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Erin Burnett Outfront

U.S. Flying "Manned" Intel Missions Over Nigeria; Sterling Apologizes; Keith Crisco Dies; Interview with Rep. Peter King

Aired May 12, 2014 - 19:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Next, new video tonight of the girls held hostage in Nigeria. The terrorist group says it's going to negotiate. Should it happen?

Plus, L.A. Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, speaks exclusively to CNN, he slams Magic Johnson again.

And breaking news in the search for Flight 370, the American Navy has new questions about the evidence tonight. Let's go OUTFRONT.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news out of New Hampshire tonight, a search under way for victims after a home exploded on live television. Officers were first called to this home, it's 50 miles north of Boston. Watch what happened, there's reports of an officer-involved shooting.

According to our affiliate, WCBB, shortly after police arrived on the scene, the home caught on fire and then exploded. The officer was taken to the hospital, conditions so far unknown. At this point, we can't tell you why those shots were fired. We're going to have a live report from New Hampshire coming up later in the hour.

The other breaking news story we're following tonight, senior administration officials telling CNN, the U.S. is now providing manned aerial surveillance planes over Nigeria in order to try to find the more than 200 girls kidnapped by terrorists there.

The United States is also sharing satellite images with the Nigerian government, but the question remains whether the United States should support negotiating with terrorists. Negotiating with terrorists is something America has vowed to never do, but it may happen. Nigerian officials say it's a real possibility and the leader of Boko Haram, he's the one setting the terms.

On that same video released today by a French news agency, these images, reportedly the kidnapped girls chanting "Praise be to Allah," their heads covered. If what you're looking at is authentic, it's the first time we've seen any of the girls since they were taken 29 days ago. This video, with all of those girls covered, sitting so far from home, chanting the Koran.

U.S. officials are now closely examining the video for clues and they say they have no reason to believe the tape is not authentic although they are not sure when it was made. Congressman Peter King, which called for Boko Haram to be designated as a terrorist group three years ago will join us, along with Juan Zarate in just a moment.

But Nima Elbagir, she made the daunting trip to the girl's village and she spoke with one of them who escaped.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In here in these rooms are where the girls were sleeping when armed men came to their dormitory gate and told them they were there to protect them. The girls started to assemble in the yard as ordered to. They didn't realize who the men really were until it was too late. This girl managed to escape. She's now too fearful to show her face. Too fearful to go back. Big lorry? They came with a big lorry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ELBAGIR: Was it one or more?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seven.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Trucks, motorbikes, residents here tell us this raid was effectively a shopping trip for Boko Haram. Over 200 girls to be sold off as bounty. A message that the militant groups (Edix) on female education must be heeded. Big men for guns to make money off terrified girls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will never go back again.

ELBAGIR (on camera): You'll never go back to school because they made you afraid?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ELBAGIR: Before the militants left, they destroyed everything they could, textbooks, the library, the laboratory, their attempt to forever shutter this school. Elizabeth Mary of France, members of the same church, their daughters were also friends, hoping one day to study medicine. They and many of their classmates never made it home from school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are pleading them to leave our daughters.

ELBAGIR: They say they still feel powerless, no closer to finding their daughters nearly a month after they were taken.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Remember, those pictures of the school and just the beds that the metal and the mattresses burned out, it's frightening and powerful, and I know it was dangerous what you did, the assignment, where you are tonight, would normally take about a day, but took you and your crew nearly four days to get there.

ELBAGIR: I think it gives you a sense of how impenetrable that terrain is. It was a tough trip, but what made it tougher is once out in the wide open spaces, you really were on your own. This Nigerian re-enforcement and build up, they were pretty light on the ground in the areas we were in and there were constant reports and rumors about movement, still movement by Boko Haram in those villages surrounding Chibok, pretty much with impunity -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Nima, thank you very much. Really amazing reporting. Thank you so much for doing that. Joining me now is Republican Congressman Peter King. He chairs the Homeland Security and Intelligence Committees along with the former deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism, Juan Zarate, the first ever assistant secretary of the treasury for terrorist financing and financial crimes.

Congressman King, let me ask you this question about a swap, girls for terrorists. The Obama administration said American policy is not to negotiate with terrorists, but should they support Nigeria freeing a lot of terrorists if that's what it takes to get these girls back?

REPRESENTATIVE PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Erin, this is one of those terribly difficult decisions, morally difficult, but I would say, no, we cannot negotiate. If it were my daughter, wife, or sister, I realize the human impact, but the fact is, once you start negotiating with terrorists, it would lead to more violence and kidnappings.

These people cannot be appeased. No, as tough as that decision is, I would say we cannot negotiate with terrorists. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into that trap, because in the end it will result in more death and carnage.

BURNETT: Do you agree, Juan?

JUAN ZARATE, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, I think it's a very difficult situation, as congressman mentioned. The reality is this group and other groups like al Qaeda have made millions off kidnap for ransom operations and continuing to deal with them fuels not only funding but their operations. It's a difficult balance. Certainly, the U.S. should not support that whether or not the Nigerians do, that's going to be their choice.

BURNETT: Juan, late last week we were told -- I was told at one point two weeks ago that the girls were probably broken up into smaller groups. U.S. intelligence sources are also saying that and some may have been moved across the border. Obviously, we do not know the video that I just showed, we don't know exactly when it was shot and we can't tell you for sure it was a large group of girls, although they are saying they have no reason to think it's not genuine. If it is a large group of girls, is this a sign of hope that there's so many in one place?

ZARATE: Hopeful in two ways, one, they are alive and appear to be OK for now, at least based on the video, and secondly, they are collected, they are together. And I think you're right, the concern for counterterrorism security officials is that the girls would be separated into small groups, sent across borders, to Chad, Cameroon, Niger, other places, that makes it difficult to hunt them back and have them return, so I think having them together creates an opportunity here potentially for those trying to search and find the girls.

BURNETT: Right. The U.S. still saying no Special Forces or boots on the ground. Congressman King, should the Obama administration change that, even though that could mean, and I think people would have to accept this possibility, loss of American life?

KING: Well, I think -- I don't want to advocate the use of troops. If the president decided to use Special Forces, I certainly would not oppose them. Right now our main asset is providing intelligence, providing surveillance, working with the Nigerians rather than us being involved in a Special Forces operation, but if the president did decide to do that and he thought it would work, I would certainly support him on it, but I'm not urging him to do that. I realize all the complexities involved, the dangers involved. As commander in chief, if he made that decision, I would support him.

BURNETT: You wrote a letter in 2011 saying designate Boko Haram a terrorist organization. It wasn't done until six months ago. You're among those blaming the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for this. You said this is clearly a failure of the secretary of state, but President Bush's ambassador to Nigeria said that was unfair, said I don't think it's fair and along with a good many Nigerian experts at the time, we all opposed designation. Don't elevate the group, put a bounty on this guy's head, have guys like Juan Zarate out there making sure these guys can't spend their money.

KING: I disagree with that. I strongly believe, myself, Congressman Meehan, this was bipartisan, by the way. This wasn't just Republican members of Congress saying that Boko Haram should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Also the Attorney General's Office, Lisa Monaco, the deputy attorney general, she wrote to the State Department saying that the position of the Obama Justice Department was.

That it should be declared that Boko Haram should be declared a foreign terrorist organization because then they could have gone after people who contributed to it and taken extra steps to dry up their funds and focus attention on Boko Haram and the fact, I give Secretary Kerry credit for doing it in 2013. We said in 2011 and twice in 2012.

BURNETT: Quickly, before we go, Juan, would the formal designation for the group had made a difference?

ZARATE: I think the congressman is right, it would have not only focused more resources and attention on Boko Haram, but it would have forced the policy question, Erin, which I think still exists, which is how are we going to treat this group, which is growing, it's a western outpost of al Qaeda, has ties with the al Qaeda network, what should the U.S. role be in treating these regional groups and that's a broader policy and strategy decision that goes along with that designation.

BURNETT: All right, thanks very much to both of you. I appreciate it. Everyone, let us know what you think about that, whether they should be negotiating with terrorists.

OUTFRONT next, Donald Sterling has apologized for his racist rant, but doubled down on Magic Johnson, slamming him again. Anderson Cooper is OUTFRONT next with his exclusive interview.

And Beyonce's sister appears to attack Jay-Z in an elevator. It is all caught on camera.

And a breaking story out of New Hampshire we're now following. What caused this house to explode on live television?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Donald Sterling pulling out all the stocks to keep his NBA team. The owner of the L A. Clippers apologizing for his racist rant during an exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper. Now, this is the first time Sterling has spoken since the scandal broke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD STERLING, L.A. CLIPPERS OWNER: I'm not a racist. I made a terrible, terrible mistake. And I'm here with you today to apologize and to ask for forgiveness for all the people that I've hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Anderson Cooper is OUTFRONT.

All right, I mean, Anderson, you and I were just, obviously, talking during the commercial break. I mean, I'm just so curious, what was that like at that moment? I mean, you were out there trying to get to talk to him, trying to (INAUDIBLE). You finally sat down with him. Did he have an entourage?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, AC360: You know, what was interesting, a lot of times when you meet a person like this, you know, at his position with his money he has a, you know, full media team, P.R. people, attorneys with him. He had none of that.

He had two friends of his, a woman and a man at his house and that was it. You know, it was pretty bare boned. You don't get the sense this was a really coordinated, well thought out media strategy. I think it's a coincidence that he happened to talk on the same day his wife was talking to Barbara Walters. I don't think that --

BURNETT: They are not talking to each other?

COOPER: No evidence they are talking to each other or that was in any way planned out. She clearly is trying, you know, just to distance herself as much as possible from him. And, you know, he clearly believes that by apologizing, that he wanted to finally get his voice out there. I asked him why it took him so long, but he believes that there's still a path that he can pull this out somehow, that he can still retain ownership of the team.

BURNETT: So he apologized to you, but then -- well, he went off about Magic Johnson. And that's what I wanted to ask you about. He said the only person he's talked to, apparently, according to you, right, is Magic Johnson. In terms, of having a conversation.

I want to play just the exchange that you had with him, a little bit of it. But I know you have a lot more coming up, but here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STERLING: He knew the girl well.

COOPER: Did you apologize to him?

STERLING: Well, if I said anything wrong, I'm sorry. He's a good person and he -- what am I going to say? Has he done everything he can do to help minorities? I don't think so. But I'll say it, you know, he's great. But I just don't think he is a good example for the children of Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And I know there's a lot more to that exchange that you're going to have. Was there some sort of a sexual jealousy going on there?

COOPER: Well, initially, Magic Johnson came up in the conversation because the original tape with V. Stiviano, you know, he brought that up, that why are you being photographed with Magic Johnson and why putting it on your Instagram, don't bring it to games, you can do whatever you want in your private life, you can hang out with him, but don't bring him to games.

He clearly -- he said that magic Johnson had two conversations with Magic Johnson after all of this broke out. He certainly seems to have a perception that magic Johnson wants to take over the Clippers, there seems to be some enmity that Donald Sterling has towards magic Johnson.

I will tell you, I think tomorrow what people will be talking about from this interview, besides their judgment on the honesty of his apology, is his comments on Magic Johnson, because they are -- I mean, that was -- that's a --

BURNETT: That's tip of the iceberg.

COOPER: I mean, he goes repeatedly on and on and on attacking magic Johnson in ways which I think are really going to shock people.

And Magic Johnson, by the way, you know, to answer Donald Sterling's question about what has Magic Johnson done, Magic Johnson for 20 years has had a Magic Johnson foundation which worked for HIV AIDS awareness, which is you know, work for education for community outreach. So he has a long track record of raising millions and millions of dollars, not only businesses, but just, you know, foundation work.

BURNETT: All right. Well, I'm really eager to hear what he had to say about Magic Johnson. Anderson was talking a little bit about it during the commercial break and I'm just -- I really cannot wait.

Thanks so much to Anderson. You have to see Anderson's full interview with Donald Sterling. It's coming up at the top of the hour.

And now, Anderson was mentioning V. Stiviano. We're also hearing from her, the woman, and some of the women claiming to be her friends. They claim CNN that it wouldn't surprised them if that secret recording was actually all part of Stiviano's plan to make it in Hollywood.

Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): V. Stiviano as these women see her, clubber, crown wearing performer and reality TV star hopeful.

Santa Monica police department, she was Monica (INAUDIBLE). Arrested in 2004 for shoplifting. Nearly a decade later, now V. Stiviano with no record of the demeanor, posing in these pictures for a reality TV show loosely called "Friends with Benefits."

Is this V. Stiviano's reality TV show?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's her pilot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's loving every second of it.

LAH: These four women say they know, because they are the ones in this picture and they say they've known her for years. Rachel Lee says she knew Stiviano best, going with her to Clippers games and events. She's pictured here meeting her friend's boss, Donald Sterling.

RAQUEL LEE, FRIEND OF V. STIVIANO: I felt they had a really good relationship.

LAH: The relationship these women say they saw was one of billionaire and Hollywood up and comer.

TIFFANY LUCK (ph), FRIEND OF V. STIVIANO: Fame seeking, money seeking, attention seeking, above all else.

NIKKI WISE, FRIEND OF V. STIVIANO: She's always said, I'm going to be famous. She would walk around with body guards, and I've personally heard her say, you know, when I'm done with Donald Sterling, I'll own the Clippers. It's nothing that she was hiding. I feel like maybe it was something she was planning for awhile and she made her move when she saw the opportunity.

LAH: The ensuing spectacle, act two in what these women call an unscripted, yet somehow predictable show. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to roller skate in front of my house where I know the paparazzi is outside. I'm going to wear these big stupid visors on my face because I want everybody to look at me. That's who she is.

LAH: Given where we are today, does any of who she is as a person really matter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It should matter.

LAH: You are a unique group, including V., because you're all biracial. How much did you discuss race?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot. I only hang out with you black girls because you're pretty and you're actually doing things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's coming off as this black woman who outed this white man, when you don't even like the fact that you're black.

LAH: In an interview with Barbara Walters, V. Stiviano defended her relationship with Sterling and said she suffered in this episode, too.

V. STIVIANO, EX-GIRL FRIEND OF DONALD TRUMP, CHAIRMAN, CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: STERLING: It hurts to see people speculate, assume, say, throw darts at you when they don't know you, when they don't know your story. When they don't know the truth. All based on hearsay and assumptions.

LAH: Stiviano's attorney says about these women, they are not her friends. He says his client hasn't seen them in years and added, everybody has an agenda. The women agree, and alleged Stiviano has nearly accomplished hers.

WISE: I think her five minutes are almost up. She's going to have to do something else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she might. She might.

LAH: This is, after all, an unfolding tale based in Hollywood.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Still to come, Clay Aiken's congressional opponent found dead today. What happened ? We have got Dana Bash live on capitol Hill OUTFRONT.

And breaking news on the search for flight 370. The U.S. Navy tonight raising new questions about the evidence.

And more breaking news of this house in New Hampshire. It exploded on live television just moments ago. A live report ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news in a closely watched congressional race.

The businessman locked in a razor thin race with former American Idol star Clay Aiken has died. Keith Crisco was running a very close second, a Democratic primary for North Carolina checking congressional district, only 300 votes behind Aiken, and then Crisco died today.

Dana Bash is in Washington.

Dana, what happened?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears that he fell and that's about as much as we know about what the cause of death was. And certainly in the short term, everyone I talked to is trying to grasp the tragedy and shock that this candidate, Keith Crisco, dying and an balance over the real political impact on the race he was in with an American idol celebrity.

You mention it was razor thin, the Democratic primary was last Tuesday. But they were still counting the votes, trying to figure out where things stood. A Democratic source I talked to, Erin, said that they thought at least tomorrow it would be announced in favor of Clay Aiken. He was posed to have a celebratory event, as you say, but Aiken issued a statement saying he was going to suspend campaign activities.

I just want to read you a tweet that he sent out, that is Clay Aiken. "I'm stunned and deeply saddened by Keith Crisco's death. He was a gentleman and good and honorable man and extraordinary public servant."

BURNETT: What does this mean, Dana, for the race for the house overall? Obviously, this is going to be a crucial midterm.

BASH: Absolutely. You know, this tragic news will all be ensure that there is a celebrity on the Democratic ticket for this North Carolina house race, but even with Clay Aiken running, Democrats I talked to privately said that the chances are very slim, but he will beat the Republican incumbent, Congresswoman Renee Ellmers. She is a very Republican North Carolina district. Mitt Romney won huge, about 60 percent of the vote, two years ago -- Erin.

BURNETT: Dana, thank you very much.

And why would Beyonce's sister attack Jay-Z? According to the Web site, TMZ, we're going to show you surveillance video they have that shows the superstar's younger sister, Salon (ph), screaming at the rapper and then wildly kicking and hitting him.

All of this went down in an elevator in a hotel in New York City. A large man believed to be a body guard tried to break it up, all while Beyonce stands quietly in the corner. The incident went on for about three and a half minutes before all three walked out of an elevator.

Obviously, at this point, we don't yet know motive or anything like this, but we cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the video. We did though reached out for a comment, we have not heard back.

Well, OUTFRONT next, breaking news out of New Hampshire, a home exploding on live television, the details next.

And new doubts about the search for flight 370. Could those pings have come from something that was not the plane?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news: police in New Hampshire on the scene of a home that just exploded on live television. It happened in Brentwood, 50 miles north of Boston. Officers called to the home after multiple shots were fired. According to our affiliate WCVB, an officer was shot and shortly afterwards the home caught on fire, and then as you'll see, just explodes.

Adam Sexton is a reporter for WMUR on the scene joins me now on the phone.

And, Adam, what have you learned about who was inside the home at the time of the shooting and what was happening here?

ADAM SEXTON, WMUR (via telephone): Well, we've heard from neighbors that may be a domestic incident of some kind. This is a 55 and older community, couple of neighbors we've heard from says the man living in his home was in his 80s. He had a son with him in his 40s. They describe the son as a bit of a reclusive individual, didn't know much about him. It's possible that he may be involved.

But at this point, we do not know anything officially, other than one person transported to a local hospital. They have not updated that person's condition in awhile. The injuries are believed to be critical, though.

The explosion, though, was tremendous. We were all at a media assembled probably about 300, 400 yards away from the home, couldn't quite see, we were starting to see more black smoke and then just, boom, cloud went up. Certainly, more than just your average propane tank or any kind of barbecue explosion or something like that.

BURNETT: So, do you have any knowledge at this point as to whether they are thinking the explosion itself was planned or something may have been put in the house to cause it? Or that's all still in question?

SEXTON: Well, we heard quite a bit of ammunition being expended in the fire afterwards. Tough to say without additional information from law enforcement at this point what was going on, but neighbors did say there was the initial response of a domestic incident, one officer responded, there was some gunfire, then officers responded, more gunfire, again.

So, it's tough (AUDIO GAP) even more (AUDIO GAP) reports of ammunition most likely being expended in the fire. So, it sounds like there was a tremendous amount of ammo in this home. The explosion, though, it's tough to say what it is, but it is certainly tremendous. BURNETT: All right. Adam, thank you very much. Adam Sexton, as we said, reporting live from that scene.

And breaking news now on the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Tonight, new concerns about whether the signals detected in the Indian Ocean are from the missing plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. A CNN source says U.S. Navy officials are now calling on experts to reanalyze the pinger data.

Now, as you can see here, there were four reported ping events, as you can see, on different dates. And "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that searchers are, quote, "increasingly suspect that the last two reports, as you can just see, search three and four on Tuesday, April 8th, did not come from Flight 370."

At this hour, the Ocean Shield is on its way back to the area where the pings were detected to resume searching. The Bluefin-21 is going to be going down on its next dive within hours. This actually is going to be its first dive in quite some time, in over a week.

Rene Marsh is OUTFRONT.

And, Rene, why are officials now having doubts about the ping data, and as we said, specifically those two sets of pings that were originally observed on April 8th?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: That's right. So, Erin, a U.S. Navy source revealed to us today that reanalysis of some critical data is under way right here in the United States. The source says a couple of agencies, U.S. agencies, as well as consultants, they are now taking a fresh look at the pinger data.

Crews, as you know, they've centered their search around those four pings believed to be from Flight 370's black boxes. CNN has now learned that in three to four weeks, these U.S. agencies and consultants are now expected to say whether they believe those sounds were from the black boxes or something else.

Why do they have doubts? Because of the frequency, as well as the length of time at which they were detected.

Also, Erin, "The Wall Street Journal" are reporting about doubt coming from, of all places, the people searching for the missing plane. According to "The Wall Street Journal," an Australian naval officer says further analysis of pings number three and four has led authorities to doubt that they were from a manmade device. That means the pings may not have been from the black boxes after all -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Rene, thank you very much.

And, you know, pretty incredible reporting there, not even from a manmade device. Let's bring in our aviation analyst Miles O'Brien, Arthur Rosenberg, and our safety analyst, David Soucie.

Great to have all of you with us. Miles, you just heard Rene's reporting, that they are saying half of the pings, two of the events of the four events, they now think did not come from a manmade device, but came from something else. What something else, possibly?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: That's a great question. If it's not manmade, what would make that noise at that frequency and supposedly at that one-second cadence, which is the key here, right? That's what they are listening for. Not just the frequency, but the fact it makes that noise every second, regularly.

I don't have a good answer for that. I'm not an expert on that. We need somebody like David Gallo here to answer that question.

But I do know this -- that first and long ping, that two-hour-plus ping, which they haven't really investigated, that might yield something. And remember, no matter what you guys say about this, these are the only pings they have, the only thing they have to go on. They can't not continue to look there, at least to rule it out.

BURNETT: Right. David, Angus Houston, the Australian in charge of the search, just responded saying the four signals together constitute the most promising lead we have. You know, are they right to keep looking, even though I think it's important to emphasize when you look at this, all of the frequencies that they got came in at different frequencies.

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well --

BURNETT: Go ahead, David. >

SOUCIE: Go ahead, was that for me? OK.

They did come in at different frequencies, and so far, have been looking (AUDIO GAP) is right. You know, we need to keep looking, they need to keep putting the machines out there, but why they put the Bluefin out by itself again? I don't quite understand that. Maybe they weren't able to get the other equipment that they need for the deeper searches until later. So they wanted to continue finishing up where they can get with that Bluefin.

But as far as the ping frequencies, I've done a lot of research on this, we're doing --we're continuing to try to destructively test some of these pingers to try to see if we can create that 33.3 megahertz frequency. And so far, every time we've broken one, twisted one, put one in pressure, goes up, never has gone down, and in the history of all the accidents we've done in the FAA and NTSB and worldwide, there's never been a pinger reported that the frequency was lower. There's been several which the pinger recorded higher frequencies, but never one lower.

So, this is a perplexing mystery, for sure.

BURNETT: Arthur, that's crucial, what he's just reporting there, because not just the pings that the U.S. Navy is now questioning, although the Australians are saying they are still looking at them, those pings came in at 27, all right? That's really low. Those are the ones they're now saying they don't think are it.

But the most promising pings, the ones that they put the Bluefin down, where everything is centered around came in at 33.1, as you just said, below the 37.5. According to what David is saying, all these pings might be bad.

ARTHUR ROSENBERG, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Right. Well, Angus Houston said today, if you were listening very careful to that interview, which I did, that they actually put pingers in the water to test and then when they listened for the pings that they heard, they had a very good correlation.

So, I would say that the 37.5 versus the 33 that we actually had is within the noise level and the margin of error for reasons as of yet that we don't understand. In sharp contrast to the areas three and four where we have pings frequencies at 27 kilohertz. That's outside the margin of error.

BURNETT: All right. Just to be clear, the most promising ones came in at 33.3. I don't want to round, because I know, obviously, that's crucial.

But, Miles, what do you make of this? I mean, you're hearing two different things here from Arthur and David.

O'BRIEN: Well, let's not forget that the manufacturer of the pinger told CNN it's quite possible the pingers, as they degraded, did emit at 33.3.

BURNETT: He did. He said that on the show, but I mean --

O'BRIEN: On this show, you got it.

BURNETT: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Let's -- I mean, David -- with all due respect to David, this is the guy who makes the pinger and he said it's possible. Why would he come on and say it's possible when it isn't, and lead people on a wild goose chase?

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: Go ahead, David, respond, please?

SOUCIE: This is the same guy that said when you store these pingers on the shelves in Malaysia at 120-degree weather and high humidity, it would have no effect, yet in his own manufacturing recommendations, it said it must be kept in a cool and dry place.

So, I'd like to talk to Duquesne himself, the manufacturer, and find out, but so far they haven't responded to any of our experiments we're doing.

BURNETT: Those are fair questions, Arthur.

ROSENBERG: But I know of no tests that we have done that would put a pinger down at almost three miles underneath the ocean with pressure at about 7,000 pounds per square inch in very cold temperatures. That 10 percent differential, I think, is within the margin of error.

And if you listen to Angus Houston today, that was an incredible bit of information he gave. We put pingers in the water.

BURNETT: Right, but --

ROSENBERG: We heard frequencies at that level.

BURNETT: If you can throw out some pings, all of a sudden they are no good, how can you trust any of the pings?

ROSENBERG: That's a great question, Erin, and I think it goes to the issue of credibility for everything that's gone on.

But I just want to go back to this one thing, the confluence argument, which we're going to get to with the Inmarsat data and these pings bring us right to that area.

BURNETT: Well, confluence of bad data, if it is bad data, is a confluence of nothing. But I only say that because Arthur is right, this is not just the pings that are being called into question, that Inmarsat data is what everything is based on and there are doubts about the satellite information, as well.

That's coming up next. We're going to talk about the new questions raised whether the whole kahuna, Inmarsat, is wrong.

Plus, the public display of affection, as people crying foul. Did Michael Sam's kiss cross the line? Jeanne Moos investigates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. A source tells CNN U.S. Navy officials are now calling in experts to reanalyze the pinger data thought to be from the plane's black boxes. They are calling into question, saying those pings recorded on April 8th, half of the pings recorded in terms of events, not in term of total time, but events, could be just wrong, something else. A whale.

Now this, could officials be searching in the wrong ocean altogether? According to "The Atlantic Magazine", experts now have serious questions about the satellite data from Inmarsat and whether it can be trusted.

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT. And, Tom, you know, this is complicated, there's a lot of acronyms and mathematicians and physicists. But a lot of them are coming together and saying, look, we don't buy the idea the satellite is pointing the way to the wreckage.

In English, what are they saying?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What this group of mathematical critics is saying is that they think the other mathematicians are wrong. They believe this search down here by Australia is fundamentally being pushed by misguided math, in some cases they believe the calculated speed of the plane may be wrong by more than 100 miles per hour. The analysis of the plane's direction may be terribly flawed, and that overall, too many assumptions are being made about what can be known from the real data on hand, and this is why.

We've talked so much about this now famous arc that searchers have made reference to. It's based on the analysis of a handful of electronic handshakes between a plane and an Inmarsat satellite high above the Indian Ocean. That's what produced this data about where it was headed. Technicians then used those brief electronic signals to calculate the most likely direction and speed of the jet and they refine their numbers again and again and again and that's how the search wound up down here.

Now, these other mathematicians that are challenging this suggest trying to force this equation out of that equipment is part of the problem, that those official calculations are not paying enough attention to other things it should be, for example, the movement of the satellite. They say there's too much wiggle room. They're saying there are too many unknowns in what was going on at the time and that this prediction out there we're hearing so much about being down there, Erin, is unlikely at best, impossible at worst.

BURNETT: So, are they saying from their analysis the search area is off a little bit, few hundred miles, or thousands?

FOREMAN: Well, maybe much, much, much more, Erin. What they are really saying is that unless there is a whole lot of data out there that we don't know about, there's just not enough in this equation in their minds to make this nearly as certain as the officials keep talking about it. They keep saying they think it's down here. They are saying, no, it could be hundreds of miles away, could be thousands of miles away. We may not know, unless there's some other data we don't know about. It's yet another amazing turn in this enduring mystery, Erin.

BURNETT: It is an amazing turn.

All right. Tom, thank you.

Now, let me bring back in Miles, Arthur, and David Soucie.

Miles, you have been demanding, pounding the table -- rightfully so -- since day one when Inmarsat came out, saying I want to back up data. And now, here we are with a whole group of physicists and engineers saying, we don't have enough -- either they have data they are not telling us about that may change this or, I mean, why don't we just get the data here?

O'BRIEN: Well, yes. I mean, it's -- yes. It's as simple as that. It's just absolutely at this point. It is pure torture for these families to allow this to continue. I see no reason why the Malaysians at this juncture should put the kibosh on releasing everything, the data, all the demands that Inmarsat used, and allow it in a much wider circle of peer-review. Some of these very smart people who have looked at this and who are part of that "Atlantic Magazine" article are still operating with incomplete information and they find a lot of holes, but it's hard to say if those are real holes or just because they don't know some important things that Inmarsat in Malaysia is holding back. By all means, it is high time to release all the data.

BURNETT: David, you share the skepticism about the location here. I mean, you were the one saying, look, this could mean that they are looking in the wrong ocean.

SOUCIE: Well, I'm not going with the wrong ocean. I still believe it's in the southern region. But I know this report from "The Atlantic" questions that.

But in my estimation it's confluence of information. Both pieces of information together exemplify to the each other, make it a stronger argument. But when they are both in question, it makes it a weaker argument, as you point out earlier. So, that's where my position is.

BURNETT: And, Arthur, I know you keep saying the confluence of data. But as David just pointed out, the data keeps getting called into question. You know, it could be exactly where they are looking. But it could be a confluence of bad data.

ROSENBERG: Anything is possible.

BURNETT: Yes.

ROSENBERG: Here's the more important point. This analysis was peer- reviewed by the National Transportation Safety Board, the AAIB, the Australian authorities, Boeing engineers, of course, Inmarsat and others.

This is the best shot that we have. And they tested it. They came up with an analysis which we haven't seen and I think the three us are on the same page that it has to be disclosed.

BURNETT: Well, they tracked other planes.

ROSENBERG: They did. That's the key. They came off -- I call it the Doppler fingerprint. And they tested that with other 777s flying in that region of the world and they got a great match.

So, they have empirical corroboration, plus analytical corroboration. And with all due respect to this "Atlantic" article, I read this cover to cover. They don't know. They are missing key information to really test what they've done.

I will say that it raises questions that need to be answered, the families are entitled to this information, and I agree with Miles, the Malaysians should release it.

BURNETT: Miles, bottom line what concerns you more? The fact that the pings are now called into question or the fact that there's a group of scientists raising questions about Inmarsat. O'BRIEN: What concerns me more is that we just don't know the methods and full data that Inmarsat used at this point. It's -- this could all be settled and we could at least have some confidence that this is the right place to search or not.

BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to all of you. We appreciate that.

And still to come Michael Sam sealed his draft day with a kiss. Did it go too far? Jeanne Moos is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: It's the kiss seen around the world. Football player Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend on national TV after he found out he was drafted into the NFL. Was America ready for that?

Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forget breaking news, we're talking breaking taboos. You know like the big strong football player celebrating by kissing his boyfriend when he got drafted. Think of all those other taboos that have been broken like the first interracial kiss on TV in 1968.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not afraid.

MOOS: Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura needed to a plot twist to seal the scene with a kiss. Beings called Platonians used mind control and forced the two into kissing, to entertain the aliens.

As for gay kisses, lesbians came first in 1991 "L.A. Law" turned a peck into a flicker of passion that smoldered, though never quite burned.

(on camera): Sometimes what's interesting is what's missing, what they didn't show.

(voice-over): In 1994, "Melrose Place" almost showed gay characters kissing. But advertisers weren't quite ready, so they cut away at a crucial moment and came back when it was over.

(Six years later, "Dawson's Creek" completed a gay kiss, and turned out the kissee was taken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jack, this is Brad.

MOOS: But perhaps the oddest first kiss was the first one ever on film in 1896. They weren't exactly Brad and Angelina that whispered sweet nothings. In fact, their nibbling technique is reminiscing of a current web sensation, bunny-eating raspberries.

And then there were husbands and wives sleeping in single beds. They don't count non-humans, like the Flintstones. It wasn't until "Bewitched" in 1964 that a wide audience saw married people sleeping together.

Actually, in 1947 there was a sitcom called "Mary Kay and Johnny" that featured a double bed. But we couldn't find any episodes to show you.

(on camera): And the first swear word on TV?

(voice-over): Once again, it was "Star Trek" boldly swore as no man had sworn before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get the hell out of here.

MOOS: Even showing a flushing toilet was a taboo until "Psycho" in 1960. Marion was permitted to flush her notes down one. Slaughter in the shower no problem but a gurgling toilet was harder to sell than bloody bath water.

What would Fred Flintstone say?

(on camera): Yabba dabba-taboo!

(voice-over): Just think in a few years, current taboos will seem positively prehistory.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And Anderson starts now.