, is this the death of the iphone? live in the cnn newsroom. good morning, thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello. a few hours from now, pope francis will celebrate his first mass as leader of the catholic church and the very cardinal who's elected him. the pope, a couple of hours ago, visiting the basilica of santa

maria marja in rome. we are there looking at the first full day and beyond. miguel, new details about pope francis, for example, he wouldn't ride in a chauffeured driven limo. he wanted to ride on the bus with the other cardinals. he refused to step on the throne, but stood on the same level of cardinals. different for a pope. >> well, look. out of the gate this guy wants to prove this is a new church, he is a new pope. one of the interesting things after that mass that basilica santa maria. checked out of his hotel. and he picked up his bags and now somewhere in the vatican. this is a guy who wants to prove and show the world that the church is different. last night as well. he wore an iron cross, for example, excuschewing gold or jewels. this is a guy with a sense of

humor. at the end of the dinner with the cardinal electors. he said in choosing me, my god forgive you what you have done. which is sort of a little joke, that, you know, you got me as pope now, so you have to put up with me for some time. our own chris cuomo able to speak to cardinal dolan today to get a little more on pope francis. >> what do you think pope francis can do that will give a sense of renewal to the catholic church? >> gout, chris. the catholic church is ever ancient, ever new. it's a beautiful blend. sometimes we look to our church as a grandmother. sometimes we look to her as a young bride. so there has got to be that combination of things immutable and things that are timely. he'll do it well. all we can do is look at his track record, okay? and amazingly simple and sin veer, transparent man. a man who deeply loves the poor.

a man who is thee logically well grounded in the timeless doctrine of the church, okay? and a man who knows how to govern. we'll begin to see those kinds of things. there may be a touch of simple policeity, sincereity, openness. he will attend to the curia, the central government of the church universal. which you said it well, probably needs some tending to, right? which government doesn't? we look to d.c., we americans say there need to be changes there. i think we'll see that stuff. >> that's a prospect for him as a reformer, more than on the social liberal agenda level of what he will do about women, about sell boise, about gay marriage? do you think he will move the church on any of those? or not his path? >> no, i don't think he'll do that. he can't -- as you know, he can't really tamper with what's

called the dispositive faith, which he inherits and his job to pass on to the next generation. he can't change the substance, the givens, but he can change the way that's presented. and he's she rurewd enough. he can say i love traditional teachings of the church, i am loyal as the day is long, but i'm recognizing a lot of them aren't going over. i can't change them. i don't want to change them. i have that as part of revelation, but we better work on a more tantalizing, attractive, compelling way to present them. i think he'll do that brilliantly. >> fascinated about -- ian it's secret, the key, locked away. what was it like in there for you? i took a picture of you when you put your hand to reflect the oath. tweeted it. don't worry about it on the house. >> i didn't have my fingers crossed? >> no, you looked great.

taking it seriously, staring at the frescos. >> who could not? a kid looking around the sistine chapel, boy. >> the most secret process in the world. you can tell us what it's like. >> very intense, very emotional draining. and this is one of the most important things i ever have to do to vote for the new successor. so there is a lot of intensity. but yet there is also, chris, balancing that, a remarkable -- i don't know how to explain this. you know me. i'm a pretty hard-boiled guy. people wouldn't call me pius. i hope i'm holy, but i don't think people would call me devotional or pius. there is a beautiful sense of the gentle movement in the holy spirit. no thunder and lightning, no sledgehammers, people getting knocked off their horse. but you gradually sense a movement toward a man and you

pray hard, talk a lot to one another, and there is a gradual movement to it, that i found just generated a lot of joy and serenity. >> were you trying to look at anybody's ballots? >> i may be irish, but i wouldn't stoop to that. >> walking up with it in your hand. how big a moment in your life? >> to go up, make another oath and put it on this beautiful -- you put it on the tray and take it so it goes in. and those are stunning moments. and there is silence. most of the conclave is silent, see? not a caucus, not a convention. light a liturgy. prayer. you begin and end with prayer. it's very quiet. like you are at a retreat with a lot of thought and prayer reflection going on. >> so pope francis off to a promising start. the question is, how much of this is the jitters of a very

humble man, beginning an extraordinary journey, and how will he handle things going forward? will this end up being pr or the pudding and the proof? >> we'll talk more about that later in the newsroom. ing my marquc miguel marquez, lm rome. deja vu. today, we're heading for new horror stories. passengers are telling cnn they are stranded aboard another crippled ship. also belonging to carnival cruiselines. this one, the carnival "dream." docked in philipsburg, st. maarten. it may sound better, but they aren't allow off the ship and trapped inside for hours. >> they said they were working on the ship and then it was the generators were having a problem. about an hour later, they said that the problem is worse than

they expected. there's human waste all over the floor in some of the bathrooms and they are overflowing. >> john berman joins us from new york. i understand minutes ago, carnival released a statement. what are they saying? >> carnival is trying to set a few things straight this morning. they say at no time did the ship lose power, but there were periodic interruptions to elevators and toilets for a few hours last night. however, at this time, all hotel systems are functioning normally and have been functional since approximately 12:30 a.m. you know, we are going to hear from the coast guard in a minute. but they do confirm the carnival "dream" has generator problems and the cruise has not asked for any assistance at this point. the ship, about 16 hours late. due to leave port at 5:00 eastern time yesterday. there is no word yet on a new timetable or any other

accommodations that are being made for passengers right now. this kind of the latest public relations nightmare for carni l carnival. one month ago today another one of its cruise ships, the carnival triumph towed to port after fire knocked out its power. you can't possibly forget the passengers aboard the ship. complained of raw sewage running down walls, hallways, sweltering cab you knows and lines stretching around looking for water and food. at least we do know that ship is in port right now no, drifting at sea at least. >> no drifting at sea, but passengers are still trapped on board. but we'll see what the coast guard has to say. >> doesn't sound great, does it? >> we want to get the latest from the u.s. coast guard. chief ryan dost joins us we phone. >> good morning. >> did carnival contact you guys? >> we have been in regular contact with the captain of the carnival "dream." he has reported to us that all hotel systems are functional aboard the ship. right now, our main concern is

that passengers and everyone aboard the ship are safe. never an a deideal situation, we happy that the ship is in port. >> why won't carnival let the passengers off the ship? >> we have spoken to the captain and right now, the passengers will remain aboard the ship for accountability purposes. last thing we want to do is have someone left behind in st. maarten. the ship was scheduled to depart yesterday evening, due to the situation it hasn't happened. the ship will get under way sometime in the near future. we want to keep passengers -- the carnival -- the captain rather has chosen to keep the passengers aboard the vessel at this time. >> what does it say, that the carnival having the exact same problem aboard another ship? >> i won't speculate what the exact issue aboard the ship is right now. all that's reported to us there, say problem with the propulsion

system that caused it to remain at the pier. >> which point will you get more involved than now? >> the coast guard has legal authority to investigate should that be needed. at this time, that determination is not made. our main concern is for safety of folks on the ship and make sure they have supplied and systems they need to be safe, and right now, all occasions from the captain are those systems are functioning properly. >> thank you for joining us. we sure appreciate it. >> thank you. happening this morning, new york state police say a 64-year-old shooting suspect is dead, ending a standoff that begun yesterday. new pictures of the police presence on the scene. kurt myers accused of killing four people and injure two others at two businesses in herkemeier county, 80 miles from albany, new york. debor deborah frerichs on the scene.

>> this is no accident. kurt meyers was laying in wait to ambush police officers. when they arrived, he made preparations in the building where he holed up after killing four other people. there overnight. police have sent in teargas and robots to see if they could get a lay of the building he was in. two-story building with a basement. over 15 hours, carol. not one single word. no communication between kurt myers and anyone on the outside, even though they are were trying to contact him, find out exactly what had happened. exchange of gunfire earlier in the afternoon. he shot at police officers, they shot back. it was unclear whether they had injured him. killed him, and especially because he wasn't saying anything. he was also very concerned. at 8:00 today, they made entry, when they got in, they sent in an fbi canine. kurt myers shot the dog and

authorities opened fire, killing the gunman. he is accused of killing four people and injure two others. >> wow. deborah freyerick. an incredible fall all the way to the ground. we'll introduce to you the skydiver who survived this. i know what you're thinking... transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

a confident retirement. those dreams have taken a beating lately. but no way we're going to let them die. ♪ ameriprise advisors can help keep your dreams alive like they helped millions of others. by listening. planning. working one on one. that's what ameriprise financial does. and that's what they can do with you. that's how ameriprise puts more within reach. ♪

17 minutes past the hour. time to check our top stories. pilot lights in a kansas city kitchen are blamed for a natural gas explosion last month. one person killed in the blast. vapors had built up after a contractor hit a natural gas line. the restaurant warned about a possible natural gas leak. they blew out candles and turned off stoves, but did not turn out the pilot light. a skydiver, falling too fast for his parachute to deploy correctly. hister vied jump partner watched the entire thing unfold. >> pretty scared to watch my friend die. >> god watches out for idiots

and puppy dogs, and he just let me live and walk away. >> wow. incredibly, the skydiver suffered only a dislocated shoulder and nasty bumps and bruises. michelle obama, gracing the cover of ""vogue" magazine, par of the shape issue, which focuses on the beautiful and well-being of women's bodies this is mrs. obama's second "vogue" cover. on news stands march 26th. in a few hours, the house committee takes up the tsa's controversial decision to allow small knives back in airplane cabins. agency chief john pistol is expected to defend the change and said the new policy would bring the u.s. in line with international standard, and allow screeners to focus on bigger threats, like liquid explosives and bombs. but opposition continues to mount. airline executives, flight attendants, even the tsa screens

union say bringing back nifs on board planes, banned shortly after 9/11, is not worth the risk. let's bring in experts on both sides. an aviation security specialist supports the change and sarah nelson, vice president of a union that represents 60,000 flight attendants, opposes it. welcome to you, both. >> thank you. >> let's start with you, sarah. what's wrong with the new policy? >> flight attendants are aviation first responders and ever since september 11th, we're the last line of defense. we support a risk-based analysis -- a risk-based approach to security. security say multilayered approach, and introducing risk to the scenario doesn't make sense at all. we live in a post 9/11 era where planes are fuller than ever, we're seeing more and more conflict on board, and tsa was created because of loss of american life. it happened here on american

soil. introducing a scenario where we put millions of passengers at risk with naiknifes is not a go idea. no knifes, very simple. for those of us on the front line, that doesn't make any sense at all. >> you traveled to capitol hill yesterday and talked to officials. were they receptive? >> absolutely. the news is spreading across capitol hill. because they are hearing from constituents, that this is a not a good idea. people don't want planes back on board the aircraft. and let's face it. every member of congress also travels with us. and they understand that this has to be about the security of the people in the cabin. we cannot stop with the idea that it's just about keeping that airplane from being a weapon it has to be about the safety of everyone in the cabin. everyone on that airplane has to have the right to get from point a to point b safely. and we're especially concerned about that, as flight

attendants, we're charged with the safety, health and security of passengers in our care. >> you understand the concern of flight attendants, right? >> yes, i do i feel for them in the sense that i feel they were blindsided by the rule. i don't know if they had a seat at the table, if they didn't, they should have had a seat at the table when this regulation or rule was enacted. >> why do you believe it should be enacted? you said security could never be 100%. why is this change actually a good idea in your mind? >> i believe in the risk-based security approach. dynamic, flexible. about low risk and high risk. and if you have 600 million passengers going through flying in the u.s. every year, and if you can determine that a third of them are low risk, you can put the rest of those assets looking toward higher risk problems. such as explosives and the unknown passenger. right now, i'm sure the tsa had

looked at prohibited items and said this particular knife issue is a low-risk issue. and a good example being, and i've got -- this is an example of the knife that would be allowed on now. >> um-hum. >> starting i think it's april 15th. however, right now, i can bring this on, as long as this is less than 7 inches. i can bring a set of scissors on, up to four inches. are these anymore of a risk, that you can do now, than this pocket knife? so i do think you have to look at the risk factor. you want to focus on higher risk which could be catastrophic or lower risk items. >> sarah -- >> that's where i'm at. >> along the same lines. i fly almost every weekend, and it's my sense, if someone pulled out a sharp object, a knife, scissors, anything, the passengers would be on that person like flies on rice,

right? a different time right now, but you can't really tell who is carrying some sort of explosives, you can't really tell if a bomb is on board a plane. so those things, perhaps, should be paid more attention to. >> those things should be paid attention to. but we should not abandon this ban on knifes. this doesn't make any sense. we opposed other items being on board too. we deal with passenger disturbances every single day where we expertly deescalate the situation and sometimes have to call on passengers to help us contain the problem. if you introduce knifes into the scenario, it makes it that much more difficult to make us do our job, makes the public less safe. this is an issue that matters to every single american whether you travel or not. you probably have loved ones who travel. i tell you something, 11 years ago, i lost my good friends on flights 175 that ended up in the world trade center. i still grieve that loss, as do the families of 9/11, and we simply do not need to go backward. we're in a post 9/11 era where

we need to keep knifes off our planes. this is a slippery slope. very simple at aviation security to say no naives. not so simple for transportation security officers who oppose this so say some knifes okay, some not okay. this doesn't streamline security, it introduces risk into security system, and it's not necessary. calling on the public to stand with us. this is an issue that matters to everyone. no knifes on planes.com to sign the white house petition and we really encourage the public to stand with us. >> john sullivan, many thanks, we appreciate the conversation this morning. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. >> you're welcome. >> talkback question for you today. what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. [ male announcer ] if she keeps serving up sneezes...

[ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air. tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! go to e-trade and roll over your old 401(k)s to a new e-trade retirement account. none of them charge annual fees and all of them offer low cost investments. e-trade. less for us. more for you. earning loads of points. we'll leave that there. you got a weather balloon, with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything.

go. ♪ keep on going in this direction. take this bridge over here. there it is! [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. [ laughter ] [ male announcer ] earn points with the citi thankyou card and redeem them for just about anything. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support,

chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. with chantix and with the support system it worked for me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

now is your chance to talk back. the question this morning what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion? catholics hope pope francis, revered for his devotion to the poor will, bring more people, especially young people, back to the catholic church. >> i ran from work, and i have to go to the church. a couple of blocks down. i said i have to come to a church and thank god we have this pope we are not alone. >> exciting for the catholic chur church, especially in the united states to have a south american pope. good for anyone. >> a man of the people. raised poor, rode buses, so they made a wise choice. >> in his first public appearance, pope francis eluded to the need of a big tent. >> tralator: let us begin this journey together, the professor and the people.

this journey for the roman catholic church. it is a journey, friendship of love, of trust and faith. let us pray always for one another. let us pray for the whole world. because all right us have a big brotherhood. >> still, attracting new followers not just a problem for the catholic church, but all faiths. in a new study, 20% of americans say they have no religious affiliation. that's the highest number since the 1930s. one researcher told the huffington post, it has a lot to do with increased role religion and politics, and "people identify and link organized religion with anti gay attitudes, sexual conservatism, a whole range of social, cultural issues, this is

blowback. even with excitement a new kind of man was elected pope, a jesuit who rejects the trappings of wealth, that enough? pope francis still opposes contraception, a more powerful role in the church and same-sex marriage. things many americans, especially young americans, favor. the talkback question. what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. good morning, i'm carol cost tello. stories in the news room, the dow trying to a tenth state day of gains. alison kosik at the stock exchange. incredible that the stock market

is behaving in this way. >> i know. you have to look at the fine print. what's interesting in the record-breaking streak that the dow is on, the dow breaking records every day, it sounds great. but it's doing just barely. the dow eeked out a five-point gain. the day before that, ended two points higher, technically, a record. every day the dow ends higher when it broke through the level of 14,164. but there aren't many traders in the game right now. that's the reality. that could put gains in jeopardy every single day. so could random piece of negative news. for now, we're on s & p 500 record watch. the dow already hit it. now the s & p 500's turn which would be bigger because of your 401(k), portfolio, tracks that index. it hit its all-time record high of 16,055. that could give momentum to the whole market to move higher. >> we'll see. alison kosik, live at the new york stock exchange.

coming up, sarah palin and donald trump. more outspoken republicans in recent years. should they be given such a big platform at the annual gathering known as c-pac. political buzz panel, coming your way next. it's not what you think. it's a phoenix with 4 wheels. it's a hawk with night vision goggles. it's marching to the beat of a different drum. and where beauty meets brains. it's big ideas with smaller footprints. and knowing there's always more in the world to see. it's the all-new lincoln mkz. some people will do anything to help eliminate litter box odor. ♪ discover tidy cats pure nature. clumping litter with natural cedar, pine, and corn.

we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

♪ [ indistinct shouting ] [ male announcer ] time and sales data. split-second stats. [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ it's so close to the options floor... [ indistinct shouting, bell dinging ] ...you'll bust your brain box. ♪ all on thinkorswim from td ameritrade. ♪ to denver now. an assault in a middle school grabbing the nation's attention this morning. the school district is publicly responding after a teenager was brutally beaten and all, of

course, recorded on someone's cell phone. we'll warn you, much of the video disturbing. the fight, also posted on social media, happened despite repeated pleas from the victim she was being bullied and days after attack, the victim says she's still being threatened. julie hayden from affiliate kdzr in denver has more. >> reporter: a 14-year-old denver girl, fennig for herself, when another 14-year-old girl brutally assaulted her in a classroom of a denver middle school. >> i turned around, because i didn't want to fight her and she grabbed me by my hair. >> reporter: happened last friday at denver's henry ford school. the victim didn't have time to set her backpack down when the other student jumped her, knocked her to the floor, viciously hitting her in the face and body. the mother says the school didn't call her. another parent did. >> my daughter, who was the one who was severely hurt, was sitting alone in a nurse's office, and i still wasn't

called. >> reporter: sarah says about a month ago, the other girl started bullying her, stalking her in the halls, pushing, hove shoving, trying to make her fight. she told teachers repeatedly she didn't feel safe. >> just to have somebody watch her, make sure she doesn't do anything. i asked for help a lot of times. >> they treated the situation like every other one they see, and it was not the same. >> reporter: friday afternoon, the bullying crossed the line to a premeditated assault. the school says several dozen students created a disturbance in the hall to lure the teacher out of sarah's classroom when the attacker rushed in along with dozens of other students who clearly knew about the assault, some even taping it on their phones. >> to me, that's the most disturbing part. >> reporter: the attacker's friends are still threatening sarah on facebook. this post says they will knock her teeth out when she comes back to school and this one threatens to beat up again. 21 people liked that post.

sarah is traumatized and overwhelm. >> i don't want to live anymore. >> that kills me more than anything. no child should feel like that, not mine, not anybody's. >> julie hadden from kdvr. the bully cited as a juvenile by denver police. a denver public school spokeswoman says she face as a three-day suspension and possible expulsion. i strongly emphasize to our students this type of violent behavior will not be tolerated at our school and students will be held accountable. we'll be right back.

political buzz. your rapid fire of the best political topics of the day. 30 seconds on the clock, three topics. we have pete dominic and cn thnch contributor and analyst for the blaze, will cain. >> good morning to you. >> i like that enthusiasm. i do actually. first up, annual c-pac conference kicks off today with speakers that raised eyebrows within and out of the republican party. also making news, the amount of time some of the speakers have. the national journal reports that texas senator ted cruz will

have a wonning 33 minutes for his keynote. next up, sarah palin will get 16 minutes and then there is this man. >> i feel strongly about the fact that barack obama should give his birth certificate, not a certificate of live birth, which is nothing. >> you remember donald trump, birther talk would not die. those remarks and others from palin have hurt the conservative movement. the biggest c-pack irony, two men considered to be the future of the party, senator marco rubio and paul ryan will speak just 11 minutes. the question, is c-pac giving the wrong people the biggest platform? pete? >> yes, i bet you anything my friend will cain will totally agree with me. on much of this, the idea that this organization and other conservative commentators i thought are more out for

themselves, making money for themselves than the conservative movement this is antithetical of what the conservative movement needs to move. why not bring strom thurmond back from the dead? donald trump and sarah palin are done. put the fork in them. the future is marco rubio and the day groups and they are not inviting them. >> they haven't this year. will. >> that depends on c-pac wants to be if they want to guide future direction of republican party, the answer quite obviously no. donald trump has a bigger role than chris christie is absurd. but if you want to sell tickets, you have probably done are right things. and some who realize those two things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. and ran paul proved that. stand on principles, be smart, get people's attention.

it takes someone with backbone to enable it. >> interesting. next question, the world welcome as a new pope. pope francis. in the united states, the number of people claiming no religious affiliation is at an all-time. many associate organized relingon with outdated social norms. >> i saw your talkback question earlier and the question suggested this decline in organized religion has coincided with the rise of religion in politics, that's simply not true. religion and politics have been intertwined dating back hundreds of years and been so as recently as the last decade.

however, what's been on the rise as organized religion declined is the growth in nondenominational sort of pick and choose your own aspects of religion you like. that's on the rise. anyone who comes into the catholic church attempting to grow, it will have to deal with that. and the question becomes if you taylor make religion, do you divorce yourself from organized religion. >> pete. >> organized religion on its way out with more enlightened, more informed, more educated prosperous societies in the world. moving toward the enlightened idea of spirituality. or complete atheism, which i think is maybe wrong. the catholic church has got a lot of bad publicity. maybe they can bring in a cel celebrity like mel gibson to give out a psa. celebrity catholics. people don't go to movements, because of the leader, they go because of friends and families.

that's how you get people into the church, not because of the new pope. >> i am thinking mel gibson wouldn't be tops on t list. >> that was a joke. >> buzzer beater. michelle obama, on the cover of "vogue" opening up about the president and life in the white house, following in the footsteps of hillary clinton who graced the cover as first lady in 1998. and a growing movement to brick these two women together in 2016. a former clinton spokeswoman tells the washington examiner they would be "a dream team." the website, cafe press reportedly saying sales of bumper stickers like this one, touting a hillary/michelle ticket have surged 60%. we know the whole thing is ridiculous, but we want to have fun. will this trounce the competition in 2016? will. >> so you asked me would it? the answer is no. that's asking me essentially to

be a betting man. would i bet that statandem woul trounce the competition? no. do i disagree with them on everything? yes. if there is a glass ceiling like hillary clinton suggest there is, it would be bad to suggest a team of two women would be the first to break the glass ceiling. >> luckily we don't have fantasy politics yet, and that's what this is. we will never see the ticket. they would definitely win. i would vote for michelle obama for anything. she can do no wrong in my mind. who is on top of that ticket, by the way? i imagine it would be hillary. maybe if they become up with a name like flo-rod. >> you think they would? >> i absolutely think they would win. but i think any democrat will win at the national level until republicans can find a way to reach out to nonwhite folks.

>> on that note we'll end. will cain, pete dominick many thanks. cha kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion. facebook.com/carol cnn or twooet me @carolcnn. ♪ ♪ we're lucky, it's not every day you find a companion as loyal as a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. at od, whatever business you're in, that's the business we're in.

with premium service like one of the best on-time delivery records and a low claims ratio, we do whatever it takes to make your business our business. od. helping the world keep promises. with new lean cuisine salad additions. with grilled chicken edamame pineapple ginger vinaigrette and crispy noodles. just bring your own lettuce. new lean cuisine salad additions. just byol. find us in frozen.

talk back question for you today. what kind of spiritual leader draws people back to organized relin relinen? this from rob. as long as they keep denying what is true and working against human rights they will keep alienating people. >> a charismatic leader who the world admires will draw the world back to organized religion. jesus draws us to a relationship with god. from michael, the church that takes the hate out and put it is love of god back in will win people back. from marilyn, jesus christ. if everyone complied with his teachings the world would be a better place. keep the conversation going. like lobster lover's dream or new grilled lobster and lobster tacos. come in now and sea food differently. visit redlobster.com now

for an exclusive $10 coupon on two lobsterfest entrees. carrots. yes. celery. cool. chicken wings. it's actually very good. crackers... delicious.

sabra hummus. dip life to the fullest. departure. hertz gold plus rewards also offers ereturn-- our fastest way to return your car. just note your mileage and zap ! you're outta there ! we'll e-mail your receipt in a flash, too. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. i have obligations. cute tobligations, but obligations.g. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

the lakers kobe bryant hurt his ankle and he's not happy about how it all went down. jerry greenberg is here with more. good morning. >> good morning. this is the most painful loss. the lakers are clinging to the final playoff spot in the western conference. l.a. fell in atlanta and that's the least of their concerns. down by as many as 14 in the third quarter. kobe bryant. kobe with a chance to tie it. tough shot. doesn't go. more importantly though kobe in serious pain. straight to the x-ray machine.

results are negative but the lakers say he's out indefinitely. did the hawks win because of a dirty play? kobe thinks dante jones can't allow kobe a safe landing and he did it on purpose. >> first i think the officials need to protect shooters. the defensive players -- you can contest shots but not walk underneath players. that's dangerous for a shooter. >> in 140 characters or less -- jones chose tess and says tape doesn't lie. ankle was turned on the floor after the leg kick out that knocked him off balance. i would never try to hurt the man. how's this for working from home? lindsey vonn won her 6th world cup downhill title and underwent knee surgery last month. couldn't compete in the final event. however neither could anyone else. bat weather cancelled it and vonn was the points leader. while rehabbing she could have

more room for hardware in the trophy case. a nus see fight where nobody wins. a man down. wait a second. two men down. 14 seconds into the fight, it's a double knockout. you heard that saying. there will be two hits, me hitting you, you hitting the floor. >> i have never seen this before. >> two hits and two men hit the floor. it's ruled a no contest. so you deliver a knockout and you don't even get a victory. that's a hard day at work. >> they both get credit for a knockout? >> no. it isn't an official fight. never counted. but their head hurts. >> thanks. the next hour of cnn newsroom begins after a quick break. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing...

had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. if youthen this willbrids arbe a nice surprise. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v and we haven't even mentioned... c-max also gets better mpg. say hi to the super fuel efficient ford c-max hybrid.

i'm wolf blitzer and this is cnn. happening now in the newsroom. another carnival cruise in trouble. overflowing toilets, busted generators. oh, no. here we go again. it didn't take the new pope long to make waves. why he toasted the cardinals by asking for their forgiveness. and a sky diver slams into the ground, his chute not fully open and he survives. >> i completely lucked out. god watches out for idiots and puppy dogs. he just let me live and walk away. >> you're live in the cnn newsroom.

good morning. thank you for being with me. i'm carol costello. this hour it's déjà vu all over again. remember the crippled ship with overflowing toilets and unbearable cabins? one month to the day after the ship was towed into port we are hearing new horror stories. passengers are telling cnn -- they docked at st. martin. that mie may sound better but passengers have been trapped aboard the ship for hours. greg stark is on the carnival dream. he joins us by phone. hi. >> hello. >> thanks for being with us. tell us what conditions are like now. >> currently the toilets and

elevators are working. however, we have been provided -- not been provided an update since 11:00 last evening as to what's going on. and they are still not letting us off the ship at this time. they have done two separate tests of the elevators and the toilets where they have had to shut them down for several hours. last evening when they did it, the toilets were overflowing. down in the common areas. on the main floors. >> how long have you been cooped up on board the ship? >> we were originally planning to depart from st. martin at 4:30 p.m. yesterday. we have not moved since that time. we are slated to be back into florida around 8:00 a.m. on saturday morning. >> so i will ask you the question. after you watched in vivid detail about what happened to the carnival triumph, why did you choose to take another

carnival cruise? >> well, i think we figured the ship is newer. they are going to be more cautious and that things happen. but something like this should not be a recurring issue. we scheduled it prior to that event happening. >> i'm going to read you a statement from carnival cruise that cnn managed to get ahold of. this is what carnival is saying now. at no time did the ship lose power. there were interruptions to elevators and toilets for a few hours last night. at this time all hotel systems are functioning normally and have been functional since approximately 12:30 a.m. eastern time. does that fit in with what you told me? >> i would say that's fairly accurate statement, yes. they were -- they did go down to guest services last evening. they actually didn't have a

supervisor on duty until we had a crowd of people that would not bring a supervisor up. they finally called one cop that was off duty. when i spoke to him, he was completely clueless regarding the toilets overflowing on the ship. we offered to walk him around and show him them. he declined that. but he was not aware of it. even though everybody was going into the bathrooms and they were overflowing. asking, you know, the guest service where is to go and people that were manning the guest services station didn't really have any answers for us. >> my last question, is the bar open? >> yes. the bar is open. >> thank god for that. >> no free drinks, however, as of yet. >> those will be coming your way soon. >> thank you very much. we'll follow your story. hope you get off the ship soon.

in washington, president obama wraps up his visit to capitol hill by meeting with lawmakers not in the majority. he's working to change the perception inside the halls of congress hoping that can score necessary points to help get his budget plan passed. at the same time, the first hay di is sharing her view of her husband. magazine titles leading by example she was asked if the president's mellow nature is interpreted as aloof. this is how she answered. quote, i don't know what people expect to see in the president. maybe they want him to yell and scream at somebody at some point. sometimes i would like him to do that. that's not how he deals with stress and i think that's something we want in our leaders. dan lothian is at the white house. good morning. >> good morning. >> yesterday the president got a standing ovation from house republicans. john boehner had some flattering words for the president. in an op-ed this morning john boehner had some not so

flattering words for the president. >> that's right. what you are seeing here is a shift. the president, as you pointed out, the first lady says a lot of lawmakers out there thought the president was aloof, that he hasn't spent the kind of time needed to develop relationships with republicans over the years. instead, has waged this campaign-style strategy where he hits the road in order to put pressure on lawmakers to bend to some of his proposals. we have seen now the shift in recent weeks where the president is sitting down, having face to face meetings with republicans. having dinner or lunch and having this on going dialogue. so republicans are looking at this and saying they are cautiously optimistic that this is all headed in a new direction. we heard the president from the president last night talk about this shift about the outreach and he was talking to supporters and donors as part of the grassroots organization for

action. the president specifically addressed what everyone has been talking about. the charm offensive. >> you know, over the last several weeks, the press in washington has been reporting about obama's charm offensive. well, the truth of the matter is all i have been doing is calling up folks and trying to see if we can break through some of the gobbledy-gook of our politics here. >> so the president heads to the hill to meet with senate republicans and house democrats. we should know it's not just the outreach to republicans but also democrats as well. some of them frustrated that they have not had the time with the with president that they would like. now getting a chance to sit down, talk to the president face to face. everyone hopeful that they can hammer out some compromise on the tough fiscal issues. >> i'm sure all of america hopes

so. dan lothian live from the white house this morning. in two hours, pope francis will celebrate his first mass as the leader of the catholic church. here he is a couple of hours ago visiting the basilica in rome. cnn's miguel mar kwez is there, too. good morning. >> good morning, carol. after he visited the basilica this morning, one of the oldest in rome, he checked out of his hotel he checked into when he got into argentina. he went there himself, collected his bags and checked out. this is a guy who wants to set the stage that in the jesuit tradition, life will be simpler under pope francis. last night in front of a crowd of 150,000 he wore an iron cross rather than gold or something jewelled. this is a guy who at dinner last

night after he ate with cardinals, told them, well, in selecting me, may god forgive you for what you have done. you get a sense this is a funny guy. chris cuomo got more of a sense of what he's like from cardinal timothy dolan in an interview today. >> what do you think pope francis can do that will give a sense of renewal to the church? >> you got it. the catholic church is ever ancient, ever new. it's a beautiful blend. you know, sometimes we look to our church as a grandmother. sometimes we look to her as a young bride. so there's got to be the combination of things, immutable and things that are timely. he'll do it well. all we can do is look at his track record. amazingly simple and sincere transparent man. a man who deeply loves the poor. a man who is theologically well grounded in the timeless doctrine of the church.

and a man who knows how to govern. we are going to begin to see those things. i think there may be a touch of simplicity, sincerity, openness. i think he's going to tend to the central government of the church universal which we all said, you have been reporting it well, probably needs tending to, right? what government doesn't? as we look to d.c., we americans are saying there needs to be change there is. i think we'll see that stuff. >> do you think that's the prospect for him as a reformer more than on the social liberal agenda level of what's he going to do about women? what's he doing about celibacy, gay marriage. do you think he would move the church on those? >> no. i don't think he will do that. as you know, he can't really tamper with what's called the deposit of faith which he gratefully inherits. now it is his job to pass on faithfully to the next generation.

so he can't change any of the substance, but, boy, can he ever change the way that's presented? i think he's shrewd enough to say, you know what? i love the traditional teachings of the church. i'm as loyal to them as the day is long. i'm also recognizing that a lot of them aren't going over. now, i can't change them. i don't want to change them. they come to us from the lord as part of revelation. we better work on a more tantalizing attractive, compelling way to present them. i think he'll do that brilliantly. >> pope francis works with the press for the first time and we'll be interest interested to see if he takes question. >> some people are thrilled about the prospect of francis bringing reform to the church. the pope is expected to face controversy, especially among progressive catholics wanting

social change. francis opposes same sex marriage and adoption by gay parents. he was outspoken critic ofracepe contraceptives. joining us is the executive director of catholics united and herndon from g.l.a.d. your organization is excited about the prospect of pope francis. tell me why. >> we now have a pope who is reading the same bible we are. when we read the gospel jesus's overriding concern is for the poor. we know pope francis will elevate the voice of the poor and that's why we are excited. >> that's great for catholics because it truly defines what catholocism is. but you heard cardinal dolan say

pope francis isn't likely to change anything about the power of women in the church, about contraception. about gays being welcomed and loved in the catholic church. aren't those things important, too? when you want to attract a younger congregation? >> yes. certainly the church needs to bring its teachings on sexually into the 21st century. i will be the first to say that i'm praying for that today. let's take comfort that he's older and may respect a bygone era. the church needs to desperately bring itself into the modern era. i think by speaking on behalf of the needs of the poor, pope francis can reorient the priorities of the church back to what matters. >> i want to read what you wrote about when you heard pope francis was the pope. you said in his life jesus condemned gays zero times. in pope benedict's time of the papacy he made a priority of

condemning gay people routinely. this in n spite of the fact that the catholic hierarchy has been in collusion to cover up the widespread abous of children within its care. we hope this pope will spend less time condemning and more time foot washing. cardinal dolan said something interesting. he said, you know, what you said was, in essence, true, but pope francis can change the tone of his message to be more welcoming. to perhaps gay congress regants. >> i think he can absolutely change the content of what he's saying. i don't think the bible supports the rejection of gay people. i think the new pope has compared gay marriage to being in league with the devil. i don't see it anywhere in the bible. i question whether the pope, when he was spending his time in argentina during the dirty war and hundreds, if not tens of thousands of people were

murdered, where was he when that was going on and what type of vocal opposition was he putting to that? because what i find is perhaps not every time, but often when popes like the previous pope we had and the new pope that we have had come into public they speak vocally against gay people in spite of the fact jesus did that exactly zero times. so i wonder when you've got one finger pointed at other people you've got four pointed at yourself. what i would be interested in is a complete cleaning of the house and the vatican who, as everyone knows, has spent decades covering up the widespread abuse of children within its care. we have an organization that rejects the leadership of women which is totally out of step with the rest of the world or at least the rest of the civilized world. so i wonder what it is, what

it's going to take for the catholic church to really realize that they are completely out of step with the rest of america and the rest of their congress gre gants. if you look at the statistics, more catholics report gay marriage than the rest of the united states. i feel like, you know, more of the same is not a good thing. >> all right. thanks to you both. the pope hasn't started the job yet. he may have some surprises. who knows? thanks for being with us. we appreciate it. one of the biggest concerns in afghanistan, insider attacks. u.s. and coalition troops targeted by members of the afghan military. now the top nato kmapder is issuing a warning. revolutionizing an industry can be a tough act to follow, but at xerox we've embraced a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees.

reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore? with xerox, you're ready for real business. mr. wiggles and curling irons. for the little mishaps you feel, use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster neosporin. also try neosporin eczema essentials. i use bounce outdoor fresh sheets because they're just that much fresher and they help keep static off in the cold so my clothes will never embarrass me. mommy, i dressed the snowman! how do you get your bounce? less static year-round.

how do you get your bounce? ♪ ♪ we're lucky, it's not every day you find a companion as loyal as a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe?

let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. new york state police say a 64-year-old shooting suspect is dead after a shoot out with police. police stormed the abandoned building where curt myers was hiding and exchanged fire. myers is accused of killing four people 80 miles from albany. pilot lights in a kansas

city restaurant kitchen are blamed for a natural gas explosion last month. one person was killed in the blast. authorities say vapors had built up after a contractor hit a natural gas line. the restaurant had been warned about a possible gas leak. employees blew out candles and stove lights but didn't turn out the pilot light. samsung releasing the new flagship phone later today at radio city music hall. they have been hyping the latest release with teasers on twitter and a flash mob in times square. the commander of the nato led security force in afghanistan is now warning top commanders of possible rising tensions between nato forces and the military. general joseph dunford warns, quote, karzai's remarks could be a catalyst for some to lash out against our forces. he may also issue orders to put

our forces at risk. james marx joins me via skype. good morning. >> hi, carol. >> this isn't a formal threat but it sounds serious. how much more risk do u.s. troops face? >> it's very serious. general dunford clearly has to communicate with his force and immediate leaders. certainly e-mail isn't a very effective way to do it. you know you're transparent when you do that. this isn't a threat advisory or his team getting together saying in a specific area we have to have indicators that there is an enhanced vulnerability based on x, y or z. what this tells you is that the linkages between strategy, what president karzai said to secretary hagel and how that affects tactics has always grown closer and closer. you have the president of a

country where we are a guest indicating he's got trouble with our president. so the senior u.s. nato commander is indicating, we have to stay vigilant. the mission continues. no changes to the mission. we just need to lean forward. i think at the lowest levels that means the composition of patrols, some of the missions might change and you might have exclusive afghan units and fewer afghan and u.s. units intermixed. >> just to remind people what ha a mid karzai said. the u.s. troops were colluding with the taliban, right? >> kind of incredible that he would say that upon the visit of the secretary of defense which is rubbing his nose in it. joe dunford is spot on to do this saying, looks, guys. don't worry about what happens at the senior levels. but it does have an effect on you. so stay focused. do the right thing. >> retired army general spider marks. thanks for being with us. >> thanks. >> talk back question for you

today. what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion? facebook.com/carol cnn or tweet me.

now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning, what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion. catholics are hoping pope francis, revered to devotion to

the poor will bring more people, especially young people back to the church. >> i have to come to church. i work a couple of blocks down. i had to come and thank god that we are not alone. >> especially in america to have a south american cardinal named pope is good for anyone, you know? >> especially a man of the people. raised poor, rode buses. they made a wise choice. >> in his first public appearance pope francis alluded to the need for a big tent. >> translator: let us begin this journey together with the people. this journey for the roman catholic church. it is a friendship of love, of trust and faith. let us pray always for one

another. let us pray for the whole world because let us have a big brotherhood. >> still, attracting new followers is not just a problem for the catholic church but for all faith. in a new study, 20% of americans say they have no religious affiliation. that's the highest number since the 1930s. one researcher told the huffing ton post it has a lot to do with the role of religion in politics. that people identify and link organized religion with anti-gay attitudes, sexual conservativism and a range of social, cultural values. this is blowback. yet, even with the excitement and a new kind of man was elected pope, a jesuit who rejects the trappings of wealth is that enough. he he's against things young

americans favor. talk back today. what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn.

at od, whatever business you're in, that's the business we're in with premium service like one of the best on-time delivery records and a low claims ratio, we do whatever it takes to make your business our business. od. helping the world keep promises. good morning. i'm carol costello. checking our top stories at 30

minutes past the hour. the nightmare aboard the carnival cruise dream is over. carnival says the ship is running at full power and all hotel systems are functioning normally. earlier passengers ta contacted cnn with stories of toilets overflowing and elevators not working. democratic lawmakers in minnesota are considering a snack tax. some retailerses say they can't stomach it. the tax would affect products like chips, prets zels and trail mix but only smaller than eight ounces. the bill is facing opposition who say it will create confusion. a dramatic crash landing captured on video in california as a sky diver spins out of control. he was falling too fast for his parachute to deploy correctly. his terrified jump partner watched the entire thing unfold. >> i was pretty sure i was about to watch my friend die. >> i completely lucked out. god watches out for idiots and puppy dogs.

we just walk away. >> incredibly the sky diver suffered only a dislocated shoulder along with nasty bumps and bruises. conservatives gathering in washington for a three-day meeting that could reshape the republican party. this year's conservative political action conference comes on the heels of gop losses in the house last fall and mitt romney's defeat in the race for the white house. joining me now, chief of staff for newt gingrich's 2012 presidential campaign. welcome. >> how are you, carol? >> i'm good. thank you for joining us. there's been some criticism about who was invited to speak at cpac this year. what's your sense of that? ? >> i think the gop -- i'm sorry. it's loud behind me. the gop and members of my party, the conservatives, need to be more concerned about not who's behind the podium, but the people in the seats.

those are the people that are very interested in ideas and they are the people that are going to get people elected. we have focused so much on who is speaking that i think we need to turn the cameras on who is sitting in the seats and say, where are you from, what organizations are you involved in? what issues interest you? and get them engaged and involved. that's what the obama campaign did so well and frankly just beat us on micro politicking like that. >> the republican party wants to put a new face on it. it had problems in the last election. by inviting people like donald trump and sarah palin and giving them the bk of the time on stage, isn't that defeating the purpose? >> well, there's -- that's a double edged sword. on the one hand you might make that argument. on the other hand, cpac is

getting a lot of coverage because of donald trump and sarah palin. so for you asking me the questions now and that's been the story. quite frankly, that's one of the reasons i'm at cpac now. i have never been to a cpac. there was so much interest and attention it was interesting for me to come to. >> but chris christie wasn't invited. i would say there would be enormous media attention focused on cpac if perhaps rand paul h had a bulk of speaking time or if chris christie had been invited. >> i can't disagree with that. i can't disagree with that. i can't explain it. at the end of the day, the program is what it is. the fact of the matter is we have a conference room, conference center full of people that are excited about conservative ideals and it is those people we have to plug into. >> patrick, thanks for joining us. we'll let you get back to it.

>> thank you. >> you're welcome. this man gives the hero's welcome a new meaning. getting fired after saving a group of toddlers from a shark. ♪ [ female announcer ] from meeting customer needs...

to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless. [ female announcer ] from finding the best way... ♪ to finding the best catch... ♪ wireless is limitless. [ male announcer ] engine light on? come to meineke now for a free code scan read and you'll say...my money. my choice. my meineke.

this is cnn breaking news. >> all right. all morning long we have been telling you about the carnival dream cruise ship stuck in port at st. maarten because of a failed generation.

yes, there were stories of overflowing toilets and stuck elevators. one passenger said they have been stuck in port since 4:30 yesterday. we believe the ship has gotten the go ahead to sail on to florida. chris anderson is an anchor at wreg. he's also on board the carnival cruise ship as a vacationer. chris, welcome. thanks for joining us this morning. are you there? >> good morning. i am. i guess anchors and anchors on ships, it's all one big happy family. [ speaking simultaneously ] >> i'm sorry. i couldn't hear you. >> we are seeing a picture of your happy family. it's a beautiful family. >> we were having a great time. >> what happened? >> we just heard from our captain. he just made the announcement a couple of moments ago and said they have made every attempt to repair the issue with the generators on the ship.

every attempt unsuccessful, unfortunately. so what they just told us is the miami-based crew is scrambling to make charter plane arrangements. they will have us flown back to orlando actually. so they are chartering a plane because the ship is inoperable and they are unable to make repairs to the generator system. when today restarted the system, they noticed there were errors. thought it was an easy fix. as it progressed into the night, realized it was more complicated and a few minutes ago they determined that it was not something they can get fixed so they are going to charter us back to orlando and transport us back to port. >> so after a what happened to the triumph, are you just stunned that this could happen again on another carnival ship? >> carol, i add so many people ragging on me saying you guys are going on carnival. i said, what are the odds of it happening to two ships in such a

short period of time? look what happened now. i guess it's unfortunate. gosh, you know, rather than make the call than getting into the middle of the sea and having a problem with the generators. we are on the carnival dream. i believe it is less than five years old. part of the dream line of ships. it's not one of the older ships in the fleet. >> there were thousands of passengers on board the ship. how long do you think it will take to get everybody on a chartered plane back home? >> gosh, i hope it's chartered planes plural or it will be a while. it's funny. the airport here is a famous airport where the planes are touching down over the beach. it looks like you can reach up and touch them. but, gosh, between crew members and passengers, i believe it is close to 6,000. i think there are more than 4,000 passengers on the ship and maybe 4600 passengers, 1200 oh crew members. that's a lot of people to move.

on a busy day this airport moves about 5,000 people through it. san juan, the second busiest airport in the caribbean. they have the capability to bring in 747s. we'll see how they can transport 4,000 people back to orlando. >> we wish you the best. we're glad you're getting off the ship. at least some time soon. >> i wanted to say the power has been on. the toilets are working fine. they are serving up hot food and in a bad situation they are trying to do the best they can. >> that's good to hear. kris anderson from wreg. thank you so much. talk back question for you today. what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec®

at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. to book this fabulous hotel. allergy symptoms for 24 hours. michael, tell us why you used priceline express deals well, you can see if the hotel is pet friendly before you book it. and i got a great deal without bidding. and where's your furry friend? oh, i don't have a cat.

priceline savings without bidding. to get our adt security system. and one really big reason -- the house next door. our neighbor's house was broken into. luckily, her family wasn't there,

but what if this happened here? what if our girls were home? and since we can't monitor everything 24/7, we got someone who could. adt. [ male announcer ] while some companies are new to home security, adt has been helping to save lives for over 135 years. we have more monitoring centers, more of tomorrow's technology right here today, and more value. 24/7 monitoring against burglary, fire, and high levels of carbon monoxide starting at just over $1 a day. and now get adt installed for just $99. isn't your family worth america's number-one security company, adt? our girls got us thinking, but the break-in got us calling. and after buying two of everything, it was nice to only need one security system -- adt. [ male announcer ] get adt installed for just $99. and ask about adt pulse, advanced home management here today. adt. always there.

time to talk back. what kind of spiritual leader will draw people back to organized religion? catholics hope pope francis will bring people back to the catholic church, but attracting followers is a problem for all faiths. in a new study, 20% of americans say they have no religious affiliation. the highest number since the 1930s. one researcher told the huffington post it has a lot to do with the increased role of religion in politics. that, quote, this is a product of the involvement of the religious right in american politics and the increasing connection in america's mind that religion equals conservative politics equals religion. joining me now, contributor to the daily beast and amy cremer of the tea party express. welcome. >> thanks for having us. >> welcome. i'm excited to hear your answer to the question. we have been grappling with it. you want to attract more people to the church. how can you do that when a

growing number of people are dropping out? >> i think the first thing that this pope has to do -- and it is a big and a small thing. it's just to establish trust with people watching him. i think that's the biggest fault of the catholic church so far in recent years. so bogged down by scandal. so many concerns they were trying to cover it up. if you can't trust your church, who can you trust. that drove a lot of catholics away. this pope, by being so humble, by asking people first to pray for him before he prayed for them, i have never seen a priest do that, certainly not a pope. he set the tone with the way he lives his life to say you can trust me. he doesn't even say it. he leads by example. he needs to lead the church in a direction where people want the church to be. that's to say there are billions of people living in poverty including in our own neighborhoods to see him taking

the church in a way that the church would want to follow. >> b what about this idea that the huffington post brought up that really organized religion's role in the world of politics is the reason people are being driven away. our politics are so part san. they really don't want the religion to be that way. >> we are tagged with being right wing radical social conservatives, an ond on. really all we are about is the fiscal issues. the government needs to get out of religion and there should be separation there. it's not government's place to insert themselveses into those issues. that's why we believe in states rights. put the decisions back to the states where they belong and get the government out of our lives. at the end of the day, it's people all across the world that are responsible for instilling

the values in our children. so obviously there's been a breakdown. i think what's important here is this man is a humble man. he relates to these people. he rides a train. he doesn't have a car service taken. he cooks his own meals. pope john paul ii engaged the youth. he was one of them. he said in his inaugural mass you're the future of the church. you're my future. i think there is similarity here. i don't know that this pope, pope francis will be able to reach the youth like pope john paul did. pope john paul was younger. i think the cardinals of the church when they elected him as the pope, they realized what kind of man he is. also, i think the fact that the largest population of catholics is in the americas. that played into this, too. >> if you want to grow the catholic population here in the united states, patricia, and you want to attract young people, don't you have to change your

stand on a simple issue like contraception? this pope still doesn't believe women should take contraception of any kind. >> i really don't know that that's the case. i think if you talked to many catholics in america, they really pick and choose the pieces of the church they want to follow. there is less they want to follow and they just stop going to church entirely. somebody said, is this pope going to be conservative. i said, this pope is going to be catholic. this is what catholics believe. if he infuses the message, nobody expects the pope to back away from catholic teachings, but if he applies those catholic teachings and literally asks, what would jesus do? i think that's the way he lives his life. he advocated for the children of single mothers to be baptized which is scandalous among priests. people have already seen such a difference spirit in this man. i don't think people have to

agree with everything the pope teaches to be drawn to him. i think that's important for the church. i'm not the pope. but -- >> still -- >> it's a message people are drawn to. he's not going to change to get people to follow him. people will follow because they want to follow. >> i just want amy to have the last word in here. still on the issue of contraception many young people, you can't even comprehend that someone would be against that for women. when you look to the church, they wanted to be a more modern institution and relate to their everyday lives. in that instance, it seems to not be doing that. >> carol, it comes back to what i said. as parents, it is our responsibility to instill morals and values into our children's lives and bring the church into their lives. it is not the government's place. at the end of the day we have to decide what's best for us. maybe not everyone agrees with the contraception issue. i can tell you one thing.

we don't need our federal government mandating that all the insurance companies and employers have to provide contraception for their employees. that's not right either. so the government needs to get out of religion and stay out of that and let people make those decisions themselves. i'm sure people don't agree. you know what? that's what's great about this country. it is a free country. we can decide for ourselves. >> we can. many thanks to you both. we appreciate t it. >> thanks for having us. >> we'll be right back.

#%tia[ it's not what you think. it's a phoenix with 4 wheels. it's a hawk with night vision goggles. it's marching to the beat of a different drum. and where beauty

meets brains. it's big ideas with smaller footprints. and knowing there's always more in the world to see. it's the all-new lincoln mkz.

55 minutes past the hour. time to check our top stories. a bill limiting magazines to 55 a bullets or less passed the state house. now to the governor who is expected to sign it. in new orleans, crews will be searching for a missing teacher. a teen used sonar to look for her in the water and her car. they didn't find anything. she was last seen outside of a bar march 2 after celebrating her nomination for teacher of the year. if you want the day off work, don't lie to your boss. here s here's the story. >> reporter: a good deed never goes unpunished. a hero who saved kids from a shark attack has been fired from his job. a welsh man was on sick leave.

he went to australia to recover and get some sun. while he was at a beach he saw a shark and did what anyone would do. he tackled it in the water and saved the kids from getting hurt. it was caught on video. but it didn't go down well with his boss. when he got home he got a letter saying while unfit to work you were well enough to travel to australia and according to recent news footage of yourself in queensland you allegedly grabbed a shark by the tail and narrowly missed being bitten by quickly jumping out of the way. he was fired and that really doesn't seem fair, does it, carol? >> i still can't believe he grabbed a shark by the tail. thanks very joining us today. cnn newsroom after the break. [ male announcer ] if she keeps serving up sneezes... [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies.