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Erin Burnett Outfront
Possible Sighting Of Kidnapper And Captive; San Diego Mayor Leaves Rehab; President Obama Defends Surveillance Programs; The Single Most Dangerous Terrorist; Is Weiner Losing His Cool?; Man Admits to Killing Wife on Facebook
Aired August 09, 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: Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT on this Friday, a crucial sighting, a major break in the nationwide manhunt for murder suspect, James DiMaggio and the 16-year-old girl believed to be with him. Horseback riders in a remote area of Idaho said they saw two people that looked like DiMaggio and Hanna Anderson on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF BILL GORE: They did seem to think the two of them were out of place in that area with the light camping equipment they had. It is very rugged terrain, but the people on horseback, the four individuals, were out in that area. They thought it was just unique that they ran across them up there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, police today are telling CNN, they found DiMaggio's car, this is crucial, in the river of No Return Wilderness area, near Cascade, Idaho. That is about 70 miles northeast of the capital of Idaho, Boise. It's a manhunt tonight. The FBI and local authorities are searching the area and are hoping to find the two before they lose daylight, so really right now, a race against time.
And OUTFRONT tonight, I want to go to Paul Vercammen. A press conference just ended in Idaho and Paul, I know you were on the phone listening to that. There were a couple of updates there that we're really important that they just told you about.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a few things here. Remember, one, they said it was a single rider on horseback, and he said at while first blush, he didn't seem to think anything was odd, about this older man and this teenage girl that he came across, later on in retrospect, he decided there was something very odd about this encounter.
Also, DiMaggio's car, don't forget we had that warning yesterday, Erin, about the fact that they feared it might be booby trapped. So far they have not scoured or investigated this car. The car was left at a trailhead, and where the hikers responded was so remote that only by horseback or by foot that you could get there and that was a good 6 to 8 miles from the trailhead. They say that's a really important part of this whole search, because they've got to fan out through the entire area, communications very difficult, sat phones will be used. They're also going at this by air, so they can get over and canvass the area, see if they can spot them.
You might also recall, Erin, we've been pressed hard by the authorities to warn everybody that it seemed that not only could DiMaggio be armed with homemade explosives, but that they believe that he has been gearing up for weeks and had purchased camping equipment, in a way preparing for this moment, when he would head off into the wilderness.
BURNETT: And Paul, let me just ask you, I know you were talking about the difficulty communicating and sat phones. You know, you go to that part of the country and you don't have cell phone service. They've got to use sat phones, but let me just emphasize something you said. They believe that they are on foot. Not that they have gotten some other sort vehicle or transportation and left the area, right?
VERCAMMEN: In order to leave the area, they would have to have gone back, somehow, and picked up another trailhead to get a vehicle, and from the description that we received both here out of San Diego and Boise, it, again, was 6 to 8 miles from the trailhead. Also, the man who observed them on horseback saw this backpack, these backpacks, plural, a key to their, as I said, probably gearing up and preparing for some sort of trek into the wilderness.
BURNETT: All right, Paul Vercammen, thank you very much. He has been covering this story for us. I want to bring in Don Borelli now, a former member of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and the CEO of Suffon Group along with Erin Runnion, her 5-year-old daughter, Samantha, was abducted from her front lawn in 2002, she was found a day later, killed.
But Erin now runs the Joyful Child Foundation dedicated to preventing crimes against children. I appreciate both of you taking the time. Don, let me start with you, now that we've just had this update out of the sheriff's office that Paul was reporting on. They seem to be getting closer. They found a car. They think that there's no other way that they could have gotten out of this area. They're believed to be on foot, camping gear, but it's getting near dark. Do you think this is something, they're going to find them quickly, or?
DON BORELLI, FORMER FBI AGENT: You know, it's hard to tell. Looking back and when the hunt for Eric Rudolph in the mountains, it took months, and then, ultimately, never found him, and using helicopters and planes with infrared cameras and what not.
BURNETT: Even with all the technology.
BORELLI: Even with all the technology, that said, it depends on how well he knows this area. The trail could still be fairly fresh. So they could even have tracking dogs along with the air support, people on the ground, horseback, and whatever resources are available. The FBI actually trains for this kind of situation. They've been in this situation before, tracking people in the wilderness, with the local authorities. So right now, I would probably give the advantage to law enforcement. It just depends on how long this is going to take.
BURNETT: And obviously the big question, of course, as we've reported and as many of you know, there have been reports that DiMaggio could have explosives with him, and of course, that his house had burnt down and this girl's mother and brother were in that home and have perished. So what he might do to this girl is the crucial question.
Now, Erin, witnesses say they've saw two peep that looked like DiMaggio and Hanna Anderson together. They had backpacks and a tent, had light camping gear. Both appeared in good health. So I want to ask you about that in all the work that you have done with children. If it turns out she didn't resist the abduction, how does something like that come about?
ERIN RUNNION, MOTHER OF SAMANTHA RUNNION: Well, I think just to reiterate, that we don't know yet. It is definitely too soon to speculate. And I think the most likely scenario is, indeed, that this is a traumatized child who hasn't even had time to cope with the horror of her mother and brother's murder. And she's terrified and very likely not resisting at this point out of that fear, but having said that, it is very common for teenagers and young adolescents to be groomed for abduction and for exploitation and trafficking. They are the most vulnerable group of population that we have when it comes to being manipulated into self-exploitation, having said that, complicit victims are not victims. They're still very much victims.
BURNETT: A very important point to make, whatever the situation might be, Don, but obviously, at this sighting that we've been reporting, and of course the car being missing nearby would corroborate that. That was three days after this started. And that would have meant that Hanna Anderson was still alive and still OK. So does that mean, do you think, that he intends to keep it that way, or is this going to be a situation which she could be some sort of a hostage?
BORELLI: It's hard to predict the mind of somebody that is this sick, that would do this. So which way it's going to go, I hate to predict that. Hopefully, law enforcement will be able to process that car and get some additional clues. One of the things I think --
BURNETT: Right, and I should note, they haven't had time to do that yet.
BORELLI: And one of the things they'll be able to find out, if there's any explosive residue or booby traps. That could be a game changer when it comes to coming to a situation if they're found.
BURNETT: And Erin, how important is the public's help especially in this case, if we don't know what his intentions might be or what he might do. It would seem one thing. You don't want to get involved in the sense of intervening. You just want to make a call. RUNNION: Right. Absolutely, absolutely, anybody who knows anything, who may have overheard him or seen what he was purchasing, any information that they can give to law enforcement, we need all of the information that we can get. At the same time, I would encourage people not to jump to conclusions about her mindset and what she is, you know, whether or not she is a willing participant. It's highly unlikely.
BURNETT: All right, well, thanks very much to both of you. We appreciate your time and we're, of course, hoping that they find them and find Hanna safely tonight before it is dark in Idaho. And we're going to keep following that story if there are updates later this hour.
In the meantime, President Obama has finally discussed Edward Snowden, and he said what he really thinks.
Plus, Anthony Weiner off the rails, formally this time. We'll show you how he lost it.
And a month after the George Zimmerman trial, the numbers are in. How much did taxpayers have to pay?
And later, Oprah says she was snubbed at a store and she says that it was because of the color of her skin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: We have breaking news right the now. Our Kyung Lah is reporting that San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who of course, is accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen women, has left a quote/unquote, "intensive treatment" early. Now, you'll remember, Filner said last month, he was going to begin a two-week therapy program on August 5th. Now, if that's the case, he was only in treatment for four days or so.
Filner had originally said he would return to office on August 19th. The pressure is building for him to step down as mayor. Today, California Senator Barbara Boxer wrote a personal letter to the mayor, urging him to resign.
Now our second story, OUTFRONT, damage control, the president today, for the first time, saying what he really thinks of Edward Snowden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No, I don't think Mr. Snowden was a patriot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That was pretty direct and it was the first time he talked about it like that. I want to bring in Chad Sweet, OUTFRONT, former CIA and DHS official, and the co-chair of the Heritage Foundation National Security Law Working Group. Chad, I always lake having you on. Let me just also say, the president talked about this surveillance, and I actually liked the way that he addressed it. He said, people think I'm willy-nilly watching, but it's not really like that. Here's how he said it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: And a general impression has, I think, taken hold, not only among the American public, but also around the world, that somehow, we're out there, willy-nilly, just sucking in information on everybody and doing what we please with it. Now, that's not the case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, he says that's not the case, Chad, but this week there were more revelations this time that the government was watching every single e-mail that you send or receive, that it hasn't an overseas sender or recipient. Is there abuse?
CHAD SWEET, FORMER CIA AND DHS OFFICIAL: Well, no. And in fact, if you would go back and look at the videotape from Snowden, and ask yourself the question, where is the name of the individual who was spied on? What is the name of the NSA analyst that he says abused the program? And the answer is you can't find one because he doesn't actually say that there was abuse. He speculates as a system administrator, that he thinks that the program is wrong. So he doesn't expose wrongdoing, he just disagrees with the policy.
BURNETT: That's an interesting point. And I know it's threading the needle, but it's an important. Now, allays of the United States, Germany, France, countries that we rely on to share intelligence have come out and slammed the U.S. for doing this. You know, whether this is just government PR or not, they have slammed the U.S. The president came back hard against them today, saying the United States is actually better than anybody else.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: That America is not interested in spying on ordinary people. Our intelligence is focused, above all, on finding the information that's necessarily to protect our people, and in many cases, protect our allies. It's true, we have significant capabilities. What's also true, we show a restraint that many governments around the world don't even think to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Is that true? Is the United States the most quote/unquote, "restrained?"
SWEET: It is both quantitatively and legally. If you would look at it, I would encourage everyone to go to nsa.gov to find a white paper that was released today that lays out the facts. And if you look at the global volume of internet and cell phone traffic, what you'll find is that the NSA only touches and analyzes 0.0004 percent of all traffic. What does that mean? If you think of the global traffic as a basketball court, the amount that they touch would be equivalent to the size of a dime on that court. So it's extremely restrained. The second point is legally, for example, when I was in the intelligence community, let's say, for example, if they got intelligence on Toyota competing with Ford, if we got that information, we could not give it to Ford. Why, because legally in our country, we would create an unfair advantage among different economic competitors.
Our opponents, Germany -- not opponents, but our allies and France especially, they do that actively. And for them to say, my God, there's spying going on, it's almost like, you know, in Rick's Cafe in "Casablanca," almost like where they say, I can't believe there's gambling going on in this establishment.
BURNETT: Calling out France and Germany. Chad Sweet, thank you.
Now, our third story, OUTFRONT, the single most dangerous terrorist. The president said today that al Qaeda isn't as strong as it used to be. He's sticking by that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Al Qaeda that attacked us on 9/11 has been broken apart and is very weak and does not have a lot of operational capacity. And to say we still have these regional organizations like AQAP that can pose a threat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So today, CNN has learned that the plot that led the United States to close 19 embassies and consulate was likely planned by this man. His name is Nasser Al-Wuhayshi, the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, who has quickly risen in the ranks and is America's new enemy number one. OUTFRONT tonight Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nasser Al-Wuhayshi, leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP is perhaps the single most dangerous terrorist America faces. He is believed to be behind the threat that closed nearly two dozen U.S. embassies weeks after top al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri named him general manager of the entire al Qaeda network.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: This new position as al Qaeda's global number two will increase pressure on him to launch attacks against U.S. interests.
STARR: He is now squarely in the U.S. crosshairs.
CRUICKSHANK: He has the potential to inspire a new generation of recruits, just like Bin Laden did over the last 15 years.
STARR: Wuhayshi has a long track record. According to Interpol, the 37-year-old Yemeni born Wuhayshi was Osama Bin Laden's personal secretary in Afghanistan. After 9/11, he fled with Bin Laden to the mountains of Tora Bora, surviving days of bombings. He wound up in Iran and then deported and jailed in Yemen. In 2006, he escaped from prison in a notorious jailbreak, emerging in 2008 to plot a deadly attack on the U.S. embassy in Yemen.
In 2009, he rose to the top of AQAP. That year, the same organization tried to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas day, in the so-called underwear bomber plot. This latest threat has revealed a stunning leak forward in al Qaeda's communications. The U.S. intelligence community, CNN has learned, was able to intercept an encrypted messaging system that allowed several operatives to communicate at one time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: In still another turn in Wuhayshi's rare, but growing communications, the Associated Press reports in Mali, it discovered a letter from Wuhayshi to fellow Jihadists advising them to provide food, water, and garbage collection to the people in the area he controlled, perhaps his vision of an Islamic state -- Erin.
BURNETT: Barbara Starr, thank you very much. Obviously providing those services has gone a long way towards helping these radical groups gain friends and supporters in local communities. I want to say CNN has learned that on Sunday the State Department will open 18 of the 19 embassies and consulates that were closed. The embassy in Yemen will remain closed as well as the evacuated facility in Lahore, Pakistan.
Still to come, inside the mind of a killer, what made a man kill his wife and then post a picture of her body on Facebook, a more than bizarre story.
Plus, Anthony Weiner's free fall. Has he finally, formally lost it?
And then the epic battle between a ram and a motorcycle. We're going to show you the video in tonight's shout-out. We love the winner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Our fourth story, OUTFRONT," is Weiner losing his cool? So supporters have been plunging in the polls and Anthony Weiner's campaign for New York City mayor has been reduced to a bit of a sideshow, but he's been mocking reporters, lashing out at his own staff, and today something absolutely beyond happened.
Susan Candiotti is OUTFRONT with a candidate who is unraveling before our very eyes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Anthony Weiner's campaign spirals downward, his fuse is getting shorter. Take this glare to a British reporter, asking how he's managing despite the sexting scandal.
LUCY WATSON, ITV REPORTER: Is it ambition? Is it a hunger for the big job, the power?
ANTHONY WEINER, NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: It's hard to take you seriously? No, it has to do with wanting to be mayor of the city of New York, and wanting to help the middle class and those struggling to make it.
WATSON: What is it you want to do --
WEINER: Well, the hunger for the big job.
CANDIOTTI: He mimics her accent. And in his next answer, references a legendary British comedy show.
WATSON: Would anything stop you?
WEINER: I just have a feeling I've like stopped into a "Monty Python" bit. I don't know. Would anything stop me? Is a rock going to fall on my head? No, I'm going to win this election.
LEE MIRINGOFF, MARIST COLLEGE POLL: Best case, he was trying to be funny, but there's been not too much funny in the way of his candidacy so far.
CANDIOTTI: Earlier this week, Weiner got it into with an opponent who's reportedly called him a self-pleasuring freak. Among the sniping --
WEINER: If I can just finish my answer, that would be great.
CANDIOTTI: The mocking and Carlos Danger sexting, voters may be wondering, when will it end?
MIRINGOFF: Voters are willing to give him a second chance. They're not willing to give him a third, fourth, or fifth chance.
CANDIOTTI: In the latest poll, Weiner keeps sliding, in fourth place and down to 10 percent of the vote.
MIRINGOFF: His intent to dig out may only be really digging himself deeper.
CANDIOTTI: Weiner's still forecasting a win and inexplicably, the weather in gland.
WEINER: It's going to be raining, cloudy, and gray, so do what you can, guys. Try to keep your head up, keep a stiff -- what is it? Stiff upper lip.
CANDIOTTI: Advice that may also help his troubled candidacy. For OUTFRONT, Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: At least it's entertaining.
Still to come, a man has admitted to killing his wife and then posted a picture of her body on Facebook. This is a horrific story. We'll have the story of why it happened.
Plus, a store refuses to serve Oprah Winfrey, bad service or racism?
And former Senator Scott Brown's brother is found with massive amounts of ammunition.
And our shout-out tonight, motorcyclist versus a ram. This is the best part of the show. A man in New Zealand, he's riding his trail bike up the hill and he runs into ram and the ram wants no part of it. The ram was angry and he made it known, charging both the bike and its rider. The man was eventually able to wave a branch to get the ram to run passed him. But, you know what, here's the truth. We are rooting for the ram. The shout-out tonight goes to the ram for defending his territory and conquering that man.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Welcome back to the second half of OUTFRONT, where we start with stories where we focus on reporting from the front lines.
A dramatic day in the trial of Major Nidal Hasan. Seventeen survivors of the Ft. Hood shooting rampage took the stand today. Specialist Logan Barnett (ph) told his story. Our producer in the courtroom said that Barnett testified that he thought it was a training exercise at first, and then he said he saw a clean-shaven Hasan with a handgun in his hand shout "Allahu Akbar." Barnett charged Hasan and was shot in the head. He was shot four times and he's have has 24 surgeries to remove those bullets.
Well, the half-brother of former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown has been arrested for impersonating a police officer in Connecticut. Police found Bruce Brown walking in a neighborhood wearing camouflage pants, a bulletproof vest with "police" embroidered on it and a black nylon gun belt with a loaded handgun. Authority also found three other handguns and 200 rounds of ammo in his car.
They aren't exactly sure what all of this was for, but Scott Brown says they were, quote, "not close as a family." A police spokesperson tells OUTFRONT that Brown, a former coast guard reservist, does not actually have a prior record.
And now to a story that we've been following very closely. It has been nearly 11 months since the attacks in Benghazi and President Obama vowed that, quote, justice will be done for those responsible to the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. At a press conference today, a reporter reminded the president that the last 11 months have been without justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, the -- I also said that we would get bin Laden, and I didn't get him in 11 months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Obama went on to say the U.S. would stay on the case until we get them. Of course, in the case of bin Laden, they knew the name of who they were looking for. In this time, at least in the information we have, there has been no names of suspects released.
It has been 734 days since the U.S. lost its top credit rating. What are we doing to get it back? Well, the postal service is losing less money. The post office lost $740 million in its most recent quarter. It sounds absolutely horrific and it is, but, you know, some things are relative. The $5.2 billion was lost in the same period last year. Cost-cutting and people shipping more packages helped lower losses.
And now our sixth story OUTFRONT, a brutal murder posted on Facebook.
Thirty-one-year-old Derek Medina turned himself in after admitting to killing his wife and posting a grisly picture of her body all on the social media Web site. Now, I have a warning for you here. A photo that's about to be shown may be disturbing.
And now I want to hand it to our David Mattingly with an OUTFRONT investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It could be the most disturbing Facebook post ever. A lifeless body, photographed moments after the woman was shot to death in her home and posted with an apparent confession by her husband.
Derek Medina wrote, "I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife. Love you, guys. Miss you, guys. Take care, Facebook people. You will see me in the news."
Then, Medina told his family.
DEREK MEDINA SR., SUSPECT'S FATHER: He just said that his wife picked up a knife on him, they had a big fight, and he shot her.
REPORTER: Your son came to your house --
MEDINA: All he said is, I need to go to the police, I need to turn myself in.
MATTINGLY: But there's no message of Medina's Facebook post in the police report. The picture of his wife's body was up on his page for five hours, with horrified Facebook friends sharing and commenting.
CHRIS DESSI, SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT: This is different. It's almost as if everybody was in the room when the murder actually occurred and were having conversations with this gentleman. This might be the first of its kind, I hate to say it, but I don't think it will be the last of its kind.
MATTINGLY: Facebook released a statement to CNN. "The content was reported to us and then we took action on the profile -- removing the content and disabling the profile, and we reached out to law enforcement."
Police have not released a possible motive and Medina provided few clues in the digital trail he leaves behind.
A photo posted hours earlier shows the family at dinner, all smiles. Medina's YouTube posts show him seemingly happy, throwing kicks and punches and listening to a popular song.
(MUSIC)
MATTINGLY: Medina also promotes a series of self-help books he recently wrote.
On his Web site, emotionalwriter.com, he describes himself as a former professional athlete, coach, actor, and ghost hunter. He writes about his experiences with ghosts, aliens, and UFOs and "how your reactions can either save someone's life or kill an innocent person."
Court records show that Medina and his wife divorced February of last year, but remarried 2 1/2 months later. One of Medina's books seems to mirror his experience. It's about a man named James who divorced and remarried the same person, found peace, and made peace.
Medina promises to teach the reader to "make your marriage and relationship with others better by understanding the meaning of life."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: Derek Medina is facing first-degree murder charges and is being held without bond. It's important to note here, Erin, that the daughter of his wife was in the house at the time. She's 10 years old. She was not harmed and tonight she's reportedly in the custody of her biological father.
BURNETT: Amazing she was there.
All right. Our thanks very much to David Mattingly.
Dr. Drew Pinsky is an addiction specialist and the host of HLN's "Dr. Drew on Call."
And, Dr. Drew, you know, thank you.
And this is just such a bizarre situation. Just hours before he allegedly killed his wife, Medina posted a picture of him, his wife, and his kid from a previous marriage eating lunch together. You can see her smiling in the picture. And afterwards he didn't call 911, he changed his clothes, stopped at his father's house, then he actually drove himself to the police station.
I mean, what do you make of this sequence of events?
DR. DREW PINSKY, HLN HOST: Well, as far as the changing of the clothing and not calling 911, it's easy the to sort of conclude that this is a diabolical, cold-blooded event, but I don't think that's, in fact, the case. When you really hear what he claims went down, it was something of domestic violence that just escalated and ran out of control. It sounds like he was in sort of a disassociated state and just didn't know what he was doing, but intended to report himself.
The really sad piece of this story is that he left a 10-year-old behind in the home with the body.
BURNETT: I mean, which is just unbelievable. They found that child there.
Now, I mean, here's what we know about him. We don't know a lot. We know he was an aspiring writer of self-help books, right? Those self-published books that we now know about.
PINSKY: Yes.
BURNETT: One of them that David Mattingly just mentioned was, you know, focused on marriage and people are drawing comparisons that this was sort of a mirror of his own marriage and his own marriage struggles, perhaps. Does this fit with what you think you're looking at here, at least preliminarily?
PINSKY: Yes. I mean, yes, I think he is talking about his own struggles. I mean, think how many relationship experts who have published books on marriage have had six marriages. I'm just saying, I'm not sure these are people we should be taking advice from in these situations. But often we don't know it until it's too late.
Yes, this is a situation of domestic violence. And the question is, is this -- was this interpersonal terrorism, where he was systemically breaking his wife down and finally she snapped and things went too far, or was this something we call common couple violence?
And mental health professionals think about common couple violence as treatable situation. The problem is that if you throw in some substances and who knows, maybe something was going on here with alcohol, we just don't know, then you end up with out-of-control violence. And it's a reminder that even though we call it common couple violence, the outcome can be very uncommon and very tragic.
BURNETT: And what about his desire here -- I mean, I guess, I am thinking, does this link at all into his sort of, you know, such carefully, you know, changing and visiting his dad and then going to see the police. But then this desire to be publicly visible. I mean, he had an active YouTube account and it was all uploads of himself.
PINSKY: Yes.
BURNETT: There's this desperate need for voyeurism and attention. PINSKY: Yes. And, unfortunately, we're seeing more and more of this with young people. He isn't necessarily from the generation where we're likely to see much, much more sorts of these types of behaviors.
But you're pointing to something very, very accurate here, which is his need to express and sort of project himself out into the world seems to be quite intense. And that is a sign of some sort of narcissistic issue here. And the fact that he did this on YouTube -- I mean, you've got to understand here. The fact that this all went on Facebook is a sign that -- well, it's a fact that we are seeing the evolution of the history of social media, right before our eyes here, to the point now that we're actually seeing murders acted out and bodies left behind and posted on Facebook.
I mean, this is something that people did not anticipate.
BURNETT: That's just horrible. Thanks so much to you, Dr. Drew.
And now, our sixth story OUTFRONT: Battle for marriage rights.
So, a federal judge recently ruled that the state of Ohio has to recognize the marriage of two men, even though Ohio banned same-sex marriages. It's a landmark ruling that could open the floodgates for same-sex marriages in the other 35 states that have bans.
Alina Cho is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let us all rejoice.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a 7 1/2-minute wedding ceremony in a plane, on the tarmac, in Baltimore, Maryland, between two people deeply in love, who never even wanted to get married.
(on camera): And then one morning, you were watching TV --
JIM OBERGEFELL, SUED FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RECOGNITION: Yes. June 26th, the day the Supreme Court handed down its ruling. And when the rulings came out, I just went over to John, hugged him, kissed him, and said, let's get married.
CHO (voice-over): Only for Jim Obergefell and John Arthur, there were two problems. Same-sex marriage in Ohio, where they live, is banned, and John has ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that eventually leads to death.
Worried that every day could be their last together, the couple settled on Maryland as their destination wedding spot, where they could travel by medical jet, say their vows at the airport, and return immediately to their home in Cincinnati.
OBERGEFELL: Getting married, it's like nothing changed, but yet everything did.
CHO (on camera): Do you feel the same way?
JOHN ARTHUR, SUED FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RECOGNITION: Absolutely. It's -- it's as if a void was filled in our lives.
CHO (voice-over): A few days after their wedding in July, John and Jim met with a civil rights attorney.
OBERGEFELL: He said, Jim, do you realize when John passes away, on his death certificate, the state of Ohio will list him as unmarried and will not enter your name as his spouse? It broke my heart and then made me really mad.
CHO: So mad the couple sued the state of Ohio and won. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, allowing the couple's marriage to be recognized in a state where gay marriage is banned.
No federal or state benefits would apply. That could come later, but the decision would mean the two eventually could be buried together in John's family plot.
OBERGEFELL: I feel like it's the first chink in the armor.
CHO: But their fight is far from over. In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for Ohio's attorney general said, "This is a temporary ruling at a preliminary stage, under sad circumstances". Adding that Ohio voters already decided in 2004 on a ballot initiative that gay marriage should not be recognized and are, quote, "entitled to the choice they have made on this fundamental issue."
OBERGEFELL: It's ridiculous.
ARTHUR: There are many people who simply don't understand humanity and love is love.
CHO: For OUTFRONT, Alina Cho, Cincinnati.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Well, in our money and power tonight, the cost of the George Zimmerman trial. Today, we learned that the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management spent $91,000 during the trial. The services provided included public information, safety, logistics, and planning. And this is on top of the $353,000 spent on jury sequestration and other costs by the sheriff's office.
Still to come, two young women attacked with acid on vacation. For the first time today, we see a photo of one of the victims.
Plus, a clerk at a store has refused to serve Oprah Winfrey. Was it racism?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: And we're back with tonight's "Outer Circle", where we reach out to sources around the world. Tonight, we go to London. Two women have returned after acid was thrown on to them while in vacation in Zanzibar. The acid splashed on to their faces, their chest, and their hands.
Erin McLaughlin is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erin, 18-year- old Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup arrived back in the United Kingdom today. They landed at a military base in western London before being brought directly to this hospital in Chelsea, which has a specialist burns unit.
Now, earlier, I spoke to a family friend who told me he has seen photos of the two young women following this attack and he says they are quite seriously injured, adding that as is the case with any burn victim, there are concerns over permanent scarring.
Meanwhile, in Zanzibar, the investigation continues. Authorities questioned five people today, and all five were released. No one has been arrested so far -- Erin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Horrible story.
And now our seventh story OUTFRONT: Oprah's brush with racism.
The media mogul is opening up about her recent experience at a high end store in Switzerland. She says a store clerk refused to show her a $38,000 bag that was on display.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: I go into a store -- shall remain unnamed -- and I say to the woman, "Excuse me. May I see that bag right above your head?" And she says to me, "No, it's too expensive."
And I said, "No, no, no, no, see, the black one, the one that's folded over". And she said, "No, no, no, you don't want to see that one, you want to see this one, because that one costs too much, you will not be able to afford that." And I said, "No, I really did want to see that one."
And she refused to get it. She refused to get it.
I could have had the big blow-up thing and thrown down the black card and all that stuff, but why do that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The shop's owner tells CNN, it was all a big misunderstanding and saying, quote, "this has nothing to do with racism. Oprah said she wanted to look at the bag. She didn't want to take it down because my sales assistant felt a little embarrassed about the price, she quickly said she also had the model in other material such as ostrich and suede which weren't so expensive."
So was this a big understanding or was it a case of racism?
OUTFRONT tonight, Dean Obeidallah, Stephanie Miller, and Safiya Songhai, a filmmaker.
So, Safiya, let me start with you.
Oprah's made it very clear. She thought this was an act of racism. She was subjected to racism. She said, I could have thrown down the whole black thing, but I chose not to.
The store owner is saying, look, the employee may have been confused. English isn't her first language. She made an inappropriate and gauche mistake, but not that was not due to race.
Who do you believe, Oprah or the store owner?
SAFIYA SONGHAI, FILMMAKER: Well, the bag should have come off of the shelf. At the end of the day, the bag -- I don't care how high the shelf was, it should have came off the shelf. Anyone, male, female, black, white, rich or poor is going to be offended by not getting proper service and not being respected by a store clerk in this situation.
Oprah Winfrey basically handled it -- I think she handled it very well. And she didn't not just throw down the black card, she didn't try to embarrass the woman. She was unfortunately embarrassed herself. But I think anyone in that situation is going to wonder why. Why are you not giving me the opportunity to make a purchase, and a $38,000 purchase at that? That's spectacular.
So, there is nothing wrong with considering class in why didn't get service, but there's no reason we shouldn't consider the fact that it may very well be race.
BURNETT: So, Dean, what do you think?
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: First of all, how did this person not recognize Oprah Winfrey? They locked this salesperson in the store every night with not TV?
BURNETT: Well, she made a point of saying she wasn't Oprah in the sense she didn't have her eyelashes on. You know, people look differently while they were on TV, but she was dressed, quote, "Oprah." She had had -- she had on nice clothes. But she didn't have her Oprah face on.
OBEIDALLAH: When you see Oprah's interview, I think she believes race played a role. That's what she believes.
BURNETT: She definitely believes that, yes.
OBEIDALLAH: Right. So, she thinks that.
For me, though, I think when you have a situation where it's not clear. You have a language barrier and you're going to invoke the word "racism", it dilutes the value and the power of that word for social ills that we really need to fight against.
When you complain about not seeing a $38,000 bag when the average income of an American is $27,000, it's hard not to be sympathetic. And I hate to say it that way. But I wish that was my worst problem, that I couldn't see a $38,000 bag. If that was the worst part of racism in this country, and it's not even our country, we'd be in a fabulous place. So, I think we should reserve issues of racism for true institutional racism in this country with African-Americans.
BURNETT: Stephanie? Stephanie, what do you think happen? I mean, you know, you think this a store, they would assume you would walk in if you can afford the bag, right, on one level. If you're selling $38,000 bags, I wouldn't walk into that store, OK?
Oprah can afford it and she's got no problem. She walks in. That sort of adds to Oprah's side of the story.
STEPHANIE MILLER, RADIO HOST: No, exactly. I mean, those are my first two thoughts. There's a purse that's $38,000 and secondly, they don't get Oprah in Switzerland? I mean, thirdly, I think -- you know, there are only two people there, Erin.
BURNETT: Right.
MILLER: So you don't know what exactly happened. I tend to trust Oprah on this. I mean, I think we all do in America I think and you have to put it in the context of the president's comments, that most black people in this country have experienced multiple incidents like this in their lifetime.
So, if Oprah read something into it that she shouldn't have, I don't know. It seems like this happens an awful lot.
BURNETT: Right. Now, Safiya, let me ask you, you know, Oprah said it happened before. I believe in Hermes store in Paris.
(INAUDIBLE)
BURNETT: Right, right, where she said it happened before. And she has made a point whether it's race or class, it's awful. But you know what this made me think of when I heard this story? You know, how humiliating this would be if it happened to you, but might have nothing to do with race to Dean's point.
Let me just play something that I know you have all seen that is in my view the ultimate scene of this happening.
Here is "Pretty Woman".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much is this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think this would fit you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I didn't ask if it would fit. I asked how much it was.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much is this, Marie?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very expensive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very extensive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, I got money to spend in here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think we have anything for you. You're obviously in the wrong place. Please leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, Safiya, sort of like that moment, right? Where they didn't want a hooker in their store, right? And they knew she was a hooker.
But you look now and they say was it that they thought she couldn't afford it? And if it wasn't overt racism, did they say, well, because this woman is black, she can't afford it?
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Go ahead, Safiya. Stephanie, I'll give you the last word.
SONGHAI: Sorry.
MILLER: Go ahead, Safiya.
SONGHAI: Oprah Winfrey is in "The Butler" right now playing a regular person. She's playing a middle class person. She's played a poor person. She has -- she's very recognizable without her eyelashes.
So, I don't think if Oprah Winfrey walks into a store and looks dressed down, anyone should look at her as someone that can't afford a $38,000 handbag and I think the scene in "Pretty Woman", Oprah also referenced that scene, I want to come back and buy the entire store to prove a point to them.
And that is the feeling you get when you're trying to basically live your life and someone decides you're not fit to walk the earth, and you're given that feeling.
BURNETT: Quick final word, Stephanie.
SONGHAI: That's a very damaging thing.
MILLER: First of all, Oprah -- Oprah could buy Switzerland. So that's the really great punch line. I love the owner of the store played the "I'm not a racist. I have a black best friend" card.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Tina Turner.
MILLER: My best friend is Tina Turner. That's -- you got to give some credit for trumping -- doing the giant name drop along with the black best friend.
BURNETT: Fair point. I'm glad you bought that up. He did indeed say that. How would you think I'm racist because I'm friends with Tina Turner, best friends?
All right. Thanks to all three of you. And let us know what you think about this one. I thought it was a pretty interesting nuance story.
OUTFRONT next: scientists say that they have found the source of a new SARS-like virus. But the animal they are blaming does not add up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: And now the OUTFRONT "Outtake." So, regular viewers of this program know I'm a fan of camels, so we've been watching closely as news outlets around the globe have reported camels are the cause of a deadly respiratory syndrome outbreak that started in the Middle East.
According to a group of Dutch scientists, 349 blood samples gathered from livestock and, quote, "While no MERS antibodies, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, were found in blood serum taken from cattle, sheep and goats. They were found in all 50 samples from camels."
So, it seems camels were spreading the SARS. I was devastated. So, we dug deeper. And we found the claims do not up.
First of all, it's not all camels. According to the researchers, the virus was only found in one hampers which are in the Middle East. The Asian two humps are off the hook. Here that China, for once, the world is not accusing you starting a virus.
Second of all, the testing was suspect because even though the 50 camels tested were all from the Middle East, the other farm animals, the goats, cows and sheep, all of whom could be responsible were from, quote, "several different countries including the Netherlands, Spain and Chile." Huh? No other farm animals were tested in the Middle East where the virus is?
Well, the same study went on to find the camels from the Middle East have probably caught a MERS-like coronavirus. Scientists could not tell when that happened or whether it was exactly the same as the virus spread to people."
So, the camels had antibodies to a flu that they had sometime in the past and might not even be the deadly MERS virus at all? I've heard of scapegoats. But this is the first time I've heard of scape camels.
"A.C. 360" starts now.
