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Erin Burnett Outfront

New Video Shows Terrorists Using American Humvees in Iraq; Pentagon Reveals Plans For Major Ground Assault; Terrorist Kill At Least 40 in Bombing in Libya; Officials Fear Missing Teens On Way to Syria To Join ISIS; Victim's Family Kept Killer's Identity from Police for a Week; FDA Has Known Devices Can Spread Deadly Bacteria; Massive Fire Rips Through Dubai Skyscraper

Aired February 20, 2015 - 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 tonight, deadly assault. A new ISIS video showing militants launching a vicious attack using American Humvees as three ISIS suicide bombers kill at least 40.

Plus, the road rage murder. One suspect still on the loose tonight and the victim's husband admitting he's known the suspect for a long time. Why didn't he tell the police that that?

And breaking news, one of the world's tallest residential buildings is on fire tonight. Live pictures here you're looking at. Are people still trapped inside 79 stories high? We'll have a live report. We're going to go there coming up. Let's go OUTFRONT.

Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, a deadly assault. New video of a fierce battle just 140 miles outside Baghdad. The video released by ISIS showing the terrorists using American armored vehicles including Humvees firing rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine guns. The militants killing many Iraqi shoulders, graphically displaying their bodies. Also in the video. Something we haven't seen before. A man seen giving spiritual encouragement to a suicide bomber before he supposedly heads off on his deadly ending.

CNN is also learning tonight that in addition to ISIS fire power and heavy equipment, the group is leaving behind a trail of IEDs and land mines. It's especially troubling in light of the American plan defensive on the ISIS strongholds of Mosul said they'll be launching in just weeks. The plan leaving open the possibility that U.S. ground troops could be involved.

Ben Wedeman is OUTFRONT tonight in Erbil, Iraq. And Ben, let me just show something in this video to everyone watching. That American Humvee. The video shows ISIS using American weapons. We have seen many of their videos of American cars. Where are they getting all this equipment?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Initially, they had a real bonanza when they drove the Iraqi army out of Mosul last June. The Iraqi army really just dropped their weapons and fled leaving behind Humvees, heavy artillery, lots of weaponry and lots of ammunition. But they have been constantly supplementing their supply of American weapons as they've, in a series of operations over the last few months have been taken over one Iraqi army base after another. So, really there in some ways, for instance, much better armed than the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the north. The Iraqi army is still well armed compared to the Kurds. But certainly ISIS has really built up an arsenal that is quite significant. Keep in mind that when the precedence of the ISIS, the insurgents in Iraq were fighting the Americans, they did not have this kind of equipment. So, they have seen a huge jump in quality and quantity of the weapons and ammunitions they have and certainly looking forward to a possible move to try to liberate Mosul from ISIS. Keeping in mind that they have this kind of weaponry was going to be one hell of a battle.

BURNETT: And I think you put it, you know, you used the right word there. I mean, you know, you've been speaking to commanders, fighting ISIS right now. They are suggesting that one of ISIS' strategies could actually prevent coalition forces from taking back Mosul. Of course, the second biggest city in Iraq and the headquarters of ISIS. What's ISIS doing?

WEDEMAN: Well, what they have been doing, the Kurds have been good at pushing ISIS back but in a lot of the instances where they have retaken towns and villages, in most instances the inhabitants who have fled have not been able to go back because so many of the buildings have been booby trapped. Keep in mind that yet again, ISIS, these are the people who started in the insurgency against the Americans. They are experts at building IEDs, improvise explosive devices. And apparently in these towns and villages the Kurds have liberated, they have left in some cases hundreds of them. And it's taken the Kurds months and months to clear them out. And of course, they don't have the kind of equipment the Americans had to jam IEDs to search for IEDs. So, it's going to be a real challenge for the Iraqi army and the Kurds to try to take Mosul, a city of two million people -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Ben, thank you very much. Raising the question of course as to whether American troops will be on the ground. Tonight the White House pushing back against criticism that the Pentagon has exposed sensitive war plans. Officials announced up to 25,000 troops will be deployed in April to attack the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.

Barbara Starr is OUTFRONT live at the Pentagon. Barbara, you know, announcing exactly how many troops you'll going to send and when you'll going to send them did seem strange to a lot of people. What's the Pentagon's defense of releasing that kind of information, that detailed and giving ISIS time to prepare.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good evening, Erin. Well, the Pentagon will tell you that the information wasn't that sensitive. They gave a broad timeframe, April, May. They gave a broad range of numbers, 20, 25,000. But what they didn't say is exactly when, exactly where the battle would unfold, exactly the movements of various troops. They say they did not give ISIS any tactical information that would give it an advantage on the battlefield that everyone in that area knows the coalition is coming after ISIS and Mosul. There had already been a number of air strikes over recent weeks at ISIS positions in and around Mosul to try and isolate them. One of the advantages may be of offering this information civilians who want the get out of the area now perhaps can make their escape and maybe, just maybe puts ISIS on high alert. If they go on high alert, you know, at the end of February or in March, how long can they stay that way? Can they stay that way until the end of April? So, it's a bit of a psychological war game, if you will, perhaps on all sides.

All right. Barbara Starr, thank you very much. And OUTFRONT now, Lieutenant Colonel James Reese, a former U.S. Delta Force commander and Admiral William Fallon, the former commander of U.S. Central Command.

Thanks very much to both of you. Colonel Reese, let me start with you. We get right to it. You believe American troops, in major numbers, are necessary and really the ISIS stronghold which is Syria?

LT. COL. JAMES REESE, DELTA FORCE COMMANDER (RET.): Erin, good evening. I do. I think what you'll going to see here in Mosul is pretty much what we have right now. The Centcom commander will tell the President here is what we need to do. No one is talking about, it make the assumption that Mosul is taking back by the Iraqis. Then by the end of next year, they push back in al-Anbar. We still have a huge strongholds in the safe haven by ISIS in Syria. And no one talks about that. And one day someone is going to have that decision to go on and eradicate ISIS out of Syria and I believe at that time you're talking 100,000 troops. If maybe because we'll have to lead that effort into Syria because we also have Assad, we'll have to worry about.

BURNETT: So, you're talking about 100,000 American troops in Syria, just to make it clear?

REESE: Just to make it clear, if we would have to go into Syria and we'd have to try to build a coalition like we have before with the Saudis, the Jordanians and everything, I believe that we would have to lead that fight into Syria. And we have two issues we have to deal with. We have to deal with ISIS and we have to deal with Assad. And with the one saving grace would be the Turks and the Turks have said for months, they're looking for our policy on Syria to see what we decide to do. But if we decide to go, we'll have to go in the -- and go it heavy.

BURNETT: Admiral Fallon, a majority of ISIS controlled cities are in Syria, by some estimates ISIS has doubled its territory in Syria. It's gone essentially on challenged. Can the President fulfill his mission of degrading and destroying ISIS without U.S. ground troops? I mean, what do you mean of Colonel Reese coming out and saying, look, you're talking about 100,000? That's what the United States put it in Iraq in the very beginning.

ADM. WILLIAM FALLON, FORMER COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I think we go back to start with first things first. And the requirement that I see for any of this activity to be successful is that the Iraqi government needs to convince particularly the Sunnis and the Kurds that if they join in this ground effort and they're going to have to be a major part of it that they will going to end up with a reasonable shake in the new Iraq. And without that, none of these efforts, how many people you throw at this, it's not going to be successful. So, the ground has to be laid in advance. We can discuss the tactics all day long. And I think first things first. Our priorities is going to be in Iraq to help the Iraqis assuming that the government does what it needs to do to help push back on these guys. But you don't just do it in Iraq. If I were back in that position today, we'd certainly be working the back door with Syria to make sure that ISIS gets degraded at every turn. You know, I saw earlier some footage of some vehicles that were captured I guess in the run up to the current events. And if ISIS uses those things, they're going to be very lucrative targets. Because we have air cover, they don't. And that's a huge difference.

BURNETT: Right.

FALLON: It's going to take people on the ground. They'll have to go in. The business of bombs and booby traps and IEDs. It's nothing new. It's the kind of thing we're run into. It's ugly. It's going to make things go slowly. But I would expect that our people are working on that right now to help train the Iraqis to get doing it. But I think any talk about Syria other than keeping ISIS off guard is going to have to wait until we take care of things in Iraq. And again, that's going to be done by the Iraqis.

BURNETT: Right. I mean, maybe the case. But then you do have to deal with Syria. Of course, it is the headquarters, it is the stronghold, it is the base for Syria. It is of course al-Sham. Colonel Reese, what do the 100,000 U.S. troops, when you talk about even considering such a thing, of course when the U.S. went into Iraq, 100,000 troops went in, when they left, frankly we're looking at what happened, right? What specifically would U.S. ground troops do that would be different? What would work by putting 100,000 American boots on the ground in Syria?

REESE: Well, Erin, it's not a pretty picture. I mean, we all know that and I'm not advocating that but I'm just trying to be a realist here that eventually we're going to have to deal with Syria. And the other Arab forces are not, I think they will come to play. And I think they're forgive some forces, a battalion here, a brigade here. But we'll have two issues there. And, you know, the admiral knows just as well, better than I do because he commanded Centcom. Yes, we do have to concentrate in Iraq. This could take a good year, year and a half in Iraq. But when we swing towards looking at ISIS in Syria, there's not degradation, then you have the Assad issue too. You're looking at, I'm just looking at a model very similar to what happened in Iraq. And we'll have to commit to that and then there will be a whole aspect of nation building because Syria will then have to put a leader in there and that's where we have to hope that the Arab countries help us decide how to do that. But it's not a pretty picture.

BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much to both of you. American public has swung pretty dramatically. A CBS poll had up from 37, 57 percent of Americans now in favor U.S. ground troops against ISIS.

OUTFRONT next, at least 40 people killed by suicide bombers. ISIS gaining more ground on Europe's doorstep. Could they attack there, next?

A new information, the Vegas road rage murder. The victim's family knew the suspect. Why did they wait a week to tell police?

And breaking news tonight, we're following this. We'll going to have a live report. This is one of the world's tallest apartment skyscrapers. They're live pictures. It's on fire tonight spreading all the way from the bottom to the top of the 79th story building in the early hours of Saturday morning. This is the torch tower in Dubai. That 80 stories tall. We'll going to have a live report on exactly what's happening with this tragedy. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: More on our top story tonight. The threat of ISIS. At least 40 people are dead in an ISIS attack today, up a gateway to Europe. ISIS claiming responsibility for three suicide car bombs that exploded today in Libya.

Ian Lee is OUTFRONT live in Cairo tonight. And Ian, what more do you know about these horrific series of attacks?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, we know that they targeted a police headquarters in a city of El Kobba. We also know that they hit a gas station as well. And they also targeted a speaker of parliament although he wasn't at home at that time. But the majority of these casualties at the gas station, this ISIS is out of retaliation for those air strikes that Egypt conducted earlier this week on the city of Derna, an ISIS stronghold in the northern part in the north, Eastern part of Libya. Egypt forces targeting weapon's depos. Also training facilities, now the Libyan army says that 40 people were killed in those air strikes. We don't have independent confirmation of that. But this is the largest attack we've seen in Libya in quite a white. And it also shows how ISIS is growing in their capabilities, able to target simultaneously different sites, also getting high casualties. This is just another bit that we've seen as ISIS has grown stronger in Libya -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Ian Lee, thank you very much live from Cairo. As Ian reporting growing stronger in Libya. About 100 miles from the south coast of Italy. And around the world, people more and more of them are becoming radicalized inspired by attacks like that horrific major attack in Libya today. Tonight, British authorities are searching for three teenage girls. They say they boarded a train to Turkey, they say those girls are trying to get their way into ISIS stronghold Syria. Jim Sciutto is OUTFRONT.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, a senior British diplomat tells me that the recruitment by ISIS of women and girls is, quote, "A clear and disturbing trend" and warns that the girls involved in this particular case are at risk of sexual and other exploitation if they make it to the war zone in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): These three young British schoolgirls are believe to be the newest foreign recruits to ISIS. Caught on surveillance cameras at London's Gatwick Airport with their luggage in tow. London police fear they fled Britain for Syria to join Jihad.

COMMANDER RICHARD WALTON, METROPOLITAN POLICE: We don't know how these three girls have come up with this plan. We don't know what has enticed them, what has encouraged them to go to Syria. But we obviously believe they are heading towards Syria. But we just don't know how it's happened. The parents themselves are mystified.

SCIUTTO: The Muslim girls have been missing since Tuesday when they boarded a flight headed to Istanbul, Turkey. This is the same airport that Hayat Boumeddiene used to enter Syria right before her husband Amedy Coulibaly carried out the deadly shooting at a Parish kosher market. She's still wanted by French police and now believed inside Syria. Turkey has been the key transit point into Syria for recruits to ISIS and other extremists groups. Turkish and European authorities are still struggling to stem the flow. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson told Wolf Blitzer's Thursday that the U.S. is tracking these movements as best it can.

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We have systems in place to track these individuals as they come and go. It's difficult to pick up so called broken travel.

SCIUTTO (on camera): What is that, broken travel?

JOHNSON: Where you fly to country A, and then you go to country B on the ground saying, we don't know that fact.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): A senior British diplomat tells CNN that women are a new and growing target for ISIS recruiters. The terrorism research group tracked estimates that nearly one in six ISIS foreign recruits are women. And that ISIS recruiting network extends to all the way to the U.S. homeland. In October, three teenage girls from Colorado were intercepted at Frankfurt Airport in Germany as they were trying to make their way to Syria to join ISIS. It was their parents who tipped off the FBI. Another American, 19-year-old Shannon Maureen Conley was arrested at Denver International Airport in April last year on a way to an ISIS camp near the Turkish Syrian border. She was sentenced to four years in prison after confessing that she'd wanted to become an ISIS bride and waged Holy War.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: The three British girls are friends with another British girl who traveled to Syria in December. In fact, police interviewed them at the time but did not consider them to be likely ISIS recruits. Now, UK police are concerned that Turkish airlines did not alert them when the girls boarded the flight. That should have been Erin, they say, a warning sign.

BURNETT: All right. Jim, thank you. And joining me now, our national security analyst Fran Townsend, who served as Homeland Security advisor under President George W. Bush.

Fran, you know, we just saw images there of women, you know, in full Abaya and hijab shooting shotguns. One in six recruits as Jim reporting going to ISIS are female. Why does ISIS want these women and specifically why does it want western women and girls?

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Erin, look, the appeal to these women, it seem odd to most western women, right? We have incredible freedom here. And we know from things like the ISIS women's manual that the intelligence that's been collected that they don't enjoy those freedoms there. They must cover. They must be under the sort of the control of a man and you wonder why they would do it. Well, the answer is, it's much the same as the appeal to men. There's this romantic heroic notion of jihad that's been appealing to men for decades and now they have turned their attention to women. Look, we know that women have been used in sort of the earlier al Qaeda phases. Women as couriers to move weapons, to move money. And we see it just as the pictures we have shown during the segment that they use women as fighters. We have seen images on social media of these women being trained as fighters.

BURNETT: Which is pretty incredible, because you know, when you look at the rules, right, it has to be accompanied by a male guardian, but you also being trained as a fighter, you know, those two things seem mutually exclusive to a lot of people. I mean, what is it that ISIS wants with western women and girls, you know, people make assumptions, they say are they some sort of concubine or going to be forced brides. Is there any truth in that?

TOWNSEND: Oh, there sure is. We do know that these women are lured by this false propaganda that's there's a rule for women in this new caliphate. And women get there and realize that they've lost these freedoms. And people, there's no ability to leave. Once you're in Syria or in Iraq under the control of ISIS you're not free to say by the way, I've changed my mind, I'd like to return to Denver or Gatwick, it's not going to happen. And so, we know that they are sold into sexual slavery. Their sex is forced upon them. They are held captive. This is not the sort of, you know, Wild West romantic life that the picture that's portrayed to them.

BURNETT: No, it isn't. Of course, you see them fighting and there's some who might see it that way. So, what about these three girls? They're trying to join ISIS, they were last seen boarding that plane to Turkey this week. Do you think they'll be able to capture them or not before they go to Syria?

TOWNSEND: You know, there's a lot I suspect is going on behind the scenes. Clearly law enforcement and the Great Britain are frustrated that the Turkish Airlines didn't tip them off. But now we know the girls' parents are upset. You can be sure the authorities have gone to the girls' parents, can we see their computers? Can we look at e-mail accounts of these girls? Did they have cellphones? They must have taken it with them? Can we track those cellphones? There's all sorts of intelligence capability that will be turned to try to pinpoint exactly where these girls are to try and intercept and before they cross that border.

BURNETT: Fran Townsend, thank you very much. And OUTFRONT next, more questions about the victim's husband in the road rage murder. He knew the person who shot his wife but he waited a week to tell police. Could he face criminal charges?

And the deadly super bug outbreak, how a common medical tool is spreading a so-called nightmare bacteria. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to show us exactly how it happens with one of those instruments right there.

And breaking news with one of the world's tallest residential towers, it's on fire tonight. Up and down. Almost 80-story building. A fire breaking out at 2:00 a.m. In Dubai, we'll going to be following the story. We have breaking details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: New developments in the case of road rage that left a mother of four dead. I want to show you the mugshot. This was released today of Erich Nowsch, the 19-year-old in custody for the murder of Tammy Meyers. He was arrested yesterday after an intense stand-off with police just a block away from Meyers' home. Now, there is another suspect still on the loose. But tonight, there's serious questions about the victim's family. They all knew who the killer was for a week. So, they knew who the killer was for a week. Police meantime were in the midst of a manhunt. So, why did the family, did Meyers' husband wait a week to tell police who gunned down his own wife?

Sara Sidner is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Erich Nowsch lives just one street away from Tammy Meyers, the mother of four he's accused of killing. The surprise for folks around here and police, the victim and suspect knew each other well.

CAPTAIN CHRIS TOMAINO, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: That didn't all come together until today.

SIDNER: Today meaning the day of the standoff. Meyers' husband explaining the connection to cameras after the teen's arrest.

ROBERT MEYERS, HUSBAND OF ROAD RAGE VICTIM TAMMY MEYERS: My wife spent countless hours at that park consoling this boy. And he's probably watching us right now. And I know he's got to feel bad because she was really good to him. She fed him, she gave him money. She told him to pull his pants up and to be a man.

SIDNER: Neighbors say drug deals are common in the neighborhood park where Nowsch hung out a lot. Now, his Instagram reveals pictures of what appears to be marijuana. But now his childhood friend tells us, she simply can't believe he could be the shooter.

KAILIN (ph), ERICH NOWSCH'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND: I just don't think Eric did this. I think the other two guys, whoever is out there I think they have more to it. Because I just don't -- I don't believe it. I don't believe Eric would do it at all.

SIDNER: Police are accusing Nowsch of murder and attempted murder. But they are also looking for another suspect.

Initially, police said three people may have been in the car when Tammy Meyers was shot and killed in her driveway.

(on camera): After that emotional press conference, Robert Meyers Sr. pulled me back behind his truck to give me what he said were important details that had not been shared. What happened in that second confrontation between his wife and son and the suspects?

The family story plays out like this: Tammy Meyers and her daughter returned home after a near-miss collision and argument with Eric Nowsch. Since he knows where they live, Meyers goes back out with her adult son who regularly carriers his concealed weapon to keep the suspect away from their home.

According to Robert Meyers, his wife and son locate the suspect near a school. They're shot at and rushed back home, but they're followed. The suspect opened fires again. This time hitting Tammy Meyers in the head.

ROBERT MEYERS, HUSBAND OF ROAD RAGE VICTIM TAMMY MEYERS: Mommy knew who this was. She didn't want it to come back here. She tried to get him to go somewhere else. She was afraid.

SIDNER: But a police report shows the suspect's friends told police it was one of the Meyers who pointed the gun threatening the suspect first during the second encounter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Sara, you actually had a chance to speak to Robert Meyers today, the husband of Tammy. What did he tell you about how all this happened?

SIDNER: You know, it's interesting. All these details tumbling out over this seven-day period. He was very emotional, tears welling up in his eyes. He was distraught. He was shaking.

When he pulled me into their yard, he's sort of telling me that he, himself, had walked just around the block, went to the suspect's house before police ever made an arrest and knocked on the door and he said, look, his family, his children pulled him back saying let the police handle it.

And he did. And he was trying to make the point that his family, his children are not vigilantes as some people have called them. That they were just so emotional and he was so distraught and he had some inkling that this person that lives very close by might have had something to do with this, and he went up to the door but he did wait for police who eventually arrested him and no one was hurt during that arrest -- Erin.

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

And OUTFRONT now, our criminal defense attorney and CNN legal analyst, Danny Cevallos, along with retired FBI counterterrorism agent Tim Clemente.

All right. Tim, police say they did not learn about the connection between the Meyer's family and the suspect until yesterday. But here's -- I'm still very confused. A manhunt is going on for the person who kills -- this man's wife and their mother. And they knew who the person was. They knew the suspect.

Why would they not tell police? Seven days the police are on a manhunt and they didn't tell them who the guy was.

TIM CLEMENTE, RETIRED FBI COUNTERTERRORISM AGENT: Erin, there's a lot of deception going on in this story on both sides. Right now with the suspect, the story he told, that was the one he told to his friends that you just quoted from, that was in the complaint and what the family initially said.

I don't know why. I don't know the connection that's established between these people yet. But there's obviously some deception.

And the reason could have been maybe they went by the suspect's house and he wasn't there and they waited because he was in custody a few days ago and being interviewed by the police on a complaint from a prior matter when he was a juvenile. So, maybe the fact he wasn't home is when they were with holding that information, and then when they saw him again, they wanted to confront him.

I don't know. None of it makes sense. But, you know, the one thing we do know is that this suspect now has a whole different story that may provide some mitigating circumstances that are very exculpatory on whether he was the initiator or not.

BURNETT: It is very hard to understand, Danny. So, let's get to this issue first on the Meyers family side. They knew who he was. They didn't tell police for seven days, while police are on the manhunt. Could the family be held accountable for keeping this crucial information from police?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, I have the criminal complaint here and I've looked it. And when you read it, the first half deals with -- it has to be the Meyers narrative because it can only come from either the son or daughter, because they're the only people remaining.

And they have problems with their story, including the fact they didn't tell anyone for a while. That's significant, but also the fact by their own words, they came home after being threatened and went out following a car. And they get within 75 yards.

So, if they were looking for the license plate, they definitely got close enough and they continued follow and continued follow. Not just following him but also following with a firearm.

They have some problems as I read it in this affidavit. However, once you get to second half, the defendant in the case is digging away at his own grave. I mean that figuratively but he made some damaging statements to his friends and also some flat out alibi evidence that's going to be blown up, because his alibi evidence was already blown up. They checked on the buddy he was supposed to be with and that guy says he wasn't with me.

So, when you read the complaint, it doesn't look good for Nowsch.

BURNETT: So, Tim, when you hear Danny's view on this, I mean, are we ever really going to know exactly what happened on this crucial issue which is who threatened whom first, right? That's what this comes down to, and it sounds like you're always going to have he said/she said.

CLEMENTE: Literally have a he said/she said. And the problem is, I would correct Danny on one thing. He said 75 yards apart. They were actually, according to the complaint, only 75 feet apart at one point.

CEVALLOS: Thank you.

CLEMENTE: So, a license plate is clearly visible. And I agree, that they should have had a description of the car. And if they know this kid as well as they do, he jumps out of a car and is shooting at them, the gun is going to look like the size of the Lincoln Tunnel to anybody who's being shot at. But if you recognize the person behind that gun, it's going to be in your memory immediately. It's not going to be something that takes a week to spark.

So, you know, with your question, Erin, the problem is that the police may only get to the truth of this matter if an independent witness steps forward or maybe the third, second and third parties that were in this shooter's car. Maybe they will be truthful, and they'll be able to connect some of the dots and cross some of these T's that are just out there in the wilderness now that nobody really knows what's the truth.

CEVALLOS: These complaints give us a unique opportunity to look at the beginning and development of a criminal case. And you see from this complaint that the police early on only had the Meyers narrative and they adopted most of it even though there are some inconsistencies that have to be answered. In many ways, this defendant may have already shot himself in the foot because he's told what appear to be lies to the police, at least that's what they're alleging. And also, he gave a false alibi and he allegedly went and told, this, of course, is all allegedly, but he went and told two friends according to the complaint what exactly he did and it looks like from there, at no point does he say he was ever shot at. So, that is very problematic. Later on the road, if he wants to raise himself --

BURNETT: But, of course, he's going to try to say self-defense, right?

CEVALLOS: Absolutely. But if what is in this complaint is true, that could be very problematic for this defendant.

BURNETT: All right. Danny, Tim, thanks very much to both of you. You've been covering this case with us all week. And OUTFRONT next, the deadly superbug. We're now learning

health officials have known for years exactly how it spread. So, why didn't they stop it? They could have said there's a new safety procedure, but they didn't. Why?

And the 79-story residential tower, it is on fire tonight. Could people still be trapped inside? It's been going from the bottom to the top of the building. We're going to have a live report from the scene in just a moment, 79 stories. The fire spreading, as we said, different blocks from the top of the bottom. A live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: OUTFRONT tonight, fears that the so-called nightmare bacteria superbug is spreading. Two deaths have been linked to the latest outbreak at a hospital in L.A. Nearly 200 people may have been exposed. They all underwent procedures with potentially contaminated medical instruments.

Now, here's what's shocking about this -- the FDA has known since 2009 that this certain, some certain instruments have infected patients. Just yesterday, the FDA released a safety communication noticing their design may impede effective cleaning. It's pretty terrifying when you think about it. You go in there as a patient, you trust the system to work and it can kill you.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now.

And, Sanjay, I mean, this is pretty incredible. And when people hear this, they say, what is it about this particular instrument?

You went today to look at the instrument. What was your impression of it and what makes it a super bug carrier?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me prepped this by saying, Erin, you know, I've worked in hospitals for a long time, a few decades now, and I've never seen anything quite like this just in terms of the cleaning process.

So, one of the things about this device, it has -- it's a scope but has a little mechanism right at the very end. It's the elevator, if you will. It allows the scope to do certain things once it's already inside the body.

But it's that very area, Erin, that you're looking at right there that can also trap bacteria. And whatever type of cleaning, you can soak that in fluids, you can do whatever you want that you would normally do, but unless you actually get around that elevating mechanism, it may not be completely clean. And it is a bit concerning because it really relies on a human element to make that as clean as possible.

BURNETT: And I mean, as you point out, just looking at those pictures, I mean, how incredibly hard this is to clean. That's at the heart of the outbreak, right? I mean, I know some hospitals have protocols. Look, a human being has to clean this. Others don't. Those are the ones where the superbug -- where people are at risk of this superbug.

How do you clean this thing right?

GUPTA: You -- it's quite remarkable, because it's a $30,000 piece of equipment, right?

BURNETT: Wow.

GUPTA: And, again, you have all sorts of cleaning machines and ovens and sinks and all that. But in order to really get down to the nitty-gritty, if you will, it requires brushes. And as you see right here, Erin, in fact, a 99 cent toothbrush even to really get in there and do that. At least that's what they have been using at this hospital where I was shooting this story. They say they not had any infections in 18 years that they have found. They have a nearly perfect track record.

But it requires this sort of diligence, a toothbrush --

BURNETT: A tooth -- a 99 cent toothbrush.

GUPTA: A 99 cent toothbrush, and, you know what? It also takes the fortitude of the guy you see doing there, because he's just one of these diligent guys. He said at the end of this, I said, are you confident it's clean? He said, I would use it on my two sons, I'd use it on my mother, I'd use it on myself. He was 100 percent confident.

You know, that human element of safety just became so magnified in my mind watching him do this work. If you don't have a guy like that, you don't have the right brushes, you may have the problem.

BURNETT: And you know what's shocking here is the FDA knew the cleaning guidelines didn't always work, right? Because this has happened before, as we pointed out, over years. We know superbugs can kill up to half the people who may become infected. And this obviously can happen in hospitals. I mean, doctors say the worst place to be sick is in hospitals. Because you got all kinds of drug resistant bacteria, that can get in your body, they can kill you.

But I guess the outrage is here, why would the FDA have let these companies keep in guidelines that didn't necessarily clean this thing when people could die?

GUPTA: Yes, it's a bit concerning. And, you know, as you've pointed out, they released be safety communication but they have known about this for some time. What I can tell you is that when they say make sure and clean around the crevices of that elevator, how anybody interprets that message can be very different. In this case, they've got to have more specific instructions.

You need to clean it for this long. You need to use a series of brushes that look like this. All of that probably needs to be better spelled out.

BURNETT: So, I guess that sounds like it's the case, although, of course, you want your medical professionals to just -- we all have this hope they're going to know, they're going to be somehow omniscient or omnipotent.

All right. Dr. Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: You got it, Erin. Thank you.

BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, that massive fire at one of the tallest apartment skyscrapers in the world. We're going to go live to Dubai next, where this fire a blazing 80 stories tall.

And heading into Oscars weekend, our special report on the pawnbroker to the stars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news: a massive fire at one of the tallest residential skyscrapers in the world. In this picture, you can see large pieces of debris falling from the Torch Tower. That tower is in Dubai. Witnesses say a lot of the debris is molten glass.

According to published reports, the fire started on the 50th floor fed by high winds. It is now spread all the way up to the 70th floor. The Torch is one of the Dubai's iconic building. 75 stories tall.

And OUTFRONT tonight, our producer Hamzeh Noami.

Hamzeh, I guess the big question is, are there still people inside? Do you know?

HAMZEH NOAMI, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Erin, I'm about 100 meters away from the building. What I see is there is a support unit, a few ambulances, a lot of police cars blocking anybody to come closer to see the building.

The building looks like, when I came here, I came here about 30 minutes, about one hour ago, there was a fire, you could see clearly things off the windows on the top floors. You cannot tell exactly from where I'm standing which floor was that.

Now, you don't see any planes (ph). All I can see I think the rescue personnel inside. (INAUDIBLE) the glass you can see and more.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: So are other people on the --

NOAMI: Blocking people not come any closer. The building itself, as I said, I'm 100 meters away from the scene. I can see any flying objects from the tower or the floor by any means.

Earlier on, Erin, I saw some car being driven away by police and authorities from underneath the building. I'm not sure there was any part of Torch Tower being (INAUDIBLE) -- Erin.

BURNETT: And, Hamzeh, so I know it's hard to tell how many people were inside the building if there are any. As we were saying, it started on the 50th floor, up to the 70th floor. You're talking about molten glass.

Are there a lot of people on the street? People who possibly were able to get out safely? Are you seeing people on the street?

NOAMI: There is fewer people now. Earlier, there was about 700 or 800 people. Now, it's a bit less.

I think the main reason why, police have come. Earlier, I asked one police officer. He declined to give any comments but he says the situation is under control. But he didn't give any details about what was happening on.

I can see clearly more cars being driven. Sorry. Just telling me to stay away to keep a distance.

From what I see, Erin, I see here, the situation is getting more and more under control. Not too many people as there were before. Being people are evacuated, as I said earlier --

BURNETT: OK.

NOAMI: -- but the Torch Tower was being evacuated. Other towers surrounding it, there's about (INAUDIBLE) which there's about pretty close -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Hamzeh, thank you very much. Our coverage will continue throughout the evening as we try to understand exactly what happened with this tragedy and whether there are people still trapped inside.

Next, Oscar's weekend. Celebrities are going to show up the jewels. So, we're going to take a look at the pawnbroker to the stars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Sometimes, even the rich and famous need a loan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT (voice-over): Let's say you need a loan, a big loan, a million dollars and you need the money tomorrow, in cash. Traditionally lenders can't help, but there are a few new lenders who can.

Paul Aitken, the founder and CEO of Borro is one of them.

PAUL AITKEN, FOUNDER AND CEO, BORRO: We can provide loan the same day. We're basically underwriting the asset, not the individual. And we can wire people up to millions of dollars within hours.

BURNETT: Aitken's million dollar idea Borro is a high-end pawnshop. He's not crazy about that description, mostly because unlike your garden variety pawnshop, his company, his clients, and their assets are several cuts and karats above. AITKEN: We've done loans against Oscars, Grammy Awards. We've

done loans against guitars from famous musicians. Very, very expensive classic cars.

The whole idea is to create a new category in lending. I think we've done that.

BURNETT: Behind steel bolted doors in warehouses like this from L.A. to New York to London, Borro stores these luxury assets. Not just diamond bobbles and bangles but fine art, sculptures, Super Bowl and World Series rings, even this jacket worn by the Notorious BIG.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: Before he was murdered in 1997. Aitken said he gave $2,000 for the jacket, the owner never came back.

Here, everything has a price, as much as 4.9 percent in interest per month. That's 60 percent a year.

AITKEN: There is a lot of trust supply for people to deal with us. We take possession of people's assets. These are assets that they want back. If we get to the point where we're selling, we're very transparent. We paid back what we're owed. If there's any excess, we get it back to the client.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: So, you can still get that jacket.

Thanks for joining us.

Anderson starts now.