President Obama handpicked Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren to create a new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The two have known each other for years, the president said. Obama didn't nominate her, a move he said was calculated because many of his nominees have struggled for approval in the Senate. Warren doesn't have to get Senate approval because she is a special adviser. She spoke with Kiran Chetry and John Roberts on CNN's American Morning.

Chetry: What is your vision for the consumer protection agency? What do you want it to be and to do?

Warren: We have a consumer credit market. It's broken in the sense [that] unlike most markets, when consumers go out to shop [and] decide to take out a credit card or take out a mortgage or car loan, you can't really compare the products because they've gotten long, they've gotten complicated.

They're full of fine print. Here's the bad thing: they've got a bunch of tricks and traps in them. What appears to be the price, low, low, 7 percent financing is really zero percent financing. It's the case [with] some of these lender[s] [that] they're getting a lottery ticket. They're hoping you'll take their low, low price because buried back in the fine print, they intend to make a lot of money.

Chetry: Now, I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise to you that you have critics in the financial world. Some of them are saying the problem is you're coming from an anti-business point of view and you're not really giving them a chance. And some come from the academic world so you don't really understand the intricacies of how these financial institutions work. How do you respond to those critics?
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GOP's 'Pledge to America' lays out a governing agenda

Washington (CNN) - House Republican leaders will unveil a 21-page "Pledge to America" on Thursday that presents a "governing agenda" for what Republicans would do if they win control of Congress in November.

CNN obtained a copy of the document Wednesday.

The plan focuses primarily on jobs and the economy, with a short reference in the "preamble" to the party's position on social issues.

According to the document, House Republicans want to permanently extend all the tax cuts due to expire at the end of this year, give small businesses a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income and require Congress to review any new federal regulations that add to the deficit.

The document lacks, however, a pledge against unrelated pet projects that members of Congress insert in spending bills to bring funding to their home districts - known as earmarks. Banning earmarks is typically a staple of Republican policy.

Some provisions matched positions of the conservative Tea Party movement that has helped defeat mainstream Republican candidates in several primary elections this year. For example, the document calls for a federal hiring freeze on nonsecurity employees and requiring all legislation to include a clause showing that it is authorized under the Constitution. FULL STORY

Atlanta pastor cancels interview about sex scandal

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) - Atlanta-based megachurch pastor Eddie Long, accused of coercing young men into sexual relationships, will not be interviewed on a radio show planned for Thursday.

Long was scheduled to address the civil lawsuits filed against him on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show." Instead, his lawyers will speak, Long's lawyer told Roland Martin, a syndicated columnist and CNN political analyst.

Martin was scheduled to conduct the interview because he is substituting for Joyner at the radio show.

Long had also scheduled a news conference for Thursday. It is unclear whether this decision will affect the news conference.

A third lawsuit against Long was filed Wednesday, and it prompted Long to decline to do the radio interview, the lawyers said.

The new lawsuit was filed in DeKalb County, Georgia, State Court. It was brought on behalf of Jamal Parris, now 23, who was a teenager at the time he joined Long's church.

The suit, which claims Long encouraged Parris to call him "Daddy," also names the church and a youth academy as defendants.

Allegations that Long coerced young male church members and employees into sex are "a case of retaliation and a shakedown for money by men with some serious credibility issues," Art Franklin, the pastor's spokesman, said Wednesday. FULL STORY

Warren ready for work
Elizabeth Warren, Assistant to the President on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , on being appointed to create the Consumer Financial Protection bureau, and what her priorities will be in creating the new organization.

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