>> reporter: oddest of all is when britney spears invited a guy on stage so she could perform a pole dance on him. he bit her. bit britney spears. and now the per son fiction of booty lishsness -- >> my body is too bootylicious for you. >> and to just turn the other cheek. jeannie moos, cnn, new york. >> erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next, breaking news. a letter sent to new york city mayor michael bloomberg tests positive for the poison ricin. another letter also tests positive. plus, the mysterious death of a star quarterback and the call he made to his family before he vanished. plus, an american woman remains in a mexican jail tonight. authorities say she was

smuggling drugs. her family says she was framed. let's go "outfront." i'm in for erin burnett. breaking news. initial tests sukt ricin was sent to michael bloomberg. cnn learned that a letter addressed to the mayor contained material that tested positive in preliminary tests for the deadly pois poison. there was one sent to an office in washington, d.c. that, houses mayors against illegal guns. an organization bloomberg helps to run. deb feyerick is "outfront" tonight. >> one of the things we're learning is it appears the two letters were sent by the both person, the same individual and they did contain threats for michael bloomberg. it's not clear what the nature of those threats were though it

did reference the debate on guns, something the mayor is very out front and very vocal against, one of the reasons the letters was sent to the organization mayors against illegal guns in washington, d.c. we're told that investigators from the jttf and the mayor's protection detail are looking at the postmark of that letter which was sent outside of the two cities from which they were sent. they're investigating now not clear whether there is any sort of return address. clearly this is a serious threat to new york city's mayor. investigators are looking very closely at it now. the initial tests showing that there was the presence of ricin. and three of those, jake, who were in new york from the emergency services unit that responded apparently did have some symptoms of ricin exposure when they opened the letter over the weekend. it appears that the symptoms, though, have gone away. jake? >> all right. deb feyerick, thank you so much.

"outfront," cnn's national security analyst fran townsend and the person behind the movie "contagion." they mentioned the current debate over gun control. would that mean that this would be qualified as a political threat over a terror threat? how are the designations made? >> it's really hard. frankly, whether it is a sort of terror threat or political threats is going to be treated the same for the moment. they're going to get the confirmation of the preliminary tests that it is in fact ricin. they'll look for the strength. they'll also look at the forensics. they'll try to determine whether or not on the envelope or on the letter is there hair? is there saliva samples? there are fingerprints? are there thing thez can use that give them leads? aun once they're able to identify who sent it, thn they'll determine whether or not this is a traditional sort of terrorism case or if it's a political threat. one of the reasons i think you

see the joint terrorism task force is investigating this is because that's where the federal government coordinates with state and locals and pulls all the federal resources together including cia intelligence and other resources. >> how hard is it to get hold of ricin and how difficult is it to weaponize it? turn it into a weapon? >> it's really not that difficult to get hold of ricin. there are people who can purify it. it comes from what is known as caster beans. so it's a naturally occurring poison. does it have to be purified. and it can be concentrated. it can be delivered in a variety of ways. unfortunately, letters is an infective w i effective way of delivering this poison. it's not an infection. it's not as though it can spread from one person to another but the toxin can be deadly. >> and, fran, just last week

authorities arrested a man in washington state as part of an investigation into a threatening letter sent to a judge. the letter was said to have contained ricin. how difficult is it to track down a person who sent the poison? what's the process? >> as i mentioned, jake, they're going to go through a very deliberate -- you start with the postmark. it is the simplest thing. deb fair deb fairic report -- deb feyerick reported that they're following leads to the geographic area from where the letters were sent. they then look at the specific lrz. that takes a little longer to see if whether or not there are dna samples that will lead you to a specific person. you know, you have to eliminate the sort of fingerprints that will naturally be on it because of people who handled or opened the mail. and eliminate those. so that is a more time consuming process. they'll walk through pretty deliberately the steps. they'll also look at how competently was the compound

itself made? are they the same in both letters? all those sorts of forensics take some time and real investigative work. >> ian, how effective is ricin as a weapon. you say it can be lethal. explain how it works. >> what it does is prevents cells from making new proteins. and proteins are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the cell. so it's going to hit those cells that have to turn over rapidly like the ones that lay in your gastrointestinal tract. particularly if you ingest it. or the cells of your respiratory tract. and depending on how it's ingested, it may have very different effects. so you may have diarrhea. you may have seizures. you may have shock. you may have respiratory failure. it is a lethal poison. >> ian, are there different types of ricin and different parts of the country? is there a way to trace the actual poison itself? >> i don't think there is a way to trace the actual poison

itself. but as was pointed out just a moment ago, there are so many other leads can you track as well. dna trace that's are left on letters and even such simple things as mentioned like zip codes can be instructive in trying to narrow it down. >> and, fran, before i let you go, are we just hearing a lot more about ricin cases? th does there seem to be an outbreak of these incidents? >> the interesting thing is the context in which i think most people have heard of ricin is in a terrorism context. it's a recipe that is easily available on the internet. it's associated with the al qaeda training manual. we've seen al qaeda cells deploy it. and so the little bit we talked about and heard about it has typically been in a terrorism context. i think you're right to point out suddenly we seem to be hearing more about it in a domestic context. and that's concerning. some of that may be, frankly, that it's an easily put together compound. it doesn't -- this is not high

science. and because the materials are readily available, once you understand the formula, it's not that complicated to pull together the precursor elements of it. >> all right. thank you so much, fran and ian. appreciate it. >> thank you. still to come, a former quarterback who won three national championships is found dead. he told his family he was feeling leery of some things. plus, congresswoman michelle bachmann's surprise announcement. what the future holds for the tea party darling. and tornadoes and severe thunderstorms hammer the american heartland. we'll tell which you states are most at risk. [ male announcer ] erica had a rough day.

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we're back with dangerous and potentially deadly storms at

risk, tornadoes and golf ball sized hail. parts of the nation already being hammered. you can see from this map areas from texas to wisconsin and parts of the northeast are now under tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings. just a short while ago there were reports of at least one tornado touching down in southern nebraska. this system is threatening to get even worse as we enter the hours of peak danger. tonight we're chasing that severe weather live. our chad myers is on the ground with a group of storm chasers. we'll get to him in just a moment. first, meteorologist is "outfront" and tracking these storms now. what are we looking at tonight? >> we're talking 60 million of you under the severe weather threat today. also moderate risk is out there. we already had a dozen reports of tornadoes today. the bulk of them in nebraska. one of them reported in the texas panhandle. you can see a large swath here of people under this severe weather threat even as we go through the overnight hours.

the moderate risk area is in oklahoma, kansas and down through texas. that involves over two million of you this evening. the problem, some of these tornadoes are rain wrapped. they're very difficult to see. it's really not the only concern. here's the typical setup that we continue to watch. it's that warm, moist air. it is really dry air. it merges. so along the dry line, we see the storms fuel up there. you add the jet stream with the low. currently we're looking at the watch boxes here. look at this huge swath. we're talking big section of the country dealing with the tornado watches until late evening tonight. and also even in towards new england. now i want to show where you the warnings are in the last few hours. things are really active out there. really picking up. even in the new york area, we're talking two current tornado warnings on the ground. those expiring about 7:30 eastern time. i'm going to take you all the way back over to the west of nebraska. in the last few minutes, we've been seeing the warning boxes

continue there as well. these warning boxes expiring about 7:30. look at all this instability popping up in the last several hours. we talk about rain wrapped, that's what we're talking about. we're talking about strong winds, large hail. very dangerous hail in the midst of the storms as well. through kansas, we're looking at even more tornado warning boxes where you think pink, those are the tornado warning boxes at this hourment a lot of activity. such a huge swath of an area that everyone needs to remain vigilant. oklahoma city, we're start willing to see tornado vortexing. with that, likely to see tornado warning boxes coming up towards the oklahoma city area. very heavy rain just about to push into the moore area. we look at this we're talking about strong winds as well. so a lot of debris on the ground. we start adding 57 mile-per-hour winds that, could kick up as well. jake? >> looks like it's going to be a horrible night for some people. >> yes, unfortunately. >> clasing the severe weather live, our chad myers is imbedded

with a team of storm chasers. he's near oklahoma city. chad, where are you exactly? what are you seeing right now? >> just south of oklahoma. a few things surprise me about oklahoma weather. the only thing that is surprising me is all the windows are up in this vehicle. there is no way that all the windshield and all the side windows should be in this car considering how hard the hail was. it hit right on the monday when she said rain wrapped, lots of moisture, lots of rain. hard to see. and very large hail hitting a large swath northwestern oklahoma. >> chad, when are we expecting these potential tornadoes? is this something that will continue overnight? >> well, yeah, there is a low level jet. this low level jet is moisture, the surge of wind that will come up from the south and it will push and start to turn the atmosphere just enough. a little bit more shear. and shear is never a good thing if you're in an airplane or talking about tornadoes. that's the rotation.

that's the change in wind direction. changing with speeds as well. it can cause tornadoes to develop. even last throughout the night. this could go until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. those are very dangerous. you don't expect them. you're probably asleep. your weather radio will wake you up. if you have one, make sure it is working tonight if you live in the plains, jake. >> all right. thank you so much, chad. still to kornlcome, residen new mexico on high alert. an underground cavern threatens to swallow a large part of their town. plus, an explosion at disneyland. new details about the newborn baby found in a sewage pipe. that is all coming up. i am an american success story. i'm a teacher. i'm a firefighter. i'm a carpenter. i'm an accountant. a mechanical engineer. and i shop at walmart. truth is, over sixty percent of america shops at walmart every month. i find what i need, at a great price. and the money i save goes to important things.

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. our second story "outfront," waiting to implode. we're talking about underground cavities. ticking time bombs that could suddenly turn into deadly sink holes. in march as you probably remember a florida man died after his bed was swallowed by a sink hole that opened up under his house. now that was a naturally occurring disaster. but in new mexico, a man made danger is threatening to swallow up a big chunk of one town and its residents. we have an "outfront" investigation. >> reporter: part of this dusty new mexico landscape disappeared back in 2008 into two massive sink holes. triggering shock waives of confusion and anxiety that more would follow. >> i think it's quite likely that a sink hole will form here. >> it's not a matter of if, it's when? >> yes that, is probably the case. it's not a matter of if but

when. when could be a century from now. >> but here's the problem. if a sink hole craters on this spot, it wouldn't just be happening in the middle of nowhere, wide open oil field in southeast new mexico. it would actually be happening at one of the busiest intersections here in the town of carlsbad, new mexico. lewis land is a geologist and sink hole expert at new mexico tech. he spent years studying what might happen if a third sink hole swallows up part of carlsbad. >> the best we can tell, it is lateral extent is from the roughly where that traffic light is and then that way beneath the canal and underneath the northern edge of that mobile home park. >> so that welcome to carlsbad sign -- >> that's exactly right. >> disappear in a second. >> i always have my camera with me so just in case something happens as i'm driving by. >> reporter: whether the first two sink holes emerged, experts figured out they weren't a natural occurrence. they were man made. they opened above two solt

mines. state officials quickly shut down mining operations at this third site inside karld bad city limits. fwhut place is still a time bomb waiting to implode. >> it's not a stable configuration. i think that we know there is a cavity down beneath us. >> look at this graphic cross section of the ground under this corner of carlsbad. all of the blue you see is an unstable salt well cavern. he says it's so close to the ground surface it could collapse at any time. >> these are indicators that we use to monitor if we get an alarm. >> reporter: joel arnwine is the top emergency manager. he had to develop a response plan in case the sink hole starts cratering. >> this is a tilt meter. >> including ground sensors that monitor ground movement 24 hours a day. where we're stand kog very well collapse? >> it co. >> any day? >> it could. >> and whether that happens, i mean how large of a hole are we talking about? >> you know, it's relatively

unclear. >> reporter: because of the sink hole, the company operating here inw was fined $2.6 million and declared bankruptcy, a former company official told us inw was wrongly targeted. the experts say the next sink hole could easily be several hundred yards if diameter. it threatens a feed store, a church, a water canal, a railroad line, a mobile home park, and two major highways coming into town. >> a huge headache, isn't it? >> it really is. it definitely is a planning challenge. >> the threat of another sink hole still looms over this far flung western outpost. cnn, carlsbad, new mexico. an arizona woman behind bars in mexico tonight. authorities say she was trying to smuggle drugs. do those claims add up? plus, congresswoman michelle barkman surprise announcement at what it could mean heading into the next election. and how presidential is rob

lowe? the answer might surprise you. tonight's shoutout, the destructive power of water. this surveillance video comes from the carl sanburg college campus in illinois. heavy rain led to flash flood clg led to this, water gushg through a building's doors. fortunately, no one was injured. the college was closed today for cleanup. the damages are so bad classes at the colleges main campus are canceled for the rest of the week. erybody has different investment objectives, ideas, goals, appetite for risk. you can't say 'one size fits all'. it doesn't. that's crazy. we're all totally different. ishares core. etf building blocks for your personalized portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

welcome back to the second half of "outfront." we'll start the second half of our show with stories we care about where we focus on our own reporting from the front lines. anaheim police arrested a disneyland employee in connection with what appeared to be a dry ice explosion that came from a trash can. he is 22-year-old christian barns of long beach. the charge, possessing a destructive device. police say he has indicated this was "an isolated incident with unanticipated impacts." he is cooperating with investigators. he is being held on $1 million bail. according to california penal code, possessing a destructive device carries as many as seven years in prison. and an "outfront" update. an attorney for robert bails confirmed the army staff sergeant agreed to plead guilty

to charges of premeditated murder in the killing of 16 afghan villagers. in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. the decision to seek a plea deal which was first reported by the associated press must be approved by the judge and the commanding general of the division. the u.s. military alleges bails left his outpost in the middle of the night and single-handedly attacked two villages. a hearing is scheduled for june 5th. the judge in the major nedal hasan case ordered a physical investigation. hasan was shot on the day he was accused of killing 13 people in a shooting spree at ft. hood. he is now paralyzed from the chest down. hasan had the mental capacity to conduct his own defense. due to the nature of the charges, former army jag attorney greg rinkly tell us it is possible that judge will require that a defense counsel remain president en. the trial begins on july 1st.

a u.n. official is expected to call for a moratorium on lethal autonomous robotics or what some call killer robots. during an address to the u.n. human rights counsel this week, these are robots that once launched can engage targets without future further human input. and the official warns they could "exercise the power of life and death over human beings." a professor called for a ban writing recently for cnn that robots don't have the moral agency to make crucial judgment calls much less conform to international law. our third story "outfront," the mysterious death of a former football star. investigators in lake county, michigan, are searching for answers to night as they try to figure out what happened to the 30-year-old collin finerty. the quarterback at grand valley state university won three national championships and even played briefly in the nfl. but he mysteriously died over the weekend during a fishing trip by himself. his family says they received a

disturbing call from him on sunday saying he "was leery of something." and that was the last they heard from him. his body was found tuesday about a half mile from his boat. authorities say there were no signs of traum or foul play. lake county sheriff robert hilt is out front tonight with the latest. sheriff, thank you for joining us. i know you received preliminary autopsy results. you have learned anything new about how collin finnerty died? >> not at this time. the pathologist just issued a report to us stating there is no determined cause of death at this time. which means he has to complete his investigation as far as the rust of the toxicology and the other test that's have to be performed. >> can you tell us in any greater deal tail what finnerty is said to have said to his family when he called them on sunday? >> we really weren't sure what was said other thank he was

uncomfortable on the river. the part of the river that he was fishing on is not part of our scenic river act. so they don't clean the banks and it was a very, very grown over part. the sticks were hitting him in the face, that kind of thing. and he expressed that he was uncomfortable with some other things. and he wanted to come off the river. it was a very short distance to where the stairs were and he came up where we found the boat. >> now i understand you don't believe there were any witnesses. there are no signs of foul play. what can you tell us about how the body was found? how certain are you that this was not manslaughter or murder? >> because of the analysis made by the pathologist, dr. post is probably one of the best in the country, and he's pretty much ruled out any type of trauma, you know, other than, you know, trauma leading that would be obvious to us that there was any

homicide or anything like that. >> his family has expressed concerns about possible concussions that he suffered, finnerty suffered during his football career. is there any reason to think that this was suicide? >> not at this time. there is nothing that led us to believe as far as right now that it is any type of suicide at all. there's nothing that -- nothing that points to. that it looks as if he was wandering kind of through the woods and just went down. >> all right. thank you, sheriff. good luck with your investigation. >> all right. thank you very much. our fourth story "outfront," drug smuggler or falsely accused? an arizona wife and mother is behind bars in mexico tonight accused of smuggling 12 pounds of marijuana into the united states under her bus seat. a judge in mexico again today listened to testimony in the case against the woman.

the mother of seven says she was framed. a short time ago her daughter made a tearful plea for her return while talking to our own wolf blitzer. >> we heard that this, you know, the minimum is ten years. ten years is a whole lifespan. and it's just, you know, we don't have that time, ten years to be separated from your own mother. i just can't imagine that. i wouldn't want to be separated from my own daughter. please, to the officials in mexico, please do your part and really investigate. because i know my mom has nothing to do with those illegal drugs. >> raf a he will romo is out front in arizona with the latest. there was another day of testimony. what happened in court today? >> jake, it was supposed to be a very important day for the

prosecution. and that's because the soldiers who allegedly found the drugs under the seats of the woman and her husband were going to testify. essentially, tell the court what had happened, how they found the drugs, how the bundles were under those seats. but the last information we have is that those soldiers have not shown up yet. they're not at the court yet. it can still happen tomorrow. we will have another day of hearings, another day of testimony. but that in a way is a victory of sorts for the defense. because those soldiers, that military personnel was a very important part of the prosecution's case. now the woman is still in a jail for women in the city in mexico across the border here. she is being kept in a temporary cell by herself, isolated from the rest of the general population. and it is a prison that houses

approximately 100 inmates. she's been there since friday. she was in federal custody for about two days before she was transferred there. >> she is not attending the hearings. why not? >> it is part of the judicial system in mexico. rarely ever in cases like this the defendant actually goes to court. they are represented by a defense attorney. we know the family has been there. gary maldinado, her husband. we also know that her father-in-law has also been there. the testimony is taken orally but has to be tucked up. they still use typewriters to do that. so it takes a very, very long time. again, it may sound weird in america that she's not there given it is her own hearing. but it is just the way the system operates here in mexico, jake. >> how long is this expected to

last? what happens next? the legal system? >> well, she was arrested, authorities in mexico had 72 hours to make a determination on whether she would be formally charged or not. the defense requested an additional 72 hours and then a third additional period of 72 hours was requested by the defense so that they had more time to get more evidence, to call more witnesses, to try to build a better defense case to help anita get out of the mexican jail, jake. >> all right. rafael, thank you so much. still to come, congresswoman michelle bachmann makes a surprise announcement. what led to her drastic change, of course? plus, an update on a story we brought you yesterday. details about the newborn baby found alive in a sewage pipe.

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president obama intends to nominate james comby to replace robert muller as fbi official. he was deputy attorney general under president george w. bush. now to tonight's outer circle where we reach out to our

sources around the world. we start tonight in china where we're learning more about the newborn baby that was rescued alive from a sewer pipe. police finally found and spoken to the baby's mother. david mckenzie is in beijing. i asked if police plan on pressing charges. >> jake, it's an extraordinary story that gripped the world's attention. this young boy now recovering in the hospital in eastern china, amazing when you consider this. look, at these disturbing images. the boy was pulled out of a sewage pipe earlier this week, hacking at that pipe that had to be taken to a hospital and carefully pried open. amazing that he survived. but doctors say that he will be okay and make a full recovery. now questions about the mother. it's unclear exactly what happened. but police say that she's deeply regretful and they say they won't press charges at this stage saying that it might be just an awful accident.

but the main story here is the survival of this young child who's managed to survive against all odds. jake? >> all right. thank you, david mckenzie in beijing. now we go to saudi arain yachlt five more people have been sickened by a sars like virus bringing the total number of people infected by the disease to 49. i asked how the virus is spreading. >> jake, the new strain of the virus is spreading in the world health organization is calling it a threat to the entire world. on wednesday there were at least 49 cases worldwide, 27 deaths. the majority in saudi arabia was 18 confirmed deaths there. this come after france announced its first victim, the 65-year-old man was diagnosed after a holiday in dubai. they also been cases in the uk and germany among travelers coming back from the middle east. now health officials still don't know exactly how it spread. but earlier this month the who did verify the first cases of

human to human transmission in saudi arabia among health care workers who had been in close contact with patients, jake. >> thank you. now let's check in with anderson coop we are a look at what's ahead on "ac 360." mr. cooper, how are you, sir? >> i'm good, jake. thanks. we'll have more on the breaking news about the ricin letter delivered to michael bloomberg and the new tornado striking tonight in nebraska and texas. also, my exclusive interswru john mccain telling me about his visit inside syria. it's only strengthened his resol of that the u.s. do more to aid the rebel there's. the first interview since coming out of syria. and this parent's fight to save their daughter's life. a 10 yield-year-old girl needs a lung transplant or she's going to die. her age is working against her though. raising questions about the fairness of the organ transplant system. we'll talk with medical specialists about that. those stories and a lot more. >> sounds great. a heartbreaking story about that

little girl. >> yeah. >> our fifth story "outfront," michelle bachmann calls it quits. she announced early this morning that she will not run for a fifth term in congress. bachmann dismissed speculation that investigations into her campaign finances or the possibility of a tough re-election were the reasons behind her exit. >> i've always in the past defeated candidates who are capable, qualified, and well funded. and i have every confidence that if i ran i would again defeat the individual who i defeated last year who recently announced that he is once again running. >> and while she was a darling of the tea party, she also created a number of headaches for the republican party because she was often, how do i say this? fast and loose with the facts. >> within a day or so the president of the united states will be taking a trip over to india that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day. he's taking 2,000 people with him. >> the executive director of

planned parenthood in illinois said they want to become the lens crafter of big abortion in illinois. >> speaker pill oel osi who has busy sticking the taxpayer with her $100,000 bar tab for alcohol on the military jets that she's flying. >> back in the 1970s, the twine flu broke out under another democrat president, jimmy carter. >> i had a mother come up to me in tampa, florida, after theher daughter took that vaccine and, that injection and she suffered from mental retardation. >> "outfront" tonight, ari fleisher and "new york times" columnist charles blow. ari, we have you on the phone because we're having technical difficulties. i want to start with you. the republican party is breathing a sigh of relief a bit that she is calling it quits. she brought huge headaches to the republican party. >> no, jake, i think that's

exactly right. republicans feel a lot better about being able to keep the seat and also the character tour that media has really turned her into. won't be around to tar, define other republicans. i do think it's fair to say that the press was excessively tough on her. she made it easy for the press to be tough on her. the press did have it in for her. >> i think it's fair -- i think you're right. the press was tough on her. you have to say as you admit sheshgs may have been caricatured but she handed the press the magic markers. >> that's right. and she was not my cup of tea. what i like the least was her statements. i rib claemember clashing with "larry king live" about this that barack obama was born in kenya. she couldn't bring herself to accept the fact that he wasn't. i hate when you differ with the opposition by trying to delegitimatize them. twoun clash an ideology and idea, another to say they're not

legitimate. that is not something i thought is constructive in politics. >> charles, you wrote a story about what you call the gop's bachmann problem. people like bachmann represent everything that is wrong with the republican party. she and her colleagues are hyperbolic, reactionary and ill-informed and synonymous with the republican brand. how much does bachmann's exit hurt the democratic party? >> i don't know if it hurts the democratic party. i do think that it takes away a glaring example of what democrats think republicans are. and it remains to be seen whether or not she is truly exiting the stage, the political stage, whether or not she will be campaigning for other candidates. she is an incredible money raiser. i mean she raised $15 million in the last race. she raises quite a bit of money. people like her. they donate to her campaign. she could become, you know, somebody who stomps for other candidates. she could run for president

again in 2016. you know, she is not necessarily leaving. i think that anyone who ever runs for president has, you know, a monumental ego. they have an ego the size of a mountain. you have to have it. you have to believe in yourself to that degree to run for president. those types of people don't generally exit and go into the good night. >> and ari, earlier this year the huffington post asked senator mccain of other tea party darlings like ran paul, ted crews. he said it's always the whacko birds on right and left that get the media mega phone. i think it can be harmful if there is a belief among the american people that those people are reflective of the views of the majority of republicans. they're not. i'm sure you agree with. that who are >> well, some of the big birds on the left. harry reid called the president of the united states a liar. he said mitt romney paid no

taxes, a fabrication, made whatever michelle bachmann's mistakes were look small, considering the impact of the majority leader of the senate taking to the senate floor to accuse the presidential nominee of being no taxes. debbie wasserman schultz, the congresswoman from florida got the pinocchio of the year award saying republicans wanted to end medicare as we know it. the democrats have them. but i do think that when the republicans have them, they get more press attention, the press enjoys vilifying them. and the democrats, it's noted by the media, but comes and goes. they don't seem to treat the democrats with the same pleasure that they treat republicans. >> but you also have to agree, ari, that the scale of michele bachmann's kind of fibbing is beyond anything that we have seen before. politic it is fact did a roundup today after her video came out she wasn't going to seek re-election. and all of all the comments they have ever fact-checked for

michele bachmann, 75% of them were rated mostly false or worse. and only 8% of the statements that they had fact-checked for michelle bachmann were unambiguously true. that is a very different kind of track record than what you have just pointed out on the other side. >> and as i said, she's not my cup of tea. >> i don't know whose cup can of tea that is. >> the lie of the year in 2007 was the statement from debbie wasserman schultz. both parties do have this element. i don't like the term "wacko bird." frankly, i think the tea party has been very good for republicans when it comes to putting the fiscal spine in the republican party. i don't like in the case of those individuals who engage in delegitimatization. but the tea party has been a shot of economic adrenaline to get the government spending and taxes under control. and i think that's supportive. they'll do better if they have a smarter, more intellectual candidates who combine that passion for small government. >> we have to leave it there.

thank you so much, ari fleischer, appreciate it. every night, we take a look outside the day's top stories for something we call "the "outfront" outtake." this is a story about your boss, that person who makes you stay late and work on weekends. the one who takes you for granted. the guy who just won't get off your back about those darn tps reports. but what if the employee is a terrorist? it turns out, the exact same thing happens. mokht mokhtar bahl mokhtar is a weapons deal who are was until this year considered a rising star in al qaeda, but then something happened. he got bad review. according to a letter recently discovered inside a stronghold, in october, belmokhtar was terminated, to be expected in a terrorist organization? well, not exactly. because in this case, terminated means fired. not killed can. in the ten-page memo signed by

the group's 14-member counsel, bell mokhtar is described as, quote, a bleeding wound who failed to carry out a single successful operation, failed to bring in top dollar for his hostages, failed to answer the telephone when they called, and worse of all, failed to submit his expense reports. yes. bureaucracy and red tape are everywhere. even in al qaeda. the next time you get hassled by your boss, remember this, it really does happen to everyone. "outfront" next. when you think of rob lowe, do you think presidential? you might soon. we'll tell you why, next. the great outdoors, and a great deal. grrrr ahhh let's leave the deals to hotels.com. perfect! yep, and no angry bears. up to 30% off. only at hotels.com. how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone

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finally tonight, jfk, rob lowe and putting your art before your own policies. >> he's smart, capable, witty. >> for every president, there is an actor. >> i wish you would have given me this written question before hand, john. >> for i have every film that portrays the commander in chief -- >> shall we stop this bleeding. >> there is someone who must choose the face of history. the next visage for our viewing pleasure, rob lowe. it was announced tuesday, the man who recently played liberace's plastic surgeon on hbo will now play john f. kennedy for national geographic in "killing kennedy." >> what i have found in my casting experience, it's about the essence of the person. >> of course, jfk is the

chameleon of cam allot having been portrayed by a dozen. casting director ellen lewis has been responsible for portraying historical figures in move he's like "hyde park on hudson" about fdr, "the ofaviator" and "forre gump." so we asked her, what makes a good president? >> i don't try to get an exact look-alike. if you are able to hook into something within the actor that connects them to who they're playing, whether the match is perfect or not. the audience will accept that person. >> i don't want to sound like i haven't made no mistakes. >> one thing for certain, aligning with that politician's views does not seem to matter, especially when it comes to

unflattering portrayals of republicans. left-leaning josh broelan played george w. bush in the biopic "w." >> you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? lipstick. >> she was never a fan of the book. so i think in general, she was just -- didn't appeal to her. >> and now hollywood is abuzz with rumors that scarlet joe hanson may play hillary clinton in the forthcoming feature, "rodham." does it matter that she backed obama against clinton in the 2008 primaries? >> president barack obama! >> it actually could be a greater challenge for the actor. if they have a different point of view than the person that they're portraying. >> and for the actors, the pressure is great. just ask daniel day lewis, who won an academy award for his

portrayal of abraham lincoln. >> the last thing i wanted to do was to go down in flames, having desecrated the memory of the greatest president in the history of this country. >> and just as in real politics, there will be critics and naysayers, no matter who wins the role. that's it for me. "ac 360" starts right now. >> thanks. good evening, a lot happening tonight. two major breaking stories. a new string of tornadoes hammering the central plains, and two potentially lethal letters. one of them sent to new york mayor mike bloomberg. early testing pointing toward both containing one of the deadliest toxins known to man, ricin. deb feyerick joins us now. >> right now what they know, they believe both of the letters were sent by the same person. the postmark was the same, they contain the same kind of substance, and they also both threatened mayor michael bloomberg for his positions