user: Problem: Lisbon, Portugal (CNN)  -- Pope Benedict XVI made one of his strongest statements to date on the sex abuse scandal sweeping the Roman Catholic Church, saying Tuesday the reality he has seen is "terrifying." And he distanced himself from criticism of the media by senior Vatican officials, saying the most important attacks on the church don't come from the outside, they come from the sins of the members of the church, CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen said. Benedict was speaking on his plane en route to Portugal, where he is making a four-day visit. He has said very little in public about the scandal, which has swept Western Europe this year, leading bishops to quit or offer to quit in Ireland, Germany and Belgium. Hundreds of people have come forward this year saying they were abused by priests or other Catholic authority figures there and in Austria, Netherlands and the United States. He said three weeks ago he was "greatly moved" by meeting victims of abuse in Valletta, Malta. He said he gave the victims "assurances of the church's action" after the April 18 meeting. It is not clear if he plans to meet victims of abuse in Portugal, which has not been as badly shaken by the scandal as many other European countries.

What are highlight points?
Answer: Pope Benedict XVI says reality of church child abuse scandal is "terrifying" Pontiff says most serious attacks on the church come from within. Benedic was speaking en route to Portugal.

Problem: The gap in bachelor-degree attainment between the nation's richest and poorest students by age 24 has doubled during the last four decades, according to a report released on Tuesday. The percentage of students from the lowest-income families — those making $34,160 a year or less — earning a bachelor's degree has inched up just 3 points since 1970, rising from 6 to 9 percent by 2013. Meanwhile, college completion for students from the wealthiest families has risen dramatically, climbing from 44 to 77 percent. 'It's really quite amazing how big the differences have become between those from the highest and lowest family incomes,' said Laura Perna, a University of Pennsylvania professor and executive director of the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy, one of the two organizations that published the study examining college costs and degree attainment. Wealth divide: College completion for students from the wealthiest families, many of whom who attend Ivy League Universities like UPenn (pictured), has risen dramatically, climbing from 44 to 77 percent. The study comes amid renewed debate on college affordability spurred by President Barack Obama's proposal to make two years of college free. If adopted in every state, the proposal would benefit a projected 9 million students each year. It would cost taxpayers an estimated $60 billion over 10 years — a price the Republican-controlled Congress is likely to be hesitant to embrace. Among the report's other findings: The percentage of students from all income levels enrolling in college has increased, shrinking the gap in enrollment between rich and poor 'somewhat' during the last four decades. There was a 46-point gap between the two groups in 1970, compared with a 36-point gap in 2012. But completion gaps are growing: While 99 percent of students entering college from the highest-income families — those making $108,650 or more a year — graduate by 24, just 21 percent of students from the lowest-income families finish by that age. Perna said there are a number of factors contributing to the widening divide, including access to the information and support needed to enter college and graduate; college readiness; and the availability of higher education that meets people's needs, particularly for students who might have children, limited access to transportation and full-time jobs. She also noted that the likelihood of finishing a degree varies dramatically by the type of institution. Students from the poorest families are overrepresented in public two-year institutions, which tend to have lower completion rates, while those from wealthier families are abundant in doctoral-granting institutions. The Obama administration has expanded the availability of Pell grants and supported a tax credit for tuition costs, but the study says the amount of the maximum Pell grant award has not kept up with the rising cost of college. College costs were more than two times higher in 2012 than in 1975 at the start of the Pell grant program, which provides aid to low-income students based on need. Pell grants covered 67 percent of college costs in 1975 but only 27 percent in 2012. Proposal: The results of the study come at a time when President Obama is Proposing to make two years of college free in order to allow less wealthy students to graduate. 'We sometimes think that low-income students are taken care of because of the federal program. But you can see it covers so much less than (when) it was first established,' said Margaret Cahalan, director of the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, the second institution involved in the report. The study shows the burden of paying for college has increasingly shifted from state and local governments to students and families. That, Perna said, should prompt an important question: Who should pay for college given the individual and societal benefits? 'Students only have so many resources they can use to pay the costs,' Perna said. Michael Kramer, 29, is the first in his family to attend college. The son of a country club maintenance supervisor and a factory worker, he went straight to jobs in retail and plumbing after graduating high school, unable to afford college. He eventually enrolled in a community college while working full time and is now taking out loans to help finish his bachelor's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles. "We're a country that says everybody should be getting higher education, and nowadays, to get any decent job, you need a bachelor's degree," Kramer said. But for low-income students like him, Kramer said the high cost of college often means making a difficult choice between fulfilling basic food and housing needs and obtaining a postsecondary education. 'It's a continuous cycle that they get stuck in,' he said.

What are highlight points?
Answer: College completion for students from the wealthiest families has risen dramatically, climbing from 44 to 77 percent. The percentage of students from the lowest-income families has inched up just 3 points since 1970, rising from 6 to 9 percent by 2013. The study comes amid renewed debate on college affordability spurred by President Barack Obama's proposal to make two years of college free. If adopted in every state, the proposal would benefit a projected 9 million students each year and cost taxpayers $60 billion over 10 years.

Problem: In some corners of the Internet, Kim Kardashian is already Mrs. Kanye West. The 33-year-old reality star isn't expected to marry West until May 24, but a May 4 report from Life & Style Weekly stirred speculation that the couple have already obtained a marriage license in California. Whether or not that's true is up for debate. Both People magazine and E! News cite sources who say that Kardashian and West, 36, haven't yet made their impending union official. A rep for the reality star isn't commenting on the reports and Kardashian hasn't spoken on them either, but she has let a few details slip about her upcoming nuptials. "We will be getting married ... in Paris," Kardashian told Jimmy Kimmel earlier this year. "We love it there. It's like our second home, we spend so much time there." And according to the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star, her husband-to-be has been hands-on with the planning process. "I know they think or they say that the guy usually doesn't care and just shows up, but Kanye really cares and is really passionate about it, so it makes my job so much easier," she said. "I love it because he knows what he wants, and I love that about him." West popped the question to Kardashian with an over-the-top proposal in October 2013, a few months after the couple welcomed their first child together, daughter North. CNN's Joan Yeam contributed to this report.

What are highlight points?
Answer:

assistant: There's speculation that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are already married. A rep for the reality star won't comment. Kardashian herself also hasn't commented on the reports. She has confirmed that they'll marry in France.