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Erin Burnett Outfront
Intel Chief Releases New Details Of Data Collection; Hundreds Mourn The Loss Of Murdered Teacher; Who is Responsible for Obamacare Website Fiasco?; Report: Terrorist Attacks & Deaths Hit Record High
Aired October 28, 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 ANCHOR: "OUTFRONT" next, America spying on its closest friends. More questions about which world leaders are targeted by the NSA and why the president claims he knew nothing about it.
Plus a massive manhunt underway tonight. Two prisoners off the run after taking an incredibly unusual escape route. We'll show you.
And Chris Brown arrested for assault. A major decision was just made about those charges.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news under pressure. The Obama administration has just authorized tonight, at this moment, the release of more details about the American government's collection of telephone data. The director of National Intelligence, James Clapper just said this in a statement.
I'll quote him, "Their declassification is not done lightly. I have determined, however, that the harm to national security from the release of these documents is outweighed by the public interest." Now Clapper and other officials are all going to be testifying in detail about this program on Capitol Hill tomorrow. The White House, though, so far has begged ignorance. But what exactly is the president's role?
Here's what we know. Now hear me out here. A U.S. official tells CNN tonight that President Obama was briefed on U.S. spying programs including the one that targeted world leaders when he took over the White House from President George W. Bush.
The official also tells CNN the president would have been told, which specific countries were being targeted in those briefings, but then senior administration official still insists to CNN that President Obama didn't learn until recently of the NSA surveillance of world leaders including American allies. So which of these sources are telling the truth? Jim Sciutto is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Administration officials tell CNN the spying of loaders of close allies such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel took place without President Obama's direct knowledge. A senior administration official says, quote, "It's not reasonable to expect that the president would have been involved in or necessarily briefed on decisions about individual intelligence targets."
In an interview with the Fusion Cable Network, President Obama said his administration is reviewing the way it collects intelligence.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: What we've seen over the last several years is their capacities continue to develop and expand and that's why we're initiating now a review to make sure that what they're able to do doesn't necessarily mean what they should be doing.
SCIUTTO: But he also offered this defense.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: The National Security operations generally have one purpose and that is to make sure that the American people are safe.
SCIUTTO: Whether listening in on the leaders of close allies such as German Chancellor Merkel saves lives, the White House didn't have an answer. Although it reaffirmed it is reassessing such high level surveillance as part of its overall intelligence review. On the Hill today, European lawmakers went head to head with congressional leaders on NSA spying. The head of the delegation told me their discussion was frank.
(on camera): You had a very stern message to deliver.
CLAUDE MORAES, CHAIR OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CIVIL LIBERTIES DELEGATION: I think we had a very robust and strong message when we came to Congress today. This mass surveillance which has come through the allegations is something that's disserving. They feel very uneasy. They don't know why it's happening, why their strongest ally is doing it.
SCIUTTO (voice-over): And today they had more to talk about regarding Spain where the NSA reportedly collected data from some 60 million phone calls in 30 days, leading to one more U.S. ambassadors summon to explain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: European officials tell me that the NSA surveillance in Spain and France only included metadata, not the content of the calls. Still it is the spying on heads of state that is causing the greatest outrage. Senior administration official tells me this does not mean, quote, "The NSA was going rogue or operating out of bounds, but part of the president's review is to ensure that intelligence agencies are getting effective guidance from policymakers. Erin, of course, it seems to me they were not getting that effective guidance because they were going beyond what the president knew or appeared to have authorized here.
BURNETT: All right, thank you very much. Jim Sciutto trying to get at the heart of the problem here tonight. OUTFRONT now, Republican Senator Jim Risch. He sits on the intelligence committee. Thank you very much for being with us, Senator. Let me just ask you this question when you hear these conflicting reports. Do you believe the president knew not just the spying on the leaders of American allies, but specifics those things like the United States was actually tapping their cell phones and other communications? Do you believe that he knew and knew since I took office or do you believe the other option which is he just recently found out.
SEN. JIM RISCH (R-ID), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, he could have known. You know, I have no way of being able to say he did or he didn't, but he is the chief executive of the United States underneath him is the intelligence services and he can get from them whatever information he wants.
Whether they, whether they gave him details of this or not, I can't say, but I will tell you this. You know, within the intelligence community, this brouhaha -- this public brouhaha that is getting so much in the headlines is just not viewed as that huge deal because collection of information by countries commonly called spying is ubiquitous. It's done by every country and using the means that they have available to protect their national interest.
BURNETT: And I want to get at that specifically in a moment, but first to follow up on this point about what the president knew and when he knew it. Let's just say he didn't know the specifics. I mean, shouldn't he have? I mean, you may be right. Everybody's going to monitor whatever they can monitor. But the truth of the matter is, if we're monitoring the cell phone of an ally like Germany, right, Angela Merkel, the president should know, shouldn't he?
RISCH: Erin, there are thousands, I mean, literally thousands of pages of intelligence information that are developed every day. It's absolutely impossible to know every detail in them. When it comes to this, when you look at it, 20/20 hindsight, would say, well, yes, but these are the highest individuals in these countries.
Well, if there's something critical in that information the president should definitely know about it. If it is collection information there's no possible way he or anybody else could know what facts are collected every day.
BURNETT: You're a Republican senator sort of defending the fact the he might not have known. I think you're right. I think a lot of people say, look, spying on the world leader of another major country, major ally, is just a policy the president should have been aware of. But let me ask you about this, sir. Because some folks on both sides of the aisle are defending what the NSA are doing and they're defending it point blank, and one of them might surprise you. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: They also rely on a lot of the information we gather to protect themselves. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It keeps the French safe. It keeps the U.S. safe. It keeps our European allies safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, Senator Risch, I recall landing in Iran a few years ago and seeing a lot of German businessmen and they were violating sanctions, what Americans would consider sanctions. So just because a country is your ally does not mean it's doing everything consistent with your policy. So wouldn't that explain the monitoring and mean that the Germans and everybody else would monitor American phones if they could too, that all this quote/unquote "spying" is fine? And the U.S. instead of saying it's sorry should defend it?
RISCH: Well you know, there's all kinds of explanations here, but you know, Erin, we get these other countries come to us all the time and they are very happy that we are doing monitoring of some of their citizens because we share information with them just as they do share information with us.
But, you know, any of us that are in this business, any country we go to, whether it's friend, foe or a neutral country, every piece of electronic equipment we take in swept before we go in. It's swept when we come out. This stuff is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. It is thousands of pages a day.
So, you know, for everybody to be ringing their hands, nobody's asked yet the French or the Germans or the Spanish to say OK, who are you listening to? What collection are you doing, on who? You'd probably get them stuttering and stammering and say we'll either admit or deny or what have you just like the U.S. agencies do.
BURNETT: I mean, it's kind of amazing too to your point, which is sometimes you gather, you gather so much. It sounds like we're gathering so much we don't even know what we're gathering. The president doesn't even know what is the point. I mean, today, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, was you know, frankly apologetic. They said they are going to go ahead and they are going to look at all these programs and make some changes.
Let me just play exactly how Jay described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We recognize that there need to be additional constraints on how we gather and use intelligence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So does he have a point that there should be additional constraints or is that basically unilaterally disarming as someone told me today, that the United States, if it backs down now and stops doing this monitoring, it would be very damaging possibly for the security of the U.S. as well as its allies?
RISCH: Well, look, what he said was the diplomatic correct thing to say. The executive branch is in charge of this. They know what they've got to look at in order to keep America safe. This is not a partisan issue. This is a bipartisan issue. We all agree that we have got to do the kind of intelligence gathering that we do in order to keep Americans safe.
BURNETT: So you don't think they're going to back off unnecessarily. They're going to say the right thing, but they're going to do what they need to do.
RISCH: The diplomatic thing to say in the other side would say the same thing under the same circumstances.
BURNETT: All right, well, Senator Risch, thank you for taking the time tonight. We appreciate it.
And still to come, a 24-year-old math teacher found dead in the woods behind her school, they say a student committed the horrific crime and tonight we have learned more about her from her family.
Plus a massive man hunt is under way at this instant. Two prisoners are still on the loose. They escaped right under the noses of guards. We are going to tell you exactly how they did it. This is the kind of thing you would think someone would have to make up in a thriller.
And Chris Brown arrested over the weekend for assault, a major decision and charges tonight. We'll have that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Our second story OUTFRONT, a murdered math teacher remembered today. Nearly a thousand people, almost half of them students, packed a Massachusetts church to say goodbye to 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer. She was killed brutally at Danvers High School last week. She was found dead in the woods behind the school on Wednesday. One of her students, 14 year old Philip Chism has been charged with her murder. Alexandra Field is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many of the mourners wore pink, a small tribute to Colleen Ritzer, the 24-year-old teacher who made a big impact.
FATHER DENNIS GALLAGHER, VP FOR MISSION ASSUMPTION COLLEGE: She saw the goodness in other people. She had a gift for doing that.
FIELD: It's estimated 1,000 people came to the funeral at Ritzer's church in her hometown of Andover, Massachusetts. Among them, some 400 students from Danvers High School who wanted to honor their beloved math teacher. Ritzer was allegedly killed by one of her students, 14-year-old Philip Chism. A source close to the investigation says Chism killed her in the girl's bathroom with a box cutter he brought to school.
Ritzer's body was later found in the woods behind the school's athletic field. Police escorted Ritzer's hearse and a Danvers honor guard saluted her. The service was close to cameras, but Ritzer's cousin eulogized her as someone who, quote, "lit up the room with her contagious smile and had a bright loving personality."
(on camera): While Ritzer's loved ones say painful goodbyes, there is still the painful question for everyone, why? Publicly prosecutors still haven't pointed to a motive.
(voice-over): New details shed some light on Philip Chism's past. Legal separation papers filed 12 years ago show his father had restricted time with him because of, quote, "prior physical and emotional abuse as well as alcohol abuse."
Now, Chism's mother is speaking up. She released a statement through her son's attorney saying that her heart is broken for the Ritzer family and the lost of their daughter and sister, Colleen Ritzer. She says her son was born in love and is dear to her, very dear. She is struggling to understand this.
And while families look for answers, the love ones of Colleen Ritzer will struggle for years to come.
CAROLINE RUFO, RITZER'S FORMER COLLEGE ROOMMATE: Extreme lost. It is like there's going to be a void forever in our hearts that I don't know that anything can ever fill that.
FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN. Anderville (ph), Massachusetts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And now on our third story OUTFRONT, the Oklahoma jailbreak. So, two inmates remain on the loose tonight. They staged an incredibly bull escape from Caddo County detention center yesterday. Now, two others were captured. But the four pulled off a daring breakout by climbing out through a ceiling hatch in jail's shower. And then crawling into, just imagine this how tight it would be, how you would have to be coordinated through a pipe that led them actually outside the jail facility.
So exactly, how did they pull this off? George Howell begins OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Right back to where they started from. We watched as authorities drove two of four jail escapees who have about on the run since Sunday back into the very walls that ultimately failed to confine them.
The Caddo county sheriff confirms Dylan Three Iron and Prime Brown were both arrested this afternoon in a nearby (INAUDIBLE), Oklahoma. The search continues for Anthony Mendonca and Triston Cheadle, both considered armed and dangerous.
Caddo county sheriff Gene Cain. Should people be worried that these people are on the street? SHERIFF GENE CAIN, CADDO COUNTY, OKLAHOMA: Yes. Anytime, you know, they break outs of prison, they should be more fallacious and be more secure around your surroundings.
HOWELL (voice-over): For residents like Mark Johnson, it's the simple fact that this jailbreak happened that's even more troubling.
MARK JOHNSON, ANADARKO, OKLAHOMA RESIDENT: Evidently, there is a design flaw in it that you can get in the shower, climb up, climb over and get out.
HOWELL (voice-over): And that is exactly how it went down. According to officials, the men busted through a maintenance hatch above the shower in the jail. They crawled through a pipe space right beneath the roof where the air conditioning and plumbing sift. Then, they knocked out a cement block to get to another room. That took them directly to an unlocked side door which they simply pushed open to freedom.
(on camera) Was this a design flaw?
CAIN: No, I don't think it's a design flaw, no. I mean, it's something we'll have to investigate. But, it's -- the jail was well- built. The people failed to tale. They failed to say (INAUDIBLE).
HOWELL (voice-over): The sheriff said this is not a design flaw.
JOHNSON: Well, somewhere it screwed up somewhere. Might not be a design flaw, but somebody's got some explaining to do.
HOWELL (voice-over): Our camera caught contractors back on the job repairing the damage created by the jailbreak, but could this happen again? Not even the sheriff could say for certain.
CAIN: I can't say that it won't happen again. There's lots of ways, you know, that people escape jails. I can't say it won't happen again. We hope it don't happen again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Pretty frightening answer, George. But I mean, how did they catch the two prisoners back in custody, and where are the others?
HOWELL: Erin, that's the big question, the million dollars question. Where are the others? And there's definitely a search under way for them. As far as the two that were captured, it really came do down to the watchful eye of an investigator with the Grady county district attorney's office.
Now, he was in the city of (INAUDIBLE), which is about 20 miles from where we are right now. And he noticed two men on the street that seemed suspicious. Their clothes, he described them as wet, as dirty, and the men matched the description of the suspects that investigators have been looking for. He contacted the (INAUDIBLE) police, they gave chase and were eventually able to catch them. But again, you know, the question is where are the other men? Authorities have some belief that they could be in that (INAUDIBLE) area.
BURNETT: I'm still sort of dumb founded by the assertion that there may not be a design flaw.
All right, thanks very much to you, George.
And still to come, a 13-year-old boy, shot and killed by police. They thought his toy gun was real. He was shot seven times. Tonight, why the FBI is now investigating.
Plus, singer Chris Brown arrested over the weekend. A major decision just made about those charges and that is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: On our fourth story out front is Chris Brown. The singer is out of jail tonight and facing an assault charge. He was arrested early Sunday for allegedly attacking another man, breaking his nose. The 24-year-old has, obviously, has recently become more famous for his meltdowns than his music. Appalling in many ways that he even remain famous at all given what he did before, because he is still on probation for viciously attacking his then girlfriend Rihanna four years ago.
Brian Todd is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pandemonium as Chris Brown leaves court in Washington acknowledges his fans with a peace sign after being released with no bail. Inside the court he got a break. A felony assault charge reduced to a misdemeanor. Brown did not enter a plea, but his attorneys said this to reporters.
DANNY ONORATO, ATTORNEY FOR CHRIS BROWN: Christopher Brown committed no crime. We understand that his security acted to protect Mr. Brown and Mr. Brown's property as they are authorized to do under District of Columbia law. We are confident that Mr. Brown will be exonerated of any wrongdoing.
TODD (voice-over): Brown was in Washington to host this party at a night club Saturday night. According to the police report, the victim, Isaac Parker, tried to get into a photo being taken of Brown and a female fan early Sunday morning outside the W. Hotel in Washington. At that point, according to the police report, Brown said, quote, "I'm not down with that gay expletive," end quote. "I feel like boxing." The victim told police that Brown and his bodyguard each punch him in the face.
Here is an eyewitness.
ABRAHAM LUAKABUANGA, WITNESSED FIGHT: You know, he was hurt. He was full of blood. I'm thinking about the nose. I didn't see him throwing any punches whatsoever. It was like, why this?
TODD (voice-over): This arrest could have severe consequences for the popular Grammy award-winning R&B singer. Brown who signed his first record deal at age 15 is serving probation for felony domestic violence against singer Rihanna from what happened on the eve of the Grammy Awards four years ago. Her bruised and bloody face seen in this picture from TMZ.
His probation was revoked briefly this year after a hit-and-run accident when a woman said Brown went quote "ballistic on her, screaming on her after rear ending her car." He was given an additional 1,000 hours of community service. But probation rules from the Rihanna case require Brown to stay out of all legal trouble. What could happen now?
DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: A new arrest and potential new crime, even without a conviction can trigger a violation of that probation and the judge can, again, decide to send him to state prison for the duration of his probation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And Brian, this is one of those things, you know, you think look, part of the reason that this guy still matters is because, you know, we the people are still interested in him. So who do we have to blame? But, I know you have some new details now on the incident and court documents that you were just able to get.
TODD: That's right, Erin. We just got these documents from the court. It's a series of witness and police statements about the incident. Now, right after the incident occurred on Saturday night/Sunday morning, by all accounts Brown went into his tour bus that was parked nearby. And according to this series of documents, the police officer who came and interviewed him at that time stated that the police, that the officer asked him whether he had had a confrontation with the victim. And according to this document, Brown said, quote "no. I was on the bus when I guess somebody tried to get on and my bodyguard handled it." And according to this document, Chris Brown denied punching the victim. But as we know from the police report, the victim said that both Brown and his bodyguard did the punching. So, we've clearly got a he said/he said going on here.
BURNETT: All right, thanks very much, Brian Todd.
Well next, the president, was his twitter account hacked? Sort of ironic given all this NSA stuff. Well, we have that story.
Plus, Apple's iphone sales, they were better than expected. But today, the talk was all about a potential buy out. Is apple eyeing an American car company? And I didn't just miss speak.
And rapper, Jay Z, has another problem. Why the Internet now demanding that he drop his latest megabucks deal.
We will be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Welcome back to the second half of OUTFRONT.
President Obama hacked. Some of the president's 39 million followers clicked on the link of a "Washington Post" story today and instead of going to "The Washington Post", they got a propaganda video about Syria.
The Syrian electronic army, you may have heard of them, they attacked new sites, for example, like "The New York Times". They support the Bashar al-Assad regime, and they've claimed responsibility. Organizing for Action, which is the group which controls @BarackObama tried to downplay the incident. But CNN Money reporter Laurie Segall obtained these screen shots which show the hacker group broke into the president's Twitter account and hacked into a campaign staffer's e- mail.
Well, Penn State University is paying nearly $60 million to settle claims from 26 victims of Jerry Sandusky. Now, it's not clear to us at this moment when those settlements were made or how the money is being divided among those 26, but what it means is that they aren't able to sue anymore. An attorney for the man known as victim five told CNN his client isn't necessarily happy about the settlement, but he is relieved.
Sandusky, the former assistant football coach, was convicted last year of 45 counts related to the sexual abuse of young boys. He is serving 60 years behind bars.
Well, an amusement park ride used as a deadly weapon. Put that in the list of things you would never have thought before. But after five people were hurt on a ride at a North Carolina state fair, ride operator Timothy Tutterrow has been charged with three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Witnesses said the called the Vortex stopped, and as people were getting off, it restarted. Some riders falling from at least 20 feet in the air.
The 911 calls depict a frantic scene.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: We're at the state fair and the ride turned upside down and dumped everybody out. There's people who are bleeding really bad.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: Investigators determined the ride safety devices had been tampered with. Now, an attorney for Tutterrow said he was devastated and that Tim would never intentionally harm anyone.
Well, concerns about Apple's growth are growing. First the good news, earnings released today showed sales and profits were better than people were looking for. And apple sold about 35 million iPhones, which is a million more than people were looking for. That's according to Colin Gillis of BGC Partners.
But, now, the bad news. Profit margins which is the be all and end all here are shrinking at Apple. And the refreshing of the iPhone and the iPad may not reverse that.
There are though other ways to solve this problem. With more than 100 billion in cash on hand, Apple can pretty much buy whatever it wants in terms of growth. And in a letter, the CEO Tim Cook, one investor is calling on Apple buy this -- Tesla -- which is now valued at about $20 billion.
You might think, whoa, strange, right? But cars these days are run by computers. And they're really the last the frontier to be completely iPaded up.
Well, all in the family, in an interview with out Jake Tapper, former Vice President Dick Cheney says the Republican Party needs help and his solution is his daughter, Liz Cheney, who is looking to be the next U.S. senator from the state of Wyoming. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: First of all, obviously, I'm a big supporter of my daughter.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Sure.
CHENEY: But I really believe the Republican Party is in trouble. You know, we've lost the last two presidential elections, and we badly need I think to bring along a new generation of talent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: A new generation of talent. He didn't say it, but women. Cheney touted his daughter's credentials, two tours at the State Department and a mother of five. He also said the man she's running against, incumbent Mike Enzi, is, quote, "not a bad guy."
And now, our fifth story OUTFRONT: Another Obamacare Web site failure. A malfunction crashed the site yesterday, just the day after Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised the very same component that crashed as a model of efficiency and security. Ouch!
Well, that particular malfunction was fixed, but it is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg and no one has been taking responsibility for all that has gone wrong with the website.
The question is -- and there must be an answer to this at some point -- where does the buck stop?
Tom Foreman has been trying to figure it all out.
And, Tom, you know, it would seem like an easy question to answer. But it isn't. How did it go so wrong?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it would seem that way, would it? You know, we know this. The Obamacare girl who was on the cover here, smiling young woman who graced the federal Web site, has disappeared. We don't know why. Maybe she's not smiling amid all these problems. But it's just as well, because too many people were involved with this from the start. That's what we're learning as this goes on.
How did this go so wrong?
In a perfect world, most would agree that the Web site should have been developed like this. The White House, President Obama, would establish some outlined some outlines, some goals. The Department of Health and Human Services under Kathleen Sebelius would come up with a plan to reach those goals. An agency, in this case, the centers for Medicaid and Medicare centers would hire computer programmers to make it all happen. And voila, there is your fully functional Web site.
But from the beginning, it appears there was a political, as well as a practical side to this effort. As the policymakers dreamed up things for the Web site to do, programmers weren't always in the loop to discuss if it was possible.
Furthermore, you saw a few of the big companies hired for this job in front of Congress being grilled on what went wrong. But there were, in fact, dozens of subcontractors down here running hundreds of millions of lines of computer code. Testimony indicates some had little knowledge of how their work would coordinate with the work of others. They faced changing demands as political fights over this program raged and communications between them were all sketchy.
So, you ended up with this incredibly tangled web of lines going on between here and between the White House and between everyone. And in the end, plenty of commands were being given, but no one person was clearly in charge, including the president, who, as his own officials now say, was unaware that this tangled mess was building down here, Erin.
So the problem in finding who to blame is to say someone had to be responsible. And effectively, everybody in the chain was saying, no, somebody else was in charge of this part of it. That's why it's hard to pin it on one person.
BURNETT: Right. And, of course, the program will be, well, do they try to do that and pin it on a person that no one heard of? Or do they say look, ultimately, the buck stops, say, at the Kathleen Sebelius level? I mean, that's going to be the big question, and, Tom, because it gets worse, right? This isn't like let's just go untangled the web, which in it of itself would be very, very difficult to do, right?
They're actually saying you might have to start from scratch. Rewrite millions of lines of computer code to fix this.
I mean, should they just possibly scrap the whole thing and start again as some in Congress have suggested? Or no?
FOREMAN: You're absolutely right. There are some out there who say shut it all down, start all over. That's the way to solve it, especially after things like this weekend.
But the administration basically says no. Considering this Web site has already cost more than $300 million. And parts of it are working despite all of these troubles.
So, the White House has now put one guy in charge, Jeffrey Zients with one company acting as the general contractor, trying to get back into this clean line of command that they should have had from the beginning and they hope that if they can do this, they can have the Web site off the critical list by the end of November. But, again, Erin, if you see more things happen like happened this past weekend, you will hear more calls from people saying scrap the whole thing, throw away the money, start over, even if you want Obamacare to work. And some, of course, don't want it to work -- Erin.
BURNETT: Right. Well, it's a fair point. Some don't. But even some that do are coming around to that point of view. We'll see.
Tom Foreman, thank you.
And our sixth story OUTFRONT tonight, an exclusive OUTFRONT: terror is on the rise. This is a stark assessment. And it is obtained exclusively by CNN.
It is found a stunning rise in terrorist attacks around the globe, and according to this new report, the attacks are becoming even more deadly.
Chris Lawrence is OUTFRONT with the exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESONDENT (voice-over): It's not your imagination. Terrorists are launching more attacks like this deadly assault on a Nairobi mall. And it's likely the world will see even more violence next year.
CNN obtained exclusive access to an upcoming report from Stark (ph), a group that tracks terrorism around the world. It found there were 69 percent more terrorist attacks in 2012 than the year before. There was an 89 percent jump in deaths. And with well over 5,000 attacks in June of this year, the future looks even deadlier.
DANIEL BENJAMIN, FORMER COMMISSIONER FOR COUNTERTERRORISM, STATE DEPARTMENT: And I expect we'll see that reflected in even more violence in 2013 and even higher numbers.
LAWRENCE: Dan Benjamin was the terrorism coordinator at the State Department. He says many of today's militant groups judge success by the number of people killed, including civilians.
BENJAMIN: The old red lines, the old barriers are all gone.
LAWRENCE: Six of the seven deadliest groups are affiliated with al Qaeda, including Afghanistan's Taliban and Nigeria's Boko Haram, which is going after Christian targets. The targeting of other religions or Muslims of a different sect is driving the casualty rate higher.
BENJAMIN: It's much more like warfare, it's warfare using the tools of terrorism.
LAWRENCE: But the violence is more concentrated than you might think. Three countries: Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan suffered more than half the attacks and the casualties.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Now, the flip side to some of those numbers is what's happening here in the United States, the threat to civilians in the U.S. and Western Europe and even parts of Eastern Asia actually may be declining, which is good news for the citizens that live there -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Chris, thank you very much. Good news.
And, again, everyone, that brings us back to our question of the night. Does changes in the NSA and the spying, will that change that or not?
Rapper Jay-Z says he is being unfairly demonized for teaming up with the high-end retailers Barneys. So, two of the store's customers who are black say they were racially profiled at Barneys after they were detained by police when they bought expensive things. Since then, a lot of people, hundreds, have taken to Twitter, more than 16,000 have signed an online petition end his partnership with Barneys.
And this puts Jay-Z in a rather awkward position. He's about to launch a collection with Barneys, clothing and jewelry and even decorate one of their famed Christmas windows. The money from the deal is going to a charity. It's not like he's keeping it for himself. The question is, will sticking with Barneys hurt his brand as a rapper?
Now, the truth is probably not. He and his wife Beyonce have had a number of income streams, jewelry, clothing, cosmetics, even sports team. Jay-Z is worth $500 million. And when you add that to his wife, they have well over a billion dollars.
Which brings me to tonight's number: 3.6 million. According to the Luxury Institute, that is the average net worth of a Barneys shopper. Jay-Z and Barney shoppers are incredibly wealthy. And even though he may not like Barney's behavior, there's probably no protests or boycott powerful enough to him change his plans.
Well, still to come: Russia, just 100 days away from the start of the Sochi Olympics, but is the site of the Winter Games too dangerous?
And new developments in the case of a 13-year-old boy shot to death by police. They thought his toy gun was real. He was shot seven times. And tonight, we know why the FBI is investigating.
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BURNETT: We're back with tonight's "Outer Circle".
And tonight, we go to China where five people are dead, dozens more injured after a car crashed into a crowd in Tiananmen Square and then bursts into flames. Security is tight there, as I've experienced. So, I asked David McKenzie how was a car was actually even able to get in?
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're going to get out and try and film, we'd almost certainly be detained.
(voice-over): The chief symbol of communist party power in lockdown. At noon Monday, a Jeep plowed into throngs of tourists and caught fire, say police. The driver and two passengers killed. At least two tourists dead and dozens injured.
(on camera): There's a heavy police presence. There normally is, but right now, it's clearly escalated. Apparently, this car drove out from this road down this way, crashed through a barricade outside the entrance to the Forbidden City, opposite Tiananmen Square. This area is probably one of the most sensitive in China. And right now, if I look, you can see there are no tourists here in this area. Normally, it's absolutely jam-packed.
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BURNETT: That's pretty amazing just to see that so empty. It is always so packed.
Our seventh story OUTFRONT: Putin says gays are welcome. The Russian President Vladimir Putin promises gay athletes and visitors won't face discrimination at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Putin is seeking to diffuse potential boycotts over a Russian law which bans gay activism. But with the Olympics just 100 days away, is Sochi safe? This is a crucial question and is it ready for all the crowds?
Phil Black is OUTFRONT.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From a distance, this Olympic park looks close to ready, shining new sports venues finished and tested. But look closer, there is still so much to do. Top of the list, finish the stadium. It's not hosting the sport, but it will be the stage for the opening ceremony. The people directing that spectacle had demanded big changes to the designed, including a roof.
Russia is not famous for its efficiency, so delivering this on time will be a statement to the world. It's one reason why President Vladimir Putin is taking such a personal interest. Dmitri Gregoriev manages the speed skating arena. He says Putin's regular visits and direct oversight have made a big difference.
DMITRY GRIGORIEV, VENUE MANAGER, ADLER ARENA: I'm not going to say why it will happen, but it has.
BLACK (on camera): But you're seeing things happen?
GRIGORIEV: Yes.
BLACK (voice-over): Sochi's other challenge, overhauling the Soviet era infrastructure. The skyline is a mesh of cranes and partially completed buildings, many of them much-needed hotels.
And then, there's the traffic. It's appalling.
Sochi's mayor, Anatoly Pakhomov, is firmly on team Putin and insists somehow it will be fixed in three months.
Security is an especially big concern at these games, because Russia's Islamic terrorists have promised to disrupt them. And organizers can't even rely on Mother Nature to deliver the white stuff. It's sub-tropical here, so snow fall is patchy. That's s why they're storing vast amounts of last season's snow, just in case.
Phil Black, CNN, Sochi.
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BURNETT: And now, let's check in with Wolf Blitzer. He's in for Anderson, with a look what's coming up on "AC360".
Hey, Wolf. Good to see you.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Erin.
Coming up on "AC360": one year after superstorm Sandy and one year after all the promises from officials as high up as the president himself that they wouldn't be forgotten, people in so many parts of the New York area say, well, they feel forgotten. Tonight, you will meet the ones caught in a catch-22 of paperwork and promises, still waiting for the help they were promised to arrive.
Also tonight, a high profile rapist, known as the pillowcase rapist, when -- when he terrorized California back in the '70s and '80s, now being released back into the community he targeted all those years ago. Not there. So where should he go that he has served his time? We're digging deeper into that with our legal panel.
All, Erin, coming up at the top of the hour.
BURNETT: All right. Wolf, we're looking forward to hearing that discussion. Thank you.
And now, our eighth story OUTFRONT: a teen carrying a fake rifle. Tonight, there are final preparations under way for a funeral of a 13- year-old. He was shot seven times last week by a California sheriff's deputy.
Now, the tragedy happened after the teen, you see him here, was spotted carrying a pellet gun. It looked like an assault rifle. But now the FBI is conducting an investigation.
And Dan Simon is OUTFRONT.
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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outrage in a northern California town, an AK-47 replica, a toy pellet gun, mistakenly identified by a sheriff's deputy for the real thing. The veteran officer firing eight rounds at 13 year old Lopez, killing him.
(on camera): The reports were he asked the boy to drop the weapon and he didn't drop it.
ANABEL DAVALOS, FAMILY FRIEND OF ANDY LOPEZ: Andy was not that type, Andy, if he knew it was a sheriff, if he was asked, Andy would have dropped it. I don't believe that at all.
SIMON (voice-over): Family and friends at Santa Rosa have held rallies, calling the shooting a combination of unnecessary force and racism. Some alleged the shooter was profiled because he was Hispanic, walking through a low income neighborhood.
DAVALOS: What we want is we want him to some consequences, just like we would you know? We want him to be prosecuted for what he did. He took somebody's life. You know, he was 13 -- he had just turned 13. You know, we want justice for Andy. And until we get that, we're not going to stop marching.
SHERIFF STEVE FREITAS, SONOMA COUNTY SHERIFF: I understand that the community is angry and sad and this is a horrible tragedy for all involved.
SIMON: Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas told us he couldn't go into details of the case. But he confirmed the deputy who fired the shots is Erick Gelhaus, a 24-year-old member of the force, and veteran of the Iraq War.
(on camera): The fact that he's been employed with the sheriff's office for 24 years suggest that you have a lot of confidence in him.
FREITAS: Well, Erick is a solid employee and the fact that he trains new people for us, that showed the level of respect we have for Erick and his position here.
SIMON (voice-over): Investigators say only ten seconds passed from the moment Gelhaus and his partner called back to say that shots were fired. The deputies encountered the hoodie wearing Lopez at 3:15 in the afternoon last Tuesday. According to witnesses, at least one of the deputies took cover behind an open front door of their cruiser and one yelled twice to drop the gun.
Shots were fired and the boy was pronounced dead at the scene. This teenager says it's common for kids his age to play with the so-called air soft rifles, and the deputy should known it was a fake.
VICENTE ADAMS, FAMILY FRIEND OF ANDY LOPEZ: He was a firearms specialist and you should know that it was a fake gun, you know?
SIMON (on camera): If you hold them side by side, though, some experts say it is hard to tell.
ADAMS: I mean, a 13-year-old to be carrying an AK-47 like that. You know what I mean? AK-47s are heavy, they're not like guns, I held a real one myself. So, they're not like guns for a 13-year-old to be just holding it like it's nothing.
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SIMON: And this is the area where the boy was shot. You can see this makeshift memorial that has been growing every day. You see candles and flowers and balloons. And, Erin, it is very important to point out. We don't know exactly how the boy was holding the gun. All we know is that the officer apparently felt threatened.
Another potential issue is that the soft rifle was missing its orange cap which was required by law. So, obviously, the deputy didn't realize it was a toy, Erin.
BURNETT: Because the orange cap was not there. And you also talk about it was just seconds before they reported it and they were shooting. Obviously, that raises questions, too.
What is the status of this deputy at this point?
SIMON: The deputy is on paid administrative leave. And we should point out that according to the sheriff, he has been getting a lot of death threats. He is at an undisclosed location.
We should tell you the case is being investigated by two police departments in the area as well as the FBI. And that could go on for several weeks, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Dan, thank you, reporting live from that scene.
And up next, this is going to be great, I promise you. The new Bob Marley.
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BURNETT: So there is a new movement under way in Saudi Arabia, thanks to Bob Marley.
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BURNETT: No woman, no drive, has been viewed nearly 4 million times. It is a brainchild of Hesham Faji (ph), a Saudi actor and stand-up comedian who plays every character in the video.
It's got some great lines and they're talking about how she is sitting in the back seat. He created it to draw attention to the fact that women are not allowed to drive in the entire country of Saudi Arabia. And he timed the song to hit the web on Saturday, the day of the country's women's driving campaign.
Thirty-five women, you see a woman here, broke the law by driving cars and then posting videos of themselves on YouTube.
Now you might say, 35, that is a big deal? Well, yes, it is, because the female driving ban is not a silly thing or a thing that is not enforced. In fact, one of the strange things in Saudi Arabia is looking around and seeing all these men driving, most of whom are from Southeast Asia, and all these women sitting the back seat.
These 35 women are very incredibly courageous, especially to allow to see their faces. Because of fear, only 35 actually did it, which is why this YouTube video is such a big deal, nearly half of Saudi YouTube daily, they watched more than 90 million videos, which is more than any other country in the world.
YouTube is how Saudis saw the women driving, and YouTube can help to spark serious change. So think about this way, 60 percent of college students are female, and only 10 percent of the women actually have jobs, the lowest rate in the region. And even though something like being allowed to drive might seem trivial in comparison, it is a symbol of equality. If you can't drive, how do you get to work? How do you stay late when you need to?
In Saudi Arabia, to not drive is to not be a person. And that is what those 35 women and millions of viewers on YouTube are now fighting to change.
"AC360" starts now.