room on twitter, as well. tweet me. tweet the show. thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. "erin burnett outfront' starts right now. selling a war, john kerry makes his case for american-led strike against syria. a teacher rapes a student who then takes her own life. and that teacher got 30 days in jail. the judge tonight admits he could have made a mistake. what's next? and the man convicted of holding three women captive for more than a decade now dead. was this justice? let's go outfront. good evening. i'm erin burnett. closer to war. the senate foreign relations committee this afternoon narrowly approved an authorization to use force against syria.

president obama sent the secretaries of state and defense to capitol hill to make his case for war. yesterday as you know they faced some very skeptical senators like rand paul. today the audience was even tougher. >> if our credibility is on the line now as is argued, what about if assad retaliates? >> why was there no call for military response four months ago when the president's red line was crossed? >> this is not about getting into syria's civil war. this is about enforcing the principle that people shouldn't be allowed to gas their citizens with impugnity. if we don't vote to do this assad will interpret he is free to do this any day he wants to. >> our chief national security correspondent who was watching it today. jim, you know there was really tough questioning today. there was some progress for the white house in the senate. very different story in the house. far from a sure thing for the

president at this point. >> victory for the president today but not as convincing. the vote ten to seven in the senate. only three republicans voted for it. one of them senator john mccain. two democrats voted against. it is a signal it could be a tougher sell which you got a sense of today in the questioning of hagel, kerry and dempsey. you heard from lawmakers who want the administration to do more and should be about changing the equation on the ground. you heard from those who want to do less, sending strict limits on the scope and duration of military action. this is a congress that is very much divided on authorizing the use of force. >> as jim indicated for very different reasons people don't want to use it. some people don't want war at all and some think the president should go much further than he is planning to go.

it all comes down to syria crossing president obama's so-called red line. >> i didn't set a red line. the world set a red line. the world set a red line when governments representing 98% of the world's population said the use of chemical weapons are aborant and passed a treaty forbidding the use even when countries are engaged in war. >> that is quite a change of tone, though, from this. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my calculus. >> we have made clear as the president did i believe from this podium that the use or proliferation of chemical weapons is a red line as far as he is concerned. >> the president's use of the

term red line was deliberate and based on u.s. policy. >> deliberate. is today bad messaging. out front a republican from tennessee and formernateo supreme ally commander. great to have you here with me on set. when you hear this he is trying to say it is not my red line. he has made a clear and consistent point that it is his red line and this is something he is passionate about and he believes in. why is he doing this now and saying it is not mine? >> because i think if the united states is going to lead, this is the time to lead. and what the president is doing is leading. everyone signed this chemical war fare convention. it has been in law since 1925. and this is a chance for the united states and the world community to show that we meant the piece of paper when we signed it. and that's what this is about, u.s. leadership.

it is not about the strike. this is about bringing the united states and the world together to make a statement. this is not going to be permitted in the 21st century. >> doesn't the general have a point? the president said this is his red line but syria is one of just a few nations in the world that has not agreed to a treaty preventing the use of chemical weapons. isn't he right to say this is the world's red line? >> this was a treaty, yes. it goes back decades. and there has been agreement on that. but i would disagree. i think that the president has shown a lack of leadership in this situation. it is one of those things where he has been inconsistent in his approach. and when i talk to the men and women in my district who are

military retires, who are active duty there at fort campbell, they, i think are getting mixed messages. a president must be able to clearly assess a situation, define a mission, give that strategy and say this is what the exit is going to be. and this president has not done that. >> that is a fair point. >> i don't think it is fair. >> explain to me what is the exit? john kerry said no boots on the ground. >> it is three, four, five days. it is a package. we did this against saddam hussein in 1998 when he wouldn't allow the u.n. inspectors in. this is nothing new. we have done this. when president clinton did it he did it. there wasn't a big debate about it. it was over. here the point is not the strikes. we are not going to intervene in that civil war at this point. there is no political opposition

to really reinforce. we are miles away from that. >> you think he can keep this put in a box. >> i think there are two different issues. i think that if we are -- first of all, we have to draw a line against the use of chemical weapons. that may weaken the assad regime. it may not. we are also providing some aid to the rebels because if we are going to move towards a political resolution there has to be enough balance between the two sides to encourage assad to come to the table and negotiate. right now he doesn't have to. all he has to do is wait it out and wait for the opposition to fall apart. >> with the rebels we know they have been infiltrated by al qaeda. we know there are many -- >> 10% or 15% -- >> they are not necessarily friendly to us. we also have a situation where this president, you hand him the

ball in foreign policy and he seems to fumble it whether it is the draw down in iraq or afghanistan with the surge and libya or egypt. people are saying we seem to have a problem with understanding what is to be the goal and how we are to approach these. i think the president didn't want the responsibility on his shoulders so therefore in what he decided to do -- >> put it on congress. john mccain said a no vote from congress would damage the office of the presidency and it would be catastrophic. you have john boehner saying vote yes. >> i am a lean no. >> do the arguments sway you that this is about the office of presidency of the united states. >> it is about the office of the presidency and about our nation's response and how we go about through that decision making process, how we approach this. what has happened in syria, whether it was assad or the

rebels, it is immoral. looking at the u.s. military and this administration, requiring them to do more with less resources. whether it comes from the draw down in iraq or the surge in afghanistan. they're cutting the money and the resources to the military and putting more on them. the pivot to asia. and what is taking place. >> i think we have to be careful about partisanship and morality when we are talking about deciding on u.s. foreign policy. i want to take this out of the partisan mode. president bush bears the responsibility for unleashing the democracy genie in the middle east. he and condoleeza rice pushed this. you can't put it back in. it has been used. so we need to look at where we are right now. got a very important principle at stake here. and i think that if you go back

and look at it through a partisan lens you see consistency in the republican party going back 90 years to the republican party's refusal to ratify the league of nations, the efforts after world war ii of isolationism in the republican party. it is a consistent theme the country has struggled against. we are the leader of the world. this world community was built by the united states after world war ii. it is in our interest to keep it going. and part of that is not allowing the use of chemical weapons. >> thanks very much to both of you. we appreciate your time tonight. still to come the story we have been following, a teacher raping a 14-year-old student. the teacher only got 30 days in jail. tonight that could be about to change. a student came home from the first day of school and took his own life. his friends say it is after years of bullying. could school officials have done

more? and dennis rodman in north korea to meet with his friend, kim jong-un. and george zimmerman stopped by police again. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing.

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our second story outfront. a controversial rape sentence appealed. prosecutors appealing a sentence given a teacherer after he admitted raping his 14-year-old student. she then took her own life. the judge concedes he may have been wrong. will it mean more time behind bars? this has been a shocking story. i want to bring in criminal

defense attorney and legal analyst. prosecutors appealing the sentence of this 54-year-old man, stacey rambold. how longy is a reversal? >> if the sentence given was within the prescribed sentence, in other words, if it fell within a range that was legal then the sentence will stand. it is discretionary. the problem here is that the attorney general is alleging that the judge misapplied the law. we should add from the testimony at sentencing and the filing papers that the prosecutor at that hearing clearly was not aware of any mandatory minimum otherwise and absolutely did not object to the sentence when it was applied even though he may have wanted a higher sentence. i believe the prosecutor was not aware that there was a mandatory minimum problem at the ooriginal hearing. only the attorney general later on said it is actually two

years. >> i'm curious about it. people hear the story. you have a 54-year-old man who rapes a 14-year-old girl. she takes her own life because of the agony of the situation, how it is possible for somebody to only get 30 days for that is hard for somebody to understand. if he is resentenced, how much time would he get? >> montana code is teaching america that even in a state with a liberal sentencing code sentencing is still extremely confusing. so in this case, it probably was an illegal sentence, the 30 days, the minimum should be two years in this instance. it is very easy to miss that reading the code. once that is decided that two years can go from two years to 100 years. if he wanted to apply another mandatory minimum it would be

two years. however, with all the public scrutiny i wouldn't be surprised if this judge as we say in the defense business sends him to the moon so he can avoid any further criticism. >> thank you very much. even two years somehow feels so wrong. bullied to death, a connecticut teenager took his life after years of bullying. bart was teased because he was 6'3" and had an accent. his internal struggles only came to light after he took his life. >> reporter: the friendship between bart and lisa johnson's son was a mother's dream. >> they were instant friends. they really clicked. >> reporter: they hang out and post videos like these on

youtube. he moved to the u.s. from poland and grew up to be a 15 year old standing 6'3" who johnson says was targeted by bullies. why was he bullied? >> i mean, he is really tall. he had an accent. he was just one of these kids that was slightly awkward. >> reporter: he committed suicide after the first day of his sophomore year in greenwich, connecticut. local police say a preliminary investigation shows he used a family shot gun that was stored in a locked cabinet. >> the worst, worst thing was how are we going to tell izzy. my husband put his arms around him and i held his hand and i said i'm so sorry but bart just killed himself. it was like this can't be possible. >> reporter: the school district is investigating and tells cnn

any indications that a student is experiencing significant mental health distress is addressed by the school level by personnel trained to recognize and respond to these concerns. but his sister paints a different picture. in an interview with the connecticut post she says it pretty much was say you're sorry and that's it. i honestly do not think the school addressed the bullying. it could have saved him if they did. family and friends say he never showed signs of trouble. but after his death investigators revealed to the family posts on google plus that show otherwise. in july he made reference to being bullied for ten years and wrote, i have chosen to go with three people's advice and kill myself. i just wish it was faster. >> one of the nicest people i had ever met in my life. i never heard him say anything bad about anybody else.

>> reporter: a group of his classmates want to use social media to provide peer to peer support anonymously. >> some people can't reach out to adults themselves but can reach to a fellow student. >> reporter: it is an effort to make sure every student can find someone to talk to. pain and guilt in this town, a community left asking, could we have done more? for outfront, greenwich, connecticut. despite announcing she has terminal brain cancer actress valerie harper refuses to give up. we will tell you what she plans to do and why millions of americans can feel uplifted by it. and a woman receives $2 million after her boss calls her the n-word. a lawyer representing her boss comes outfront to explain why. a man stuck in a wall in china. we will tell you why he chose to go there. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu.

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our fourth story outfront, valerie harper fights back. when the actress revealed she had terminal cancer this year she said death is out there for all of us. there are ways to handle it except sitting on the couch. harper lived up to that preparing for her debut on barbara starr. >> it is a dumb thing to waste our lives worrying about death. >> reporter: valerie harper says she is going to face the end of

her life by providing inspiration from the dance floor. when you get the call to do "dancing with the stars" and you are going through what you are going through what is on your mind. >> my husband says -- i said give me one good reason. he says you have cancer. show people that you can dance. >> reporter: it is remarkable because in march harper announced to the world that she had terminal cancer and just a few months to live. >> the disease i have is quite a rare cancer. they did say three months to live. ecologists will tell you we say three, maybe six, maybe one week in my case because of where it is. i could have a seizure at any time. >> reporter: while harper says her cancer is not in remission now her treatments are helping. >> my other doctor says we don't use remission.

we call response or nonresponse. i have a fabulous response from the particular drug i'm on. >> reporter: the 74 year old knows all too well the grueling schedule involved in being a dancer. she started her career as a professional on broadway. while "dancing with the stars" has pushed younger contestants to their physical limits valerie thinks competing has the potential to be great for your spirit. >> encourage people to move and exercise and mainly not to sit in the house and glower and worry and feel sorry for yourself because you have this disease or anything else. it is a funny thing we have about death we gloss it over. this death sentence made me look it in the eye. once you do it is a great freedom. >> reporter: valerie says she wants to send a message. >> i hope you dance. that is what i'm saying to everybody. that is my message. dance. >> reporter: for outfront, michelle turner, new york.

still to come, the man convicted of holding three women hostage for more than a decade takes his own life in prison. we want to show you the reactions of those close to the case. we have a special report. and then our on going special investigation into the irs. what did the head of an irs department know about the targeting of certain political groups? and when did she know it? she said she knew nothing ever. it doesn't add up. and anthony weiner's public unraveling continues. we are going to tell you what led to this.

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welcome back to the second half of outfront. george zimmerman was pulled over for speeding again, for going 60 in a 45 miles per hour zone. zimmerman was given a $256 ticket, he got three points on his driver's license. zimmerman was pulled over last month for speeding in texas. new york city mayoral candidate anthony weiner is under fire again, this time for a lively conversation with a heckling voter. here is how it started. >> you are a real scum bag. >> very nice. that's a charming guy right there. very nice.

in front of children. that is charming. >> you are disgusting. >> it takes one to know one. >> don't lose your temper. >> what's up? walk after you say anything. that's courage. >> we'll have a discussion. come back in here. i'm not afraid of you. >> you do disgusting things. >> and you are a perfect person? you're my judge? what if i told you you are my judge sth. >> stay out of the public eye. >> it escalated from there. i am curious to see what side you take on that one. tonight we know who paid for dennis rodman's trip to north korea. rodman was wearing a shirt and hat with the gambling site's name on his trip well displayed. rodman is in north korea

visiting his quote unquote friend kim jong-un. i guess advertising is everything. rodman and paddy power are tight. it has been 760 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? the big three u.s. auto makers had double digit gains. the industry on pace to sell 16 million new vehicles this year for the first time since the financial crash. ariel castro found dead by suicide in his cell. the 52-year-old castro convicted last month of holding three women captive in his cleveland home for a decade was found in his cell last night after hanging himself with a bed sheet. prison medical staff tried to revive him but it was too late. martin savage is outfront.

>> reporter: ariel castro's family got the news from the news. and word of his suicide was a shock. do you have any reason to suspect that it could be a different story? foul play? >> well, not so much that we suspect, but the family has raised that question. it doesn't feel right. there is no note. we don't know that he wrote a suicide note. previously he had written his mother a letter and seemed fairly upbeat. >> reporter: but when castro's mother and sister visited him they noticed a change. >> but on the last visit my wife mentioned to me that he seemed depressed. >> reporter: how did she measure that? >> his body language, tone of

voice, his conversation. he wasn't as conversational. it was more of he was tired. he was lonely. he was missing his daughter, things of that nature. >> reporter: in a statement castro's defense attorney say they tried several times to have an independent psychologist evaluate castro in jail and prison. each request was denied by authorities, they said. most everyone else reacts to castro's suicide with an attitude of good riddance. the prosecutor called him a degenerate molester saying this man couldn't take for even a month a small portion of what he dished out for more than a decade. castro's family gets it. they have never condoned what he did and they would be the first to tell you he was justly tried and sentenced. but before he was a monster he was family. he was a mother's son. >> i wish i could let the world

see what kind of woman my mother-in-law was. excuse me. she is a wonderful woman. she did not deserve this. >> reporter: nor did amanda berry, gina de jesus and michele knight deserve what castro did to him. his family in no way wants his death to renew their pain so no funeral, no wake, nothing in no way brings attention to the man they hope most people will gladly forget. as of now there has been no statement coming from the three victims themselves. we should point out there are two independent investigations looking into his suicide. this would have been ariel castro's front yard. the former house of horrors gone, wiped away. and now a park is blooming. >> it does totally change it.

i want to bring in dr. drew. we haven't heard reaction from these three women. but what do you think they are going through? >> i think they are actually probably relieved in some fashion. they could also be angry as you threw that quote up there that showed he couldn't withstand four months of captivity when he had put them through ten years. they can feel resentful and angry at that. there is a mir myriad of reactions. i am suspicious relief will be the main reaction. >> you know, dr. drew, an awkward question but i think a relevant one. it is easy to forget there is a 6-year-old girl here. ariel castro was her father.

how significant is this for her? >> to me that is the really interesting piece of this story. i don't care who your biological fatherer is that man has meaning in your life. i don't know how they are painting the picture for this child. we don't know the nature of the relation shat ariel castro had with this child. we heard someone report that he was missing the child, he planned to have visitation in prison? it is almost unthinkable. for this young girl this man will have had meaning and his suicide will be meaningful, as well. i suspect her not having this guy in her life will be a net positive but this is the person, this 6 year old the most impact of the suicide. >> michele knight when she appeared in court she said talking to him the death penalty would be so much easier. you deserve to spend life in prison. do you think there is a chance that they feel instead of relief

that somehow he cheated them? >> yeah, i said they may feel angry. they are angry because they were robbed of the opportunity to see this man go through something akin to what he went through and he couldn't tolerate that. his final sort of gesture is, you know what to everybody. >> dr. drew, thank you. and still to come, a woman is awarded $280,000 after her boss who is also black called her the n-word. now her employer plans to appeal. a lawyer is here to tell us why, a lawyer defending that man. president obama steps into a new world wide controversy. does the criticism of this picture add up? and a shout out tonight, stuck. this teenager in china got stuck between two buildings -- we went there on purpose trying to grab his psp which had fallen into the gap. he had fallen down about 13

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our sixth story outfront, the n-word at work. tonight plans for a potential appeal are underway after a new york jury awarded brandy johnson, a black woman, $280,000 because she was repeatedly called the n-word by her boss, who was black. >> you guys are smart [ bleep ]. both of you [ bleep ]. and i'm not saying -- using the term [ bleep ]. you act like [ bleep ] all the time. >> i am offended by that. >> you can be offended but it is true. >> a member of the law firm that represented rob carmona. i know you are looking at your

lega legal options now. you want to appeal. how confident are you to get the decision overturned. >> there are very pertinent facts overlooked by the jury. there were three different witnesses that testified that brandy johnson herself used the n-word in the work place. the jury never heard she is a felon who pleaded guilty to grand larceny. if you listen to the entirety of the tape it is so clear that the context in which it was said by mr. carmonna is to say you are a smart woman. don't let this control you. ms. johnson's reaction was not to the word. what she said was don't compare my behavior to that. it was always her behavior. it was not a reaction.

>> let me ask you because our legal analyst was on the show yesterday. she because adamant that no matter what your race is the word is not appropriate period. i want to play for you what sonny said and get your reaction. >> and the court, i think, and the jury spoke rather firmly that when you find a hostile work environment that this conduct and these terms are offensive objectively. that means across the board. that means they can't be used by black people. they can't be used by white people. they can't be used by purpleal people. >> i think it is fair to say if carmonna was white and he used that word there was no question that it would have been completely and utterly inappropriate and should have been fired. >> it is definitely inappropriate but it is different from saying it is discriminatory. they have policies. they have done training. in fact, when the complaint

arose and ms. johnson brought it to management's attention there was an extensive investigation done, lots of witnesses were interviewed. there was a reprimand and he was firmly warned if ever he conducted himself in that same way he would be disciplined including termination. i disagree with sonny. it is not just the word in and of itself is. you have to look at the totality of the circumstances. you have to look at the context. you have to look at the reaction by the individual who claims to be the victim and the intention of the person creating the conduct. it is not just say this word in and of itself is a violation. that is completely and utterly wrong. >> mercedes, thank you very much, making her case tonight. every night as you know we take a look outside some of the top stories from the outfront outtake. tonight president obama stepping into another controversy. for the past few days conservative journalists

criticize the president for failing to respect the office of the president. what is up in arms this time? his foot. this photo shows president obama with his foot on his desk. some say this proves the president doesn't respect the history and honor that comes with his title. it isn't the first time the president is seen with his feet up at work. president obama is not the first u.s. president to put his feet up on the desk. oh, no. george w. bush photographed in the exact same position as was president carter and president gerald ford. it is not just the president's feet that are the problem, some people are also taking issue with the president's derier. he has been photographed doing that more than one time. the problem is there are instances when president ford also put his bum on the desk.

jfk put his buttocks on the oval office desk while he watched his children. there might have been a poopy diaper on the desk. once he let actress judy garland sit on the desk while smoked a cigarette. every light hearted or relaxed moment the president has been seen doing has been done by virtually every other president before him. maybe it is time to stop worrying about what the president is putting on his desk and start worrying about what he signs on that desk. what did the head of the irs department at the center of the storm actually know about the organization's practice of targeting certain groups and when did she know it? the truth by the irs next. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing.

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just in, cnn has learned that house speaker john boehner has turned down the request from russian diplomats to meet with him on syria. he confirmed to cnn this is a significant development coming at a time when the president needs boehner's full support in taking possible military action in syria. john boehner said so far he supports voting for the president's bill for strikes against chemical weapons in that

country. tonight, we are learning new information about the irs official who became a political lightning rod. lois admitted they sought out conservative groups but clammed up when she was brought to testify about it. drew griffin looks into whether the actions were political or over zel laosness. >> good morning mr. chairman and members of the come midty. i'm name is lois learner. >> reporter: until this spring few people in america heard about lois learner. she said the irs targeted conservative groups applying for tax exempt status. >> we have time for one more question. >> reporter: and she did it by asking a reporter at a conference to ask a specific

question about targeting tea party groups. >> they used names like tea party or patriots and selected cases simply because the application had those names in the title. that was wrong. that was absolutely incorrect. it was insensitive and inappropriate. >> reporter: critics say revealing the controversy in that setting with a planted question was just one mistake in a long line of them. paul was there. >> nobody could believe, you know, the irs would take that opportunity to drop this bomb. >> reporter: that bomb was dropped just before this inspector general's report was released slamming the irs tax exempt office for targeting conservative groups and now cnn learned the irs had been preparing for that bomb to drop for more than a year. e-mails obtained by cnn show irs lawyers, the commissioner and lois learner herself were meeting to discuss how to respond when congress found out

with increasing sense of panic way back on march 2nd of 2012 learner writes we are going to get creamed. one year later, the irs inspector general report found ineffective management led to the irs using inappropriate criteria to target conservatives, but was it political or just a series of blunders? those who know and work with learner are divided. fred says he began to see a biest from lois learner when they worked together at the federal commission. >> what i saw was a bias against money in politics of the irs. >> reporter: a republican washington attorney says although he thinks learner is an honest woman, her bias had a partisan result. >> lois' opinion and that of her staff, if you had a lot of money and spending it in politics, you

needed to be looked into. >> reporter: that process took a long time. the ig's report says 81% of conservative groups that applied for tax exempt status, waited more than a year for an answer, some more than three years. learner didn't take responsibility for the problems in the division she ran, instead the irs at first blamed the whole controversy on a few so-called rogue agents working at the irs office in cincinnati. it turns out that just wasn't true. those rogue employees back in cincinnati were getting direction being told what to do by lois learner and her senior staff here in washington. a senior staff of executives trying to decide for months in 2011 and 2012 what to do with the tea party applications. back in cincinnati, the workers were wondering what is taking so long. liz, one of the irs cincinnati

employees testified that the process used to scrutinize tea party cases was unprecedented. >> in my experience, it was a high lie unusual process. i never bump had to send development letters -- >> reporter: though she doesn't think it was politically motivated. >> it was moe crow management. >> reporter: so far according to congressional staffers on both side of the isles. >> in the time there was justifiable outrage including from me. >> reporter: this was is series of mistakes. >> something just didn't seem to be right. >> reporter: and though republicans still believe there is political motivation behind it, there is no smoking gun, at least not yet. and the one person in charge who could answer that question directly, she is publicly saying nothing. >> i will not answer any questions or testify about the subject matter of this committee's meeting. i will not answer any questions

or testify. i decline to answer that question for the reasons i've already given. >> reporter: when called to testify, lois learner plead the fifth. >> conservatives look at this and go awe, this confirms everything we believe. >> reporter: ken who chairpersons the national policy center says he finds the timing extraordinary. the excess scrutiny of tea party groups began taking place as the president and democratic groups attacked the growing movement in the runup to the 2010 midterm elections. conservatives point out learner is married to michael miles who works at a law firm closely lined to president obama's reelection effort. as the investigations continue, lois learner though placed on administrative leave, collects a hefty paycheck, $180,000 a year of your tax dollars. grew griffin, cnn washington. >> and that's a number to

remember, $180,000. in tomorrow's special out front investigation, are some tax exempt organizations cheating the system? it's a really important part of this investigation and part of the exclusive series the truth about the irs that continues tomorrow. thanks for joining us tonight. thanks for joining us tonight. "ac 360" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com erin thanks. good evening everyone. ariel castro's life ends in death. he committed suicide says authorities an interview with his family. a teacher who admitted to raping a 14-year-old student who later killed herself. a judge suggested the young girl was partially to blame. why the case may not be closed after all. >> we begin with the question of a red line, who set it, crossed it? the politics of it and what that means as the united states weighs taking military action in syria. the red line is, of course,