Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY SUNDAY

Kushner To Hand Over Russia Related Docs To Senate Tomorrow; Former Representative Barney Frank Rips Mulvaney's Appointment To CFPB; Reports: Jared Kushner's Shrinking White House Role; Can Doug Jones Flip Seat In Deep-Red Alabama?; NYT: Trump "Annoyed" Ivanka Condemned Moore; Tax Reform Vote; Factory Blast In China; Argentina's Missing Submarine; Pope Francis To Visit Myanmar; Bali Volcano Erupts; Auburn Knocks off Alabama; Stanford Rallies Past Notre Dame; Champion Pitmaster Among 2017 Top 10 CNN Heroes. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired November 26, 2017 - 06:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dueling appointments opening the door to a potential showdown between the White House and the country's top consumer watchdog agency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any perception that Mr. Kushner has been anything but not only cooperative but if you look at the contents of these emails, he is the hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight years of economic stagnation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we can repeal part of Obamacare as part of a tax bill, and have a tax bill that is still a good tax bill that can pass, that's great.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We don't need a liberal person in there, a Democrat. Roy Moore denies it. That's all I can say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can you be a white separatist and represent all your constituents in your state?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to Sunday. I'm Christi Paul.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Martin Savidge in for Victor Blackwell. Tomorrow is the deadline for the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to hand over information on his security clearance. PAUL: He has become the focus of a Congressional committee trying to find out if they were any inappropriate meetings or contacts between the Russian officials and Trump associates during the 2016 campaign.

Now there is two new articles this morning from the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post" to take a closer at Kushner's apparent diminishing role in the Trump administration.

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile, the president is slamming the nation's top consumer watchdog group as a total disaster as questions swirl who is in charge tomorrow morning after the former director abruptly quit.

WHITFIELD: And this week could be make or break. A moment for the Republican agenda here, can the president secure a win on tax reform is a big question going into tomorrow.

SAVIDGE: And Democratic Senator Al Franken is expected to speak publicly for the first time since several women came forward accusing him of sexual harassment.

Let's begin with the Russia investigation. CNN's Abby Phillip joins me now. Abby, Kushner has been asked repeatedly to turn over more documents related to the 2016 Trump campaign and the transition team. So, is Kushner expected to fully cooperate this time? Good morning, by the way.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Martin. Yes, Kushner is facing yet another deadline to turn over documents to Senate investigators and all the while his attorneys have essentially been saying that he is cooperating, that he wants to cooperate fully with the investigations because they believe that every time he turns over these documents, they vindicate him.

Now the Senate investigators are looking for some specific pieces of information, some e-mails that they say they know exist but that weren't turned over. They have to do with information Kushner received during the campaign about other campaign aides, contacts with Russia, and Wikileaks.

Kushner then took those e-mails and forwarded them on to other campaign officials, but Kushner's attorneys have responded to investigators saying they know those emails are there, but that they were not responsive to the initial request and had nothing to do with Kushner's own contacts with Russia.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, former Representative Barney Frank, I know, has pushed back on the White House saying that President Trump has the authority to appoint a new leader to the nation's top consumer watchdog agency. This has been a huge issue. You've interviewed Frank. What did he say?

PHILLIP: Well, this back and forth has really only escalated in the last couple of days. Barney Frank is one of the namesakes of this law that created this Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and he told me that when they crafted this law, they were very, very careful to give the agency autonomy from the political sphere. Meaning that the director and deputy director would not -- could not be fired easily by the president. The deputy director who would become the acting director in a case of a vacancy, also would not be named directly by the president or by the White House.

And that they did this intentionally in order to give that agency, which investigates some big actors in the economic system, some independence and autonomy. So, he says that the way that this should have worked was that the outgoing CFBP director should have named his deputy director and that person would become the acting director.

He does not believe that President Trump hat ability to name Mick Mulvaney, the OMB director to that post. So, Barney Frank is essentially siding against the White House on this.

At the same time, the Justice Department's lawyers have come out with an opinion backing the president saying that they believe that the CFPB law is not the one that's responsible for saying how these vacancies can be filled but that a law called the Federal Vacancies Reform Act is the one that applies here.

It's a lot of confusion down here -- down there in Washington. But I think by Monday, the White House claims that Mick Mulvaney is going to be the one in charge.

[06:05:08] We will see who is going to be running the CFPB when folks come to work in that federal agency Monday morning.

SAVIDGE: Right. Tomorrow morning could be a very interesting day. Abby Phillip, thanks very much for that.

PAUL: So, Julian Zelizer, CNN political analyst, historian and professor at Princeton University with us now as well as Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and political anchor or Spectrum News, and Joey Jackson, CNN legal analyst and a criminal defense attorney. Thank you all for being with us. We appreciate it.

Errol, want to start with you. Tomorrow is the deadline for Jared Kushner to turn in these other documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. What is expected to be answered by those papers?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, he would be well advised to comply with the request for one thing. I think it becomes one more piece of evidence that this administration back from its campaign days reaching past inauguration day into the administration has not been forthcoming who said what to whom about anything related to Russia.

So, to the extent that the administration continues to call this a nothing burger, this is stuff that, you know, I think we have known all along. We have known if you piece it together piece-by-piece what you see is that there are all kinds of meetings that Jared Kushner was either a part of or messaged about during the campaign, during the transition, during the early administration.

So, I don't know that we are going to learn anything brand new right now, but the lack of early compliance itself is really somewhat telling.

PAUL: And you bring up a good point that I want to go to you with, Julian. "The New York Times" writing something this morning about where Jared Kushner has been. We haven't seen a lot of him lately.

Here is what they say, "In the first month of the administration, Mr. Kushner typically would spend five or six hours a day with the president in what his advocates described as playing defense and making sure others were not gaming the system by persuading Mr. Trump to make decisions without consulting others who had interest in the issues.

Now under a less freewheeling system, Mr. Kushner and other aides are expected to stay in their own lanes. What is Jared Kushner's lane, Julian?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, in recent weeks, the lane has been Israeli, Palestinian peace talks, for example, or the other lane which he has been involved in is innovation and technology in government programs.

The question is if he still has more informal role, given he is a family member, in advising the president and directing the president, even if formally his position has diminished. So, there is a way of looking at this that Steven Bannon is gone. He formally, Jared Kushner, removed himself, but he still has the ear of the president. But his formal lanes have narrowed.

PAUL: How likely is it, do you think, Joey, that Kushner is going to be called to testify in front of Mueller?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's very likely. I think that, you know, certainly he has been involved just thoroughly in all issues and all phases of the campaign. Certainly, he has specific knowledge as to what occurred. He knows the principles. He knows the parties. He has been involved since the very beginning.

Obviously, he shares a special relationship, right? Literally with the president of the United States, and as a result of that, he is a source of information that just cannot be overlooked. So, I think it's very likely, Christi, that that will occur.

PAUL: How vulnerable, Joey, do you think he is? Based on what we know, of some sort repercussion from this, dependent, of course, what is in these documents?

JACKSON: I think he is very vulnerable. That may very well have to do with the lack of compliance or might I say not lack of, but the slowness in which compliance has been there. But let's not all forget that the president has the ability to pardon anyone.

And so, I don't want to jump to the conclusion that he would otherwise be indicted or is a target, but certainly he's a person of interest who knows a lot. But the president holds the cards to the extent that at the end of the day, no matter what happens to Kushner, what happens proceeding forward with Manafort or anyone else, General Flynn. The president certainly could exercise that authority under the Constitution to say all is forgiven.

PAUL: Errol, we were talking to Julian, obviously, about where Kushner has been as of late. How much of I guess this new reclusiveness that we are seeing could be equated to the John Kelly effect, let's say?

LOUIS: Well, we see some reporting that John Kelly, the chief of staff, says that, you know, Jared Kushner works for me, which is a pretty strong statement and maybe not entirely accurate.

But as far as walking privileges into the oval office as far as constant contact, unfettered with the president, John Kelly has made clear that that's just not going to happen anymore.

[06:10:01] And so, to that extent, Jared Kushner has I think ironically -- the result is that he's got now sort of fulfill some of this enormously broad mandate that's been thrown at him where he is now got to sort of innovate, you know, technology into American government and by the way, sort of solve the Middle East peace crisis.

And while you're at it, provide all of these documents for this very serious, serious investigation that could topple this White House.

PAUL: Joey, based on what we are seeing, do you have any guesstimation as to how long it may be before we publicly know more about where the Russian investigation stands?

JACKSON: You know, Christi, I don't. I think that, you know, we know that Mueller has been very thorough in undertaking this work. He is interviewing a variety of parties who have knowledge of this. They are not under any specific timetable. Their mandate is so find out who knew what, when, where, how, why.

And whatever time it takes I would suspect that he would get to the bottom of it without any pressure really of coming or leaping to any conclusion. And so, therefore, I do think that the upcoming months will be very telling as to where we go.

We saw the Manafort, the Hicks indictment. We saw the guilty plea as to Papadopoulos and I think, you know, concerning General Flynn, and the breakoff, right, recently of the attorney communications with the Trump team and the thought that maybe they are cooperating, I think things will be forthcoming, but I don't think is there a specific timetable, Christi, that he has to adhere to.

PAUL: I want to pivot real quickly to the CFPB, who is going to be leading that tomorrow morning. Nobody really knows at this point, but the president did tweet about it yesterday.

Julian, I want to get your take on this because there is something in here that stood out to me. Here is what the president said, "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or CFPB has been a total disaster as run by the previous administration's pick. Financial institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. We will bring it back to life."

A lot of questions yesterday when there were -- this back and forth about who is at the helm of it, even in the interim, about how powerful this organization, this bureau may continue to be and if it will survive.

Does not tell you when he says we will bring it back to life, do you believe that the president does not plan to dissolve this bureau now?

ZELIZER: I don't think he is planning to dissolve the bureau, but I do think he is planning to undercut it. This has been a target of the administration from the start. It's part of the Dodd/Frank law that the president is very opposed to.

And now, by creating confusion about who the leader is, that makes it ineffective for the time being because literally no boss running the show. I suspect the formal appointment will be someone who is not sympathetic what the bureau is supposed to do.

So, this is a case where conservatives or Republicans can't dismantle a program so they are going to gut it from within, and I think the process that will play out this weekend.

PAUL: All right. Gentlemen, we always appreciate your insights. Thank you. Do stick around, we have more to talk to you about here in a couple of minutes.

But we do want to remind, don't miss "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning. Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Lindsey Graham both on the show. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on CNN.

SAVIDGE: A little star power entering the Alabama Senate race. Charles Barkley comes out against Republican Roy Moore, but with only a couple of weeks until the election, is he going to sway any voters?

PAUL: Also, the GOP is hoping for a legislative victory on tax reform. This is what a lot of voters are waiting for. What will the White House be willing to give up in order to secure that?

SAVIDGE: Look at these images of a volcano on a popular tourist destination, sending massive clouds of ash in the sky. Ahead, the problem it's causing for travelers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:01]

SAVIDGE: It's the final stretch of one of the most controversial elections of the year.

PAUL: Tomorrow is the deadline for voters to register in Alabama special election for a race that could see a Democrat flip a Senate seat in a deep red state. Tomorrow, Republican Roy Moore making his first public appearance in nearly two weeks after eight women came forward with allegations against him. Moore has continued to deny the allegations in interviews over the last week.

SAVIDGE: But in response, his opponent, Doug Jones, claims that Moore has been avoiding the campaign trail. He says, quote, "Roy Moore is hiding from his record, hiding from the media, and hiding from voters. Disappearing for ten days at a time and unwilling to go out and even work for their votes."

PAUL: Doug Jones meanwhile facing an uphill battle to defeat Roy Moore. According to the "Washington Post," he has to carry more than 90 percent of African-American voters, boost their turnout as well.

SAVIDGE: And one endorsement that could go a long way, Alabama native, turned hall of fame basketball player, Charles Barkley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, RETIRED NBA PLAYER: Roy Moore is running with Steve Bannon as his right-hand man, who is a white separatist. I'm not even going to get into the women stuff. But a guy -- how can you be a white separatist and represent all of the constituents in your state?

I mean, you know, everybody is going crazy over these sexual allegations. Roy Moore to me, when he brought in Steve Bannon, should have been disqualified. I don't understand. To me, that -- how can you have a guy who is running with a white separatist running for a political office?

We have a lot of black people in the state who are amazing people, but to run a campaign with a guy as your chief advocate who is a white nationalist, white separatist that should have disqualified Roy Moore way before this women's stuff came up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And so now, there is new issue that has been introduced in the campaign and that the issue of race.

Here to talk about all of this, Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst and historian and professor at Princeton University, and Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and political anchor at Spectrum News. Good morning again, Gentlemen.

[06:20:08] Errol, we were talking about this issue yesterday and that it is crucial for Doug Jones to get a significant turnout from African-American voters in Alabama and yet there didn't seem to be a whole lot in the race so far to generate enthusiasm. Does this change things?

LOUIS: I don't know that it necessarily does. I mean, there are a lot of Auburn fans down there, of course, so they will listen to anything somebody Charles Barkley has to say. But the reporting on the black turnout as far as the ability to predict it seems to suggest that because Doug Jones is a moderate Democrat.

He is not a fire breather. He is not an Obama Democrat. He is not whipping and stirring up the crowds and asking them to make history and talking about hope and change. He is presenting himself as a good down the line Democrat.

He has some civil rights credentials that go a long way with a certain category of voters, but for the younger people, who don't necessarily remember the civil rights movement of the 1960s, he's not that big of a figure.

So, this is going to be in some ways kind of a technical problem for the Democrats on the ground who want to sort of organize this and get this done. Charles Barley, you know, what you just said, what you just showed is an effective piece of video, if you can get it out to everybody.

The question is can you get it out to everybody? And can you make sure they all turn out on December 12th?

SAVIDGE: And Julian, it appears that Charles Barkley is kind doing what the president did. In other words, he is saying don't vote for that other guy. He wasn't so much touting the great things that Doug Jones has done. It was more like you can't have a man who has got ties apparently to white supremacist holding a Senate seat.

ZELIZER: Well, I mean, I think, in some ways, Barkley is actually on to something, meaning the story of the allegations of sexual molestation and assault have overtaken the other part of Roy Moore, which he is a far-right extreme conservative.

That even many Republicans thought was outside the spectrum of what the party needed. So, I think Barkley is actually sending a signal that a Democrat might use, that Doug Jones might use to talk about what is at stake at the race.

But in the end, I do think it will be hard to sell the Democrats so much as it will be more effective to really explain what is at risk with this Republican in office.

SAVIDGE: OK. We are entering what is clearly the last few moments or last weeks, I guess, of this campaign. Roy Moore is going to make his first public appearance in 11 days, I believe. There is a little more than two weeks left.

Was staying out the campaign trail after the allegations a good idea? And before I get to that question, let me show you what President Trump said Tuesday when he was asked if he'll campaign for Roy Moore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to campaign for Roy Moore?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I'll be letting you know next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: That is known as a tease and, Julian, I'm wondering, is he really going to Alabama and go stump for Roy Moore?

ZELIZER: Well, I'd say it's hard to believe that would happen, but this is the year of the Trump presidency and the unbelievable happens every day. There is no real need for him to do it. This is a deeply Republican state and bat for Republicans is that partisanship will overcome principle and a vote for Roy Moore so there is no need for this.

The only reason really in some ways would be if the president, himself, wants to interject himself in this story and appeal to his base. But I don't think Roy Moore needs him in some ways.

SAVIDGE: Errol, I want to bring up this issue. "The New York Times" is reporting that President Trump was visibly annoyed when his daughter, Ivanka criticized Roy Moore. She said, quote, "There is a special place in hell for people who prey on children."

Ivanka also criticized her father when the "Access Hollywood" tape was released. We all remember that. So, I'm wondering there is split in the family that's without a doubt. How is this all going to play out, though, in the Roy Moore election?

LOUIS: Well, I mean, this is the question that Julian put on his finger on, which is that if you're going to appeal to voters and say, yes, you have principles, but you're going to have to put those principles aside and go for power instead, that is the entire proposition for Roy Moore.

That is where the White House is coming from and where Roy Moore supporters are coming from. And to anybody who sort of interfered with that, some like Ivanka Trump in particular, sort of upsets the apple cart.

And one could very easily imagine why the president was visibly annoyed because what he is doing -- I think it's based on probably internal polling, as well as public polling that we see, he is relying on the reality that it seems that part for core Republican voters are willing to put aside all of the lurid accusations against Moore.

[06:25:06] And to the extent somebody comes along and says well, you can't put that aside. You can't overlook this. It really kind of sort of breaks the spell. So, there are a number of surrogates who are out there who are trying to make it acceptable to Republicans and say, look, it's OK to vote for a Democrat this one time.

When Ivanka Trump appears to be on the side of those people, giving more Republicans permission to stray on election day, it really sorts of puts the White House in a very, very awkward position.

SAVIDGE: All of this is what makes following this race, whether you're in Alabama or in Alaska, so fascinating. Thank you both, Gentlemen. Good to talk to you. We will talk again.

LOUIS: Thanks, Martin.

PAUL: So next, the president promised huge tax cuts for Christmas as you remembered. This week, what it's going to take to deliver that promise?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:29]

PAUL: Good morning. You're up early on a Sunday. We're glad for it. m Christi Paul.

SAVIDGE: And I'm Martin Savidge in for Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you. In about 24 hours the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will have to hand over information on his security clearance.

PAUL: The congressional committee (ph) are investigating if there were any inappropriate meetings or contact between Russian officials and President Trump associates during the 2016 campaign.

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile there is this. The president slamming the nation's top consumer watchdog group as a total disaster. As questions swirl on just, who is going to be in charge tomorrow morning after its former director abruptly quit?

PAUL: And a critical week for tax reform. I know you're all watching. The president heads to Capitol Hill to meet with Republicans and talk about the tax plan.

The White House needs a signature legislative victory here and to get one they may be willing to make some changes to this bill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL (voice-over): The president made his promise.

TRUMP: We are going to give the American people a huge tax cut for Christmas.

PAUL: This week, we will find out if he can keep that promise. Some senators on the GOP side are confident as they prepare to debate the bill this week.

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: We have had eight years of economic stagnation for hard working families and this tax bill, I think, creates the opportunity to move dramatically beyond that.

PAUL: Democrats see an opening for a knockout punch, though.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated.

PAUL: It will be a close call. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can only lose two Republican votes and the bill's repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate may prove to be a step too far for some Republicans.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: There are provisions of the bill that I would like to see changed.

PAUL: To get the votes the Trump administration may be open to certain changes. MICK MULVANEY, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR: If we can repeal part of Obamacare as part of a tax bill and have a tax bill that is still a good tax bill that can pass that is great. If it becomes an impediment to getting the best tax bill we can, then we're OK with taking it out.

PAUL: And while critics say the GOP led tax reform plan would hurt groups like seniors and those with low incomes.

SANDERS: They're going to come back with massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid because they say, oh my goodness, the deficit and the national debt are too high.

PAUL: The White House said it stands with the middle class.

MULVANEY: If we really believe that whatever comes out of the House and Senate conference committee before Christmas raise taxes to the middle class the president will not sign it.

PAUL: The vote wrangling starts Tuesday as the president will you talk to GOP senators on Capitol Hill then meet with the bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So a lot of people are wondering the vote on the GOP tax plan, could it be the first major policy victory for President Trump and the GOP?

Well, Senators Bernie Sanders and Maria Cantwell debate Senators Ted Cruz and Tim Scott in a 90-minute CNN town hall debate. That is live from Washington hosted by CNN's Jake Tapper and chief political correspondent Dana Bash. And it is Tuesday 9:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

SAVIDGE: Next day developing story out of China. A huge explosion at a factory killing at least two people. That report is straight ahead.

PAUL: Also, why Pope Francis' controversial trip to Myanmar could possibly endanger Christians, some say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:01]

PAUL: Take a look at the scene here just minutes after a massive explosion in a factory at a major port city in China. Which is also home to the Chinese owner of Volvo.

This blast killed two people and rescue crews were scrambling to get people out of that building that collapsed.

SAVIDGE: Reports say that nobody was living in the building but there may have been some garbage collectors apparently working inside at the time of the blast. The cause of that explosion is not yet known. Meanwhile, Argentina's Navy says that it's not giving up the search for a missing submarine and they are sending out this small submarine in a new video to help look for it. The ARA San Juan went missing nearly two weeks ago with 44 crew members on board.

Officials say the sound of a possible explosion was detected near its last known location and the crew may be low on air or oxygen right now. But family members say that they are still hopeful. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): A lot of help. A lot of warmth. A lot of support.

Well, you can't get full comfort but I am very thankful from my heart. I am thankful because I feel that the 44 have support along with us, the closest family members.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Several ships are mapping the bottom of the ocean to try to locate the submarine but operations could be hampered today by bad weather.

PAUL: Pope Francis is making a historic visit to Myanmar next month and not without controversy here. Myanmar was held a hope for Democrats but just last week secretary of state Rex Tillerson accused the state of -- quote -- "Ethnic cleansing against Muslims."

We want to talk to CNN religious commentator Father Edward Beck. Father, thank you so much for being with us. It's always good to see you.

I want to read to you here something that Father Thomas Reese said this past week.

He said, "Pope Francis is walking through the same mine field in Myanmar. If he is prophetic, he puts Christians at risk; if he is silent about the persecution of the Rohingya, he loses moral credibility."

[06:40:01]

Do you have those same concerns, Father Beck?

REV. EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION COMMENTATOR: Yes. Christi, this is a mine field for Pope Francis because this is an oppressed group. Remember, the Rohingya on Muslims living in the western part of Myanmar and they have been forced through ethnic cleansing, murder, rape, set home -- fire to their homes to flee back to Bangladesh. So this pope has spoke from Saint Peter's about the flight of these Muslims.

Now he is coming to a Buddhist country. Myanmar is 90 something percent Buddhist. Only one percent Christian. And the Christian minority there is saying, well, don't say too much because then you're going to offend the Buddhists and they'll start persecuting us again. So does he even mention the name Rohingya? I mean, because they are not recognized as an ethnic group in Myanmar.

There are 135 ethnic groups that the government recognizes, the Rohingya is not one of them so they don't even want Pope Francis to say the name. If he does he offends the Buddhists, he offends the government. And yet he believes that these are oppressed people and he needs to go there and speak to them and for them.

So this is a delicate balancing act in Myanmar that the Pope will have.

PAUL: You're right. And that is exactly what we understand is going to happen when looking at his itinerary that has released he is meet a military leader of Myanmar and then going to Bangladesh to meet these Rohingya refugees.

How -- how does that play out for you? What would -- what would you say to the Pope, if you could say anything to him prior to this visit? Or what are your hopes for it?

BECK: Well, my hopes is that he really keeps that status as speaking for the oppressed and the poor. So while it may offend some people, I think for him to say the name, to give the people their dignity, to say Rohingya says you matter, you are someone.

Now when he is in Bangladesh, again, not a Christian country, 0.2 percent of the country is Christian, and he is the third Pope to go there, he will meet with these refugees and for them, it's a sign of hope.

What is so interesting, Christi, is that the focus of this trip has not really been on the very small Catholic communities in both of these countries. Remember, Pope Francis is going really for the Catholic communities too. But they are so small.

This is like the rolling stones pulling up at a hundred-seat venue which they would not do but Pope Francis is because he does not want the Catholics to be forgotten in these countries. He wants them to know that he cares about them. So he is wading into those waters, trying to shore up the Christian communities there and, also, the interreligious dialogue between Muslims.

So he has a lot on his plate and I would say speaking forcefully as a prophetic voice as you have in other countries because that is what people are looking for. They want to be noticed, accepted. The theme of this trip is peace and love.

This Pope is certainly going to bring that. Will the people embrace it and act upon it? That remains to be seen.

PAUL: The -- Thomas Reese also wrote that he has great admiration for the Pope and his abilities but someone should have talked him out of making this trip. Do you agree with that? Or do you think this trip the right thing to do?

BECK: I think the trip is right thing to do. And this pope has shown that he wants to go where others fear to tread and this is what he does. He goes into situations where others say he should not and he speaks a voice of love, compassion, and acceptance.

The interreligious dialogue is very important especially in this day and age with this pope. Remember, when he was in Turkey, he stood in the Blue Mosque, one of the most famous mosques in the world, and he embraced the grand mufti in that Blue Mosque as a sign that we Christians and Muslims must have an interreligious dialogue. So here is another opportunity for this pope on a world platform to embrace that kind of solidarity.

So he must do it. He has no choice.

PAUL: I only have -- I only have 10 seconds left. Do you have concerns for the Pope's safety?

BECK: I always have concerns for the Pope's safety, except my concerns do not seem to be his. He still goes around in unarmored vehicles. He says, I'm an old man. If this is it, so be it.

He does not seem to have the same kind of security concerns that many of us have for him. So I pray safety for him. But, yes, I always have safety concerns for our Pope.

PAUL: All right. Father Beck, we always appreciate your perspective. Thank you for taking the time for us this morning.

BECK: Great seeing you, Christi.

PAUL: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: All right. Now we're going to show you some pretty fascinating video. It's a volcano in a very popular tourist destination that is spewing smoke and ash clouds and it's causing thousands to leave the area. We will have the details just ahead.

PAUL: So, Coy, what do you get for pulling off one of the biggest upsets in college football?

[06:45:00]

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Christi, you get a whole bunch of love. And how about a fine of a quarter of a million dollars?

PAUL: What?

WIRE: What? Yes, that's right. We'll show you how, we'll show you who and why coming up on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Oh, my gosh. It was an upset of epic proportions in last night's Iron Bowl rivalry between number one Alabama and number six Auburn.

PAUL: Coy Wire has all the info.

WIRE: Happy Sunday fun day.

PAUL: You had a tough -- you had a day tough yesterday, didn't you?

WIRE: Yes --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: I have to watch TV

WIRE: -- watching some football -- college football Saturday. It was awesome. Auburn they pulled out all the stuff. Trick plays, blistering tempo, defense was banging, but they also pulled out a famous alum to get fans heightened for the game.

[06:50:00]

Our Turner brother basketball hall of famer Charles Barkley there at his alma mater to see his statue being unveiled on campus. No doubt an Auburn legend.

Now, Auburn may have a legend in the making too. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham was one of the heroes for the Tigers in their 26-14 win over Alabama. This guy was taking classes at a community college last year after walking away from Baylor just waiting for an opportunity elsewhere.

Well, Auburn came knocking and Stidham and the Tigers are now on a verge of a playoff berth after defeating, guys, the number one ranked team in the nation for the second time in three weeks. So the fans on the field that meant that Auburn University got a $250,000 fine because you're not allowed to do that in their conference.

PAUL: Look at that.

WIRE: Thinking it was worth it.

PAUL: Could they really even avoid it?

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: Nerd nation. Number 21 Stanford in top Heisman contender Bryce Love shocked number eight Notre Dame. Love ran for a hundred twenty- five yards. This guy is averaging nearly nine yards a carry on the season.

The Irish actually had the lead in the fourth quarter but Stanford scored three straight touchdowns. The quarterback K.J. Costello had four of them in this game.

Stanford with a 38-20 shocker over the golden Domers and they now go to Pac-12 championship game. They won three of the last five of those. Nerd nation now faces USC. Finally, wait until you see this. Alabama may have lost some football but their hoops team gives us something we may never see again in college hoops. Their entire bench was ejected after rushing the floor for a scuffle against Minnesota.

Then an injury. Then another player fouled out and Alabama was down to just three players versus Minnesota's five. Look at that one, two, three.

Now, Alabama somehow pulled within three points in the final minutes of this game. They would lose 89-84 but what an incredible display of resilience.

Great stuff in sports. We have NFL action (ph) today. Of course my former team the Falcon playing the Bucs -- a good one. L.A. Rams hosting the Saints is a great one.

And also these two Ohio natives, your Browns facing the Bengals. Yes, the good stuff today.

PAUL: It is good stuff.

SAVIDGE: Go, Browns.

PAUL: Coy, thank you.

WIRE: Welcome.

SAVIDGE: This could be their Sunday.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: You know what? It never -- it doesn't matter how good the team is. Ohio fans are dedicated.

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: Always there.

PAUL: Yes.

WIRE: Yes.

PAUL: Thanks, Coy.

WIRE: You're welcome.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: All right. So there is a volcano in Bali that is blowing up.

Yes. Spewing ash clouds and sending it thousands of feet in the air. You saw me -- you heard (ph) (INAUDIBLE). We will tell you how well this is not only affecting television but also a popular tourist destination -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:11]

PAUL: A champion pitmaster rallied his barbecue buddies not to go to a game or anything. He was there to help people in need when a catastrophe tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, that was back in 2011.

Now Stan Hays is one of this year's top 10 CNN heroes. Here is why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN HAYS, CNN HERO: I've been competing in barbecue for years. Besides being a nourishing meal, it's comfort food.

After a disaster, it is extremely emotional. Everybody's lives are on their front yard. So we decided we were going to get a bunch of the barbecue family together and help.

Welcome, thank you guys for coming out.

Over the last six years we've responded to tornadoes, floods, hurricanes. The core group are all pitmasters or grillmasters, but our volunteers come from everywhere.

Come on, guys.

Our goal is always to be in an area within 24 to 48 hours after a disaster strikes. We put the word out through different groups, and that way we know where the meals are going.

You guys need any meals?

To know you're a part of picking their spirits up --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no idea what a hot meal means to somebody who's lost everything they own.

HAYS: It can't help but bring a smile to your face.

It's amazing. Yesterday you guys put out 43,350 meals. Thank you for everybody that was here.

(APPLAUSE)

HAYS: It is people helping people the best way we know how.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: And you can vote for your favorite top 10 hero right now at CNNheroes.com and thank you for doing so.

SAVIDGE: Always interesting. Fascinating to watch nature in action.

And officials in Bali, Indonesia are telling people, at least those in the five mile radius of this volcano that they need to leave, leave now. If you look at it it's obvious why. A massive volcano in this popular tourist destination spewing smoke and ash and the plumes are going up over 13,000 feet, more than 25,000 people have now been evacuated and several airlines have cancelled their flights.

PAUL: CNN's Ivan Cabrera is live from the CNN weather center as he watches this right.

SAVIDGE: Ivan, tell us, you know, more about this eruption.

How long is it going to go on and how bad could it get? Do we know?

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Martin.

In fact, it had been behaving itself for a few weeks here. As you mentioned 25,000 people still in shelters as a result of the volcano here, Mount Agung, in Indonesia had been dormant since 1963. It has now been in the last few weeks.

In fact two eruptions in the last week, the latest one very strong goes all the way up to 30,000 feet which of course is where planes fly, which is why we've had disruption in travel. We've had cancellations. We've had diversions.

We've had the upwards 2,000 people at the airport there stranded and waiting for help. The reason the airplanes can't fly through this, we can fly through a lot of things -- right? But ash in particular is very dangerous to aircraft because as that plume goes up it has basically volcanic ash and it also has components that can clog up the area here.