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Erin Burnett Outfront
President To Name Janet Yellen As Fed Chairman; Obama: "Not Going To Pay A Ransom"; Fear Of Armageddon?; U.S. Moving To Suspend Aid To Egypt; NYPD Officer Arrested in Motorcycle Attack; Teachers and Parents Worry School is Giving Them Cancer; Interview With Congressman Mark Sanford; Interview With Senator Kelly Ayotte
Aired October 08, 2013 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): "OUTFRONT" next. They say talk is cheap.
OBAMA: We're not going on negotiate around the debt ceiling.
BOEHNER: There's going to be a negotiation here.
BURNETT: But are words expensive? Will hitting the debt ceiling be catastrophic? We separate fact from fear.
Plus, fly boy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have a (UNINTELLIGIBLE), OK. I have a 9- year-old.
BURNETT: We now know who the 9-year-old boy was who snuck onto a flight to Vegas.
And an undercover New York police officer says he arrived on the scene after a violent confrontation between bikers and a driver. But the video shows that might be a lie.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. We begin with breaking news. At this instant, the president of the United States, Barack Obama has announced that he will be naming a new chief of the Federal Reserve. That will be Janet Yellen. Announcing he is going to do that tomorrow. You remember that was a huge fight whether it would Larry Summers or Ms. Yellen. It is now going to be Janet Yellen.
Obviously, this is a crucial time as this country is staring down a debt ceiling debacle. We have breaking news on that as well. But Alan Valdes is the director of Floor Training at DME Securities here to talk about the debt ceiling. But first, I would be remiss if I did not ask you. This is an interesting time for this headline to come. What's the significance?
ALAN VALDES, DIRECTOR OF FLOOR TRAINING AT DME SECURITIES: You know, I think it is a bad time for it to come. I think she is going to get lost in all this debt ceiling and shutdown news that's swirling around. So I think it is a bad timing for her at least personally for her.
BURNETT: And for the markets overall? Janet Yellen, good, bad?
VALDES: Well, I think if you're a believer in tapering, she's good for the market. But I think most people want to see this tapering end sooner than later, believe it or not. We've had a lot of it, but we're really getting a little tired of it. So I think basically she is bad for the market in the long run.
BURNETT: In the long run, all right, we're going to be back with Alan in just a moment. But obviously crucial there on breaking news, the president just announcing that he will formally nominate Janet Yellen.
Well, OUTFRONT tonight, I have the other breaking news, a potentially crucial development in Washington during an hour long news conference today, President Obama opened the door to something huge, a short term debt ceiling increase or is it huge? Here's what he told reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Absolutely. I mean, what I've said is that I will talk about anything. What will happen is we won't agree on everything. I mean, the truth is that the parties are pretty divided on a whole bunch of big issues right now. Everybody understands that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill. Dana, I know you're hearing from Republican sources that this could be a crucial development?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The president was asked in that press conference, the answer he just gave was to a question he would be for a short term debt ceiling. Maybe just four to six weeks something along those lines and that's where he said absolutely.
I was told tonight by a senior House Republican source that that may in fact be a way out at least temporarily of this crisis. To pass a short term debt ceiling -- raising the debt ceiling for a short term. And along with that having a promise to negotiate during that time something that will deal with the debt and the deficit as John Boehner has been demanding in every press conference that he's been in over the past week or so.
Whether or not that could be the ultimate solution, we're not sure. But this senior House Republican source said that watching the president, watching the White House just over the past two days signal that could be something that they would be open to is welcome here among House Republicans. So at a day, Erin, where we have seen a lot of digging in on both sides, this might be a potential window, or at least a temporary solution.
BURNETT: Of course, temporary solution. I don't know. Maybe I've just become so jaded on this whole issue. We're looking at this on a couple weeks or whatever the time frame is.
BASH: Four to six weeks.
BURNETT: So a pathetic showdown in Washington today otherwise with the speaker and the president going up to microphones to lecture each other. You know, they shared one thing in common. I know, again, I'm being jaded, but it was the theme of hostage negotiations. President Obama, you know, obviously was supposed to be in Asia, but he was here today so he had time and he health a very lengthy press conference, more than an hour. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Members of Congress and the House Republicans in particular don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their jobs. We won't pay a ransom for America paying its bills. You do not hold people hostage or engage in ransom taking to get 100 percent of your way. We cannot make extortion routine as part of democracy. What is not fair and will not result in an actual deal is ransom taking. You don't pay a ransom. You don't provide concessions for Congress doing its job and America paying its bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The word ransom, pretty incredible there. Dana, I want to make sure that we show this went both ways, here's John Boehner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: The president refuses to negotiate. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiation.
President's position that, listen, we're be going to sit down and talk to you until you surrender is just not sustainable. The president said today was, if there is unconditional surrender by Republicans, he will sit down and talk to us. That's not the way our government works. Thanks, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Thanks, everybody. Goodbye. All right, Dana, clearly not helpful from either side or I am a being too jaded?
BASH: No. You're not being too jaded at all. I mean, I think it is impossible for people watching not to be jaded. This at this point is all about messaging. The president of the United States went out there for over an hour said the same thing over and over again and you did a great job of playing it, trying the make the point that Republicans are being unreasonable.
The House speaker came out trying to make the point the president is unreasonable. So language at this point by both sides is very intentional, very carefully calibrated and used. That is exactly where we are right now. The question is whether or not they can get past that language and find that little opening. Maybe it is what we talked about a couple minutes ago, a short term patch to raising the debt ceiling while they actually negotiate and don't just talk past each other using their talking points.
BURNETT: All right, Dana Bash, thank you very much, breaking all this news from Washington.
Our second story, OUTFRONT, is the reaction about it. You've all heard people out there yelling and screaming about how this is Armageddon and a cataclysm. OK, here are the facts, stocks today fell sharply. The Dow did fall 159 points. Overall since the shutdown started and the debt feeling fears started, it is down about 2 percent. A 2 percent drop though is not fear of Armageddon.
For the year, stocks are still up nearly 13 percent as measured by the Dow. Now this could change. It could accelerate quickly and we're not saying the debt ceiling is something to take lightly, not at all. As any viewer of the show knows, we care deeply about America's debt and its influence on America's reputation as the greatest economy in the world.
It has been 794 days since the U.S. lost its AAA credit rating. You cannot be the greatest country in the world when you do not have the best credit. Credit ratings are another way of saying does world trust you? Now losing that trust is really easy, but winning it back is exponentially more difficult and expensive.
As the U.S. treasury secretary pointed out in this report, which is worth reading, stocks fell nearly 20 percent two years ago when America last flirted with the debt ceiling and lost that credit rating. It took many months to recover for markets to recover, but recover they did. They have hit all time highs about a month ago. That's a crucial point.
The United States is going to remain the greatest country until someone else is greater and that categorically has not happened. The U.S. is the number one place to invest in the world even with this whole debacle going on. Now the shortest term U.S. debt has seen a rise in borrowing cost since the shutdown began.
The interest rate though that America pays on its benchmark debt has not moved at all since this started and in fact, if you look at the past ten years, with that bench mark rate, borrowing costs have plunged for the United States. Currently you borrow for ten years as this country, you pay 2.6 percent. That is amazingly and incredibly cheap.
Now many experts are throwing around these words like Armageddon and cataclysm about the debt ceiling. There is an important distinction to make here though because experts tell us you can reach the debt ceiling without defaulting on the debt. Let me explain because this is really important when you make your political views known.
The economist breaks the numbers down this way. If the debt ceiling is breached, there is enough money to fund half to two-thirds of the economy. He notes that the United States brings in about $150 billion a month in tax receipts, which of course, could be higher this month because anyone who delayed paying, i.e., a lot of really rich people, have until October 15th to pay Uncle Sam.
So compare those inflows to the interest on the debt. According to Bianco that's $25 billion a month. You can do the math. That leaves a lot of money left over. The bottom line is there is enough money coming in to pay the interest on the debt, the military and two-thirds of government activity, according to the Bianco's research.
The debt ceiling should be raised. Responsible people of all parties know that. But it is worth remembering that Armageddon is a serious word that should never be taken in vain. Alan Valdes is the director of Floor Trading at DME Securities and he is back with me now. That perhaps is part of the problem here, the hyperbolic nature of the conversation.
VALDES: Yes. There's so much fear mongering going on. It is out of control right now. I mean, no matter what happens, we are not going to see a for sale sign on the Statue of Liberty after October 17th. You're right. Traders are watching this. They've seen this movie before. If say, God forbid we do go over the debt ceiling, it will be chaotic at first.
BURNETT: Right.
VALDES: If you had bought, back in the Leeman days when things got day on chaotic, you would make a fortune if you held on. And I think traders know that. They're watching that. That's why even though the market is down, like you mentioned, over 300 points in the last eight days, they're not panic selling. Buyers are walking away, they're not getting a bus. So there's some light selling going on, but it's not panic selling.
BURNETT: What about the point that the U.S. is still the number one place to invest because a lot of really big investors out there are actually the ones using these words like Armageddon. But they are putting their money in the United States.
VALDES: They sure are. I mean, the Dow with all this turmoil over the last few weeks is still up over 15 percent for the year. S@P is up 17.5 percent for the year. It's still the only place to go. It's still the best market in the world. We're not going over the debt ceiling. I'm 100 percent convinced. Zero chance of going over that cliff. But as a result, it is the best market in the world to be. Where else are you going to go?
BURNETT: That is ultimately the question. If you cannot answer a place where everything is better than here in every single respect then it's still going to be the best.
VALDES: Correct.
BURNETT: All right, Alan Valdes, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
Now OUTFRONT next, one of the most wanted and significant terrorists in the world captured. Tonight being held on a Navy ship in the Mediterranean for serious interrogation, but there is outrage. Some say he needs to go to Gitmo. You heard me right for as long it is a takes.
Plus a group of teachers say they got cancer from something at their school and suddenly, does the claim add up? A special report. And Tom Hanks makes a special announcement about his health.
Then a story we've been following since day one, a violent confrontation between a driver and a group of bikers caught on tape. An undercover officer said he got there after the battle began. Guess what? We have the video and it may show that's not the truth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: We have breaking news. We are just learning from our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, this very significant headline. The United States is suspending aid to Egypt, as you know, a point of outrage for many in Congress of both parties. As Egypt had suffered from a change in government which many called a coup.
Now this is according to U.S. official who says the suspension will take place in the coming days. Egypt is a top recipient of American aid. About $1.3 billion a year. Mostly military aid. That, of course, is the aid that is going to be suspended. A lot of that money comes back to U.S. military contractors which, as we've reported, was part of the reason for the hesitation in ending it but obviously a very significant headline tonight. And unclear whether the government thought that that would be lost in conversation about the shutdown or not. But not here. That is a big headline.
And now our third story OUTFRONT, the breaking news in New York City. A police officer has just been arrested. The arrest connected to the violent confrontation between a group of bikers and an SUV. It started with a chase down a New York highway. An SUV bumped the motorcyclist. The SUV then rolled over other bikers critically injuring one after the driver's tires got slashed and then it ended the driver beaten, kicked by several bikers. They took their helmets, they mashed his door, they got all the glass out. They ripped it open, they pulled him out.
The undercover detective was off duty at the time. Allegedly told investigators he saw the whole thing but didn't want to blow his cover. But there is a damning new video not publicly seen yet that suggests that story, well, may not really add up.
Susan Candiotti has this OUTFRONT investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's painful to watch. A biker is seen kicking the SUV driver who at first lies motionless and bloodied on the ground.
But tonight we're learning an off-duty undercover detective who went along for the ride with other motorcyclists, not only witnessed the attack, he's also on video pounding that SUV. Police have said he's not seen in the video that's gone viral. But a law enforcement official tells us, the video is in the hands of investigators.
A former prosecutor says the unidentified detective could be charged with gang assault.
(On camera): Now that we know this undercover officer is seen on camera pounding on the vehicle, how much legal trouble is he in?
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Legally, he is in big trouble if he is seen pounding the vehicle. Under New York's gang statute, he can be charged with aiding and abetting in a gang assault, which is a felony under New York law for which he could face many years in state prison.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The Detectives Police Union did not say anything about pending charges and offered this earlier statement about its members under investigation in the attack. Quote, "The facts are evolving and changing so quickly that the union will withhold any further comment until we see what further investigation reveals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: All right, now, Susan, who was this person? And what's his name? What are the charges?
CANDIOTTI: First of all, we're told that he's been on the force for many years. One very good source of mine tells me at least 10 years. His name is Wojciech Braszczok. He is only 32 years old. He's a police detective as we've been telling you. And there are two charges. Evidently participating -- allegedly participating in a riot and criminal mischief.
What I don't know yet, because this is just happening, is whether those are felony charges or misdemeanor charges. But he could be in court as early as tonight.
BURNETT: Wow. Well, I mean, pretty incredible when you think about there could be cops there and they didn't do anything so.
CANDIOTTI: And we know they are investigating at least one other police officer who might also be charged.
BURNETT: All right, Susan Candiotti. Thank you very much. That story taking a surprising turn.
Well, still to come, a terrorist wanted in connection to the embassy bombings in which 224 were killed. Being interrogated aboard a Navy ship at the Mediterranean at this moment. Some say that he should be in Gitmo. Categorically for as long as he -- it takes.
Plus, a 9-year-old boy sneaks on to a plane, flies to Las Vegas. His parents are speaking out and we have found out how exactly he got on board. And what was special about this little boy. And the U.S. government raises -- releases brand new $100 bills. Ironic timing, isn't it? Given that we're supposed to be defaulting and stuff like that? Well, anyway, we have a special report.
And is a school causing cancer? Serious allegations. And an investigation next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: In our fourth story OUTFRONT, a potentially toxic school in California, teachers at Malibu High blaming a recent cancer outbreak and other health problems on contaminants at their school. Three teachers have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the past six months. Three more treated for other thyroid issues. Staff members have also experienced migraines, skin rashes, unexplained hair loss, respiratory problems, even bladder cancer.
That's a pretty incredible coincidence if that's what it is.
OUTFRONT tonight, Miguel Marquez. He's at Malibu right now where the meeting is happening with the school superintendent, talking to the community and teachers and parents.
And, Miguel, I want to ask you, first of all, what happened in that meeting and also if you could explain where they think these contaminants came from.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two giant questions. That meeting is going on right now. The superintendent filling questions from hundreds of parents who have jammed into the auditorium here. They are not allowing cameras in there because they want -- as they say they want to have as open a dialogue as possible.
One parent, though, standing up in front of this crowd saying that her kids -- she has two kids there -- and they are terrified to be at this school. One even afraid to drink the water at the school. You have kids coming up asking, why they didn't know more about this earlier.
All of this started when 20 teachers put their names to a letter expressing concern about those exact conditions. They're not entirely sure where it is coming from or what might be in the soil or the air here but what has parents really up in arms at this point, Erin, is that they didn't hear about it from the school first. They had to hear about it either by word of mouth or the media.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ (on camera): What is your level of concern at the moment?
WENDY JOHNSON, MALIBU HIGH SCHOOL PARENT: Only that I want to make sure that the kids are safe, obviously. I know some of these things get blown out of proportion pretty easily. I just wished that they had let us know what was going on beforehand.
MARQUEZ: Will you trust them going forward? JESSICA ISLES, MALIBU HIGH SCHOOL PARENT: I would like to. I hope I can. It depends what kind of studies they're doing and who is doing them. Parents have talked about saying, you know, well, if we don't trust what they are doing, perhaps we won't have an independent study done as well.
MARQUEZ: Are you considering pulling your daughter out of school here?
ISLES: Yes. Considering it. We'll see what happens today at whole past 3:00.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: And a lot of parents have pulled their kids out. We don't know how many at this point. I think they're still trying to grapple with all of this. The school now developing a plan to test broad areas of the school, different buildings in the school, and trying to figure out how they can actually go about testing and what to test for.
They did say that at least one building starting tomorrow will be emptied out of students and all of those students will be moved to other classrooms. That brought applause from that room -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Miguel, thank you very much. Raises serious question for anyone anywhere around the country when you think about what you don't know about your school or where you work and what's outside.
Well, still to come, a 9-year-old sneaks on to a plane, flies to Las Vegas. But there is more to the story and his parents speak out for the first time.
Plus, Tom Hanks makes a surprise announcement about his health.
And what was Miriam Carey holding in her car when she rammed the barricade at the White House? It's an item that could give a clue as to what she was really planning to do.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Welcome back to the second half of OUTFRONT.
OUTFRONT has learned two Capitol Police officers involved in the car chase and shooting of Miriam Carey have taken off duty. That's according to Capitol Police spokesman. And the department didn't say when they were taken off street duty or whether they were officially suspended or not.
What we are also learning tonight that a lockbox found in Carey's car contained a passport, her Social Security card, an uncashed check for nearly $1800 and foreign currency. Now we don't know in what -- what country but it looks like that she was pretty clearly planning on not going home. The investigation is ongoing. Well, Tom Hanks revealed on the "Late Show with David Letterman" he's been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes which he confirmed today on Twitter. Yes. "I have Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 is very serious. Type 2 I can manage with good habits. I shall."
According to the American Diabetes Association, Type 2 has a stronger link to family history than type 1 but obesity also plays a role. Hanks' weight has been going up and down over the years because of his being an actor -- 30 pounds for one role, up, losing 50 for another role. His doctor's fix, go back to your high school weight. Doable, back then, though, Hanks says he weighed only 96 pounds.
All right. Our fifth story OUTFRONT -- excuses, excuses. The president says that's the only thing keeping the government shutdown going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My suggestion to the speaker has been and will continue to be. Let's stop the excuses. Let's take a vote in the House. Let's end this shutdown right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: According to CNN's latest tally, the president is right. CNN has identified 18 Republicans who now say they would join 200 Democrats and vote for a clean government funding bill and end the shutdown. One more vote than they need. Obviously, there's a question of whether they'll actually do it when it comes up.
Well, joining me now is Republican Congressman Mark Sanford. And good to see you, sir. I really appreciate it.
Do you think it's time to just bring this to a vote?
REP. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, I don't know that I do. Simply because of this -- we could take that vote that you've just discussed. It was just discussed on air a moment ago and based on the Republican proposal of extending the C.R. would be at December 16th. The Democratic proposal be November 15th. But in either case, we'd be right back to where we are right now if we haven't gotten our grip around the disagreement on spending here in Washington, D.C.
Until we come to that agreement, we will continue to kick this thing down the road and with real harmful effects for the American populace.
BURNETT: And, you know, we were just reporting the breaking news at the top of the hour, that the president had apparently opened the door, as you know now to a short-term fix for the debt ceiling. So, raise it for a while with no strings attached and everybody negotiate. But I guess that my fear is that that just means you take it to the brink again, right? I mean, if you don't agree, you don't agree. It's just going to be deadline after deadline, right?
SANFORD: Yes. And here's the interesting part. There have been 53 increases in the debt ceiling since the mid '70s. There have been 17 shutdowns since the mid '70s.
And every instance, I mean, even with the debt ceiling with the exception of the Gephardt Rule, which basically made it automatic, based on a budget, with that exception, in every instance, it has been a negotiated process. If in 100 percent of the other occasions, there has been folks sitting down at the table, coming one a compromise, I mean, that is the American way.
And for the president and in this case, Harry Reid, to say we won't negotiate is at odds with what we've seen for more than 35 years.
BURNETT: Well, let me ask you about the shutdown itself. Your district includes Charleston, South Carolina, 24,000 federal workers, more than 7 percent of the workforce, tenth highest proportion of any city in the country. So, this matters to you and to your voters, there's no question about it.
I know you were back home this weekend holding town hall meetings about it. And I'm very well aware that you're probably aware of this. That Josh Earnest, the White House deputy press secretary, tweeted about you. Quote, "GOP overplayed their hand in shutting down the government over ACA." Obviously, the affordable care act. "|That's what Mark Sanford told a town hall meeting in South Carolina."
So, I saw that and I said, did you really say that? I went back and checked the tape and here's what you said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANFORD: Republican leadership, and they've overplayed their hand on some of the Obama stuff. I'll gladly concede that."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: "They've overplayed their hands on some of the Obama stuff. I'll gladly concede that." So, you're talking about Obamacare?
SANFORD: No, again, I always as you know, Erin, the world of quotes -- people grab the part that they like that serves their purpose. So, what I was talking about was with the Republican and Democratic side, who really cares at this point whether Republicans overplayed their hand initially or whether the president is overplaying his hand now.
I mean, take for instance, I for almost 20 years of my life run down to the Lincoln Memorial. And, you know, I went down there the other day, it is shuttered up. All kinds of open air monuments here in Washington, D.C. are shuttered in a way that wasn't the case in the last shutdown. In many cases, it has never been the situation in the whole history of our republic. Yet this president has chosen to shut them down.
So I would say either side, whether they're overplaying, is irrelevant to this larger spending problem than we've got in Washington, D.C. The fact that it has come to a head now and the fact that it needs to be resolved rather than kick down the can yet for another week, another month or two months. BURNETT: All right. Let me ask you this and I know -- maybe some agree with you, they hate everybody in Washington. Others do care deeply. I know about whose, quote-unquote, "fault" it is. But you yourself called your furloughed workers back to work.
There was the vote as we all know, right? And that vote in Congress, nobody voted against it. It would guarantee back pay to anybody who is furloughed, right? So, that would essentially mean that if they're not right now, some say that would be a paid vacation.
Do you think that all furloughed employees across the country should go back to work right now because of that vote? Because they're going to get back pay?
SANFORD: I would say that the handwriting is on the wall. In the 17 other shutdowns that have occurred since the mid-1970s, in every instance, this is with exceptions, folks have been paid back pay. And therefore, my view, with my own staff, the part that I did have control over, was to say look, the handwriting is on the wall, 407-0 vote in the House. The president said he is willing to sign that bill.
Folks are going to get back paid. If you are going to get back pay, I think you ought to be working for your pay. It's a fairly simple and basic common sense proposition. I'll let others apply it to their respective agencies or the cabinet, or go down the lead. But to me, it makes a lot of sense.
I had a TSA worker come to me back home and said, look, I don't think this is fair. I'm here as an essential employee. And other folks that aren't essential are basically getting a vacation while I'm here working the TSA line in airport security.
I think wherever possible, yes. Folks who are going to be paid ought to be working today.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. Congressman Sanford, appreciate your time tonight.
And let us know what you think, everyone. If people are furloughed, should they be back at work right now even though they are not getting paid because they'll get back pay? Please let us know on Twitter.
And our sixth story OUTFRONT: a ticket home for that 9-year-old stowaway. Plans are being made tonight to get that boy who passed security and boarded a flight to Las Vegas without being noticed back to Minneapolis, which is where he lives. Now, it's still unclear when he'll be returning. But we re learning more about the boy's previous run-ins with the lawful -- yes, even though he is only 9.
George Howell is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The father of a 9- year-old is speaking out for the first time since his son sneaked on to a Delta flight from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport to Las Vegas without a ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got so much security check at these airports. How can you let a 9-year-old sneak past security, get on the plane, without anyone stopping him, questioning him or anything?
HOWELL: An airport spokesman says surveillance video shows the child boarding the plane while the Delta agent was distracted. The father telling our affiliate WCCO, he just wants his son home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not bad parents. We didn't think nothing of it. We thought he was at a friend's house.
I don't have an angel, OK? I have a nine-year-old. To me, he's got a behavior problem.
HOWELL: According to a report by the "Minneapolis Star Tribune," the director of the Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department says there have been four child protection assessments on the boy's family since December 2012. In an e-mail sent by Janine Moore, obtained by the paper, she described the boy as challenging and says he was arrested for stealing a car two weeks ago.
Finally, the e-mail indicates other allegations. Moore wrote that the boy claimed his mother held a knife to his throat, and that his mother was, quote, "stabbed and died." Even though we now know she works at the airport.
Moore's e-mail also says there are no reports the boy has been injured. His father denies the allegations.
CNN reached out to the Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department about the e-mail but has been unable to confirm the details obtained by the "Star Tribune".
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: All right. That was George Howell reporting. And we really do want your feedback on that story and what you think about that boy and how it's been handled.
Well, our seventh story OUTFRONT tonight it is our power and power segment and it's all about the Benjamins.
So, billions of $100 bills hit banks today, redesigned ones. I mean, I'm sorry, I can't get over the irony of the timing here as the country, as you know, is staring down debt ceiling.
The Federal Reserve says the new bills include security features that make it very hard, very hard to counterfeit.
Our Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT with the latest on the new and improved cash of which we're going to need a whole lot right for all these coming up. I mean -- but, Tom, I know these $100 bills were expected years ago. It's kind of like the 787 for Boeing. What is the reason for the delay?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you mentioned these new security features. That's part of it. Like Benjamin Franklin's private life, the rollout of the new Benjamin has been complicated and kind of messy.
Yes, it is a very pretty bill. But there were problems with new security features which caused creases during printing which left big blank spaces on the money.
Now, that said, they worked it out and it is a pretty high-tech piece of paper. Look at this part here. You see this little ink well in gold? There is a picture of a bell inside in it gold that you can't see very much. But this is color shifting ink.
So, if you angle it somewhat, what you will see is the bell pops out in green. So, it changes. So, does this number right over here. It's one of the features.
Ben Franklin's collar has very tiny writing on it here that says the United States of America along its edge.
And right here, you see this ribbon that's woven through it? This is a 3D type of ribbon. It has the number 100 on it and more of these bells on it. When you move it, they change back and forth and they shift position.
There's another ribbon embedded that glows with ultraviolent light.
And let's look at the back for this for a minute, because this is pretty important, too. On the back, you may notice that they have, I'll flip it over again. On the back of it, you know, you see the great big 100 here so people who are visually impaired can see it better and down here -- this is a blank space. That's actually containing a water mark of Benjamin Franklin you can see if you hold it to the light.
You can't see right now, but I'm told it looks a lot like this, sort of little glasses, a nose and a mouth. Not sure.
But I think it looks sort of like that, Erin. That's the new -- you got a lot of the security features. That one is the one of the more --
BURNETT: I would love it if they put something like that in there. I mean, they'd have justification after all this time. But I mean, it's kind of amazing just the technology that goes into a bill when you think about it.
FOREMAN: Oh my God.
BURNETT: But -- I mean, how many of these are in circulation? FOREMAN: Well, you know, more than you might think, about 8.6 billion of them. They are, now, this is something that may blow your mind a little bit. You know the most popular bill in the country.
The one we use all the time is the one. The $100 is the most common one after the one. And that's because this is loved all around the planet. In many, many places, $100 bill are used as sort of a de facto currency. Even though here, you don't see them on the streets so much. A lot of businesses won't take them but they're enormously popular overseas as this common currency.
So, it's believed that somewhere between a half and two-thirds of all of the hundreds that we have are held in other countries. So how much is that, Erin? That is about $430 billion worth, or enough if you had all the hundreds from around the world, you could buy Apple, every bit of it.
BURNETT: It's so funny. I was saying, I wonder why that Apple logo is up there. And there was a reason.
That is a pretty incredible statistic. Obviously used overseas as we've all experience in the shady and non-shady ways.
FOREMAN: Yes.
BURNETT: All right. Tom Foreman, thank you.
Next up, an OUTFRONT investigation. It costs millions to house prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. What is the real cost of releasing them? What is happening to the people who leave Guantanamo? What do they go do? Do any attack America?
We have a special investigative report.
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BURNETT: Our eighth story OUTFRONT: intense interrogation.
The United States tonight interrogating Abu Anas al Libi, aboard a Navy ship in the Mediterranean. He is wanted in connection with the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in which 224 people were murdered, 4,000 more wounded. He is on that ship being interrogated, which is causing outrage tonight for some.
OUTFRONT, Senator Kelly Ayotte, she says al Libi needs to go to Gitmo for as long as it takes.
Senator, great to have you with us. We appreciate it.
I believe my understanding is you want al Libi off that ship and send to Guantanamo. How come?
SEN. KELLY AYOTTE (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: Well, actually, most importantly, what I want to make sure is right now, he is on a ship. He should go to Guantanamo so that we can have a lengthy interrogation of him. Having him on a ship is not a position where he should be because that way they may have to limit interrogation.
Make no mistake: al Libi is an important player. He's probably the most important capture we've made in years. He had two decades of al Qaeda involvement. He has direct connections and closeness to bin Laden but also al Zawahiri, the current leader of al Qaeda.
So, my point is, we need to maximize the intelligence gathering, putting him on a ship seems more like a political decision as opposed to bringing him to Guantanamo for a lengthy interrogation. We know that these interrogations can take more than days. They take months and years to get the information someone like al Libi would have.
BURNETT: And you're saying that's not possible on board a ship?
AYOTTE: Well, a ship is a temporary facility. I had asked -- Warsame was another member of al Qaeda that they put on a ship in 2011. I asked Secretary Panetta about that and other leaders. And, you know, ships are not a permanent place where we detain people. That's what we have Guantanamo Bay for, for the detention and interrogation.
BURNETT: And let me ask but the Gitmo issue.
AYOTTE: Sure.
BURNETT: We have a special report coming up on this coming up in terms of some of the people who have released, you know, returning to terrorist acts. Obviously, there's a host of issues. We've had the hunger strike that's been going on, and once the detainees are there, countries that they're from don't want to accept them when they get back.
You've talk about people returning to terror. The United States -- you don't have prisons in the United States that are willing to take these people.
It seems to be an intractable problem. Do you really want to add more people to Guantanamo?
AYOTTE: Well, Erin, Guantanamo is there right now. It is a top ranked detention facility. Yes, the people who have been released under both administrations, there's a 29 percent reengagement rate where they've gotten back into battle against us. So, we've got to be very careful about releasing people from Guantanamo.
That said, right now, it is the detention facility that exists. To put someone on a ship, what's the reason for that, when we should put him there? If it's (ph) a decision to change the location of our detention facility, people can be transferred.
But again, Guantanamo exists, I support keeping it open. And why have someone on a ship? Because last time Warsame, the interrogation lasted about 60 days on a ship. We need a lot longer than 60 days to make sure that we get all the information that someone like al Libi, who is a core member of al Qaeda, has about the al Qaeda, also his association with Zawahiri.
And let's not forget, we captured him in Libya. What does he know about our attack on the consulate? Does he know about that?
BURNETT: Well, that's a fair point. No one has been accountable for that attack yet at this point, or have been held accountable.
But what about this issue of Guantanamo versus the civilian courts, you know, enemy combatant? Since 9/11, there's been 400 prosecutions of terror-related cases in federal courts in the U.S. As you know, conviction rate 90 percent according to the Department of Justice, which is darn good because over the same time frame, there are seven successful convictions in military court. So, is it --
AYOTTE: Well, I think --
BURNETT: Yes, go ahead.
AYOTTE: Erin, I think that's a little bit misleading because the administration has been very reluctant to try people in military commission.
That said, this individual al Libi the issue is not whether he gets tried in federal court. He was indicted in federal court. The 2006 Military Commission Law, the offenses that he committed were before that. So, he could get tried in federal court. That's not the issue for me here.
The issue is he needs to go to Guantanamo first and be fully interrogated for as long as our intelligence officials deem necessary to get the information and protect our country.
BURNETT: Thanks very much to you, Senator Ayotte.
Well, you know what's amazing here are the numbers. There are more than 160 detainees still held at Guantanamo Bay. They are there tonight. Taxpayers pay $150 million a year for that.
The president, as you know, has vowed to close it again and again, five years ago, first making that promise. But closing a facility that houses some of the most dangerous terrorist in the world has a cost of its own. One everyone should know about.
Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence has an OUTFRONT investigation.
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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former detainees are still returning to terrorism, years after the U.S. let them out of Guantanamo Bay.
A U.S. intelligence report also reveals former detainees routinely communicate with each other, sometimes having nefarious discussions about terrorist operations.
REP. BOB WITTMAN (R), VIRGINIA: We know terrorist organizations when these individuals are released will in every way, shape or form kind of focus on them.
LAWRENCE: Two of the terrorists seen conferring with the second in command were transferred from Gitmo. The U.S. released Said al-Shihri in 2007. The very next year, he organized an attack on the American embassy in Yemen and rose to become AQAP's number two before he was later killed in a drone strike.
And the man who eulogized al-Shihri in this video, yet another Gitmo alum.
Since the facility opened more than a decade ago, 603 detainees have been transferred from Guantanamo Bay. Intelligence officials confirmed more than 16 percent of them, 100 in all, returned to terrorist activity.
But peel back those numbers a bit, since President Obama took office in early 2009, 71 detained have been released, three have returned to the battle field and four more are suspected of going back to terrorism.
(on camera): If you look at the recent numbers, it's as little as maybe 5 percent. Doesn't that show the program is now working?
WITTMAN: But I think you look at the countries where they have gone back to and you look at the job that they are doing.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): President Obama has sent prisoners back to Algeria and Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the U.K. He only recently lifted the embargo on transfers to Yemen, home to a thriving al Qaeda affiliate.
Right now, there are 56 detainees from Yemen who are cleared for transfer, but some say you risk setting free the next al-Shihri.
WITTMAN: It's still a little bit early I think to consider sending Yemeni detainees back to Yemen.
LAWRENCE: Attorney David Remes argues there is no proof they go back to the battlefield.
DAVID REMES, HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: Well, again, there you have the question of whether 99 men should be held unjustly because you're worried about what the 100th man may do.
LAWRENCE: Chris Lawrence, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Well, still to come, what the president and congress can learn from a very special group of children.
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BURNETT: On Thursday, a ship carrying 500 African refugees sank off the coast of Lampedusa. The official death toll is now 287 and authorities say that number is going to go up. The tragedy shocked the residents of Lampedusa particularly the children.
Since the accident, students at the island's elementary school have been creating artwork to help them deal with the grief and you can see what they have drawn here. All different scenarios and different people that they imagined.
The drawings reminded us of an Egyptian child drawing of a mosque consoling a Christian church, which was done shortly after the Muslim brotherhood 50 Christian buildings in a single day. It's simple and yet, very powerful image. Not unlike the artwork and what we talked about then, one of my favorite books, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly," which was a collection of poems and artwork done by children living in the Terezin concentration camp in was then the Czech Republic.
They are amazing, which shouldn't be a surprise because children's drawings are usually the most honest portrayal of tragedy, whether it's a natural disaster or war or terrorist attack, children depict it with more honesty and hopefulness than many adults do, which is interesting because whenever one of our leaders fails us or refuses to participate in a mature, open dialogue, we immediately compare them to children, calling them spoiled and immature. We do it on the show, sometimes. We call it sand box politics.
Perhaps it's time for that sort of comparison to end, though, because when it comes to our leaders, the only conclusion it seems we can fairly draw right now is this -- they are not acting like children, unfortunately, they are acting exactly like adults.
Thanks for watching.
"ANDERSON COOPER 360" starts right now.
