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Erin Burnett Outfront

Judge Denies Boston Bombing Suspect's Request; Idaho Terror Suspect Held In Bomb Plot; Number Of Suspects Identified In McCann Case; Powerball Jackpot Hits $600 Million

Aired May 17, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, breaking news in the Boston marathon terror attack investigation. Tonight, a judge's decision could mean something significant for the case going forward.

Plus, a Russian speaking terror suspect made an appearance in an Ohio courtroom today. Why it might be time for us to rethink where the biggest threat is coming from.

The CIA's top man in Moscow outed by Russian authorities. Is there something seriously wrong at the CIA? Let's go OUTFRONT.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett, OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news, in the Boston bombing investigation. A federal magistrate has refused a request from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers to take, quote, "current and periodic photos" of Tsarnaev throughout his recovery at the federal bureau of prisons medical facility in Devens, Massachusetts.

Now the lawyers say that they want the photos to provide evidence of Tsarnaev's, quote, "evolving mental and physical state in federal custody." Perhaps how long it takes for him to recover from what happened that night.

Susan Candiotti is in Boston tonight. Susan, why was this request made and why did the judge deny it?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's very interesting because the only reason we're finding out about this at all is because the judge made her ruling public. All the motions that were initially filed about this a few weeks ago were all under seal and kept from public view, but here's what the judge is telling us because the defense and government not talking.

Apparently, the defense wanted to take these photographs according to the judge's rulings, to try to mount what would probably be a likely challenge about the state of Dzhokhar's mind, given the injuries that he had, whether the statements he made to investigators were voluntary. That's a quote. Whether he -- that statements were voluntary. That's a quote from the ruling.

And whether the defense could take these photographs to make a case down the road for any future mitigation that might come at trial. But again, the defense motions, all under seal about this. So the judge said, look, if you want any photographs taken, you'll have to allow the bureau of prisons to take those photographs, and you'll have to share those with the government. The defense did not want to do that.

So we'll have to wait and see whether those photographs will be taken. And one final thing, we were kind of expecting an indictment to come down on Monday that generally happens 30 days after someone -- there are charges filed by way of a complaint. But it looks like we might be facing a delay in that calendar, Erin. We'll have to see.

And there could be a number of exceptions for this, for example, because he's hospitalized, because there are other matters going on. We can only tell you that a number of documents in this case remain under seal -- Erin.

BURNETT: Obviously big questions about that. Susan, before you go, I know there's also news about the former Chechen militant who now lives in New Hampshire. He's been interviewed by the FBI in connection with the bombings and met with the tsarnaev brothers. But has adamantly said, look, I was not involved. What is the development there today?

CANDIOTTI: Well, today he issued a public statement about this. We've been asking for one since yesterday. And in the statement, he says, first of all, that he condemns the attacks here. He said that he did meet a few times with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother, but they were always at Tamerlan's initiative.

He said in those discussions, we never discussed religion or politics. He said he's cooperating with the FBI, had no prior knowledge of what happened here. And a lawsuit official confirmed to us today, Erin, that in fact this meeting did take place. A search warrant was executed, but will say nothing more about it.

BURNETT: All right, Susan, thank you very much, with the developments tonight from Boston. Tonight, as we learn more about the Tsarnaev brothers' connections to Chechen and Kazakhstan, there is another terror case with ties to Uzbekistan. A 30-year-old Uzbek national appeared in a U.S. court today on federal terrorism charges.

Fazliddin Kurbanov, A Russian-speaking truck driver is accused of teaching people in Idaho to build bombs that could blow up a public transportation system. He's also charged with providing money to terrorist groups back in Uzbekistan. Kurbanov pleaded not guilty this afternoon. This is obviously a crucial test for the future of terrorism in this country.

Our own Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT tonight on the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Teams of FBI agents some wearing protective gear gathered bags of evidence pulled out of the Boise, Idaho apartment of Fazliddin Kurbanov, an Uzbekistan national nabbed on federal terrorism charges. Federal prosecutors say Kurbanov is linked to the organization behind this video, the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan, a terrorist organization that dates back to the early '90s.

But it is today believed to be connected to a growing number of plots on the U.S. In federal court, Kurbanov pleaded not guilty to a series of charges. The federal indictment says dating back to August of last year. Kurbanov worked with co-conspirators to send computer software and money to the terrorist group in Uzbekistan.

A second federal indictment out of Utah charges Kurbanov with using internet videos, written recipes and instructional shopping trips, to demonstrate how to make IEDs and other weapons of mass destruction.

Prosecutors say in Idaho, Kurbanov possessed a hollow hand grenade, aluminum powder, potassium nitrate and sulphur, the parts to make a destructive device. The war on terror is landing on the front doorstep of the neighbors who live in Kurbanov's apartment complex.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gives me chills.

LAH: Uzbekistan is a world away to Americans. Many heard of the remote country in a joke from one-time presidential candidate Herman Cain.

HERMAN CAIN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who's the president of Uzbekistan, I'm going to say I don't know.

LAH: He referred to it as an insignificant country, but to terrorism experts, Uzbekistan and the connection to Idaho shows the evolving face of global terror.

SETH JONES, SENIOR TERRORISM ANALYST, RAND: This isn't part of war of ideas. People are radicalizing in the United States or at least are accessing radical networks from the United States in ways that they have not done before.

LAH: The FBI stresses there is no connection between the Boston marathon bombing and Kurbanov's arrest, but there is a striking similarity. Terror, home grown over the internet and social media, difficult to police, and in an entrenched war that will not end quickly.

JONES: I would expect this to be a decades-long struggle. This is not going to happen tomorrow. It's not going to end next week or next month. It's going to take a long time. View this almost in cold war terms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: This is pretty amazing when you look at a place like Boise, and you have a guy teaching people how to make IEDs and bombs. I know he appear to be living fairly under the radar, was he here legally?

LAH: He actually was here legally. If you talk to some of the neighbors, Erin, they'll tell you there was nothing remarkable about him. He kept a very low profile, and as far as his record, it was pretty squeaky clean. All he had, Erin, were a couple of traffic violations.

BURNETT: Just even more frightening, when you think about it. It's not as if you could see the signals there. Kyung Lah, thank you very much.

OUTFRONT tonight, Don Borelli, a former member of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. You're particularly concerned about this Idaho case.

DON BORELLI, FORMER MEMBER, FBI JOINT TERRORISM TASK FORCE: This one does have me a bit more worried and this is why. This does not seem to be the normal home grown terrorist case like we've seen in other cases. As I understand it, this person came here under the auspices of being a Christian, seeking asylum from his country.

So there was intent to deceive the federal government to come to the United States from the get-go so assuming that that's all true, he was more than likely radicalized before he came here. Certainly, he wasn't a home-grown, self-taught Islamic once he arrived in the United States.

That was already in place. The other thing that has me concerned, as I understand it, within a short time of him relocating to the United States, he was back in touch with his facilitators, with his handlers, from his -- from the terrorist organization, from the IMU. So that ups the ante a bit in my estimation.

BURNETT: And that wasn't picked up. I mean, seriously, this could be happening elsewhere. We're hearing about a guy getting ready to make IEDs, at some point this would have been a horrific source.

BORELLI: And how many people are here under those same circumstances that are sent over claiming to be Christians, you know, seeking asylum, how many of these guys are out there. And if they are taking direction from a foreign terrorist organization, what are they taking direction to do, plots overseas, plots here, both? I mean, this is a worrisome situation.

BURNETT: All right, well, especially as you say, when you're disguising religion to try to go under the radar. This particular region of Central Asia, before the Boston bombings, was not getting a lot of focus. We're talking about North Africa getting a lot of focus because of the spread of al Qaeda, but people hadn't been looking here. Is this now going to be a crucial hotbed?

BORELLI: I think, you know, people working in counterterrorism have always worried about this area. And it doesn't get the same media play like al Qaeda, like the HEIM, or West Africa, but it still is very serious. These people train. They do the same in some cases. They share the same training techniques with al Qaeda.

Some of the same areas they train in. They've kept most of their activities localized, which I think is why it doesn't get the play in the U.S. that it does in other areas. But certainly, you know, since Boston, we've had two cases that have kind of popped up seemingly out of nowhere. Is it going to be a trend, too early to say? BURNETT: All right, certainly this story in Idaho, a crucial one. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time, Don.

Still to come, when the British toddler Madeleine McCann, you remember that name. She disappeared in 2007 and it captivated the world. Tonight, there is a huge development in that case.

Plus, just days after Russia expelled someone they claimed was a top spy for the United States, the head of the CIA in Moscow is outed by its Russian counterparts. Our top spy agency seems to be a bit ineffective.

A little-known fact about the investigation in Cleveland, Ariel Castro owns dogs. So what did that have to do with the women who were kept in his home?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Our second story, OUTFRONT, a big development tonight in the case of Madeleine McCann, the British toddler, you remember her. She disappeared back in 2007. People around the world were glued to this case. Tonight, police say they have identified a number of suspects in her disappearance, after an extensive review by Scotland Yard.

Now McCann went missing just a few days before her fourth birthday, during her family vacation in Portugal. You may remember at that night, her parents were downstairs having dinner. According to authorities, they've identified investigative and forensic opportunities that could be significant to the case. Obviously, this was six years ago.

OUTFROND tonight, John Walsh, profiled McCann's case several times on "America's Most Wanted." He's met with Madeleine McCann's parents. This is a huge development this would happen now. This is one of those cases people say this is a cold case. We're never going to know what happened. She disappeared six years ago this month.

But as we just saw in Cleveland, there could be hope, right, John, that she's not just an answer to what happen to her, but that she's alive, right?

JOHN WALSH, FORMER HOST, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": Well, we always caution parents to keep up the hope, and that you're your child's best chance of getting found, getting back alive, that you don't give up. I did go over to England and actually went to the McCann's house.

Jerry McCann and I had been talking about the case. I teamed up with Scotland Yard and the British press brutalized the McCann's, and the Portuguese police did a horrible job of pointing a finger to them.

So my wife and I went down to meet the McCann's so that she could encourage Kate McCann not to give up. They had twins that she had to take care of. And the McCann's actually made lunch for us and we talked about not giving up, sloughing off what the press said, trying to do something to keep the hope alive, and hopefully find out what happened to Maddy.

BURNETT: And the British now say they've identified today a number of suspects. Now obviously, some of these may have already been a question in the original investigation, but I guess the question to you is, after this much time, and there was so much focus on this case, is it possible investigators missed something, that there is a new suspect?

WALSH: Well, absolutely they missed something because it was handled so poorly, initially by Portuguese police. There are so many parallels, when my 6-year-old son, Adam, was kidnapped and murdered in 1981, it took 27 years until a new chief in Hollywood, Florida, Chad Wagner, decided to let us reopen the case.

And when we reopened the case, because of Chief Wagner, it was found that there were multiple mistakes made. And in that part of Portugal, there were many retired pedophiles, convicted child pornographers, English pedophiles that lived around that hotel. And the police didn't interview half of those guys initially.

BURNETT: Now I have to ask you this and I know you've made it clear where you stand with her parents, and that you went and met with him and were convinced of their not having a role in it. They were suspects at one point and obviously were cleared. Is it right for investigators to look at them again?

WALSH: Well, first of all, I think the Portuguese police did a horrible job. Normally you interview the parents, like Reve and I were separated, polygraphed and police eliminate them. That wasn't done. For the Portuguese police to take the scrutiny of the world hot spotlight off of them was to point the finger at the McCann's.

That brutalized that family. Certainly, Scotland Yard, according to the people that I know at Scotland Yard, when I teamed up and went over there, that the McCann's in their minds were never suspects, that they believe Maddy was kidnapped and hopefully is still alive.

BURNETT: All right, well, we can all hope for that. That would just be an incredible and miraculous ending that would captivate the world. John, thank you very much.

WALSH: Thank you.

BURNETT: And still OUTFRONT on this Friday, a professor and his wife found murdered this week. Police actually think this might be the work of a serial killer. We'll show you how the path adds up.

Plus, Pat Robertson in very hot water over those controversial comments about adultery, does his opinion betray his faith?

Powerball is huge tonight, absolutely huge, and there's something you need to know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Powerball mania. The Powerball jackpot, if you are not listening to what's going on in the world, is now up to $600 million, the highest jackpot in the game's history, the second largest lotto prize in U.S. history. Players in 43 states have been buying their tickets ahead of the big drawing tomorrow.

The jackpot obviously has been growing basically exponentially. If no one wins on Saturday, the prize will grow to $925 million. That's the estimated number. Here to talk about the jackpot is someone very well-known here in New York. I'd introduce her, but I absolutely cannot do it justice. So joining me now is Yolanda Vega!

YOLANDA VEGA, NEW YORK LOTTERY SPOKESWOMAN: That's how you do it when you do the call.

BURNETT: So clearly you know more about this than anybody. Do you have any suggestions how people should pick their numbers?

VEGA: I tell them to stick with the basic numbers that they love, the anniversaries, the birthdays, but put $2 down on a quick pick because we get a lot of people winning on quick pick.

BURNETT: Really?

VEGA: Yes.

BURNETT: I would not have guessed that. The other thing is the odds. There is Powerball, which is $600 million. You also said there's a Mega Millions which is $190 million. And people would say, I've got a better shot at that. There's less money, but fewer people, better shot.

VEGA: No, the odds are the same whether you have a $1 million jackpot, $190 million jackpot or $600 million jackpot. They are in 175 million chances of winning the jackpot, same odds.

BURNETT: So go for the bigger one, all right. Do you think someone will win tomorrow or will it go up to nearly $1 billion?

VEGA: I don't know. You know, I didn't think it would roll this high and be $600 million, which is the highest in the history. But there may well be a chance that it rolls. I think it will go to $1 billion.

BURNETT: You think it will go to $1 billion?

VEGA: Yes, because it's a sales-driven game. So the more people buy, the higher the jackpot get. Are you kidding? If nobody hits the $600 million, everybody's going to get in. It's got to climb higher to maybe $1 billion.

BURNETT: All right, well, Yolanda, thank you very much.

VEGA: Thank you for having me.

BURNETT: Thank you for saying it the way you say it. It was a real pleasure.

VEGA: Good luck.

BURNETT: All right and still OUTFRONT, another stumble by the CIA in Russia. Is America's top spy agency broken? It's a very serious question facing this country right now.

Plus a doctor and his wife at the center of a murder mystery, does it add up? Could a serial killer be involved?

We're learning more tonight about the dogs owned by Ariel Castro. There's one of them. Take better care of them than the three women he allegedly held captive.

And tonight's shout-out, a bird that won't shut up. Disco the parakeet likes to talk quite a lot. Here you go.

Cute. You know what, you'll love it. But if he were your bird, you might want to stop it sometimes. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Welcome back to the second half of OUTFRONT on this Friday. We start with stories where we focus on our reporting from the front lines. I want to begin with breaking news. We want to show you a live picture coming in right now. This is a train, a Metro North commuter train, north of New York City.

This is a derailment in South Western Connecticut. About 6:10 p.m. Eastern, an eastbound train that left New York City at 4:41, or sorry, left New Haven at 4:41, going to New York City, supposed to come in about an hour ago, derailed just east of a Metro Station. And when it did so, it hit a westbound train.

Some cars there were also derailed. We can't tell you much about the damage, but our understanding at this time, while this may seem severe, but we don't believe at this time that anyone was killed.

We have learned on the night Ariel Castro was arrested, Cleveland Animal Control was called to Castro's home to take in three dogs. Cleveland Animal Control Chief John Baer talked to OUTFRONT today and said that two of them are poodle/terrier mixes, and the third was a Chihuahua.

One poodle mix was severely matted and the other had some matting too, but those were the only signs of any physical -- basically ignoring their care. Other than that, they were perfectly healthy. They were spayed and neutered two days ago. The FBI wants to keep the dogs until the three young women who were allegedly kidnapped by Castro decide whether they want to keep them. In the meantime, the pound is looking for someone to foster those dogs.

Well, during a four-hour congressional drilling, outgoing IRS chief Steven Miller today admitted the agency IRS targeted group. But repeatedly he said it wasn't politically motivated. He account, amounted it to, quote, "foolish mistakes for people looking to lighten their work load." It was also revealed today that an inspector general notified Obama officials at the Treasury Department about this investigation last June.

Now, that would mean obviously the Obama administration was aware of the IRS targeting conservative groups during the presidential campaign. Sources, though, tell our Jessica Yellin at the White House says it wasn't notified. The GOP is crying foul.

And first on CNN, John King has just learned the GOP-led investigations into Benghazi will carry on into the summer and beyond. The five chairman of the five separate House committees compared notes at a meeting organized by John Boehner and Eric Cantor.

The leadership's message: keep demanding access to documents and witnesses and keep the conspiracy theory rhetoric to a minimum.

One participant in the meeting tells CNN, quote, "The facts are on our side. We can take it slow, and take it calmly."

And now, an OUTFRONT update on Aimee Copeland, the Georgia woman who contracted a deadly flesh-eating bacteria after a zip line accident. Her hands, her feet and her left leg have to be amputated.

But Aimee, and you've met her on this show a few times, is just an incredible woman. She has new prosthetic hands now. She's using them to chop vessels, iron press her hair, pick up tiny items, including Skittles.

She tell us that she's looking forward to cleaning house because with her new bionic hands, because in her word, she's a neat freak. Aimee is hoping to receive her prosthetic leg later this year. And walking she says will be a dream come true.

It has been 652 days since the United States of America lost its top credit rating. What are we doing to get it back?

Well, stocks at least continue to go higher. The Dow and S&P finishing the week at a record. Consumer sentiment, though, at its highest level in six years. That is crucial as two-thirds of our economy relies upon that.

And now, our third story OUTFRONT: the CIA.

What is wrong with America's Central Intelligence Agency?

So, just this week, we've seen alleged spy Ryan Fogle detained and kicked out of Russia, amid allegations he was spying for the CIA. Now, Russia's federal security service, which is the successor to the KGB, has outed the CIA's alleged station chief in Moscow.

That's a pretty significant job at the CIA. And the breach of protocol raises questions about America's top spy agency.

OUTFRONT tonight, Bob Baer former CIA operative and station chief.

Bob, thanks so much for taking the time. I guess the main question here is, what -- this alleged CIA station chief, right, was working at the embassy. I mean, the most senior guy in one of the most important posts on the planet. Is that normal that he would have just been working at the embassy?

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Absolutely, Erin. Because in a place like Russia, American spies need the Vienna Convention, diplomatic immunity to protect them. You wouldn't just send somebody under commercial cover to Moscow. They'd get arrested, end up in jail for who knows how many years.

Yes, it's normal. It's been a tradition. Just like the KGB, when they send people to Washington, New York, are under official cover, yes.

BURNETT: So official cover. So that part adds up to you.

Does it add up that he would have been outed? I mean, is this just the Russians making a decision, that it would be standard, they would know? Or is this something where the CIA may have somehow dropped the ball?

BAER: Well, they know who he was, for sure. I mean, it's hard to conceal this. You know, with big data, and the rest of it.

The question is, why did they make it so public? And the second question is, why was the trade craft, in this arrest of Fogle a couple days ago, so awful? I mean, none of this makes any sense to me. Anyone who's served behind the Iron Curtain, as we used to call it, would have never considered of the wigs, the compass, the maps.

When you're assigned to Moscow, the first month you spend learning the streets, by memory. You don't have to carry a map around. You don't carry a compass. That's just silly.

Which makes me wonder if the Russians didn't plant all of this, which they could have. And also, Erin, you know, you don't recruit in Russia. It's too dangerous, because the KGB is always sending people into the CIA, fake volunteers, we call them dangles, simply to compromise us.

BURNETT: Right.

BAER: So what I'm worried about is, this is just indicative of bad relations with Moscow. I mean, why are they doing this? Why are they making it so public? Why are they going out of their way to embarrass the CIA?

I just don't understand.

BURNETT: Right. And let me ask you about this, because the man, the more junior CIA, alleged operative Ryan Fogle earlier this week, you know, the picture of him is on the ground, when the Russians were taking him into custody with a blond wig. I mean, it looked more like, I don't know, a guy going to some sort of a bizarre cross- dressing party. This does not look like a thing that somebody's trying to masquerade as somebody else would do, certainly not what we would expect out of the CIA.

BAER: No. It was -- it was an awful wig. And you don't use wigs in Moscow. The person you're meeting or doing a brush pass with, you know who he is, he knows who you are. You don't need a wig. Why was he wearing it in the street?

Again, it makes me go back, did the Russians put it on his head after they arrested him. This was all very dramatic, the arrest. The flash bulbs, they were clearly intending to set him up, which they did successfully.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Bob Baer, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Obviously, a lot more questions to be answered on that.

And now, our fourth story OUTFRONT, a cold case murder mystery, professor and doctor, Roger Brumback and his wife, Mary, were found dead in their Omaha, Nebraska, home on Tuesday. But now, investigators are trying to find out if their deaths are actually linked to another double murder in Omaha in 2008, to a serial killer.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixty-five-year- old Dr. Roger Brumback was in the process of retiring from the department of pathology at Creighton University. On Tuesday, he and his wife Mary were found dead inside their home. Flash back to 2008, 11-year-old Thomas Hunter and Shirlee Sherman were found dead in a family home connected to Creighton.

Thomas was the son of two doctors. His father, William Hunter, worked with Dr. Brumback as a pathologist. Shirlee Sherman was the family housekeeper. Her brother, like many others in Omaha, believes there's a good chance the same person killed all four people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it was anybody other than somebody that worked in the pathology department at Creighton, you wouldn't give it a second thought, the reality that they could be connected.

ROWLANDS: Police found the bodies after a piano mover saw Mary Brumback and handgun magazine through a door left open at their house. Why someone would kill the Brumbacks is a mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I heard the news last night, I was literally shaken. Why would anyone want to harm them?

ROWLANDS: Police are keeping the details of the Brumback murders under seal while they investigate. The university says since the murders, they're taking extra security precautions. Medical students wore their white coats to a prayer service this week in honor of Dr. Brumback.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He always wore his white coat. Every -- when I imagine him in my mind, he's wearing his white coat. And that's just a tribute to his professionalism and his dedication to the trade.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Ted, I mean, this story is just so strange. What are people saying about the possible connection between the Brumback murders this week and those murders in 2008?

ROWLANDS: Well, obviously they are conducting their investigation, assuming that there possibly is a connection. In fact, they've taken the team that is working on the cold case from 2008, those detectives, and they are working side by side with the new team that's focusing on the Brumback murder.

If you think about it, this is a tiny university, one department. What are the odds of two double murders not being related would be astronomical. So, they're proceeding obviously, assuming that there could be a connection.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Ted Rowlands. We'll keep following that one.

And still to come, Pat Robertson facing criticism for what you heard here last night when he said men are wired to cheat. But do his comments add up?

And the mayor of Toronto, allegedly caught on camera smoking crack, framed or out of control.

Plus, a $1 million jewelry heist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: And now to tonight's "Outer Circle", where we reach out to our sources around the world.

Tonight, we begin in France, where jewels worth more than $1 million were stolen from a hotel in Cannes. It happened on the second day of the world famous Cannes Film Festival. I asked Atika Shubert how the thieves pulled off this amazing heist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, French police sway the jewels were stashed inside the hotel safe of Chopard employee. Thieves gained access and then just unscrewed the safe off the wall with the jewels inside.

Now, police won't say which pieces were stolen, but the estimated value is as much as $1 million.

Now, Chopard is the name in "Bling" at the Cannes Film Festival, because it doesn't just make the jewels for the A-list, it also makes the coveted 24-karat gold Palme d'Or Award. And finally enough, these jewels were stolen at the same time that the Sofia Coppola film "The Bling Ring" was premiering at Cannes. It's a movie about a group of teen thieves robbing celebrity homes. So, Twitter was speculating of a PR stunt. But French police say this heist is for real, Erin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: That's amazing, how people can do that. All right. I want to go to Canada now, where there are reports that Toronto's mayor has been filmed smoking a crack pipe. The video has not been public and CNN cannot verify its authenticity.

But I asked our Paula Newton on the ground what more she can tell us about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, the city of Toronto, in fact, much of Canada is talking about little else. According to the "Toronto Star", a reputable newspaper in Toronto, two of their reporters watched this video that they say shows the mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, smoking crack cocaine.

Now, we must say at CNN, we've not been able to see this video, we cannot verify it. But these two reporters who say they viewed this video each three times, they say it is what they say it is. It is a video of Rob Ford actually smoking crack cocaine, which brings up a number of issues.

Now, for the mayor's part, he's denying it. He said the allegations are ridiculous. His lawyer is also saying that, look, he will fight these charges.

But I have to tell you that Gawker.com in the United States now says that they want to make this video public. The person who first exposed the mayor said he will not make the video public unless he is paid. Right now, Gawker saying they have so far raised $20,000 and they're trying to determine how much will be enough to actually release this video.

In the meantime, Rob Ford just continuing to say that these allegations are false -- Erin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Thank you, Paula.

And I'm going to check in with Anderson now with a look at what's coming up on "A.C. 360" on this Friday.

Hi, Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: That was bizarre. Wow. OK.

Erin, all right, we're keeping a close eye tonight on some severe weather expected just hours from now. We saw it obviously in Texas. Now, 35 million people are in the potential path of strong storms and possibly tornadoes from Minneapolis to Oklahoma City. Chad Myers is tracking the storms. He's going to have the latest on their path at the top of the hour.

First for the first time, we're also hearing from the officers, the police officers who rescued the three women held captive in Cleveland. You're going to hear firsthand about the incredible moment when they realized what they had found. The women they had found inside, seasoned police officers, breaking down in tears in this interview, as they recount the rescue. It's the first time we've heard from them. You'll hear that at the top of the hour.

Plus, a successful well-known doctor mysteriously becomes ill and dies three days later. The reason, cyanide poisoning. Now, investigators are looking into whether the young doctor was murdered.

Those stories and tonight's "RidicuList" and a lot more at the top of the hour, Erin.

BURNETT: That story is incredible. All right. Anderson, thank you very much. We'll see you in a few moments.

Now, though, our fifth story OUTFRONT: the backlash building against Pat Robertson. We heard from a lot of you after our segment last night on the televangelist's advice to a woman whose husband cheated on her.

So, let me just play again what Robertson said to this woman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: He cheated on you. Well, he's a man, OK. So what you do is begin to focus on why you married him in the first place. Recognize also, like it or not, males have a tendency to wander a little bit. And what you want to do is make a home so wonderful that he doesn't want to wander.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: This is what I did last night, just stared at the camera. Poor people were saying poor Mrs. Robertson.

OK. Many Christian leaders were upset by his comments, though, and the Christian Broadcasting Network, which Robertson founded, is trying to say this was a misunderstanding. And that, I quote them, "His point was that everyone is human. And there's much temptation outside of the home, so she should do whatever she can to strengthen their home and relationship. His intent was not to condone infidelity or to cast blame."

However, the problem is this. When you listen to what Robertson has said in the past about men straying, General Petraeus and women, that statement doesn't seem to add up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: A man is off in a foreign land and he's lonely, and here's a good looking woman throwing herself at him. I mean, it's -- he's a man. This just isn't something to just lie there -- well, I'm married to him so he's got to take me slatternly-looking. You've got to fix yourself up, look pretty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: OUTFRONT tonight, comedian and CNN opinion writer Dean Obeidallah, radio show host and comedian Stephanie Miller, and Hogan Gidley, the former national communications director for Rick Santorum.

All right. Hogan, let me start on this. Robertson's comments really --

HOGAN GIDLEY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I knew you were going to start with me.

BURNETT: Yes, you knew I was.

GIDLEY: I know you were going to start with me. That's right.

BURNETT: They touched a nerve with a lot of people in the Christian community. One listener wrote in, "Pat just said, quote, 'men tend to wander. I beg to differ. A real man does not wander or sin against his wife. He shouldn't be giving men excuses to sin.'"

What is the truth here? I mean, because Robertson's always citing scripture when he says these kinds of things.

GIDLEY: Right. Look, I'm not a spokesperson for Pat Robertson or for CBN.

But the person you just quoted is correct. I mean, the Seventh Commandment clearly states you shall not commit adultery. It does not say you should not commit adultery unless your spouse is not acting right. And then you do whatever you want to do.

If something is wrong in the marriage, you obviously go to that person, you try to work things out in a mutual set of love and respect. That's how it works, right? That's what marriage is about.

But these kinds of comments obviously -- he has a history of saying things like this. I think a lot of these things are taken out of context. But I think a lot of these things are a sort of perversion of scripture. It's very clear you shouldn't commit adultery. I think every Christian person knows that.

I think Pat Robertson knows that. I do agree partially with the statement is, yes, we are all sinners. Men are sinners. But so are women as well.

The fact of the matter is, when you about put two sinners together, there's a lot of sin in the relationship. But you should seek Christ first. I think that's what he would tell you.

And it doesn't fall all on the woman's responsibility to be a good wife. It doesn't prevent her being a perfect wife, and him being a perfect husband doesn't prevent infidelity at all. If he's perfect, she still can stray, and if she's perfect, he still can stray.

The problem is we're just two sinners put together in marriage. And I think that was Pat was talking about.

BURNETT: Well, you're very generous to Pat.

Let me, Dean, quote something that one Christian pastor wrote about Pat Robertson today. "I assure you I oppose nearly everything Pat Robertson says. I think he's a lunatic looking to gain attention and most importantly, donations to his foundation."

Robertson says his program reaches one million Americans a day which is a shocking thing but --

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: He's a leader, he's a clan leader of a community.

BURNETT: There are a lot of people who listen to what he has to say is perhaps frightening and offensive to some, but it is true. But why aren't more well-known Christians coming out saying this is absolutely absurd?

OBEIDALLAH: First, I think there's a track record with Pat Robertson saying so many ridiculous things, you get tired denouncing the guy. I mean, last year, don't forget, though, Pat Robertson did come out in favor of legalizing marijuana. So maybe he's just smoking a lot of marijuana, going on air and giving his opinions of things. So, we don't know.

The truth is, the Christian community had the same problems that I do in the Muslim community where we have to stop being defined by our extremists. What I can share with my Christian brothers and sisters that if you don't stand up against these people, you will be defined by the Pat Robertsons and Brian Fischers of American Family Association and Tony Perkins out there, so you have to stand up and make clear they don't represent your faith.

People think they're fine, oh, that's right, that's part of the faith.

BURNETT: Hogan, I want your response to that.

But, first, Stephanie, what do you think about that point, Christianity could be defined by people like Pat Robertson. To Dean's point as a Muslim, that that is -- that is as bad as what's happening to the Muslim faith.

STEPHANIE MILLER, RADIO HOST: Well, Erin, this is what, as I'm listening to this whole conversation, annoys the bejesus out of me, pardon me. But this is a guy that has a lot to say about homosexuality, something Jesus never mentioned. Apparently, he's a little loop holey about the whole adultery thing which as Hogan said is very clear in the Bible.

So to just say ah, men wander, and then go on television and say gays are promiscuous and that's why it's immoral -- I mean, this is just, you know, it's disgusting, honestly, I think morally.

BURNETT: Hogan, let me play that, as Dean and Stephanie both referred to other things Pat Robertson has said. For those out there who don't listen to his radio program, which I'm sure there are some who watch this program, let me play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

ROBERTSON: There's never been a civilization ever in history that has embraced homosexuality and turned away from traditional fidelity, traditional marriage, traditional child rearing, and has survived.

I think the antichrist is Islam. The separation of God from government has been a tragedy for the whole country. The thing that shocks me, shocks me --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.

ROBERTSON: A boy thing. A guy thing. But now, it looks like 30 percent of women are involved in pornography.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BURNETT: Hogan, as someone, you worked for Rick Santorum, you believe very much in faith, it's part of who you are, it's part of why you were involved in politics. When you hear Pat Robertson with a million people around the country listening to him and a lot of people who respect what he has to say, say things like that, I think the antichrist is Islam and say this thing about homosexuality -- don't you need to say this is totally unacceptable and denounce him?

GIDLEY: Look, again, I'm not speaking on behalf of Pat Robertson here, and he doesn't speak for all Christians. He sure doesn't speak for Christianity as a whole.

Christianity should be based on the inherent inspired infallible word of the Lord Christ. And I think that's what most of us look at. That's what most of us turn to when we're in times of need, when we're in times of want, when we're in times of plenty, because that's what the Bible tells us to do.

We don't look to Pat Robertson, and again, he makes comments like this all the time. It does drive people to his network, it does drive up donations. I understand he believes the way he believes and he's entitled to do that.

OBEIDALLAH: Hogan, the truth is --

MILLER: Hogan, he speaks for a lot of people, including your candidate, Rick Santorum, in the Republican Party that have talked this way about, for instance, homosexuality, and that is just morally repugnant but you know, a couple hookers in a hotel room, the woman should just kind of hush about that, that's moral values?

OBEIDALLAH: Quick thing, there was a poll of college students, 65 percent of college students view Christianity as being anti-gay. That is the problem being defined by your extremists. Faith is no longer love your brother. It's about hating gays.

And you don't want -- that's college students in America. That's the way they feel as of last year. That has to change. You need the moderate voice to stand up and say he's wrong on stuff about gays, Mormons, Muslims. You can't demonize people in the name of Jesus Christ. It's wrong.

GIDLEY: Right. That's fine. College students can have their own opinions. And they can change their own opinions and so can the opinion of America.

But the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob does not change and will not change regardless of what Pat Robertson tries to do to it.

BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to all three of you. Appreciate your time tonight.

BURNETT: And up next, the Silvio Berlusconi party that involves dressing up like President Obama. Talk about deviant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has successfully made a comeback in politics, placing second in the last election. Lot of people left him for completely gone but that's certainly not the case.

It doesn't mean, though, that the baggage attached to his underage sex scandal is going away. After all, prosecutors are trying to make him go to jail for six years for that.

Today, the woman at the center of the scandal, Karima el-Mahroug, Ruby the Heart Stealer, gave evidence in court for the first time.

Now, she denied having sex with Berlusconi when she was underage, but she did reveal some very interesting things about Berlusconi's infamous bunga-bunga parties. Yes, he's the one that calls them that. I have heard friends of his tell me that he calls them that in casual terms. This is not us making a big deal of it.

According to Karima, Berlusconi's disco room was always fitted with a stripper pole, packed with beautiful young girls. OK, that part you would expect in a bunga-bunga room dressed as nuns, you might expect that too. But also, at least once dressed as President Barack Obama.

OK. If that is true, Silvio Berlusconi is rather depraved. How is a woman dressed as President Obama sexy?

Now, look, we know some of this stuff is funny or at least so bizarre you feel a smile cross your face, but there are very serious matters here. Italy's unemployment remains at a 20-year high and one of the few people Italians think might be able to fix it is embroiled in an underage prostitution scandal and wiretapping scandal. What does that say about Italy and Europe's ability to kick off this crisis and rise again? Barack Obama, women dressed as Barack Obama, only part of the problem.

Thanks so much for watching. Have a great weekend. "A.C. 360" starts now.