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Erin Burnett Outfront

Obamacare's Critical Condition; Sebelius: No "Specific Plan"; U.S. Iran On Verge Of Major Nuclear Deal; Child Sex Abuse Allegation At Fort Meade; "Far Beyond Traditional Locker Room Hazing"; Space Junk To Hit Earth

Aired November 08, 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, no insurance for you? The president apologizes, but does he have a plan for the Americans who lost coverage because of Obama care? A stunning admission today.

Plus a super typhoon stretching more than 1,000 miles, slams into the Philippines. Right now the sun is just coming up. There's been no communication for hours from the hardest hit areas.

And did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone when he assassinated John F. Kennedy? Why Secretary of State John Kerry has serious doubts. You will hear it.

Let's go "OUTFRONT."

A good Friday evening to all of you. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, no fix and no plan. The president has said he is sorry for misleading Americans into thinking they could keep their health care plans under Obamacare. But today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius weighed in and said there is no plan to help people who've lost their health care and now face way higher health care costs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: There isn't I would say at this point a specific plan. The president has asked to take a look at those coverage options. But there isn't any specific proposal at the table immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Ouch! On top of that Republicans put out some shockingly abysmal numbers on enrollment in one city, Washington, D.C. Jim Acosta is at the White House tonight. Jim, another rough day.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Another rough day, Erin, President Obama was down in New Orleans, the big easy where he acknowledged that fixing the problems plaguing the Obama care web site will be far from it. He did not touch on that apology he offered to Americans who were losing their health insurance. Administration officials do insist though that they are searching for solutions for those consumers who are seeing their coverage canceled. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Obamacare continues to be in critical condition. Senate Republicans released letters from top insurance companies indicating only five people signed up in Washington, D.C. in October. The D.C. officials said those numbers don't show the whole picture of enrollment and interest.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've had this problem with the web site.

ACOSTA: The main culprit, the bugs in the Obamacare web site. Traveling in New Orleans, the president joked he wished he could take care of them himself.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I wanted to go fix it myself, but I don't write code.

ACOSTA: But the man in charge of fixing the site told reporters, it is still in big trouble.

JEFFREY ZIENTS, OBAMACARE WEB SITE REPAIR LEADER (via telephone): It remains a long way from where it needs to be. As we put new fixes in, the volume is increasing, exposing new storage capacity and software application issues.

ACOSTA: The president did not address his now historic apology to Americans who are losing their insurance after they were told if they like their plan they could keep it.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I am sorry. We're going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.

ACOSTA: CNN has learned White House officials met with House Democrats on potential administrative and legislative fixes.

SEBELIUS: There isn't any specific proposal at the table immediately.

ACOSTA: That means no comment on plans offered by vulnerable Senate Democrats like Louisiana's Mary Landrieu whose proposal would allow consumers to keep their plans even if they don't meet Obamacare requirements. Landrieu traveled with the president to New Orleans, but did not stay for the event.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: She is traveling around the state and doing unbelievable work on behalf of the people of Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: As for the Obamacare enrollment numbers, House Republicans had issued a subpoena for that information. But today a House GOP spokesperson confirmed it and now we have the letter the administration is not going to comply with that subpoena they say that those numbers will be out next week, Erin. They said they just simply did have enough time to go through that information and have it ready by today -- Erin.

BURNETT: The number everyone is awaiting. Thanks to you, Jim Acosta.

And now our second story, OUTFRONT, a big deal. The emphasis is on the word big, America and Iran may have a deal on nuclear weapons, but deal is not what the United States said it would accept months ago. The deal is so close that Secretary of State John Kerry cut short a trip to the Middle East to join the negotiations, which really is an unprecedented move.

The deal as it is emerging, obviously not formalized, I emphasize that, but it would ease some sanctions against Iran in exchange, Iran would stop enriching uranium to a level required for nuclear power or potential weapons program for a few months. During that time the plan would be that they then make a real deal. The U.S.' closest ally in the Middle East though is adamantly not on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Iran got the deal of the century and the international community got a bad deal. This is a very bad deal. Israel is not obliged by this agreement and Israel will do everything it needs to do to defend itself and to defend the security of its people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: That also is an unprecedented move to come out right away in the morning against the United States from the prime minister of Israel. Congressman Eliot Engel is the senior Democratic member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the congressman is with here on the set tonight. Thank you very much, sir, for taking time and coming in.

The new president of Iran has made it loud and clear Iran will not give up the right to nuclear power. They believe that this is an inalienable right of theirs. Obviously that means enriching to a level that will be taken off the table for a few months. Is the Israeli prime minister right? This is a bad deal?

REPRESENTATIVE ELIOT ENGEL (D), RANKING MEMBER, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Well, I think the Israeli prime minister has to do what he thinks is right for his country and I think the United States, we have to do what we feel is right for our country.

BURNETT: Is this right for our country?

ENGEL: Well, we don't know all the details yet. I am troubled by the fact there have been several Security Council resolutions saying that Iran should not enrich at all. And if this agreement allows Iran to enrich, even at a lower grade, it is troubling to me. You would think if you start off negotiations, and the base of the negotiation is that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

I think as a show of good faith at the start, the beginning for a couple months, for three months, however long the goer negotiations are, it should freeze enriching. If it is not stopping, that's troubling. It is hard to comment on specifics because we don't know them.

BURNETT: My understanding is they would be allowed to enrich, just a supposedly small amount. That could change to your point, right. This is not finalized, but you know, President Obama was upset with the comments from the prime minister of Israel. He called him later today, you know, presumably so they could work it out.

The White House summarized the call later saying the two leaders, quote, "agreed to stay in touch." That's kind of like when you break one someone saying we're still going to be friends. I mean, it wasn't really a ringing endorsement. Is the United States abandoning Israel? Does it matter if the U.S. does?

ENGEL: No. The United States is not abandoning Israel. Israel is our closest ally, certainly in the Middle East and even in the world. We exchange all kinds of intelligence and all kinds of things with them. There may be a disagreement on this and there have been other disagreements in the past. The U.S./Israel relationship is strong. It will continue to be strong.

Congress supports a strong relationship. You have to understand that the threat to Israel from Iran is existential. The Iranians' president, the former president has talked about wiping Israel off the face of the map. This is not theoretical for the Israelis. It is very, very important. So it is understandable I think that Netanyahu is very concerned.

BURNETT: The president was asked about a deal yesterday by Chuck Todd. I wanted to play for you what he said about sanctions because this is really why everyone watching should care about this so much. Here's President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: If it turned out during course of the six months when we're trying to resolve these bigger issues that they're backing out of the deal. They're not following through on it. We can crank that dial backup.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I was in Iran during the elections and it was clear the sanctions were working especially among middle class, lower class Iranians. It was hurting a lot. But the thing is once you dial back sanctions, I mean, the United States has worked so hard. It has taken decades to get many countries on board with these sanctions and they're still not all on board. Once you dial it back and open it a crack, how can you crank that dial back up because it doesn't seem that easy.

ENGEL: Well, I think you're right. I think that's a concern. It would seem to me that if you start unraveling it, even if it is a certain kind of sanctions, not the major sanctions. Iran is not even stopping or temporarily stopping spinning its centrifuges, stopping enrichment, to me it's troubling because right now we have maximum leverage on Iran. If we start loosening the sanctions that leverage is not as great as it was --

BURNETT: They're in the table because the sanctions are working.

ENGEL: Right. So when we have maximum leverage on them and they still won't say they're going to stop enrichment, at least temporarily while they are negotiating, that's troubling to me.

BURNETT: Congressman, thank you very much for taking the time and coming in. We really appreciate it.

ENGEL: Thank you.

BURNETT: Of course, we look forward to your feedback. Do you think that the deal on the table this unprecedented deal that has gotten John Kerry to go to Geneva, talks to continue to tomorrow is a good deal for the United States? Please let me know on Twitter.

OUTFRONT next, are the conspiracy theorists right about the assassination of JFK? Because the man fourth in line for the presidency of the United States says, yes, they are. It is a wow moment and it is coming up.

Plus, new allegations of threats and bullying inside an NFL locker room.

And part of 2,000-pound satellite will fall out of the sky this weekend. You probably saw "Gravity." What if it hits a really populated part of earth?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Our third story, OUTFRONT, is an allegation of child sex abuse at a major American military base in Fort Mead. Chris Lawrence is in Washington. Chris, a horrible headline. What do you know?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erin, right now the FBI is investigating one alleged case of child sexual abuse at Fort Meade on base. It involves one man and one child. We don't know the age right now, but I can tell you the base has send out hundreds of letters to parents thinking that their children may have also come in contact with this man who worked at the youth center because they want to make sure that these parents talk to their children to see if potentially there are any other cases out there -- Erin.

BURNETT: Chris, what more do you know about this person? I guess, you know, anything about him?

LAWRENCE: We know he worked there from 2005 through last year. He resigned in 2012. So the alleged case must have happened during that time. This is a youth center. They have schools on base, but this is a youth center that does sports activities, arts and crafts, computer labs, mostly with kids between sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.

But on the weekends they have younger kids who participate, first graders through fifth graders. What they're looking at, they know that he did work the kids. We don't know his specific job description. But again, those letters have gone out. They've set up a 24-hour hotline trying to see if this problem is any bigger. You know, you said it, Erin. I mean, as a parent, this is probably the scariest story you can imagine.

BURNETT: It is just horrible. Thank you, Chris.

Our fourth story, OUTFRONT," is way beyond locker room hazing. That is at least how the attorney for the offensive lineman, Jonathan Martin, is describing the abuse that his client allegedly received. David Cornwell says, for the past year and a half, Martin has been taunted, harassed and physically attack by his teammates who even threatened to have unprotected sex with his sister. John Zarrella is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jonathan Martin's alleged bullying was not his attorney says, just one voicemail laced with profanity and a racial slur. In a statement, Attorney David Cornwell alleges, quote, "Jonathan endured a malicious physical attack on him by a teammate and daily vulgar comments. It does not specifically name Richie Incognito or any players and gives no details of the physical attack."

But it does mention a quote that threatens sexually brutal acts and harm to Martin's sister. We reached out to Incognito's camp for a response, but have not heard back. Dolphin players have maintained almost to a man they had no idea anything is going on.

RYAN TANNEHILL, MIAMI DOLPHINS QUARTERBACK: It is really surprising. The whole thing is kind of mind blowing to me. It's kind of mind blowing to most of the guys on the team right now.

ZARRELLA: Most players paint a picture of Incognito as a fun loving guy, a good team mate. New details are emerging outside of the locker room that suggests a vastly different portrait of Incognito. CNN has obtained this police report from May of 2012. In it a volunteer at a Dolphins golf tournament accused Incognito of touching her inappropriately with a golf club.

The report says, quote, "He finally finished his inappropriate behavior by emptying bottled water in her face." Charges were not filed. And in a new interview with "The Los Angeles Times," one time teammate, Cam Kleeland, says of Incognito, quote, "I'm not afraid to say that he was an immature, unrealistic scum bag."

Cleveland adds, "He was a locker room cancer." According to Cleveland, Incognito wanted to fight everybody all the time, a similar description sow to have what is seen in this one video of a shirtless Incognito in a Fort Lauderdale bar calling for any takers.

Overnight in Los Angeles, Martin's dad was asked about the controversy involving his son.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I normally read many newspapers, I know. So anyway, have a good night.

ZARRELLA: As the saga plays out, Incognito has kept a low profile only seen briefly behind the wheel of his new black Ferrari. John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Ahead on OUTFRONT, did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? Secretary of State John Kerry weighs in. He said he has serious doubts about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and this is a man very informed on this issue. We'll explain.

Plus, part of a two-ton satellite is falling out of the sky back to earth this weekend and the thing is, it could land anywhere.

And why Silicon Valley executives are sending their children to school that dramatically limits the amount of time their kids are allowed to spend with the technology that makes their parents billions of dollars, an OUTFRONT report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Our fifth story, OUTFRONT, watch out for the falling spacecraft. I mean this literally because experts say that the European satellite that you see there is literally running on empty and they expect it fall apart and come crashing to earth in many pieces. This could happen as soon as this weekend. Just keep in mind, you know, when a meteorite comes in, it is a few inches. Think of the damage it can do. This is a significant story and Brian Todd is OUTFRONT with the details.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, this satellite weighs about a ton and it's about to re-enter earth's atmosphere. There is a picture of it, some animation of this very impressive looking satellite. When it re-enters earth's atmosphere this Sunday or Monday, it is expected to break up into 25 to 45 fragments. Some of them will not survive re-entry, but others will and some may weigh up to about 200 pounds.

But the European Space Agency which launched this satellite says the chances of any of us getting injured by it are minuscule, very tiny. I'm going to stop this and show you a map of where this is in real-time. This is very cool. This comes from the web site, N2YO. You can see the latitude, the longitude where the satellite is right now and the altitude. It's about 111 miles above the surface of the earth and here is where it is going.

Past South America heading south toward Antarctica, it hits Antarctica then it arcs back north. That it kind of the arc that this satellite takes. Now again, the European Space Agency saying that the chances of it hitting anyone or the debris hitting anyone are very, very minuscule because, of course, most of the earth's surface is covered by water. A little bit more on this satellite as we go to some more video of it, this was the launch in 2009, March of 2009. This satellite called "Goche", that's kind of an acronym for it. It has a long name, but it was supposed to be up for only 20 months. It has been up for more than four years, again, launched by the European Space Agency.

This is on measure the gravitational pull of the earth and the irony is that the satellite that measure the earth's gravitation pull is now being pulled back to earth by the gravitational pull.

We also spoke to the only person on earth who has ever been struck physically by a piece of falling space debris, Lottie May Williams of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She told me that the fragment that hit her in 1997 as she walked around in Tulsa weighed about the weight of an empty soda can and I asked her how it felt to get hit by it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOTTIE WILLIAMS, SPACE JUNK SURVIVOR (via telephone): It was small. It was about 4 x 6. It fits in the palm of your hand. It is not heavy but you can feel it. If it hits you, you can feel it. I heard something rustling through the trees and then it hit me. And when it touched my shoulder, I actually saw that somebody was tapping me on my shoulder. Has anybody ever tapped you on the shoulder just to get your attention? That's what it felt like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And of course, Lottie May said she kept that fragment as a souvenir. She was completely unhurt by it, kept it as a souvenir and she still has it -- Erin.

BURNETT: Wow! All right, Brian Todd, thank you.

Still to come, a deadly storm, in fact one of the strongest ever recorded. The first traumatic pictures because the sun is just starting to rise over the catastrophe as we indeed find the scale of what this catastrophe might be.

And one of the biggest Navy scandals in history, lavish gifts and prostitutes, tonight, we are there as the suspects appear in court.

Plus, Tigers Woods opens up about his girlfriend, Lindsey Von.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Welcome back to the second half of OUTFRONT on this Friday evening, a moment of silence. Airports across the United States briefly halting operations today to remember Girardo Hernandez, the TSA officer gunned down exactly one week ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to ask each of you to join us in a moment of silence to honor TSA Hernandez. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The TSA will hold a memorial service for Hernandez on Tuesday. Meanwhile suspected gunman, Paul Ciancia who was shot by a police is still in the hospital. He's been charged with murder.

The face of Martin Macneill is now in the hands of eight jurors. They are going to decide whether the former Utah doctor murdered his wife to runaway with his mistress. During closing arguments, the prosecution highlighted an ID card application as evidence of his quote, "cold and calculated plan."

On the form, Macneill and the woman you see there, his lover, Gypsy Willis, write that they are married and the wedding date that they listed was April 14, 2007, the very day of his wife's funeral.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD GRUNANDER, PROSECUTOR: That is what this application screams. I am glad the bitch is dead. The defendant may well have said it. May as well have said in his application, I murdered Michelle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The defense attorneys meanwhile called Macneill's affair a quote, "alternative lifestyle" arguing there isn't enough evidence for a guilty verdict. If convicted, Macneill faces 15 years to life in prison.

Now, when you hear the words Tiger Woods, you don't think nerd. In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Rachel Nichols, though, Tiger opens up about his girlfriend, the superstar skier Lindsey Vonn. And listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL NICHOLS, HOST, "UNGUARDED": I do have to ask you about your girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn. I believe when someone asked to describe you, they asked her, they said, she said he's funny and a little bit dorky. Is that fair?

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I guess so. My teammates used to call me Urkel back in college.

NICHOLS: Oh, OK.

WOODS: Yes, I do have that little nerdy side of me. That's probably why I've got in to Stanford.

I like to have fun. I enjoy life, and very competitive. And I think that's one of the reasons why we get along so well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Be sure to tune in to Rachel's "UNGUARDED" tonight at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. You can see the full interview with Tiger there.

And our sixth story OUTFRONT is breaking news on the super typhoon in the Philippines. So, you may have heard about this storm by now. It was the strength of an extreme category 5. I mean, the speed with which the winds struck the Philippines, nothing like that has ever happened here.

Some of the hardest hit areas are still unreachable at this hour, have been completely cut off from communication since 3:00 a.m. today. Now, it's just past 8:30 a.m. in the capital of Manila. Officials are starting to get some of the first glimpses of destruction.

Kathy Novak from our affiliate SBS is OUTFRONT from Manila.

And, Kathy, I know you've just gotten some new information about communication with one of the hardest hit areas. What are you hearing?

KATHY NOVAK, SBS AUSTRALIA: Well, we're hearing that the government had been having trouble getting in touch with its representative, the secretary of the interior, who had been in Tacloban. That is the worse hit area in the region there. And just now, they have confirmed that they were able to speak to their secretary of the interior, and they are reporting extensive damage.

But because of this breakdown in communications where people haven't been able to get any information from these areas, the death toll officially still stands at four. But as I say, that may be largely because people just cannot make contact with people in the region. I know there are families here in Manila who have been desperately trying to talk to their loved ones and have had no success. And that is the major fear, we're coming up on 24 hours and some of these families haven't heard anything. And we know just how strong this super typhoon was.

When we see those pictures, the flooding in the streets, the debris flying through the air, obviously, families around the country are very fearful for what might have happened to their loved ones.

Also in that region, Erin, is the island of Bohol which just last month was hit by a 7.1 magnitude quake. That killed more than 200 people and left more than 5,000 people homeless. That's the situation that authorities and aid agencies are having to deal with, losing people who were evacuated into tents, back out of those tents, and into evacuation centers just hoping that those schools and structures are still safe after the earthquake.

BURNETT: And, Kathy, I'm curious, when you talk about these areas where they haven't heard anything from people -- I mean, how populated were they? You're talking about four dead. People are wondering that the scale of this could be catastrophic in terms of people who may have lost their lives.

Is that a fear people have in the Philippines?

NOVAK: Absolutely, Erin. The Philippines is a hugely populated country and this storm has hit about two-thirds of the country. Many of the people have built their homes along the coast in these island areas that got just smacked by this super typhoon.

And the homes themselves are not homes that you may picture in the United States. They're quite flimsy structures made out of plywood, made out of sheet metal. And these are the kinds of structures that are being hit by a storm that has the power to knock over even the strongest buildings and rip roofs off evacuation centers, we're hearing.

So, yes, people are fearing the worst for what might have happened to these people of just because of these communication breakdowns, we cannot confirm for sure what has happened yet.

BURNETT: All right. Kathy Novak, as we said, reporting live from Manila this morning where the sun has just risen.

I want to go to meteorologist Chad Myers now.

And you hear what Kathy is saying, establishing, Chad, you know, contact with one area, one interior minister. But the scale of death and destruction here could be catastrophic.

Now, you've seen horrifically powerful storms. This one, though, sort of made them all pale in comparison. How bad is the situation?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The only way I can describe what happened in this hurricane is comparing to it a tornado. But considering the tornado to be 20 miles wide, that's the swath of this destruction. The same wind force of an EF-4 tornado, when a tornado come by your house, it is there for 20 seconds and it is gone. This wind force, 195 miles per hour, over these houses for 10 or 20 minutes before finally moved on. This is going to look like Moore, Oklahoma, did after that tornado.

Now, here's Manila. It was missed. South of Manila, about 100- mile, is that path.

It's going to look like a bowling ball went right through this area. Everything is going to be knocked down.

The next stop is Vietnam. Now, it's not going to be a super typhoon there. It's going to be equal to about a category 3 hurricane. I put the number on so you get a feel because we know American numbers, we know American statistics. They don't put numbers on typhoons or cyclones but there you go.

This is not the first storm to hit the country this year. This is now the fifth storm, the fourth typhoon. We had Haiyan, we had Nari, we had Krosa, there's Utor. This is all the Philippines, there's Manila, there's current path of the latest storm.

But, boy, isn't enough, enough?

BURNETT: I mean, Chad, you know, it's amazing. When you say a three hitting Vietnam, I'm thinking of hurricane Katrina that was a three when it hit land and look at the damage it did. I mean, you think about the Philippines, a five, 200-plus-mile-an-hour wind. It really seems unprecedented.

When you look at this in your career, major storms, how big was this one?

MYERS: There may have been other storms this big but they didn't hit land. This is in my opinion, in my 27 years, the largest storm with the potentially largest storm surge to ever hit anybody, to ever hit any piece of land, and it hit big towns down there. I mean, we talk about Tacloban, that is a pretty big town. We hope people got out.

But there's couple hundred thousand people there any given time. So, you put a storm surge of 40 or 50 feet into a town that only gets about 50 feet above sea level, you have to move people out. There is more damage and devastation than we can show yet, because we just don't have the pictures.

BURNETT: That in and of itself says so much. I mean, at this day and age, right, 24 hours in, we don't have the pictures. That might sink in to some people about the significance of this and how horrific it might have been.

Thanks to our Chad Myers as we continue to cover that. As we said, the breaking news, though, one interior minister from one of those provinces was able to talk to the Filipino government at this hour.

Well, our seventh story OUTFRONT, the U.S. Navy allegedly swapping secrets for sex. You think this is a thriller, because it's Friday night. Maybe we're doing fiction, but no, it is not fiction. It is the biggest scandal to hit the Navy in years, though.

Three senior officials arrested after accusations they were accepting bribes, including prostitutes, cash, concert tickets in exchange for information. All of it allegedly coming from a man known in Navy circles as, quote-unquote, "Fat Leonard."

Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. attorney is implicating you in a bribery scheme.

(voice-over): Dressed in the civilian clothes for court --

MICHAEL MISIEWICZ, NAVY COMMANDER: I'm sorry. I can't comment.

LAH: -- Commander Michael Misiewicz had nothing to say about his role in a suspected multimillion-dollar international bribery scheme. Prosecutors say Commander Misiewicz received thousands of dollars in gifts.

In Tokyo, tickets on see "Lion King". In Thailand, more tickets, this time to Lady Gaga.

Then, there were prostitutes and free hotel rooms.

Why? This man, Malaysian businessman Leonard Glenn Francis known as "Fat Leonard" for tipping the scales at more than 400 pounds. Francis runs defense contracting firm Glenn Defense Marine Asia that helps port U.S. naval ships.

Prosecutors say Fat Leonard and Misiewicz became close friends over private e-mails, calling each other big bro and little bro. After Misiewicz received some gifts, a Fat Leonard associate eventually declared, "We got him". Prosecutors say the two men moved U.S. Navy ships around East Asia like chess pieces, using classified information, ending up at ports where Francis' firm would overbill the U.S.

CAPTAIN KEVIN EYER, U.S. NAVY (RET): I think it would be fair to say they were seduced by Mr. Francis.

LAH: Retired Navy Captain Kevin Eyer understands this like few others. He served 30 years and was a commanding officer of a ship in Asia that frequented some of the same ports where Fat Leonard operated. He even attended parties with the lavish businessman.

(on camera): Having looked this man in the eye, can you see how that seduction could happen?

EYER: I do. He is very charming. He is very social. You know where I might go, I might be at this party and I'll have a Budweiser. Leonard is drinking Dom Perignon.

LAH (voice-over): Only the finest for Francis says Captain Eyer. The big man loved the big life, from fast cars, women and travel. And he seemed eager to share with his military friends.

In court, Francis appeared next to his alleged co-conspirator, trading in his tuxedo for a jailed jump suit and shackles.

EYER: You can see how if you fell into the mode of socializing with him, it maybe possible to get swept up by that. And that's why, you know, so many military officers are a little bit wary of him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Now, Kyung, I know I saw you there trying to get one of the naval officers to speak. I know three of them have been implicated. It's kind of stunning, like I said. It seems like the stuff in a movie plot line or something.

But where there are three, are there more?

LAH: Ah, that's it. Well, that's what prosecutors are suspecting. They say they will follow the evidence. In court documents, there is a reference to naval officers as the wolf pack and it is unclear how many others this could ill reply indicate. I should mention that Captain Eyer said this is something you never hear about in the Navy. Outside officers working for an outside agency like this. And, Erin, those three officers, they've all pled not guilty.

BURNETT: All right. Kyung Lah is going to be covering the Fat Leonard story for us.

Up next, a strong accusation about Yasser Arafat's death. And somebody trying to say they didn't do it.

And why Secretary of State John Kerry decided that he should come out and talk about John F. Kennedy's assassination and why he believes in the conspiracy theory. He's got serious doubt that's Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: And we're back with tonight's "Outer Circle".

To the Middle East in a sharp accusation from Yasser Arafat's widow. Suha Arafat tells CNN her husband was a victim of a political assassination using polonium. Authorities investigating the death have clear suspicions.

Matthew Chance is in Jerusalem tonight and I asked him to explain what the evidence shows right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Erin, the Palestinian committee set up to investigate the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat says that Israel is the only suspect. A Swiss report published this week said that specimens from Arafat's exhumed body contained unexpectedly high levels of the radioactive isotope polonium 210. The Palestinian investigator said the report showed that Arafat did not die because of old age or ill health but was instead the victim of an assassination.

Israel's government has dismissed any suggestion that it was involved, saying suspicion should instead be focused on the Palestinian officials surrounding Yasser Arafat who may have wanted to access the money the late Palestinian leader controlled -- Erin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And our eighth story, a bombshell from Secretary of State John Kerry reigniting the theories of conspiracy theories about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which, of course, was 50 years ago this month. Here's what he said to NBC's Tom Brokaw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BROKAW, NBC NEWS: Where do you come down on the conspiracy theories?

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: To this day, I have serious doubts that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

BROKAW: Really?

KERRY: I certainly have doubts that he was -- that he was motivated by himself. I'm not sure if anybody else was involved. I don't go down that road with respect to the grassy knoll Theory and all of that. But I have serious questions about whether they got to the bottom of Lee Harvey Oswald's time and influence from Cuba and Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Did not act alone.

OUTFRONT tonight, Josiah "Tink" Thompson, the author of the book, "Six Seconds in Dallas: A Micro Study of the Kennedy Assassination."

And Nick Ragone, a presidential historian.

All right. Great to have both of you with us.

Josiah, did not act alone. Look, that's not something to be honest, one expects to hear from a sitting secretary of state of the United States. That's obviously significant statement. Do you think John Kerry is right?

JOSIAH "TINK" THOMPSON, AUTHOR, "SIX SECONDS IN DALLAS": Yes. I think he's right but I think your earlier clip on the Arafat matter is really relevant here, because science seem to be solving that and I think once again, the Kennedy matter. I think science within the last 10 years has come one some very important discoveries that tell us that Kennedy actually was killed by a shot from the right front.

BURNETT: So you're saying did not act alone and that day there were others there. How many?

THOMPSON: Absolutely. Two, three, who knows? But what is clear is that Kennedy was killed by a shot from the right front. He was not killed by a shot from the depository.

BURNETT: Now, Nick, let me ask you, what is the significance of John Kerry weighing in this? Again, let me just emphasize, sitting secretary of state.

This isn't just some person. This is a person with knowledge, with gravitas, a person close to the Kennedy family, right? He volunteered on the Ted Kennedy campaign. He served for 24 years as senator from Massachusetts.

So, do we assume this isn't just John Kerry talking? This is coming out of discussions that he might have had with Ted Kennedy or the Kennedy family?

NICK RAGONE, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY: No, I don't think we can make that assumption. I think you answered your own question which is Kerry is not average Joe. He is the secretary of state. He is a former senator from Massachusetts. So, it carries a lot of weight.

But to answer -- to rebut Tink's first point, there is no science that shows he was hit from the right front. In fact, all the science, if you read Gerald Posner's book, "Case Closed", which is the definitive account, it shows he was hit from the back and it was the reflexive reaction when he got hit that his head lurched back because of the force of the exit blew his head back.

So, the science shows that he was hit from behind with two bullets. Not hit from the front. Not hit from the grassy knoll, but hit from the book depository.

BURNETT: Josiah, I mean, it sounds like --

THOMPSON: May I reply?

BURNETT: I don't want to get into an argument over right front versus back. It sounds like from the two of you, we're never going to really know.

THOMPSON: Well, Posner's book was published in the 1988. The science is all new. And your other guest is not aware of it. It came out between 2005 and the present.

RAGONE: No, Posner's back was 10 years ago at the 40th anniversary and all the sign has shown over and over again that he was hit from the front and his head came backwards as a reaction to the exit wound. There's no science that shows he was hit from the right front.

Moreover, there was no contemporaneous accounts with people that were there that there was any gunman on the grassy knoll. Years later, people said maybe I saw smoke. But there is absolutely no credible evidence there was another gunman in site.

BURNETT: Well, let me ask you this, Josiah, you know, to get this. You know, Benjamin Franklin said, somebody brought this quote to my attention earlier this week, not in the context of this conversation, but something else.

But here's the quote, "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead." Here is the thing, how could anyone have kept a version that involved multiple people a secret? I mean, things always leak out. That's the way humans are, right? It's in fiction these things happen. How can multiple people involved remain secret this long?

THOMPSON: Well, if the actual people involved were killed immediately, that reduces the number of people able to squeal, right?

BURNETT: I mean, like by a mafia hit or something, obviously not that day? Or something like that, or by the CIA?

THOMPSON: Who knows? Erin, I don't know who did it. All I know is that more than one person was shooting at the president and that Kennedy was killed by a shot from the right front. BURNETT: All right. Let me ask you this, Nick, Lyndon Johnson never accepted the Warren Commission report that there was no conspiracy, which is significant, right? So goes the John Kerry and Josiah's point of view. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his father believed the Warren Commission report was a shoddy piece of craftsmanship, to use his words.

Do you think the report was the final answer? When it came out, it was one of the best selling documents or books in America.

RAGONE: Look, the Warren report, the Dallas Police Department did the investigation, not the FBI. The investigation itself was rife with errors, sloppy. The Warren report was very quick, it was hastily done, it wasn't a wonderful document. But just because it wasn't airtight doesn't mean there was de facto conspiracy.

And over the years, you answered the question before, the Ben Franklin quote, how on earth would a conspiracy like that have been kept a secret? There's absolutely no credible evidence and it's been pored over.

Peter Jennings did a great documentary and other studies. There is no credible evidence that there's anybody else acting by Oswald. And, by the way, Oswald was an expert rifle man with the Marines. He scored a 212 and a 191 in their sharpshooter test. That means he can hit from 200 yards, a 10-inch figure, eight out of 10 times. That's pretty remarkable and he could get off three shots in 11 seconds, which has been duplicated aftwards.

BURNETT: Josiah, quickly, before we go, will we know and why would the government have an interest in covering this up?

THOMPSON: I don't think the government has any interest now in covering it up. There are many institutions and people who immediately to the bureaucratic duck and cover position after the assassination, but I don't think anyone has a reason to cover it up at this point.

BURNETT: All right. We shall see. Thanks very much to both of you. We appreciate it.

I'm curious, please, all of you to tweet us. Now you've heard those two sides, do you believe there were two, three people involved or it was a conspiracy or not?

And next, worried how much time your kids spend watching TV or playing with their smart phone or iPad? Because you should be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: And our ninth story OUTFRONT: tech overload. Twitter, the hot stock of the week, but its success depends on the young. In fact, Tweeter use among teens has tripled in three years. But new studies recommend no more than two hours of screen time a day for teens, which could be why even Silicon Valley executives, the same guys who make billions sending screens to your kids are sending their kids to schools without computers.

Dan Simon is OUTFRONT in tonight's "Money and Power".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As people go to check out Apple's new iPad, new released data points to a surge among data use in technology among children, that some worry is changing the very nature of childhood.

JIM STEYER, CEO AND FOUNDER, COMMON SENSE MEDIA: The bottom line is clear, this is the true first generation of digital children.

SIMON: Seventy-two percent of children eight and under have used a mobile device, according to Common Sense Media, a group that studies family and technology trends, that's compared to just 38 percent two years ago.

A huge spike also in toddlers: 40 percent today compared to 10 percent in 2011 for children two and under.

It poses a balancing act for parents who need to figure out how much is too much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kids love tablets --

SIMON: The options to regulate can be big and small. This ad for the Amazon Kindle Fire shows a feature to help parents limit screen time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And let's them know when they're time is up.

SIMON: Something that may be needed more than ever on all devices.

Unless your children attends a Waldorf school, where no technology is allowed and it's discouraged at home as well. This Waldorf school is where you'd least expect it, in the heart of Silicon Valley.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the way over.

SIMON: Third graders using balls to help coordinate both sides of the brain. It's all about hands on tasks.

What may surprise you is most of these children come from homes whose parents work in technology.

MATTHEW MENERINK, EBAY EXECUTIVE: I go back to my education as a computer scientist, we didn't have computers in the classroom. We had algorithms and we had logic and we had textbooks and we were working through that and really trying to understand the science behind the computer.

SIMON: Now, experts are trying to understand the implications of so much technology and whether the industry itself should play a role. (on camera): Putting aside --

(voice-over): This was my question to Apple's CEO Tim Cook at a recent conference.

(on camera): I'm wondering if you'd be willing to weigh in on the concern that sociologists and others have about the overuse of technology, especially when it comes to children. And when do you feel is the appropriate age for a parent to buy a child an iPhone.

TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: As with any tool that a kid has that's that age, parenting is key.

I like kids very young learning and having a very curated experience by their parent.

SIMON (voice-over): For the record, he didn't answer the best age to buy a phone. But mobile devices likely to be at the top of kids' wish lists as we approach the holiday season.

For OUTFRONT, Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Thanks to Dan.

And have a great weekend.

Anderson starts now.