process of doing that piece, he said it was catchy. he was singing the thing back to me today. >> very good. these are talented young, young men. excellent work. thanks very much. good luck to the new pop group. that's it for me. thanks for watching. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, caving to pressure, the head of the v.a. gone. will that make things right? plus, breaking news. the 80-year-old owner of the l.a. clippers mentally incapacitated. so what will that and a new billion lawsuit he has put on the table mean for the $2 billion deal for steve ballmer? and two teams go 22 rounds, and it's a draw. the cochamps of the national spelling bee join us. let's go "outfront." >> good evening, everyone. "outfront" tonight, a key member of president obama's cabinet gone. veterans affairs secretary eric

shinseki forced out today amid charges veterans died waiting for health care. it's widespread across the nation, and it has been happening for years. more officials likely will go. and tonight there are calls for criminal investigation. jim acosta has the story. >> reporter: for president obama, there was no time to wait. >> secretary shinseki offered me his own resignation. with considerable regret, i accepted. >> reporter: according to white house officials, the resignation of veteran ace fairs secretary eric shinseki was over in one hour. first shinseki met in the oval office with the president and the top white house aide now overseeing the v.a., rob nabors. then the president and shinseki went for a walk on the south lawn for a private conversation. minutes later, mr. obama said shinseki had concluded he was too much of a distraction. >> and so my assessment was unfortunately that he was right. i bre regret that he has to

resign under these circumstances. >> reporter: shinseki's departure came as the v.a. released an audit of its health system that found facilities around the country were flagged for further review because of concerns about questionable scheduling practices. the v.a. secretary claiming his own officials have been lying to him. >> i was too trusting of some, and i accepted as accurate reports that i now know to have been misleading with regard to wait times. >> reporter: the president said the white house was also in the dark that v.a. officials were concealing wait times. >> this issue of scheduling is one that the reporting systems inside of the vha did not surface to the level where rick was aware of it or we were able to see it. >> reporter: over at the capitol, house speaker john boehner had his own rapid response, that shinseki's departure is not enough. >> his resignation, though, does not absolve the president of his

responsibility to step in and make things right for our veterans. business as usual cannot continue. >> reporter: besides the internal probes of the scandal already under way, the chairman of the senate veteran ace fairs committee said the justice department is also involved. >> criminal acts, they should be punished. no ifs, butts and maebs. white house aides say they expect others to go. >> we'll be holding accountable specific individuals. >> reporter: but the v.a. will be doing that with sloan gibson, who has only been on the job in his current capacity at the department of veterans affairs as a deputy secretary for three months. and even though the secretary just announced his resignation today, this is washington, erin. there is already speculating going on in this town about who the successor might be for eric shinseki. but at this point, a white house official says there is just no short list at this point. erin? >> all right. thank you very much to you, jim acosta, who has been covering this. it was drew griffin right here on cnn, his reporting all the time and effort he put into this

that exposed the horrible situation at the v.a. andrew joins me now. andrew, this is a case of when you see reporting really make a huge difference. but when you look at this and all of the horrible things that you have seen happening at the v.a., that you've been reporting on, so the guy at the top now is gone. but that's the guy at the top. this is endemic. it's across the entire system. does this come close to resolving the problem? >> not at all. the guy at the top was the guy who was lied too. by whom? all those people need to go. they're still out there. they're still working at the v.a. they're going show up for work on monday. somebody really needs to go in to that v.a. health system and root out all of these simmering, entrenched bureaucrats who have been doing this for a very, very long time, erin. >> and to that point, it's been going on for years, and it's across the country. for people who have been following this sort of casually and understand there were wait lists, people lied about the lists, they didn't get the care, people lost their lives.

but this is widespread, right? it's a lot of people. >> it is systemic. 200 and some 13 different hospitals they were looking at. shinseki this morning said it's at all the big hospitals, we've got big problems. we've got whistle-blowers at many of them coming forward. 42 different hospitals is where the office of inspector general investigators are at. this is a major, major problem in the v.a. system. >> and what about this issue of people were talking about montel williams. a former veteran was on the show last night talking about how veterans are always treated differently. and the question have i for you, drew, in your reporting, you know, we see these veterans hospitals. why a separate hospital? separate never rarely means equal. why does it have to have a whole separate line of care? >> you know, i think we are quite frankly trapped in the past in this country. we've started this v.a. a long time ago. it was great in the glory days, and everybody liked going there.

but erin, why don't all these guys and gals come out of the service and get an insurance card that says no matter where you go, the government will treat you with the money. then we don't have to have or run this huge bureaucratic problem. it's not the health care providers that are doing this. it's the bureaucrats and the administrators who are doing this. we could get rid of them if we just gave them all a shortcut obamacare card, or whatever they want to call it here in washington. >> right. >> we have the money. we can do this. let private practice take these people and treat them like they treat us. that's how medicaid works, medicare works. >> that's right. >> we don't have separate hospitals for medicare. >> all right. drew griffin, thank you very much. and gloria borger joins me from washington. what drew just said, gloria, incredibly poignant. because of the past. that's why we have separate hospitals where you don't get equal care. it's been built in a bureaucratic system of the past. this is a president who said he is going to take on bureaucracy.

he is going to make the government smaller. he has explicitly said this a couple of times. and yet it doesn't happen. >> yeah. he said he is going to make the government smarter. and this is a president, don't forget, erin, who has proposed government solutions to a lot of problems. at every turn, though, we've seen the problems with government. i mean, you look at the roll-out of the affordable care act in addition to the v.a. problems, you know. you look at the irs scandal. even the question of nsa surveillance. was that government run amok? so here is a president who said trust government. i'm going make it work better. i'm going make it work for you. and now you've seen all these bureaucratic problems. and it goes to the question of is this a competency problem with the obama administration, or is it just impossible to make huge government work efficiently? >> gloria, you know, one of the interesting things, chris

christie, a presumed republican candidate for the presidency just gave a brief interview. we weighed in on this. his quote was i wish the president had been more aggressive since minute one to go in and fix it himself because what happened there is a disgrace. obviously he is coming from the other side of the aisle. >> sure. >> but the point he makes is one the democrats seem to agree with as well. the president said nothing is going to be beneath me. i'm going to get into the details. but yet it doesn't seem in the case of this or the irs or the nsa or healthcare.gov that he really wants to get into the details. >> in some things, erin, in watching this president, he does get into the details. foreign policy seems to be managed from the west wing. but when it comes to things like the veteran's administration or the roll-out of health care reform, these things seem to be delegated. and they haven't bubld up inbleo the oval office. is everything so siloed that problems that should reach the president's desk don't reach the

president's desk? don't forget, senator obama made veteran's affairs very important when he was senator and when he ran for the presidency the first time and then for reelection. he made veterans affairs the cornerstone in many ways of of his campaign. so while we feel his frustration and understand it, as you take a step back, you have to ask yourself a question. you know, does the president himself now even trust the government to work properly? and what can he do to fix it if he wants americans to believe that the government can work. >> right, right. it's something you say is personally important to you. >> yeah. >> that would be something where you get this the details. >> exactly. >> gloria, thank you very much. >> sure. >> you can check gloria's column out on our website, cnn.com. next, where school teachers can be fired for being gay, even if their kids are gay. "outfront" next. weeks before elliot rodgers went on a killing rampage, police were notified about his

killing video. so why didn't they ever watch them? and reality television goes where no one ever has before -- mars. what does it mean to have an unlimited mileage warranty on a certified pre-owned mercedes-benz? what does it mean to drive as far as you want... for up to three years and be covered? it means your odometer... is there to record the memories. during the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event now through june 2nd, you'll get complimentary pre-paid maintenance and may qualify for a two-month payment credit. only at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer.

marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious, and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good! marge: the tasty side of fiber. from phillips.

because you can't beat zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

is cnn breaking news. >> and breaking news. the nba has announced it has settled with shelly sterling, the league planning to sue to force the sterlings to sell the clippers. but now, in spite of donald sterling's wishes, the cliplers

be sold to steve ballmer pending approval by the governor of governs. if all that happens the lawsuit will be dropped against shelly stirling. tonight we're getting a new glimpse into the mind of elliot rodger. a survivor shot five times outside her sorority house tells abc news she will never forget rodger's smirk before he opened fire, killing two of her friends. >> i see his face. he smiles at me and just starts shooting. he was -- just he wanted to do this. he looked happy about it. >> and tonight the santa barbara county sheriff's department is facing serious questions. and the question is did they miss an opportunity to stop this. as we first reported, authorities were aware of rodger's disturbing videos when they spoke to him last month. they went to a welfare check. at this time they were aware of the videos. but as sara sidner reports "outfront" tonight, they never

actually watched them. >> reporter: just three weeks before this deadly rampage unfolded in this california college town, sheriff's deputies were warned about the 22-year-old who we now know went on a killing spree on may 23rd that left seven people dead and 13 injured. on april 30th, a mental health professional called 911, alerting the santa barbara sheriff's department to videos elliot rodger had posted online that concerned his family. the caller asked deputies to check whether he is a danger to himself or others. four deputies went to his door, along with a police officer and a dispatcher. >> the deputies contacted the suspect, at the time found him to be polite and courteous. he downplayed the concerns for his welfare and the deputies cleared the call. >> they took rodger's word for it and left. we now know they did not do a weapons registration check, and they never watched the videos that concerned rodger's mom and

mental health professionals. former assistant u.s. attorney sunny hostin says that was a huge mistake. >> this tragedy in my view could have been avoided. the first thing you do in an investigation of an emotionally disturbed person is look at their history. and what better history other than that video evidence of what their thoughts are, of their demeanor. so that certainly was a missed opportunity. >> reporter: and rodger knew it, writing in his 137-page diatribe that he was relieved police didn't search his apartment to find his three legally obtained guns and a huge cache of ammo. rodger's family spokesperson says his family does not blame the department for missed warning signs. >> they have no blame for them whatsoever because in a way, he had been fooling everyone for many years. >> reporter: the sheriff's office has determined that the deputies who responded on april 30th handled the call in a professional manner consistent

with state law and department policy. by the way, erin, the suspect took the video in question down may 1. that was the day after deputies made that visit. erin? >> all right, thank you very much. i appreciate that, sara. so paul callan is with me now. you heard what sara just said. he took the video down the day after they visited. so clearly this kid, who has proven himself in other instances to have been very adept at fooling people as to his real attempt felt there was something in the videos that if the authorities watched them, they might stop him. >> we know he felt that way. he writes in his manifesto that he was terrified when he was talking to them that he might reveal something that would cause them to search the apartment. >> and you see the guns and the knives he had accumulated. >> of course. you have to say, borrow a phrase from the old watergate investigation, what did the police know and when did they know it? here is what they knew. they know his mother was so worried about him, she called the cops on him. they knew a therapist called the cops on him. based on videos.

so why wouldn't you say i want to see the videos? and why aren't these cops carrying ipads or social tablets with them so that they can check this kind of stuff? everybody is posting things. >> a commentary on budgets and other issues in this country. >> i'm telling you, we're talking about six dead people here. so the cost of an ipad in a police cruiser to look to see what is posted on youtube. >> it sure makes you think that they should be spending that kind of money. but from the perspective of even when they went back, say they went back to the police station, how would it have happened that they didn't watch the videos? do you think it was an active choice, we don't need to watch it, we already checked on this kid? or was it an act of omission there was a lot of things going on and there was a whole list of stuff and they just skipped it. >> i know how this stuff works. i spent the whole day today in a deposition where a psychiatrist is being sued for making a mistake about admitting or not admitting somebody for psychiatric care. the cops are used to being in a

place where somebody is drunk with a knife chasing after his wife that person gets taken to the hospital. they confront this kid. he is well dressed. he is polite. he is quiet. they say we don't even have to look at the individual dwloechlt is nothing wrong with this kid. but they should be thinking why is his mother calling us? why is his therapist calling us? that is a red flag that demanded they look at the tapes and see what made a mother call the police on her own son. >> shouldn't they be held accountable? some people watching say this is horrible, it could have been prevented. at the same time what you just said, he is a well dressed kid, and see how this horrible omission could have happened. >> well you, have you to hesitate to criticize them. they have a hard job. >> yes. >> but on the other hand, that's why i get back to the first question. what was in the tapes? we haven't actually seen the tapes the mother was so disturbed about. we've heard about the manifesto that was published later on. >> yes. >> now, if he was just complaining about being lonely and maybe not getting dates with girls, maybe disturbing to a mother, but maybe not an indication of violence. but on the other hand, if he was

making direct threats, then the cops are in trouble, and a lot of questions are going to be asked about whether it was negligent, grossly negligent for them not to pursue that. >> paul callan, thank you. "outfront" next, donald sterling drawing a line in the sand, suing the nba for a billion dollars, which would bring his total take to $3 billion. a billion against the nba and the $2 billion deal for steve ballmer to buy the clippers. plus, one man wants to go to mars. and he is willing to abandon his family forever to do it. wow. this reminds me of "contact." would you do it?

ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.

could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. astronauts could soon lift

off in a new ride. elon musk's spacex unveiled the newest spacecraft called the dragon v-2. musk says it can land anywhere, sort of like a helicopter. and you know what? this thing could actually be put to real use, not just a test thing. spacex is competing for a nasa contract to have this work to take astronauts up and down to the space station. but what if you don't want to go to the space station? it's kind of boring and old. that thing is going away anyway. what if you wanted to go somewhere truly pioneering, like mars. another group says they can do it. jason carroll has the story. >> reporter: america has already seen shows about idols, survivors and housewives. but now reality tv is going where no man has gone before, mars. >> just like neil armstrong and buzz aldrin, when they landed on the moon it was a story shared. >> reporter: co-founder of the

mars one mission that hopes to send its own astronauts to the red planet and televise every step of the way. >> i compare it more readily to the olympic games where extraordinary people do things that almost nobody else can do and share that success with us. >> reporter: he spent nearly a decade researching the mission. its cost, $6 billion. and mars 1 has already partnered with lockheed martin, which built ten spacecrafts for nasa. >> this is the first privatized space mission that lockheed martin is going to be involved with. and that makes it very exciting. >> reporter: mars 1's goal, get there by 2025. >> i think it's unrealistic. i think they have underestimated the challenges of long-term space flight. i think they have underassessed what it means to sustain a person in a holy hostile environment. >> reporter: did we mention the

trip is one way? the astronauts would set up a permanent mars colony. so who would sign up for such an adventure? >> it would be my dream come true to go to mars. >> 200,000 worldwide sent applications. the field narrowed to just over 700. these six made the second round of cuts. why would anyone want to take a one-way trip to another planet? >> so i grew up watching "star trek" with my dad and was completely inspired. i wanted to be a doctor and i wanted to go into space. i'm a doctor. now is my opportunity to go into space. >> you face a suicide mission and you're going die on mars. well, we're going to die here too. so might as well live your whole life to the fullest. >> reporter: but is one way the best way? >> you got to applaud their enthusiasm. >> reporter: still, astronaut twin brothers scott and mark kelly have their doubts. >> we didn't send people to the moon on a one-way trip for the first time. it would have been easier to do that. but it's not what our country is

about. >> reporter: mars 1 is a private venture. these candidates say they thought about the risks, the rewards. >> it may inspire millions, if not billions of people across the earth. >> reporter: and the goodbyes. >> i'm torn. i do not know if i have what it will take to turn my back on my family. but this is the only thing that would make me even think about trying. >> reporter: mars 1, an idea once out of this world. for "outfront," i'm jason carroll, new york. >> so what you do it? please, let us know on twitter. i've been wondering that ever since that jodie foster movie. "outfront" next, fierce accusations. republicans are playing politics. hillary with a huge slap. plus, teachers canned for having in vitro fertilization treatments. at one school, that is the house rule. an "outfront" investigation next. and was this spelling bee wordsmith too confident for his own good? >> i know it!

i know it. i totally know it. [ female announcer ] grow, it's what we do. but when we put something in the ground, feed it, and care for it, don't we grow something more? we grow big celebrations, and personal victories. we grow new beginnings, and better endings. grand gestures, and perfect quiet. we grow escape, bragging rights, happier happy hours. so let's gro something greater with miracle-gro. what will you grow? share your story at miraclegro.com.

...and let in the dog that woke the man who drove to the control room [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. find parking space. [ woman ] parking space found. [ male announcer ] ...that secured the data that directed the turbines that powered the farm that made the milk that went to the store that reminded the man to buy the milk that was poured by the girl who loved the cat. [ meows ] the internet of everything is changing everything. cisco. tomorrow starts here. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again.

and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. to your old cleaning ways again not once you've tried mr. clean's new liquid muscle. it's a concentrated liquid gel with 2 1/2 times more power per drop, so a little goes a long way. new liquid muscle. when it comes to clean, there's only one mr.

new liquid muscle. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. this is cnn breaking news.

>> and the breaking news, the nba announcing it has struck a deal with shelly sterling, despite her husband's wishes. the los angeles clippers will be sold to former ceo steve ballmer for $2 billion. the deal still has to be approved by the league's board of governors. that is anticipated that it will happen. brian todd is "outfront." brian, what more are you learning about this agreement? because this comes as donald sterling of course is trying to sue for another billion. >> it's unbelievable, erin. you have two different sides speaking in two completely different tones tonight, almost simultaneously. first with the nba's announcement, that is the latest news here. as you mentioned, the nba says it's resolved its dispute with shelly sterling over the ownership of the clipper, that it's going to withdraw its charge to terminate the sterlings' ownership of the team. it's going to cancel the june 3rd meeting and vote that would have voted to have the owners vote on the termination of the sterlings' ownership. in return, shelly sterling and

the trust have agreed not to sue the nba. and here is the interesting part here. the nba says shelly sterling has agreed to indemnify the nba against lawsuits from others, including donald sterling. well, that's not necessarily what donald sterling's side thinks because they are suing the league. they just announced that suit within the last hour saying they're suing the nba for a billion dollars in damages. they're calling for donald sterling's lifetime ban from the league to be lifted for his $2.5 million fine to be lifted. they're saying that this case against donald sterling was entirely on an illegally recorded conversation. so those are the two sides speaking in very different tones tonight. and erin, this comes just after we have learned from sources that two different physicians, neurologists declared donald sterling mentally incapacitated over the past several weeks. >> reporter: tonight sources tell cnn that doctors have declared donald sterling mentally incapacitated, a finding that opened the door for his estranged wife to sell the

l.a. clippers for a record $2 billion. sources say donald sterling was examined by two independent doctors, both neurologists some time over the past month. it's an important finding because the clippers are owned through a family trust with two trustees, donald and shelly sterling. tonight cnn has learned from one source a clause in that trust says if either sterling becomes mentally unfit, the other would become the sole trustee. sources say shelly was only able to negotiate the mega sale because of that declaration. but it might not be that easy. donald sterling still has grounds to challenge the finding and the sale of the team. >> he would retain his own physicians, neurologists, psychiatrists, whatever it may be and have those physicians take issue with the findings of the physicians that found him incapacitated. >> reporter: donald sterling's attorney says the claim of

mental incapacitate. waiting to take over is steve ballmer who has agreed to buy the team for $2 billion. his enthusiasm was legendary at microsoft, where he introduced new products himself and even did spoofs. ♪ last time he tried to buy a team, his bid was unsuccessful. but this time analysts predict he will be welcome. >> ballmer is the ultimate owner. he should be fantastic for the nba and professional sports. certainly this is a guy whose got all the makings of being the ideal professional sports franchise owner. >> reporter: and going back the lawsuit one more time, it's not clear if this lawsuit is going to interfere with the sale of the clippers. donald sterling's lawsuit, because his attorney, maxwell blecher had told us just hours ago when we asked him for reaction to the sale that donald sterling was going to look at all of it and decide where to go

from there. and here is an operative quote from the lawyer. quote, he doesn't want to fight with shelly. that's the bottom line. erin? >> that means that there is going to be a sale. thank you very much to you, brian todd. tonight hillary clinton, clinton with a preemptive strike. former secretary of state taking on critics who keep questioning her role in the 2011 attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi in which four americans were slaughtered. in a chapter of her upcoming book obtained by politico, clinton accuses republicans of exploiting the tragedy. and she writes in part, quote, he will not be part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead americans. it's just plain wrong, and it's unworthy of our great country. "outfront" tonight, john avlon. so she writes that. it's very powerful, john. although the chapter, 34 pages was then described to go on and say clinton accused republicans of flat-out lying about benghazi. so she certainly is in the political slugfest even if she says she doesn't want to be. >> yeah. i mean, running for president while saying you're above politics is an old play. but this may be a foreshadowing

of a fight to come. this is also of course, the beginning of a book tour. and the name of the book tour is to get attention to sell as many books as humanely possible. the fact she is approaching this like a political campaign in some respects is an interesting tell. a very interesting tactic on the part of hillary clinton to position herself above the partisan fray and to say the folks still fixating on benghazi. >> who leaked it out? it would seem it would make a lot of sense that the clinton camp would have leaked it out itself. it shows she is going to fight on benghazi. >> oh, yeah. well, there are plenty of people who want to fight with her on benghazi. you know, for god's sakes, there has already been a basically preemptive attack ad launched on her by gop superpacs explicitly about benghazi. so this is definitely a fight that isn't over. but she is trying to, you know, regardless of where this leak came from, and we don't know, it's clearly the newsiest element of the book. it's the most controversial

element. and it's a way to -- we're already talking about it. but this is a fight with future hearings already scheduled that is not over. they may be betting that it will fall on deaf ears to the vast majority of the american people, that this is essentially an echo chamber debate. but this is exactly the way to get attention for a book that is coming out now. this is the chapter that everybody wanted to see. this is the controversy. >> all right, john avlon, thank you very much. now, imagine applying for a job and being told you can't have sex outside of marriage. you can't have in vitro fertilization. and you can't have a homosexual lifestyle. and by the way, neither with your kids. that's what is happening in ohio, where a school district, catholic cool is under fire for implementing a new morality clause. at least two schools are fighting the restrictions that will classify all teachers adds ministers. our susan candiotti has an "outfront" report. >> reporter: molly loves teaching at the same school where she and her two sons attended. >> being a catholic teacher, you know, you're not in it for the

money, most definitely. >> reporter: but a newly revised morality clause in next year's contract covering 2200 teachers in greater cincinnati is throwing teachers for a loop, including shoemate. she is walk weigh from her dream job after 14 years. >> it's sad, and my spirit is broken. >> reporter: the new contract now has a litany of thou shalt knotts, including no sex outside marriage, no in vitro fertilization, no remarriage without an annulment, no homosexual lifestyle, and no public support of any of those. for shoemate, that homosexual ban is a slap in the face. her son zack is gay. >> this isn't the religion that i was raised with telling me that i can't support my son. >> reporter: when the archdiocese says this doesn't mean that any relationships should be severed within one's

family. >> i don't believe that. you know, i don't think you can separate the two. >> reporter: there have been protest rallies and billboards asking would pope francis sign the new catholic teacher contract. 43-year veteran language teacher roger rosen did sign, but held his nose. >> i signed it because i'm cowardly, and i would like to be able to have a check at the end of the week. isn't that terrible? >> reporter: there is also worry that students will suffer. >> the students cannot feel comfortable coming out, if you will, to teachers, even trusted teachers. and that's a shame. >> reporter: what's behind the so-called morality clause on steroids? mainly an increasing number of teacher lawsuits. last year in cincinnati, a federal jury ordered the archdiocese to pay this unmarried teacher $170,000 after she was fired for using in vitro fertilization.

we asked the archbishop to meet with us and explain the new contract. ask him some of the same questions that teachers and their supporters have been asking us. but through his representative, he said no. and instead gave us a copy of an open letter written by his school superintendent. it states in part the contract is not an excuse for some type of witch-hunt, but merely a clearer verbalization of what it means to be a catholic school teacher. but at what cost? >> the direction that pope francis is moving our church is against these divisive social issues. and so it's interesting that there are certain diocese that seem to be going in the opposite direction. >> reporter: for molly shoemate, enough is enough. >> thank you for standing up for your son. >> reporter: after supporting her son, showmate is getting support from others. >> i know in my heart i'm doing the right thing. >> reporter: praying her diocese will have a change of heart.

susan candiotti, cnn, cincinnati. "outfront" next, a white house official who president obama calls one of his closest friends is stepping down. just who are we referring to? and meet the spelling bee champs. yes, it's plural. ♪ ♪fame, makes a man take things over♪ ♪fame, lets him loose, hard to swallow♪ ♪fame, puts you there where things are hollow♪ the evolution of luxury continues. the next generation 2015 escalade.

♪fame

when we arrived at our hotel in new york, the porter was so incredibly careful careless with our bags. and the room they gave us, it was beautiful. a broom closet. but the best part, / worst part, was the shower. my wife drying herself with the egyptian cotton towels, shower curtain defined that whole vacation for her. don't just visit new york. visit tripadvisor new york. with millions of reviews, a visit to tripadvisor makes any destination better. you are gonna need a wingman. and my cash back keeps the party going. but my airline miles take it worldwide. [ male announcer ] it shouldn't be this hard. with creditcards.com, it's easy to search hundreds of cards and apply online. creditcards.com. because you can't beat zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

for the first time in more than 50 years we have not one, but two national spelling bee champs. 13-year-old ansun sujoe and 14-year-old sriram hathwar were both crowned winners. i'm going to speak to them both, but first, here is how they took home the trophy. >> correct. >> a surprisingly emotional and at times hilarious competition at last night's scripps national spelling bee. >> tabatha discovered that while her milk shake brought all the boys to the yard -- oh, boy, oh, i'm sorry i was reading the wrong sentence. >> reporter: 15-year-old jacob williamson was a crowd favorite for his unrestrained confidence. >> i know it, i know it! i totally know it. >> reporter: unfortunately, being too confident is what did him in the end. >> c-a-b-a-r-a-g-o-y-a.

what? >> reporter: and 13-year-old had everyone cracking up after this little ditty. >> but it was 14-year-old sriram hathwar and his formidable opponent, 13-year-old ansun sujoe who stole the show. >> alganfillogi. >> reporter: after 22 rounds, they faced off where they were able to correctly spell so many words, the list of words ran out. >> correct. >> reporter: forcing bee pronouncer jock bailey to declare -- >> ansun sujoe, if you spell this word correctly, we will declare you and sriram

cochampions. >> okay. whatever. >> however you say it, just spell it. >> f-e-u-i-l-l-e-t-o-n. >> correct. >> and the cochampions of the scripps national spelling bee, ansun sujoe and sriram hathwar are "outfront" tonight. so you guys are sitting there together. and i know when you went, in you weren't even sure if you would win, right? but you were both hoping. now here you are. ansun and sriram. how does that feel? is there a part of you that goes i like that guy sitting next know, but it would have been nice if it was just me? >> well, not really. i may have liked to, but it wasn't -- but i didn't really want to just win by myself. i really wanted someone to share the victory with me.

then it would make me feel a lot more happier. and i really like to be a cowinner with someone i looked up to. >> oh, and that's great. and you feel that way about sriram. sriram, how do you feel? you look at ansun, are you two -- you have this now for the rest of your lives you're going have this together. the past 24 hours, you have gotten to know him a little bit. >> right. >> are you going to stay in touch with each other? >> probably. i mean the whole championship came to me as a surprise because when they called me up on the stage i was quite unsure of why they did. but ansun had to spell his word. and then i had known that i had already won. and then once ansun got his word i knew that we would be co-champions together. >> all right, your words, guys, i have to say -- this is what i have to ask you. you both are obviously incredibly gifted in a lot of

ways. so you get this word, stichomythia, right? sriram, stichomythia was your word. i probably said that wrong. when you got that word people probably thought okay, you spelled that right. that is pretty darn incredible. i don't know what that word means, and i don't think anybody watching knows what it means, did you know what it means? or did you actually know how to spell it. >> well, this comes from two greek words, there is like s tyc tyco, meaning like verses or lines, i had a general idea of what it meant. and then once they said the definition i was able to clarify that. >> that is pretty incredible. you're spot on there. and ansun yours was -- another word i'm not sure how to spell.

fe feuilleton, how did you spell it? >> well, i was familiar with the definition, when he said the definition, mr. bailey said the definition i was pretty confident i would get the word right. i was feeling a little doubtful. but still i continued to spell the word. and i was pretty happy when i got it right. >> so before you guys go, i have to ask you something. the president of the united states tweets out. congratulations to ansun and sriram, co-champions of the spelling bee. you make us all proud. can you believe that? >> well, i'm not -- i was kind of shocked to hear that because i have never really received any -- like acknowledgment from the president. like -- but now, i was pretty

happy when i heard about that. and it is kind of shocking. i couldn't believe it. but, he was pretty fascinating, too. >> he was probably watching, sriram, had you known? would you have been more nervous? >> well, i guess, i really was focusing on my words. the competition was pretty fierce yesterday. >> all right, well it was fierce, but you all of course triumphed. and thank you all so much for joining us and how gracious you're being about sharing this with each other. it is a rare and special thing. thanks guys. >> thank you. and another big personal announcement from the white house today. press secretary jay carney is stepping down. >> jay has been one of my closest friends and is a great press secretary and a great adviser. and i'm going to miss him a lot. >> jay is unafraid to take on big personalities who frankly don't like to be picked on.

>> did the president seek the endorsement of donald trump? >> you know, i -- i'm not going to comb over that question. >> jay does not back down. >> don't you have like a dictionary app on your phone? >> slash is like, a slash. >> the point is it is not the same thing as cut, is it? >> it is slash. and i don't mean the guitarist. >> and it is jay's ability to stick to his guns and roses that li likely earned the president's trust. he never gives an inch. >> i would refer you to the department of justice. i would refer you to the pentagon. i would refer you to the fbi,

the secret service and the capital police. i would refer you to agencies that handle flight paths. i would refer you to the chinese. >> all right, so what does jay want to do next? well, he didn't say. but looking back at some of his briefings, we've found a clue. >> you and i, we're going to do this on "cross fire," i promise you. >> well, jay, i refer you to jeff zuckerberg. all right, morgan spurlock is next.

hey, buddy? oh, hey, flo. you want to see something cool? snapshot, from progressive. my insurance company told me not to talk to people like you. you always do what they tell you? no... try it, and see what your good driving can save you. you don't even have to switch. unless you're scared. i'm not scared, it's... you know we can still see you. no, you can't. pretty sure we can... try snapshot today -- no pressure.

[ doorbell rings ] stall them. [ imitating monkey ] stop stalling. cascade platinum fights cloudy residue 3 times better than the competing gel and helps keep your dishwasher sparkling. cascade platinum. and helps keep your dishwasher sparkling. announcer: babies who are talked to from the time they're born..

are more likely to have a successful future. talking and reading to children in their first years has a huge impact on what they do with the rest of their lives. the fewer words they hear, the greater their chances of dropping out of school and getting into trouble. talk. read. sing. your words have the power to shape their world. learn more at first5california.com/parents

feuille . the american dream, if you work hard and do the right things you can have it all, that is what they say, right? but it doesn't seem to be happening for everybody. and i spoke to morgan spurlock about the subject of this week's "inside man". >> so this is a really serious topic, one of the most important facing the country, what did you find out about income equality? >> we decided to shoot in new people strive? >> i think that having rich people does create an -- what you do hope is, there is empathy want to give back.that degree >> where are you going to take us on this one? >> you know, we take you to where we're volunteering with people who are struggling to get their bills paid, to a 1 percenter who races for a hobby. >> that is not a bad hobby.

all right, everybody, thank you for joining us, have a great weekend and monday, anderson cooper starts right now. good evening, the head of the v.a. steps down, what will it take to get the veterans the medical attention they deserve? we'll ask the whistle-blower and congress's top lawmaker on veterans affairs. also, breaking news on the donald sterling affair after a day after the sell of the clippers. >> plus, her account of being sold into sexual slavery, made her a cnn hero, tonight, how that remarkable story has unrav unravelled. we begin tonight with keeping them honest in a clear account of the v.a. scandal. a welcome one, thousands have been waiting for months for medical care while