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Former Senator Arlen Specter Passed Away Today; Mission Accomplished for Sky Diver Felix Baumgartner; Second Presidential Debate Tuesday; 14-Year-Old Girl in Pakistan Shot by Taliban; Emory University Apologized to Former Students

Aired October 14, 2012 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: It's the top of the hour. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

One of the most well known figures in the world of politics has died. Former senator Arlen Specter passed away today after a long battle with cancer, he was 82 years old. We'll have more on the veteran law maker's life and legacy in just a few moments.

Another big story we are following for you this afternoon. Mission accomplished for sky diver Felix Baumgartner. He landed on his feet after an unbelievable free fall from more than 23 miles above earth. His crew believes he broke three records, one for the fastest free fall ever, the other for the highest free fall, and one for the highest manned balloon.

Brian Todd and meteorologist Chad Myers has been with me throughout the afternoon following this death defying jump.

Let's begin with Brian in Washington. Among the records, he said including, you know, going the highest for any human in a manned balloon, that being confirmed. There was one he did not break?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It appears, so Fredericka. He was free falling. He free fell for about four minutes, 19 seconds. That is the timing we got from mission control, four minutes, 19 seconds. If that is the case, he may not have broken the record for the longest free fall. That was one of the records he was trying to set. But, of course he did breaks just other incredibly important records of the highest ever jump that anyone has ever undertaken. He broke that record by looks like more than 25,000 feet. That record had held for 52 years.

He also went through the sound barrier. No one had ever done that outside a vehicle. But he did that going at least 704 miles an hour. We read one speedometer from mission control earlier and said 729 miles an hour. But, we're trying to confirm the exact speed. However, it looks either way you cut it; he did break the sound barrier which no one has ever done outside a vehicle.

So, two really important records, two pioneering records for aero space exploration, the highest jump, 128,000 feet. And going through the sound barrier, no one has ever done that outside of a vehicle.

WHITFIELD: Incredible.

Now, how is Felix Baumgartner doing as far as we know?

TODD: By all accounts, he is doing fine, trying to get some updates now on his exact condition. But, by all accounts from what we have learned from mission control in the moments after, he was doing fine. He was to speak to the media just out in Roswell this afternoon. So, that is going on as scheduled as far as we know. So every indication is that Felix Baumgartner is doing just fine. You can see his landing there, he basically landed with his feet going, he landed running and then he stood up and then he kneel down with his fist to the sky in celebration. It appears that he's doing absolutely fine and we hope to hear from him soon.

WHITFIELD: All right, what a moment indeed.

Brian Todd, thanks so much in Washington.

So, that jump was heart pounding for anybody who was watching it unfold right here on CNN.

Meteorologist Chad Myers who's joining me for our live coverage, you know, this was not a thrill seeker kind of moment.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sure.

WHITFIELD: But it is a big step forwards science.

MYERS: It's about getting either space tours, astronauts, cosmonauts back down from a similar position in space. Can we allow or get people on to the ground who were catastrophic event in space.

Let's say one of these space tours things 10, 20 years from now, goes horribly wrong at 60 miles high, can those people be in a suit that could save them? And I think Felix proved a lot of that today.

And I'm in there watching the press conference that Brian was talking about. He's doing absolutely fine, although one of the things he said in the beginning was I was in real trouble. When we talked about that spin, he thought he was in real trouble. He fought that spin in ways that he had never had a fight, never before 500 miles per hour.

WHITFIELD: He corrected them on his own.

MYERS: He did. Because he is a sky diver,(INAUDIBLE). He knows everything about how to use his hands as little platforms, how to stop the spin. He said he fought that for what seemed like minutes. You know, we watched it on tape, it really wasn't that long. But when you are going through, and you think you are going to die and he did. He thought, I'm in real trouble. How am I going to stop this? He got out of it. HE fought it all the way down and he said, he is just - he smiled on that press conference. I have never seen anyone smile that big. He was so happy.

WHITFIELD: That is incredible. Well, we watched everything live as it happens. There were moments of from the point when he left that capsule to about 5,000 just above ground where we ended up having to show people, those moments in tape, and for in large part, because we really could not tell what kind of demeanor, you know, he was in, what his situation was. We only learned later that there was that spin out of control and he's able to explain it. But it was important to be very cautious about that moment and not be able to show that live as it was happening.

MYERS: I sat in a meeting on Monday and another one on Tuesday when this was supposed to happen the first time. And we talked it out and said which cannot show someone fall to their death. We can't do that. We have to put that --

WHITFIELD: Potentially.

MYERS: You know, literally, potentially. What's the big deal if we wait five minutes to be sure that Felix is talking. And as soon as he yanked that cord and he was able to talk down to ground control, we knew he was alive. WE knew he was going to make it and we went right back to it.

You know, and I think it was a really bit -- I was a little bit concerned when he was still in the capsule and not speaking very clearly. And I'm thinking, wow, maybe 20 second delay isn't enough because, you know, we schedule as he tried to say please tell me, did you do that? Did you do that trick plus number 29 and he wasn't responding. And he goes please respond. Please respond. And then finally, he came out of whatever he was going through, maybe he was just mentally going through it, getting ready for it. But us on the ground, didn't know what he was thinking.

WHITFIELD: Right.

MYERS: We thought he was in trouble, maybe oxygen, whatever was going on up there. He had left all the pressure out of the capsule. What happened with that, it is so pressurized. There was a lot of question. Everything that could have gone wrong went right.

WHITFIELD: That's right. And it was a successful mission. It really incredible to see all of it, the live portion, the tape portion, and it is wonderful to be able to learn from this mission.

MYERS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Chad. Appreciate that.

MYERS: You are welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, we are also a near in the conclusion of another big space related event of the shuttle "Endeavour" arriving at its new home. Live pictures right now and it is kind of final lap closing in on that 12-mile journey that people have been riveted by over the last 24 to 48 hours of its been making its way throughout Los Angeles. It took a little longer than expected by about 15 hours, but there were some tight squeezes along the way, even though so much preparation had been done prior to the shuttle's arrival in Los Angeles. But now, it's almost at that California science museum where it will rest in some finality there for all to see and enjoy.

All right, the next big presidential debate, two days away, and it could be a turning point in a presidential race. A town hall style showdown will be moderated by our own Candy Crowley and take place at Hofstra University in New York.

And that's where CNN political director Mark Preston is right now.

So Mark, before the first presidential debate, the conventional wisdom was that the debates really don't matter that much. But then, we saw Mitt Romney gain some ground in polls after President Obama's performance, so how much now is riding on this debate?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I mean this is the most important day of the election season. We have been saying that, Fred, ever since -- well, ever since the election start, right? You know, we saw Mitt Romney come out in that first debate and he defied all the critics and all the skeptics. He put on quite a show it. As many people would know, as President Obama had a very bad debate. Even one of his senior advisors Robert Gibbs said today that he needs to do better. Let's hear what he told Candy Crowley on the "STATE OF THE UNION," to give us a little preview what we can expect from President Obama Tuesday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, PRESIDENT OBAMA CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: He knew when he walked off stage and he also knew when he watched the tape of that debate that he's got to be more energetic. I think you'll see somebody who is very passionate about the choices that are country faces and putting that choice in front of voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: And there you have Robert Gibbs from "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning speaking Candy Crowley who will moderate Tuesday night's debate. But she also had Ed Gillespie, another senior adviser for Mitt Romney. He said it really profound to President Obama's record. Let's hear what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED GILLESPIE, SENIOR ADVISER TO MITT ROMNEY: The president can change his style, he can change his, in fact, he can change his record and he can change his policies. And that is what this election is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: So, there you have it, Fred. This is going to be extremely important Tuesday night especially coming on the heels of the vice presidential debate. There is a lot of people tuned in to. And a lot of people thought that Joe Biden did a good enough job of setting the table for President Obama on Tuesday night even though they were not so happy or should have the critics with some of the facial expressions he had - Fred. WHITFIELD: All right, so, Mark this is a town hall style. The audience will be asking a lot of the questions. It's the hottest ticket in town there in Hempstead, New York. So, who is going to be in the audience? How do they get those tickets?

PRESTON: Well, you know, if you're hoping to come here to the university to come to the debate on Tuesday, I suggest you leave it on CNN because you won't be able to get in. The tickets are allotted. They went to the students. They went to the commission on presidential debates here on site. You know, interestingly enough, the audience was picked up by the Gallup organization. And what they did is they did a sample of uncommitted voters here in this area of New York. These are voters who have not decided who they are absolutely going to vote for on Election Day. Those will be the voter that will be in the audience and those will be the voters who will be asking the questions, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mark Preston. Thanks so much, in Hempstead, New York.

Of course we will all be tuning in Tuesday night. You can watch the second presidential debate live right here on CNN. Our coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. The debate of course moderated by our very own Candy Crowley.

All right now, more on the death of former senator Arlen Specter, the veteran Pennsylvania lawmaker died today at his home of complications from non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He was 82. A public funeral services planned for Tuesday in Pennsylvania. Specter was the longest serving U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. He was being remembered as a fearless fighter who courageous fought with cancer and stood up for the causes he believed in.

Joining us right now live by phone is Specter's friend and former colleague U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy.

Senator, thank you so much for joining us. Our condolences to all those who loved, respected and knew Arlen Specter. What do you suppose his legacy will be?

PATRICK LEAHY, FORMER U.S. SENATOR (via phone): Well, I think that in many ways he will be remembered as being a senator's senator. And before that sounds like too much inside baseball, I was walking along the road by our home here in Vermont today and I was thinking he was like the Vermont Republican senators we see, people who strongly believe in their party, but believe in their country first. And if it came to a question of following party orders or following what was best for the country, he always went with the country first, which is what senators are supposed to do. And I think that's why sometimes members of his own party consider him very unpredictable. And he was unpredictable because he cared about the people more than his own party.

WHITFIELD: And perhaps, that was exemplifying his 30-year career hat he was both a Republican and a Democrat. He was part of a generation, it seems, of lawmakers willing to cross the aisle, work with the other side. You know, as you compare sort of his generation of lawmakers to today's generation of lawmakers, what are the distinctive differences in how he was able to be one to say it's OK to cross the aisle.

(CROSSTALK)

LEAHY: With Arlen, we first met when we were young prosecutors back 40 years ago, more than 40 years ago. And when he came to the Senate, you saw him as a person who trusted his own instinct. He would do his own home work. He would know what he thought was best. We have had people like that in both parties. I remember when Republican Bob Dole and Democrat Pat Moynihan came together to fix Social Security. They didn't go by party litmus test. They went by what was best for the country.

Arlen did that over and over again. We were close friends because we knew we could set aside party labels. We could sit down and try to work out things that were best. We have got to go back to those days. I think one of the reasons why the Congress is held in such lowest steam today is because there's too much of doing party line, especially since the tea party came in. There's been too much party line sloganeering and not substance.

WHITFIELD: What do you supposed his last few days or weeks had been like as he has been battling very publicly with cancer?

LEAHY: He's battled cancer before. He nearly died a couple of times before. He was through in all, a fighter. I know he was in bad shape these last few weeks. I wasn't able to talk to him on the phone. I sent him a longhand written note just tell it to Joan (ph), that my wife and I had him in our prayers and thoughts. He was supposed to have died several times before from illnesses and he battled through him. And I think he hoped to do the same thing here.

WHITFIELD: Senator Patrick Leahy, thanks so much for your thoughts and remembering your late friend Arlen Specter.

LEAHY: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: The second presidential debate now just two days away, how do you prepare for 90 minutes of intense questions and answers? We will talk with the debate moderator, our very own Candy Crowley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, America chooses a president in 23 days. But before that, we have two more presidential debates, the next one, Tuesday night at Hofstra University in New York. It is a town hall debate moderated by our own Candy Crowley.

Earlier, I talked to Candy and asked her how this format might influence the tone of the race with the audience asking some of the questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it will in this way, it is very hard to be overheated when answering a question from a nice young woman, a nice old man, whatever, who asks a town hall question, which generally begins something like, you know, Mr. President or governor, I lost my job, blah, blah, blah, blah. To then have the tools to engage in a knock down drag out tends to be something they don't do in a crowd that's that close to them.

I think the other way - this is, you know, and you and I know that they would run over me in a second. You know, they would really sort of push the envelope with a member of the media, because they are used to us. But it is very hard to do that to an uncommitted voter.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, you know, some CNN colleagues couldn't help themselves but to give you some advice for these debates. Let's listen.

TODD: I have noticed in these did baits when the candidate where is asked about a certain topic, they sometimes stray off of it.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Really hold the candidates' feet to the fire.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is the best thing you can say about the opposition party?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: What's been the happiest moment of your life and what's been the saddest moment of your life?

WHITFIELD: So, I'm sure a lot of folks have tried to give you advice, not that you need any. But, you know, it sounds like a lot of folks are saying to have a sense of humor about it all too.

CROWLEY: Well, that - and also, you want to get to know a little bit. You want the kind of offbeat question that exposes something about the candidate that others might not know, that is at the same time relevant to who you might want in a president. That sort of reveals something about their character. But I don't lack as you may note from suggestions. And the sad thing is, that 90 minutes is not as long as you think it is. If you could see my inbox, I will tell you that people have questions about so many things and in the end, it has to be questions about things where, a, they have a difference of opinion, and b, where we have a chance of kind of opening up new territory.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks Candy.

And of course you can see for yourself how it will all unfold, the second presidential debate live right here on CNN. Our coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern on Tuesday night, hosted by - moderated by, that is, Candy Crowley.

All right, A brave 14-year-old girl dares to speak out against the Taliban and now she gets shot for it. Now we have new updates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Pakistan, thousands gathered today to teen activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban. (INAUDIBLE) was called by an anti-Taliban political party. Doctors report she is still in unconscious but making slow and steady progress. The Taliban shot the young girl for speaking up for a girl's right to go to school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALALA YOUSAFZAI, EDUCATION ACTIVIST: I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have a right to speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ralitsa Vassileva is joining us now. So, huge outpouring of support for the little girl. Not just in Pakistan, but really around the world. People are appalling for her. She is remarkable. But, is there any hope for her recovery? How is she doing?

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a little bit of hope. Yesterday, she moved her hands and legs a little bit. Today, they took her off the ventilator for just a little bit. But she remains unconscious. And the doctors in the military hospital who are treating her say it's a miracle that she has survived. That is very rare that somebody can even get to the place where she is right now on a ventilator, unconscious, being shot point blank in the head.

WHITFIELD: And she has been moved from one facility to the next, security reasons in large part, and also because of just better medical equipment available?

VASSILEVA: Yes. She is now in (INAUDIBLE) which is like a suburb of the capital Islamabad in the military hospital. However, there has been an offer from the UAE, they have a plane with six doctors in standby, if they want to move her. But they said so far, she has to stay put because she's so severely wounded in the head. So, that is incredible.

WHITFIELD: People in country were already riveted by this little girl who just seems to have kind of an old soul about her, a sense of maturity and poise that is just remarkable. And then, after she was shot, I mean, it just timed to multiply in terms of her power, even though she is recovering from, you know, this gunshot wound. She really has become a symbol of something even greater than just a push, I don't say just lightly, but greater than the push for education little girls.

VASSILEVA: Yes. Some of the people say this could be a turning point in Pakistan. People are standing up to the Taliban and demanding that the government take more measures to counter the militants especially where she lives. And when think of Swat valley where she lived, that is a hot bed of militancy and she still dared to speak her mind, to talk to other girls in her school and tell them do not stay home, do not be intimidated by the Taliban which is opposed to girls' education.

The government went in to that Swat River Valley. They managed to clear out the Taliban, but obviously, they still pose a big danger. And they have said if she survived, we are going to kill her. Even her family is afraid, her father was a principal. One of the last schools to close for girls was her father's school when the Taliban took over in 2007. He held out until the last moment, and they closed the school in 2009. The Pakistan military went back into that area to close to the afghan border very heavy with militancy and the Taliban. And they managed to push them out and re-open the schools. And she went back to school, but we see that it's still not safe. But the girls in her class, the whole region, they say we are going to get educated. We saw this outpouring of support. But the Taliban says no one stands up to us even the 14-year-old girl criticizes us and she survived.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ralitsa Vassileva. Thank you for that update. Appreciate it.

All right, now to this political news here in the U.S. Former U.S. senator Arlen Specter died at the age of 82 this morning. Specter fought a long and public battle with cancer. He was one of the last moderate on Capitol Hill and played key roles in critical Senate battles. Specter angered colleagues by switching from Republican to Democrat. He lost his last bid for re-election.

One of those who knew Arlen Specter well is Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Bob Casey.

Senator Casey is joining us now by phone.

Mr. Casey, thanks so much. And our hearts go out to those in mourning in the passing of Arlen Specter.

You released a statement and you described senator, as, quote, "a statesman and a problem solver." What in your view kept in this fight as a lawmaker for 30 years?

SEN. BOB CASEY (D), PENNSYLVANIA (via phone): Well, because he tried throughout his whole career in the senate to work with people in both parties and was very successful in those efforts. But I think he became as many of us do increasingly frustrated with the partisanship of Washington. But he never stopped fighting. He never stopped working on behalf of the people of our commonwealth. And we benefitted tremendously from his work. There are lots of legacies and a lot of results we can point to, but one of them of course is focus on medical research, the national institutes of health and healthcare in general. It's a great testament to his work.

WHITFIELD: How does he inspire you? Earlier I spoke with Patrick Leahy about what almost seems to be a distinction of generations, that Arlen Specter and many other veterans on Capitol Hill are willing to work on both sides of the ail, but it is the kind of the younger generations of lawmakers, they are reticent to doing. So, you are one of those younger generations of lawmakers on the hill. In what way does he inspire you or does he inspires you to want to cross the aisle and work things out? CASEY: No question about it. I think he was an inspiration to a lot of us. When I got there, he was in his 25th year. And one of the first things he said to me was literally when we were meeting the Monday after the Tuesday of 2006 election. I literally on the way to lunch, he said it's important for to us work together as Democrats and Republicans. HE said it's also important for people to see us working together. Because he knows - he knew at the time and he would say today, and once people see that and they see evidence of it, it's not enough just to make the attempt. And so, that - those words at that time probably didn't mean as much to me as they do now and probably now over more so because of the nature of our politics in Washington. So, his suggestions and his advice have even more meaning now.

WHITFIELD: Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, thanks so much for your thoughts.

CASEY: Thanks, Fredricka.

A university admits to flunking students just because they were Jewish. We will talk with the man who tracked down the students and revealed those stories.

A business report comes out this week that could show how Americans are feeling about the future of the economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Wall Street is looking for a big economic number this week. Retail sales figures for September to come out the first thing tomorrow morning, the numbers are expected to show that we are getting in a spending mood ahead of the holidays.

Todd Schoenberger is joining me right now. He is the managing principal at the black bay group.

Todd, good to see you.

TODD SCHOENBERGER, MARKET ANALYST: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, why is this, such a critical number?

SCHOENBERGER: Well, it is because it can show actually how the U.S. economy is doing, but also how American assumers are feeling. And this - and we are expected, like you said, to see an increase in September, close to one percent. And this would be great because in August, we actually saw an increase of 0.9 percent. So, Americans should be feeling a little bit better especially about the economy. Household prices are going up. Plus, you also have to look at consumers' sentiments and confidence. People fell just a little bit better these days. So, therefore, they probably go in to the malls for you shopping.

WHITFIELD: All right, so, this is a real prelude to the holiday shopping season. You're actually expecting maybe a big increase in, a jump, say in the five percent range? SCHOENBERGER: That's right. Well, if you look at the last 10 years, the annual increase actually has been about 3.5 percent. Right now, you have the national retail federation, is expecting a four percent increase for the holiday shopping season.

I'm going to be very optimistic about this, Fredricka. I think everybody is going to be out there shopping only because the economy actually is improving. And if that is the case, you are going to have more people heading those malls. So, it should be a wonderful holiday shopping season. And you already start to see some clues right now because of the some early sales that have been taking place.

WHITFIELD: OK. Then, that means that the ground work is being laid for a whole lot more people to be higher for these seasonal jobs, hopefully right?

SCHOENBERGER: That's right. Because look, if you want if you want a part-time job, now is the time to get out there. CNN viewers that want to have a little bit of part time work, maybe a little bit of extra cashes in holiday season should be applying right now. You have companies like Toys Are Us, FedEx, UPS, Coles and JCPenny that have really announced tens of thousands of new hires that they're looking to do this holiday shopping season. And these jobs will start November 1st.

So now, you want to apply because interviews are taking place now. You can have a job in a couple of weeks. It might be great to help assist with the U.S. economy and get out there spending.

WHITFIELD: That is fantastic news. All right, get out there before Halloween time to now start applying for those holiday jobs.

All right, Todd Schoenberger. Good to see you. Thanks so much.

SCHOENBERGER: Likewise. Take care now.

WHITFIELD: All right, dozen students flunked out of a prestigious university because there were Jewish (INAUDIBLE). The school is apologizing. The story behind this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Emory University in Atlanta is saying we're sorry to dozens of former students. They were all enrolled in Emory's now closed dazzled school decades ago. Many of them either flunked out or they were forced to repeat a year or more even because of what university said was they were quote "turns out, all of these students were singled out because they were Jewish."

Eric Goldstein is the director of Batan (ph) Institute for Jewish studies at Emory and he is joining me right now.

So in 2006, you put together this exhibit on Jewish life at the university. How did it go from that exhibit to this kind of revelation and a real pulling back of the curtain that this kind of discrimination happened to this degree on campus? ERIC GOLDSTEIN, HISTORY PROFESSOR, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Right. Well, any exhibit was a small section about anti-Dominican today and one of the people who viewed the exhibit was Perry Brickman, one of the former students from the dental school, and also the member o the Atlanta Jewish community who I knew and he was shocked to see this event discussed in such detail in an exhibit.

So he approached me later and it sort of got him started doing research to try to find out exactly what had happened to him and these other students. He interviewed many of those students and collected an amazing amount of material and developed a video presentation about this. And we consulted about it and ultimately we approached the Emory administration. They were very receptive. And they said that they are willing to make a statement of regret about this incidents that happened 50 or 60 years ago.

WHITFIELD: How was Brickman able to detail to you and others what happened to him and kind of find the correlation or connect the dots that it similarly happened an awful lots of other people, and only to conclude that he was indeed -- they were indeed discriminated against because of the Jewish?

GOLDSTEIN: Well, to some extent, a lot of this information was known already in 1961 when the anti-defamation league did a statistical study about the numbers of Jewish students that were failed out and how is far disproportion into what it should have been.

But what Perry Brickman did is he tracked down these students and interviewed them. And he really added a human dimension of the story. He had them say in their own words what happened to them with stories and incidents and it really just added a whole new level to our understanding of what happened.

WHITFIELD: And he found those common denominators. Here's a portion of that documentary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY BRICKMAN, FORMER EMORY DENTAL STUDENT: We got that dreaded letter, and more likely than not, our parents would say, what have you done to me? When you began to try to explain what happened, nobody believed you. They just didn't believe, oh, that's impossible. Emory? You know what we did? We just shut up. It was a fraternity of silence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And what happened to the dream of so many who believed what the university was telling them, that they were not up to snuff, that they shouldn't be dental students, they could never go on to be dentists and then, you know, they left. And did many, I guess, feel so discouraged about that that they just didn't even pursue a dental career in other places.

GOLDSTEIN: Right. Some did pursue a dental career, like Dr. Brickman who went on to be a very well-known dentist, others went into medical field and to other professions. Many of them did extremely well in whatever profession they chose. But at the same time they carried with them, you know, a sense of embarrassment and a kind of stigma that this have never been acknowledge as discrimination and many of them just simply didn't talk about it for years and years. Many of them never even told their wives or children about it. And many of them never spoke of it all these years until this past week.

WHITFIELD: They felt embarrassed? Or a stigma?

GOLDSTEIN: Well, you know, I don't want to say embarrassed because they really had nothing to feel embarrassed for. But because it was never acknowledged by the university as discrimination, they had to tell their parents that they were kicked out of the of school and it was something that it was just very awkward topic and they didn't feel like addressing it many of them for many years.

WHITFIELD: Maybe a humiliation then. So, I wonder if there is a feeling among many of them that the university is handling it properly now?

GOLDSTEIN: Well, I think that you can never really go back and undo something that was done so many years ago and that really caused so much pain and impact to people's lives. But, I think Emory has done an excellent job of doing what they could do at this point to say that they are sorry, to make a statement of regret and to bring all these people together. And one of the amazing things is this has allowed many of them to speak about it for the first time and to process the feelings. And to have that feeling of acknowledgement and validation that this was not their fault, that it was something that was done to them.

WHITFIELD: And this week, many came together and many students, current students at Emory got to hear these stories for the first time, so. It was revealing, may be cathartic in some ways and just simply heart breaking.

GOLDSTEIN: Absolutely. As I said, it was kind of an opening of the door. This silence of so many years was lifted. And the most impressive thing was to see many of these men who had never spoken of this to stands up at a dinner following these ceremonies and to testify and to tell their own stories. And many of them had children who had never known about this until these past weeks and to see that all coming together as a result of these events and as a result of Harry Brickman's work and of Emory's acknowledgement it was a wonderful feeling that at least that was able to happen.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating story and fascinating page in history.

GOLDSTEIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Erick Goldstein, thanks so much.

GOLDSTEIN: Thank you. My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Nice to meet you. Appreciate it.

And you can read more on this story in our belief blog at CNN.com/belief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama and Mitt Romney are busy practicing for their second debate this Tuesday night. So, what is at stake in the showdown?

CNN's Athena Jones takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Round two, President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney face off in their second debate Tuesday, a town hall, moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley who says the format presents unique challenges for the candidates.

CROWLEY: The challenged that they have got to connect, not just with the people that are looking in to the television and watching them, but to the people that are on the stage with them, some 80 or so undecided voters as chosen by Gallup. So, they have to keep those folks in mind, it's a much more intimate and up close adventure with voters.

JONES: President Obama is under pressure after his lat turn on the debate stage got bad review.

ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: One bad debate is losing a battle. Two bad debates could very well northeastern he loses the war.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: And I think you're going to see a very different President Obama this time around. He's got to be seen as being aggressive, but he can't be seen as being overly aggressive.

JONES: Romney has enjoyed a post debate bounce in national polls and a boost of confidence on the campaign trail.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's more energy and passion, people are getting behind this campaign.

JONES: At a town hall without a podium and with audience interaction, the candidates' style and body language can take on added weight. At the first town hall style presidential debate in 1992, President George H. W. Bush repeatedly checked his watch, a sign some thoughts that he is didn't want to be there.

Commentator said Bill Clinton, walking toward the audience stands or a question about the recession, highlighted his ability to connect with voters. One thing that can make it hard for a candidate to be aggressive is a question like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we focus on the issues and not the personalities and the mud?

JONES: Analysts say the format could be good for the president.

CARDONA: He will absolutely be able to draw from the energy of the public and the crowd.

JONES: As for Romney.

NAVARRO: One of his big challenges during this entire campaign has been not being able to connect with the common man and woman and child. He's got to be able to come across as connecting. He's got to come across as genuine, as caring, as likable.

CROWLEY: The candidate that makes a connection with the person asking the question is also making a better connection with the folks back home.

JONES: The stakes couldn't be higher.

Athena Jones, CNN. Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The presidential contender will square off for second time Tuesday night, our special live coverage beginning at 7:00 eastern time. The debate will be moderated by our own Candy Crowley.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we have got much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead with the Don man.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: The Don man, I like that. What's up? We have to be fast, because that was a great interview, a great Emory interview. And so, let's move on.

Tuesday night's presidential debate, make or break for President Obama? We are going to talk about and we are going to take a look at the VP debate, not from the actual debate, Fred, but through the lens of last night's "Saturday Night Live."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, I want to thank Center College for hosting us this evening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, boy, here we go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four years ago, President Obama made a promise. That he would bring down unemployment below six percent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, this guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That is funny. But, you know, there was a serious discussion, very serious discussion on all the Sunday talkers this morning, all the hype from one VP debate puts more pressure on both Mitt Romney and President Obama to bring their a-games coming up in the next debate.

WHITFIELD: A lot is riding on this next debate. We'll be watching. Candy Crowley, the moderator. We all know that and we celebrate her for that.

Wonderful. All right, we will see you minutes away now. Much more with the NEWSROOM with Don Lemon.

All right, thanks, Don.

All right, it's been an incredible day. You watch this, didn't you earlier?

LEMON: I did.

WHITFIELD: This was hard to pull yourself from the screen. We'll talk about skydiver Felix Baumgartner and his tremendous feat. We will show you moment to moment what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, he did it. Skydiver Felix Baumgartner landed on his feet after a record breaking 128,000 foot jump from the edge of space. He accomplished this with only a space suit, a helmet and a chute and a great crew. Here is how it all unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is the capsule. Shortly after midnight tonight, as it came out of the hangar, the helium and big tanks delivered to the launch pad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moving across New Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will depressurize it part way, at which point Baumgartner's pressure suit should automatically begin to inflate. So, they do it half way to make sure it is going to inflate. And then, they dump the rest of the pressure to equalize the pressure and the capsule to what it is outside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me a short count. OK, keep your head down. Release the helmet tie down strap. Start the cameras. And a guardian angel will take care of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speed 729 and decelerating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's the chute. There's the chute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm facing the tower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We see you. We're coming your way right now.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That was an incredible afternoon. I hope you have got a chance to watch it here live on CNN. It was -- everyone was at the edge of their seat the entire time.

I know, Don, you were watching.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Including you.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: Including me.

WHITFIELD: We were all. It's great.

LEMON: Yes, we're trying to run the whole thing sometime between now and 8:00 when we get off the air. Fingers crossed, we hope it happens.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Good to see you.

LEMON: I'm right here too, guys.

WHITFIELD: Yes, here he is, my colleague Don Lemon. Bye-bye.

LEMON: Right next to Fred. There we go.

All right. I'm Don Lemon. Fred, have a great evening.