i never did good in math anyway. you have a better chance of seeing a ufo today. i don't mean ever, i mean today than winning the mega millions. but with a record breaking $550 million, most people don't want to take that risk of splashing around in a sad little puddle that used to be the office pool. that's it for us. thanks for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts now. breaking news. a man defending sergeant robert bales on 17 counts of murder says his client definitely had ptsd. he joins us tonight. and charges just filed against a jetblue pilot who ranted about israel, iraq and had to be tackled by passengers. what happened? and the latest developments in the trayvon martin case. could a similar thing happen somewhere else? let's go "outfront." good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett, "outfront"

tonight, health care on trial. it was the final day of dramatic supreme court hearings on the president's controversial health care law. now, justices again signaling a huge divide, a chasm that could doom obama's signature domestic achievement. with all uncertainty surrounding the law's fate, business owners are looking at how their costs will be affected and that means yours, if you're an employee. for some clarity, we turn to our strike team made up of entrepreneurs, innovators, ceos of companies of all sizes and our team members agreed their costs would go up but the big question is how much. here are some specifics. david roberts is the chairman of carlisle companies and he said his health care costs would go up by 3.5%. he would pass all of that in turn to employees. stewart miller, the president and ceo of lenar said his health care costs would rise 5% to 10% by 2014 and that would be passed on to employees. we heard that from all of the

companies. so they get an increase that goes straight through to your premiums. if the individual mandate is struck from the law, costs could increase even more. that is if other pieces of the law go through. if the individual mandate is struck down. this is a crucial question and matters to every american. jeffrey toobin is here to talk about the last day of hearings at the supreme court and the fate of the law. jeff, let me just ask a sense from you of this question. if the mandate is struck down, what will be left? is the entire law thrown out or would things like covering pre-existing conditions theoretically be allowed to remain in? >> erin, that question which you just asked me is what the justices spent an hour discussing today. and they did not reach a consensus because some justices said, look, it is not our job to pick and choose among the remaining provisions if the core of it is unconstitutional. scalia said get rid of the whole thing. at times so did chief justice

roberts, anthony kennedy and justice alito although they were less committed on that issue. the four liberal justices were deeply committed to arguing, look, if part of the law is unconstitutional, that's the only part you get rid of. that question of whether all of it goes or some of it goes, that really was not resolved. i think we know or we have a very good sense that the individual mandate is in deep, deep trouble. but how they will carve the law up, just the mandate, just the related parts, all of it, i really couldn't conclude based on what i heard today. >> which is a terrifying thing just in terms of raw cost. because i'm sure as everyone can understand, if the mandate is struck down, you don't have all these extra people suddenly insured, but you're keeping a lot of the higher cost elements of the plan like allowing pre-existing conditions. that could mean costs for americans really go significantly higher. so it's really -- >> but at least three justices raised that very question.

scalia -- not scalia, alito, roberts and kennedy all said what are the insurance companies going to do without the mandate? now, i didn't hear anyone say what are the 30 million people who are going to lose insurance coverage going to do? that was a striking difference of priorities that was evident in this oral argument. but certainly that issue of what's going to happen to the poor insurance companies was very much on the mind of some justices. >> yeah, right. i guess the point i'm making is people who do have jobs and have insurance could -- their premiums could go up significantly. most people are struggling to make ends meet as well. let me ask you a quick question. the solicitor general making the case for the white house. you called him a train wreck yesterday. yesterday they said he's doing a good job, did a great job, he's able. how did he do today? did he make up for yesterday's mistakes? >> he did better today.

he only argued the part of the law which was the challenge to the medicaid expansion. medicaid is for poor people. this law would expand the state's obligation to pay while giving the states a lot more money to pay for poor people. he had a much better day today and that part, that last hour of the six hours, i would say was the best part for the obama administration in terms of getting support from the court, although even that is no sure thing. but certainly he had a much better day and that part of the law looked somewhat more secure than the rest of it, but again, not a sure thing. there are several justices who really think this law is a bad, bad thing. >> jeff toobin, thank you very much. now, the arguments are done, they have a lot of time to ruminate and think and hopefully to read those 170 friend of the court briefs. the ruling will come in june. that's the height of the

presidential election. so this is where it gets, well just, you know, this is where we can't resist here "outfront." if the law gets struck down, what does that do to the president's re-election chances? do they surge or plunge? the new poll right now shows the president has a double-digit lead over mitt romney and rick santorum. the president's approval rating topping 50% for the first time since last may. so does the health care law, if it's defeated or not defeated, what does it do to the president? james carville joins us and john avalon. i've seen you listening to jeff toobin with that devilish smile on your face. if the law gets struck down, you think it would be great? >> first of all, you've got to give it toobs, he's worried about 30 million people without insurance instead of insurance companies. how quaint. but at any rate, if they overturn it 5-4, i think it would be the best thing that ever happened to the democratic party. people will say the health care

costs are going up and they'll say we tried, five people overturned an election, overturned this. the same people that brought you citizens united, bush v. gore bring you this and i think we'll have an issue to go for a long, long time. i'm fine with it. overturn it 5-4. let the hacks have their day. >> john, you disagree? >> yeah, you've got to search pretty hard for a silver lining to come up with a scenario where having the signature legislative accomplishment struck down becomes a good thing. i agree with james to this extent that in the short run i think it will help turn out the democratic base and make the issue of -- the power of the president to appoint a supreme court justice resonate far beyond roe v. wade and abortion. it will mainstream that issue. and help get out the base. whatever side, quote unquote, loses this, we'll see a surge in the base. but given the pain the democrats went through in 2010, the elimination of the blue dogs virtually because of the cost of carrying this piece of legislation across the finish line that would all be for

naught and a disaster for the administration. >> let me try to explain. what's going to happen is no matter what, health care costs will escalate. 20 out of 100 people are 65 or over. in 2020 it will be 26 out of 100. every time somebody loses their insurance because of pre-existing condition, every time they go up, go see scalia, he'll take care of you. and the democrats will say we tried. we had this in place. we had addressed this problem at great political cost to ourselves and at great courage. five people on the supreme court substituted their judgment. everything that happens in health care from the day that they strike this down is all going to be on the republicans and the supreme court's doorstep. that's just a fact. and as the population ages, more and more things are going to happen. so i'm just talking politically. i'm not talking about a citizen, i'm not talking about an individual or anything. it's a professional democrat, this would be a good thing for democrats over a period of time, i absolutely believe that. >> john, it's interesting the argument james makes.

certainly that would be the democratic establishment argument they'll make and there is a certain power to that. getting defeated by a slim margin does give you that underdog that, moral authority. the citizens united link. that also helps, doesn't it? >> again, i do think it will help motivate the base in the near term but james is speaking as a political consultant. he's framing the debate. he said you know what, people's frustrations and resentment with health care going on will be on the republicans and supreme court. that's a great argument to make. that's a great narrative to set up but i don't think it takes away from the fact that this would be a devastating blow to the signature legislative accomplishment of this president. and there's no way to spin that in the near term to make democrats feel good about that. >> all right. thanks very much for both of you. i appreciate you taking the time. next, our exclusive interview with john henry browne. he is the man defending staff sergeant robert bales, the man accused of killing 17 afghan civilians. and a jetblue pilot now faces charges after passengers

had to subdue him during flight. are we properly screening our flight crews in this country? and hundreds, maybe thousands of people are planning to burn ipads in china. we'll tell you why.

i bathed it in miracles. director: [ sighs ] cut! sorry to interrupt. when's the show? well, if we don't find an audience, all we'll ever do is rehearse. maybe you should try every door direct mail. just select the zip codes where you want your message to be seen, print it yourself, or we'll help you find a local partner and you find the customers that matter most. brilliant. clifton, show us overjoyed. no, too much. jennessa. ah! a round of applause. [ applause ] [ male announcer ] go online to reach every home, every address, every time with every door direct mail.

are connecting here. linkedin connects with the big board. this is my grandson. and if it wasn't for a screening i got, i might have missed being here to meet him. the health care law lets those of us on medicare now get most preventive care for free like annual wellness visits, immunizations, and some cancer screenings. and that's when they caught something serious on mine. but we could treat it before it was too late. i'll be around to meet number two! get the screenings you need. learn more at healthcare.gov. you don't want to miss any of this!

breaking news. ptsd, that is to blame for staff sergeant robert bales' alleged shooting rampage in afghanistan earlier this month. that's according to his lawyer, john henry browne, today. he is also looking into the medication bales may have been on at the time of the incident, including malaria medicine that some say can cause severe paranoia and hallucinations as well as violence. i sat down with proun shortly -- with browne shortly before our show and started by asking him what staff sergeant bales has told him in the 11 hours of time they have spent together over two days. >> it's really interesting. he's obsessed with what the allegations might cause problemwise for his brothers, and the younger soldiers that he was mentoring. he's obsessed about that. he's really not thinking about his own future right now, which is quite interesting, since he should be. >> you had talked about him as being a deer in the headlights. his wife has said he appeared confused.

at this point does he understand what's happening? does he understand exactly what he is accused of doing? >> i don't think so, to be honest with you. we have told him -- he knew what the allegations were before i met with him. he knew in kuwait, they told him. >> so what does he remember? what does he remember specifically? >> he remembers before the alleged incident and he remembers after the alleged incident and he has some little windows kind of into things. he remembers hearing things and smelling things, which is very common with people with head injuries if they have a memory problem. >> smelling what, like -- >> gun powder, blood, things like that. but i'm not -- i'm not saying that's what he told me, i'm saying that's common for people with head injuries. >> so he does have some windows. >> yes, yes. >> can you give us a little sense of what those might be -- >> no, i can't. i can't. it wouldn't be appropriate right

now. >> the context here is that it's a war that's been going on a long time. it's been a massacre of innocent civilians. no one else has come forward -- an allegation. no one else has come forward. when he came back on the base, whether it was in between or after, he talked about having shot people. isn't that difficult from a broader point of view to try to say that he didn't do it? >> i don't know that i trust anything about him saying i shot people, because i have not heard that from any source i trust. >> that means that you are still trying to prove or force prosecutors to prove that he actually did this to begin with? >> well, it's a fascinating case from a defense lawyer's perspective. the first thing you do is prove it. and that's -- you know, it's not a traditional crime scene. there is no crime scene. the military has not even been

back to the villages where this allegation stems from. they haven't been back there. so there's no crime scene, there's no dna, there's no fingerprints, there's no confession. it's -- you know, the afghan people traditionally, i understand, and understandably, bury their dead very quickly. >> yes, mm-hmm. >> so it's going to be a tough case for the prosecutors. >> so what sort of defenses would you take? obviously proof being your first step. are you still considering -- i mean is insanity possible? is ptsd possible? diminished capacity? do you have any sense of where you might go? >> well, i think when the experts are done with this case that they'll definitely be ptsd, i mean just from what i know. i've represented battered women a lot, i'm very proud of those cases more than anything. many of whom have ptsd. so i know a lot about ptsd and the symptoms and everything and i'm convinced from my

conversations that ptsd will be an issue. so whether that -- you know, insanity means under the law is you don't know the difference between right and wrong basically. that's a pretty high standard. hard to beat. diminished capacity is different and that is because of something going on -- because of a mental disease or defect -- >> so diminished capacity could be because of ptsd. >> or concussive head injury. that's a possibility. >> so that seems like that would be more the direction you would be going, ptsd, diminished capacity? >> if i am convinced they have a case. and if i think there's facts to support it. i mean i know there's a concussive head injury and i know he has memory problems. he couldn't relate to us even what kind of medications he had been prescribed earlier, which to me really proves to me that he has legitimate memory problems. i know there's a lot of

discussion about the malaria drug and i don't know yet -- >> so you don't know whether he was taking it yet? >> no, we have to get his medical records. and i don't know. i wouldn't be surprised. but i don't know that. >> and so he didn't remember taking it? >> no, no, he doesn't remember anything he was taking. >> anything. >> so what i'm saying is i can't confirm to you -- >> right. >> -- that he was taking it because that would be dishonest of me. >> when do you hope to have the results, to have his medical records? >> the next two weeks. >> they do say all those things. his past also includes assaulting a girlfriend. >> no, no. >> 2002. >> allegedly assaulted a girlfriend. >> accused of assaulting a girlfriend. in 2008, cited for leaving the scene of an accident before he joined the army, arbitrators ordered him to repay a million dollars due to trading fraud when he was a financial adviser. he never paid that money back. >> and you really think that people are going to go out and kill women and children because

they have financial problems? i don't think so. >> no, but to portray someone as an innocent and a saint that no one ever says bad about would seem to be also slightly inconsistent with that. >> i didn't say a saint. >> you said no one said anything bad about him. >> the people that worked with him since he's been in the army, nobody has said anything but really good things about him. >> well, thank you very much, i appreciate it. >> you're welcome. it was an honor. thanks. >> it's interesting that his attorney also said that while he expects to see sergeant bales as soon as tomorrow, that sergeant bales may soon see his family, he will not see his children. he says they are too young to understand what's happening to their father and they believe that he is still working in a faraway place. we also have more breaking news and charges filed against the jetblue pilot whose frightening rant about iraq and israel forced an emergency landing yesterday in amarillo, texas. the federal criminal complaint

alleges the 49-year-old captain interfered with the flight crew during a midair meltdown. it reads he began talking about religion, but his statements were not coherent. the f.o., that's the first officer, became concerned when osbo nsaid things just don't matterment he yelled over the radio to air traffic control and instructed them to be quiet. the f.o. became really worried when he said we need to take a leap of faith. passenger gerald levin talked to "outfront" just after yesterday's incident. >> he decided to then bang on the cockpit door and the bathroom door and demanding that it be open. and yelling give me the code, give me the code to get in, telling the pilot to put it in idle, put it in idle and then that's when everyone jumped up, the front six rows of men subdued him and took him down to the ground. all i could think of was my wife and my twin children and the only thing i could think of. that's just it.

we got it, this can't happen. >> lots of questions today about the pilot's mental health. jetblue responded saying the company is in full compliance with the faa's requirement of annual health screenings for pilots under 40 and twice a year for those over 40. jim tillman is a former commercial pilot for american airlines. thanks very much for coming out front. how shocked are you to hear about an incident like this? >> oh, i don't know if shocked is the right term to use, but i am terribly surprised because i've never seen anything in my own personal experience after decades of flying for a commercial airline. i can only find in the history maybe three or four cases similar to this at all in the industry. >> well, i want to ask you about these screenings. can you tell us about what these mental screenings entail? i mean do they give you a medical physical check? is it just a question and answer session? how does it work?

>> it's all of that and beyond. the flight physicals are very, very thorough and they look at almost everything there is. they delve into your medical history. they want to check everything they can check. the one thing that seems to be at least difficult, if not impossible, is being able to peer into the person's mind, into their psychology and to know something more about what's going on with them emotionally. that's not generally part of the examination, at least it wasn't in any of the exams that i had. but it's as thorough as they can get superficially. >> so is it possible that they could ask you questions about what medications you were on or what your mental health state was and you could, you know, feel that you would be stigmatized if you were honest and therefore you think it's not a big problem whatever i have and so you lie? >> yes, indeed. and i know that sounds like an indictment on the integrity and honesty of some of the airline pilots, but i know a number of

pilots who just don't take certain kinds of ailments and problems to the faa-approved flight surgeons because it's like a ticket to leave your career. but you could go to your private doctor and you might be able to get the kind of treatment you need and nobody ever knows the difference. generally that's what happens. now, you do have to certify that you have not been to another medical doctor when you go in for these flight physicals, so yes indeed, you may very well not tell the full truth. >> we reached out to the airline pilots association. they said airline pilots are professional in every aspect of their duties and when they heard that you might be very skeptical about their screening, they said the statement of a former pilot should not affect the reputations of thousands of respectable pilots that fly in this country. what do you say to their response? how common is what you're saying, people being dishonest in these results in your view? >> let's get one thing straight.

i'm not going against the integrity of the professional pilot group. i have spent many, many times on air defending the professional attitudes that i feel about the pilot group. >> yes. >> i am simply saying to you that there is a bit of skepticism about whether or not you should acknowledge that you have certain types of problems because the airline management people are not the type of people that generally will understand that. let me give you this little bit of history. back in the day, the chief pilot was a person that you could depend on. you could go in, he was like an uncle, a father, anything else and you could tell him your troubles. they would listen, be compassionate and work out some kind of a program for you. i don't know that that's the situation now with the professional group out there. they very often find that the chief pilot is just a messenger for other management, and that can get you into all kinds of hot water. you know, i'm not -- i'm not promoting or not not promoting

the union or pilot group or anything else. i'm simply being honest about the fact that with the skepticism that's out there and stigma that's out there particularly for mental things, depression or whatever else, it would be very risky for a pilot to raise his hand and say, yes, sir, i am depressed and having to take these medications and whatever else. >> thank you very much, sir. i appreciate it. i appreciate you making a -- calling light to some of those issues. well, the latest developments in the trayvon martin case and another controversial shooting, this time in chicago. was it self-defense or was there more to this one? okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft.

[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! [ laughing ] ...is the crackle of the campfire. it can be a million years old... cool. ...or a few weeks young. ♪ [ laughs ] away beckons from orion's belt. away...is a place that's closer than you think. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com.

we start the second half of our show with stories we care about, where we focus on our own reporting, do the work and find the outfront five. first, breaking news. the lawyer for staff sergeant robert bales, accused of shooting 17 afghan civilians earlier this month, says when the facts of the case come out, it will be clear his client had ptsd. attorney john henry browne is also looking into the medications bales may have been on at the time of the incident, none of which he said his client recalls. he's looking into a particular malaria medicine that can cause severe paranoia and hallucinations. browne also believes though that the case against his client when it comes to technically what was visible in that village is thin. >> it's not a traditional crime scene. there is no crime scene. the military has not even been

back to the villages where this allegation stems from. they haven't been back there. so there's no crime scene, there's no dna, there's no fingerprints, there's no confession. number two, iran announced today it will hold long-awaited talks on its nuclear program. they are set to commence on april 13th. the main topic will be uranium enrichment. iran says the enrichment is for fuel rods for nuclear power, but an iaea report has serious concerns about military dimensions to iran's nuclear program. our fran townsend, a former homeland security adviser tells "outfront" that given its history in negotiations the united states must move forward with tremendous caution and skepticism. meanwhile the u.s. treasury department sanctioned another six iranian companies. number three, the ousted president of mali is free and unharmed. that's what the former leader said today in an interview with a french radio station. it's the first time we have

heard from him since a coup forced him from power last week. he told the radio station he's still in mali and added i think the most important thing today is to find the way out of the crisis. note that america has suspended millions of dollars of aid until the elected government returns to power. america remains concerned about muslim extremists in the north of the country. a hearing on capitol hill regarding the collapse of mf global. the hearing focused on the instance of transferring funds and who knew the details of the transfer. one person believed to know all the details is edith o'brien. we watched the hearing and here's what she said when asked about the money. >> on the advice of counsel, i respectfully decline to answer based on my constitutional right. >> o'brien repeated that phrase each time she was asked a question. the "wall street journal" has reported she's in talks with the department of justice about

possible immunity in exchange for her cooperation. it's been 237 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? well, the outrage over the shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin was front and center today on the floor of the u.s. house. congressman bobby rush, democrat from illinois, was removed from the floor after he addressed the chamber wearing a hoodie sweatshirt like the one martin was wearing the night he was shot. we're also learning that george zimmerman, who shot martin last month, was almost arrested immediately after the shooting, but so far he has not been charged. george howell is in miami for us tonight. george, what's the reaction to that news, that there were some in the police department that did say that zimmerman should be arrested immediately? >> reporter: well, erin, there's a lot of talk today about these published reports that the sanford police department, specifically the lead investigator in this case, that he wanted to arrest george zimmerman on negligent homicide and manslaughter charges. now, you'll remember the police chief, who has temporarily stepped aside, that in his first press conference he said that his officers were prohibited

from making an arrest that night. also in that initial police report you see these charges listed on the document. all of this was sent over to the state prosecutor -- or rather the special prosecutor and the prosecutor in this case decided not to file charges. >> so you have been speaking with some people i know that are very close to trayvon today. what have you learned? >> reporter: it's interesting. you know, we're trying to get a better picture of who was trayvon martin. we spoke to a good friend of the family and his long-time coach, jerome horton. he explained to us what trayvon was like outside of school, that he wanted to become a pilot. but also he talked about trayvon getting into trouble in school from time to time, according to some published reports. he also talked about why trayvon was in sanford with this suspension, the most recent suspension. here's what he had to say. >> i know how much his dad and his mom stayed on top of him, teaching him. like they can say, oh, he was

suspended for ten days for whatever reason, but what's not coming out is that he was also under punishment for ten days that he was suspended. no one is bringing that up. he wasn't just up at sanford suspended from school and up in sanford kicking it and having a good time. he was up at sanford because his dad knew i'm not going to let you stay home, you're suspended from school and have a good time. no, you're going to stay with me. >> reporter: it's a very interesting interview. horton described martin as an average student, a good kid. his mother also said he was an average student at school. erin. >> thank you very much, we appreciate it. literally as george was finishing speaking, we have breaking news. we have video just in. this is from abcnews.com. it's police surveillance tape of george zimmerman reportedly arriving at the police department in handcuffs the night of the shooting. just keep watching this, play this out. i'm here with paul callan. we'll see exactly what we have.

you can see him at the very bottom of the screen. it looks like that's george zimmerman there with the orange, that's what it appears to be, just looking at this with you, paul. paul, can you see anything in this? this just looks like they're pulling up to the police station. >> yeah, nothing yet. we're not getting a clear view of whether he's handcuffed. >> so let's assume that's the case. he's handcuffed. what does that tell you about how this situation was going that night? >> you know, as a former prosecutor this does not surprise me at all. because when that's a killing, and one guy has got a gun and the other person is unarmed and dead, usually the guy with the gun is placed under arrest and that means in handcuffs. when police officers arrived on the scene based on what they saw they probably slapped the handcuffs on him and brought him into the precinct. then the investigation starts in more detail. they get his story and that's

when he tells his self-defense story which for some reason makes them change their mind about whether they'll continue with the arrest. >> okay. so does this make you skeptical about why they decided not to arrest him or not to go ahead? >> no, it doesn't. the interesting thing about this case is, we still don't know exactly what happened in that darkened night encounter. we're struggling. we're looking at little bits and pieces like was he in handcuffs. >> yes. >> as opposed to saying, what's the evidence of the encounter between the two individuals? what happened? >> but something dramatic must have happened for them not to arrest someone -- >> make an arrest -- >> who did not have a gun. >> you know what the default position is for the cop, arrest the guy. >> what could it have been that overwhelmed, first of all, the arrest and the guy he shot didn't have a gun? >> as far as i'm concerned there are two possibilities. number one, the cops really believe that he acted in self-defense. that he was jumped from behind

and maybe he was in danger of loses his life or at least he thought he was. or number two, he's wired into the police department, he's a cop wanna-be. he had friends. and they were bending over backwards to help him and not make the arrest and now they're belatedly defending their position. if the cops get criticized normally, they release all the evidence in the case. video, statements, everything is released. >> they could do that right now? instead of saying we have a reason. >> in the end, maybe zimmerman is right. maybe he did act in self-defense or maybe he it was to be prosecuted, but the public deserves to know. they should be releasing this evidence so we all can see it and talk about it and not look at a guy in handcuffs and say, i wonder why he's in handcuffs. >> paul, we have another loop of this show that i wanted to show you. this is george zimmerman walking ostensibly out of a hallway here.

as we see this with a frontal picture of him, i want to ask you something. he doesn't look scratched or bruised. obviously what we had heard, part of his defense was he was bloodied from the back of the head and the nose. and initial police report said he got medical attention, he seemed okay, and then they took him to the police station. seeing him here clearly not injured, what does that say to you? >> if he's not injured, big, big point in this case. his whole defense is he was being seriously injured and that's why he fired the shots. what i don't know right now, where are they bringing him in from? has he been to the emergency room, did they clean him up before they brought him in? clearly, he does not look like he's injured. the second thing i would say as i watch this again, first officers at the scene if they handcuffed him they thought they had probable cause to arrest him. okay, then you only slap on the cuffs when there's probable cause to arrest.

they had probable cause in their own mind when he enters this police station. those cuffs are taken off inside the police station so something changed. and you know, usually what the first officers observe at a crime scene is one of the most critical things in a homicide case. i have tried a lot of homicide cases, i love those first cops on the scene. nothing has been disturbed. so this is a really important video. >> all right. well, paul callan, thank you very much. and then next on "outfront," miguel marquez is in flint, michigan. this is an amazing story. two of the most dangerous cities in this country have seen a plunge in their police forces. while vigilante justice can be handing there. that's next. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world.

a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. with diabetes to finish the indy 500. i live in the fast lane. i need on-the-go insulin delivery. that's why i use novolog® flexpen®. flexpen® is prefilled with my fast-acting insulin. i dial my exact dose. inject by pressing a button. flexpen® is insulin delivery my way. novolog® is a fast-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. do not inject if you do not plan to eat within 5 to 10 minutes after injection to avoid low blood sugar. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take, and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. the most common side effect is low blood sugar. other possible side effects include reactions

at the injection site. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat or sweating. flexpen® is there when i need it, just like my pit crew. ask your doctor about novolog® flexpen. covered by 90% of insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay at myflexpen.com. the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us.

on december 21st, polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space, which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans?

it's not just in sanford, florida, that members of the community take the law into their own hands. budget cuts are leading to less on the police force. nowhere has this been more visible than in the state of michigan. michigan has seen the biggest drop in police officers over the past decade, yet it is home to two of the ten most dangerous cities in this country, detroit and flint. here is miguel marquez. >> reporter: flint, a city in ruins, is trying to rise from the ashes. >> people love this city. people want to see flint come back. so what we are doing, we are arming ourselves with computers instead of guns, and we're giving voice to the citizens of flint. >> reporter: kat van sickle is one of the organizers of the

group flint police operations. they're not a police force, but citizens fed up with rampant crime. >> the government can only do so much, the police can only do so much, the mayor can only do so much. >> reporter: what she and 20 other volunteers are doing, posting police scanner traffic to facebook and twitter. a modern day crime blotter. everything from gunshots to suspicious characters in the neighborhood, giving citizens the power to connect to their neighborhoods and community. >> when a call comes in, what makes your blood run cold? >> any shootings or stabbings. it just drives right to my heart. >> reporter: she has a lot to worry about. the fbi calls flint the most violent city in the country. last year 55 murders here, a huge number for a city this size. >> you have 129 cops. >> absolutely. >> you want 200. >> i think we need a minimum of 200, yes. >> small city, but a very high crime rate? >> yes. >> reporter: but, says the police chief, the most cops he

can get on the street here at any one time is 21. >> even for a normal city of 100,000, that seems like a very small number. >> well, it is what it is. i'm not going to tell you something that's not true. but i know we need more. >> reporter: in 2010, deion bradley watched her 18-year-old friend, a mother of two, die from a gunshot wound to the head. >> for me to see her just lay there in her own house, just laid out in blood just everywhere -- >> reporter: driving high crime here, the lack of hope, the lack of jobs, as the auto industry shut down and moved away, so did the work. this is the corner of minnesota and colorado in east flint. this neighborhood and the city have been in decline for 40 years, but the great recession of 2008 was devastating. jobs are starting to creep back to the city, but unemployment remains at 17% and among young people here, it is dire.

50% of them don't have jobs. the mayor says the city is slowly, very slowly coming back. >> we are going through that slow, gut-wrenching process of changing our community for the better and making sure that there's a stable foundation here that the future generations can build on. >> reporter: with 32,000 friends and followers, kat vansickle has big plans for flint police operations. >> we're going to be getting out there into the communities, helping clean parks. we're going to be supporting the community, meeting the people of the city. >> reporter: leaving the keyboard behind and hitting flint's streets in an all-out effort to make them a little kinder. >> miguel is live in flint tonight. miguel, just sort of a painful thing to watch, just to hear all of that. i know you've had a chance to talk to a lot of people about the trayvon martin case and whether they think given the incredible shortage of police

that you've been talking about and the rise in their own justice, could that happen there? >> reporter: well, there certainly is a lot of anger and frustration. the group that we talked to doesn't think that they would ever, you know, bear arms and go out and do policing like that. but i will tell you, in investigating the situation here in flint, there is plenty of frustration to go around. there are lots of groups out there doing their own community policing and it is legal to carry a weapon here openly or if you have a permit, to carry it concealed. a lot of those groups do do that. they are in their neighborhoods constantly watching them, letting people know in those neighborhoods that if they are thinking about doing criminal behavior, that they're watching and they could pay the price. >> miguel, thank you very much. reporting from flint, michigan, tonight. well, we do at this the same time every night, we reach out to the sources around the world. and we go to cuba where pope benedict condemned the u.s.

trade embargo after a 30-minute meeting with castro. castro asked for a modest and simple meeting with pope benedict. i asked what they actually talked about. >> erin, pope benedict left cuba wednesday after meeting with both raul castro and fidel castro. his meeting with the former head of state involved discussions over books and he met some of fidel's family members. the discussion of politics though was with raul castro. and the cuban government is continuing to open up to the catholic church here. thousands and thousands of cubans, pope benedict said there needed to be change in cuba. the cuban government said that they appreciated the pope's comments but said there was no political change in the works. erin? >> all right. thank you. hundreds maybe thousands of people in china are buying ipads just so they can set them on fire. yep.

i'll tell you why. and a soldier gives his life to save a child. we have the story. >> announcer: this is the day. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you?

as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock. and we offer the most comprehensive identity theft protection ever created. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. look, every day we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check.

pandora rocks the big board.

will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. so the ceo of apple, tim cook, was in china. he was there today to meet with the country's vice premier. that's what happens when you're the ceo of apple. it's a big deal. talks focused on labor issues, which is obviously a very hot topic and a tough one for apple. apple talked about the plans to

expand in china. china is the world's biggest mobile market and the second biggest market for apple. they only have five stores there. cook says apple merely has scratched the surface. which brings me to tonight's number. $85 which is what it costs to is buy a paper replica of an ipad in china. and there's a holiday in china, and they often burn, you know, fake money, paper replicas of expensive items and clothes and cars, things that people who died cared about. the big seller this year is the paper replica of the ipad. the replicas are made of paper and are very realistic and even come with headphone. just to show you how ubiquitous apple really is, but people make all kinds of cracks about china making things for cheap and ripoffs. but $85 for a paper ipad, that's a lot of inflation. all right. american soldier sacrifices his life to save a child in afghanistan. it's an amazing story and it's next.

no matter where you go. no matter what you do. when you're living with moderate to severe crohn's disease, there are times it feels like your life... revolves around your symptoms. if you're tired of going around in circles, it may be time to ask your gastroenterologist about humira. because with humira, remission is possible. humira has been proven to work for adults

who have tried other medications... but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. if you're tired of going around in circles, get headed in a new direction. ask your gastroenterologist about humira today. remission is possible.

last week, specialist dennis wychal of the rhode island national guard died while serving in afghanistan. now, the official press release says he died from injuries suffered in a noncombat-related incident. but those words don't really tell you the truth. because according to the rhode island national guard and the army, last week, dennis and his unit were traveling in a mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle.

they were in northeast afghanistan. and along the way they saw a group of children and children were in the road. dennis was worried about the children's safety so he got out and wanted to move the kids out of the way. so he moved them aside but one little girl ran back to pick up some of the brass shell casings. he saw the little girl about to get hit so he dived in front to grab her out of the way. well, what happened was, the vehicle hit him instead. the little girl's life was saved. she was fine. specialist dennis weichel died, though, from the injuries sustained while saving her life. it's a story so moving and really worth sharing because we've all been so focused on the shooting of 17 afghan civilians, the murders of u.s. troops in response to the accidental koran burnings. th