from the left i'm stephanie cutter. >> from the right i'm newt gingrich. join us tomorrow for another edition of cros"crossfire." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next. president versus president. >> even if it takes changing the law the president should honor the commitment. >> bill clinton's strong words for president obama. plus, should you be on anlt cholesterol pills? >> some of these side effects are pretty significant. >> researchers say millions who are not on the drugs should be. but are they really safe? >> and from bad to worse. >> i don't have home. we lose our homes. and we have nothing to eat. we really need help now. >> the latest from the philippines. let's go "outfront."

good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. "outfront," one president stands up to another. form he bill clinton taking on president obama's misleading promise about americans keeping their health care plangs under obama care. here's what the president said. >> i personally believe even if it takes changing the law, the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they got. >> let them keep what they got. president obama has said i'm sorry for the promise. but is he going to do anything about it? anything to rectify the problem? john king is in washington. we begin our coverage. the president said in an interview last week, 38 working to help the people who lost their plans but it is unclear what that means. jay carney said at the white house thark looking at a quote/unquote change of options. these vague terms that get thrown around washington but they know it matters. the president's numbers have dropped dramatically. 54% disapprove of the job he's doing as president. only 39% approve.

bill clinton coming out so directly, so clearly, so confidently. he knew what he was doing. does that make the situation worse for president obama? >> did he know what he was doing. that's an important point. it makes it worse politically from the president. from a policy perspective, president clinton was speaking a self-evident truth in the sense that president obama had already gone on record saying we need to fix this and i want to fix it. but what's happening here? you have president clinton saying he needs to keep that promise. you have addiction durbin, a close friend of the president of the united states. someone not in a tough race. not on the ballot next year who doesn't have to have panic. now you have senior democrats who have no immediate reason to worry, meaning a tough re-election ahead of them, being more open, month public in their criticism of the president. what does that tell you? the president is trying to fix this administratively through some administrative executive action. but he has now, a former president, a member of the senate leadership and 10 or 12 senate democrats on the ballot next year saying the congress

needs to do something. once you open the door to the law, we don't know where it will change it. >> i've got a frog in my throat. he said the white house will release the obama care enrollment number by the end of the week. and the number are grim. 50,000 people have sign up out of last week out of 500,000 the administration was hoping for. those numbers are grim no matter what. they could change dramatically over time but how big of a problem is this? 50 when you wanted 500,000. >> politically it is a big problem. from a policy perspective, the point you make, what do they look like in march when you get to the deadline? six or anybody months after that? the administration is hoping they get better news. these more bad news, bad numbers is masking some progress. they say the website is better themselves say the medicaid expansion is going quite well. however the enroll many number being so low. the democrats who are beginning to panic and get nervous in those key states, they need something to convince them to

stop low enrollment numbers won't do it. number two republican there's say it is not just the website. they'll say it is proof it is unpopular. the people dome want to do this. what does the president need most of all? to have some good policy news to change the political dynamic. until he gets that, you'll have people piling on and panic among the democrats. that's the state of play the president is in. there always seems to be a bit of bad news that obscured any good news. the decline at this point in a second term presidency is dangerous and hard to stop. >> and of course you don't want to be a lame duck one year in. joining me now, the former u.s. treasury second lawrence summers. great to have you with us, larry, really appreciate it. you wrote in the financial time the rollout, i'll quote, is an not ever inexcusable error when you talk about the exchange. the "washington post" reports you received a memo in may of 2010, a long time ago saying the white house was not, quote, up

to the task of rolling out obama care. they should hire an expert. you pushed hard so that it could be done right. but that the president had, quote, already made up his mind. why was that? >> look, i'm not going to get into the different parts of our internal debates. i think the president has gotten it right. >> even if i'm on the right side of the debates or the wrong side. i don't think it is helpful when exofficials try to argue, reargue the case years afterwards. the president has. that this should have been managed differently and thattes angry. he is right to be angry. he was not well served by his colleagues in the administration. the american people were not well served by the way in which this played out. there are lessons about the information technology. you need experts. you need to trust but you need

to verify. you can't go rushing the schedule when you get behind or you end up making more errors. there are lessons and those lessons need to be heeded in the future. the president has made it clear. >> you know the president well. this is his signature piece of legislation. obviously very intimately involved. and programs it is part of the reason he's received the criticism he's received even from his own side of the aisle about what he knew and when he knew it. not knowing about the health care websites not working. that nobody seemed to have told him that right before the launch. it is not just that. emhe didn't know about the monitoring of angela merkel's cell phone. when it is his administration at risk, his legacy, do you think he should have known these things? is it an excuse to say i didn't know? or is that not acceptable, frankly? >> i'll tell you. i met with the president just about every day for two years.

the first two years of his administration. i found him to be remarkably attentive and aggressive. >> this was on health care? >> with respect to what was going on all the policy issues that he faced. certainly, in the interactions that i had with him he might have made judgments that people would agree with. he might have made judgments that the people would disagree with. but he was someone who had a clear recognition of what his responsibility was as president. i saw the very thick book he would receive every evening. >> do you final it hard to believe that he didn't know? >> he always came back the next morning having fully mastered the conten of that briefing. >> do you think having people like you leave, rahm emanuel leave? you were friends with the people who might have said we have a problem. that there are too many yes

people around? that they were afraid to tell him something he would have been angry about? movie the president made it clear to me in the first phone call in which we discussed my taking, that he wanted there to be good news but when there was bad news, he wanted to hear it and if it was my view that he was in a different direction, then he, than would be ideal, it was his decision to decide. but he wanted to hear what i thought even if -- he was very clear about that with me and i believe he was very clear about that with others. as to the circumstances years after i left, that's not something that i'm your best source on. >> let me ask you, a lot of people wanld you to be the fed chair. a lot of people on wall street thought you might be tough on the market but they did. janet yellin got the nod and

people say you got side lined because you speak your mine too loudly and frankly because she is a woman and the president needed to check that box. this is just the truthful we all know it is out there. is there a part of you deep down that feels you took a hit for the wrong reasons? >> no, erin, i'm a person who has been in public life for a long time. and i know that thing work out how they work out. there is a lot of circumstances that go into every decision. i was glad to have been considered. i very much focused forward. i think janet yellin will do a fine job. i look forward to following her progress at the fed. >> a diplomatic answer from larry summers. to go our website, cnn.com/outfront. you can hear more about what he thinks bl bill clinton's comments and too big to fail. still the latest on the devastation in the philippines.

we have a series of special reports for you as horror turns to tragedy with millions begging for food. then a terror suspect living in america in custody. a man in north carolina. police say attempting to join al qaeda. and sarah palin discusses chris christie's appearance. she actually sympathized with hillary clinton but called christie extreme. my customers can shop around--

see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not with our health. innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

that's mine. ♪ that's mine. that's mine. ♪ come on, kyle. ♪ [ horn honks ] that's mine...kyle. [ male announcer ] revenge is best served with 272 horses. get the best offers of the season now. lease this 2014 ats for around $299 a month with premium care maintenance included. ♪ the most free research reports, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1-second trades. and at the center of it all is a surprisingly low price -- just $7.95.

in fact, fidelity gives you lower trade commissions than schwab, td ameritrade, and etrade. i'm monica santiago of fidelity investments, and low fees and commissions are another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. a terror suspect busted in

north carolina. tonight that 29-year-old man behind bars accused of trying to join al qaeda. now, a group linked to al qaeda, specifically, that has claimed responsibility for hundreds of terrorist attacks. chris lawrence is "outfront." what have you learned about this guy? >> well, basically, this criminal complaint that was just unseal day reveal the man is called basit sheikh. as he permanent resident of the united states and it alleges he was trying to provide material support to the radical islamic group fighting to overthrow the group of bashar al assad. it said he was arrested at the raleigh airport a few weeks ago. he was planning to go to lebanon and from there go to syria. now, prosecutors say, basically that what happened was, he had tried this before in 2012. he went to turkey trying to cross the border. he got discouraged by some of

the more rebel groups that he found. and his plans escalated this summer. he was on one of those jihadi sites. he got in touch with what turned out to be an fbi informant. that informant put him in touch with a so call trusted brother who actually turned out to be an undercover fbi agent. that undercover agent busted him and basically he is now charged with providing support to a noted al qaeda affiliated group. >> what kinds of charge? say he was convicted. what kind of charges does someone look at? i know there are others that have gone through this. how long would he go to jail? >> basically 15 years and pay about a quarter of a million-dollar fine. but he is the third person to basically be arrested and charged with trying to aid the group this year. one other man in chicago. another man right here in suburban washington. one of those men was a form he u.s. army veteran. he plea bargained down.

and i'm told by some legal officials, that that is the likely case here. that that 15 years is basically used to sort of pressure these men into a plea deal. especially when you consider that sheikh doesn't have a criminal record. he will likely plead out to just a few years if that. >> wow! all right. thanks to you, chris lawrence. our third story is big airlines getting bigger. the justice department says it has reached an agreement to allow american airlines and u.s. airways to merge creating the world's largest airline. they have struggled to get this done for a really long time so this is significant. the deal makes the airline take steps to help lower cost competitors and reduce their hold in certain big cities. now american airlines shares surged on today's news but what does this mean for the rest us? that's all we care about. that's tonight's money and power. richard, here's what we care about.

big airline gets bigger. do air fares go up? >> yes. but not sxs you would expect. this is not really about fares going up. this is about service, about delivery. the jarl was very keen that american airlines kept its promises to fly to certain destinations in certain states. arizona, texas, for example, tennessee. it also wanted to ensure hubs would remain open and american airline has agreed to keep all its hubs open for the next few years and crucially give up slots at major airports. washington reagan national, laguardia, boston, miami, chicago, o'hare, dallas. >> to make it impossible for an airline to ever make money. >> no, no, come on. >> why so negative? >> delta bought northwest. continental, united merged. american, u.s. airways had to do something. the d.o.j. came in at the last minute and tried to 61er it.

what has come out of it is a slight rebalancing. i've spoken to people very familiar with this deal. what they tell me is that they, the airlines can live with it and now it is all about execution. >> so here you've spun me now. you're saying, your fares are going up but not sxs you think. here's the other thing. people complain about the planes them say this is a really old plane. >> they've gotten gins and wings. >> they fly but they're not the night of thing on the planett and you tell me that here again, there is another side of the story. >> i'm not going to sit here and do american airlines's pr for them. but they have put in the largest order for narrow bodied planes. 737s, a-320s. that is going on take its time over the next five or six years.

this is an airline that has been in bankruptcy the past few years. what i'm hearing from passengers, marchly on long haul international destinations. >> sell me on that. come on! >> there was a huge improvement on quality. as it has been with delta. dealt la is eating everybody's lunch at the moment. delta is on a roll. united is also improving its quality. but what i'm saying is, american is shifting itself. don't get me wrong, they one massive task. to merge and by jingo, if you look at the way delta northwest had problems, continental united had problems, it is only just beginning for american u.s. airways. >> thank you very much. richard qwest. i can't wait to check out that long haul when i am sure it is ready. a man spent a decade in a maximum security prison. a month ago on this program emhe was innocent and tonight he is free. best to speak. we're going to be having that

for you live right here on this program. >> plus, sea world takes on uncle sam. the park's very survival could depend on the outcome of this. and another very strange day in tronl. mayor rob ford takes a crack at selling toys. customer erin swenson ordered shoes from us online but they didn't fit. customer's not happy, i'm not happy. sales go down, i'm not happy. merch comes back, i'm not happy. use ups. they make returns easy. unhappy customer becomes happy customer. then, repeat customer. easy returns, i'm happy. repeat customers, i'm happy. sales go up, i'm happy. i ordered another pair. i'm happy. (both) i'm happy. i'm happy. happy. happy. happy. happy. happy happy. i love logistics.

she loves a lot of it's what you love about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis.

side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial.

. our fourth story "outfront," a fight for seaworld's survival. the amusement park is taking on the federal government today trying to get its killer whale trainers back in the water. i don't know if you know this, if you've been there burk trainers have been banned from the pools since a veteran trainer was killed by a whale named tilikum. sea world said the ban is hurting business big time. martin is "outfront." >> reporter: the stakes are as big as the star performers at the heart of the matter. seaworld appealing to 3-judge appellate panel asking them to overturn the restriction of trainers in the water with killer whales. no cameras were allowed but there was such high interest, it

was held in a law school auditorium. the 2010 death of dawn brancheau brought an ento performances like these. she was mauled by the killer whale she was working with and was the third death connected to the same killer whale. >> all of a sudden the whale latched on to her and took her under. >> reporter: osha ultimately fined sea world $12,000 bull ultimately banned inact between the train in the performances. sea world said that interaction is the crucial part of the business. >> is that a legitimate argument? >> i think it is. they're taking the position that this isn't just the way we do work. it is our product. >> reporter: benjamin brigs has argued corporate appeals to rulings and said what the government agency has on its side is history. >> there is a long and well documented track record of these times of animals behaving grefly toward humans to the point that

they've caused a number of fatalities. not only at seaworld but at other places. >> reporter: eugene scalia, son of ant nun scalia, argued that osha has no more rights to put restrictions on sea world than to regulate tackling in the nfl or speed limits in nascar. the judges took note but didn't give any indication of which way they may rule. >> it's amazing when you think about that and what you're saying, they don't have authority on thing like nascar? kind of surprising. was there anything else that seemed to resonate with the judges in terms of the arguments made? >> the judges did pick up on that theme of talking about football and nascar. and they said okay, maybe osha wouldn't consider saying, making contact football into flag football or putting a speed limit up for nascar. but they do regulate thing like, say, seatbelts or helmets which are designed to make both those sports safer. in other words, there are ways

to advance the idea of safety protocol without putting somebody out of business. >> amazing. when you think about how important those trainers are sow what seaworld stands for. whether you like it or not. thank you very much. you've been covering this story of black fish. still to come interesting latest from the philippines. we'll go there live will million of people desperate for food, crying out for help. we have a series of special reports for you. plus the 19-year-old accused of hacking into miss teen's usa computer and threatening on extort her. and what made sarah palin say this about chris christie? >> it is hard for some people not to comment on it. did you know more coffee drinkers prefer the taste of gevalia house blend over the taste of starbucks house blend? not that we like tooting our own horn but... ♪ toot toot. [ male announcer ] find gevalia in the coffee aisle or at gevalia.com

bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. as where we came from. with the wind chill, it's 10 below. flight attendants, prepare for landing. [ attendant ] we have record lows out there so bundle up, and thank you for flying with us. [ engine turns over ] ♪ [ male announcer ] now, with mybuick remote start, the new buick enclave makes sure you're ready for anything. ♪ just one more way the new enclave is smart made beautiful.

cheryl burke is cha-cha-ing in depend silhouette briefs for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself.

welcome back. sarah palin goes rogue again. in an interview, palin takes on the appearances of hillary clinton and chris christie. shem any woman running for the presidency can speck there will be sexism but can overcome it with thick skin. >> yeah. hillary clinton was mistreated when it came to appearances. when it came to wardrobe, petty, superficial things that the men don't ever seem to hear much about. but a woman candidate will. >> governor christie hears about his appearance. >> that's because it has been extreme. it is hard for some people not to comment on it. >> christie's appearance is quote/unquote extreme. you heard her. but she did defend hillary

clinton. interesting. an "outfront" update on the sex-tortion scheme targeting miss usa cassidy wolf. the 19-year-old has pleaded guilty to four violations, including extorsion. according to court documents, he hacked into her computer and used her webcam to take pictures of her during her most private moments. he appeared on this show a day after discovering she knew young man. >> in my head i created this monster. somebody who was attack megaand now putting a face to a kid i went to school work it is a mix emotion. >> abrahams will remain on bonld until he is sentenced in march. now the robby bobby. embattled mayor rob ford was doing the whole city thing that he does, ought grafg limited edition rob ford bobble heads.

>> he was doing this for a good cause. proceeds from the thousand bobble heads sold for $20 each. and they went to the united way. the bobble heads were in hot demand, because you know, he's what is the right word? i'm going on settle for household name. he has admitted to smoking crack cocaine making him an international name. can any pr move make people forgive and forget his indiscretions? our fifth story, running out of time it has been four days since the typhoon hit the philippines. the death toll has scaled back to about 2,000 people. for survivors interesting crisis i is growing more urge edge. that death toll could rise because of the situation now. the u.n. says more than 2 million people are desperate for food, water and shelter. more than 580,000 people have been displaced.

and american general on the ground says immediate help is needed and that one week from now could be too late. so many lives could be lost. relief efforts have struggled to get aid on the ground. the threat of a deadly outbreak of disease continues to grow. as you may remember our report last night, there are bodies littering the streets and some of them like in the very water that the people who are surviving are forced to drink because there is no other choice. "outfront," relief efforts are being staged. i know you've been in ground zero of this storm. and now you look, people might say. it is a miracle if only 2,000 people programs died in the storm. but those numbers could surge given the horror that you've been seeing now. how dire is it? >> the situation is desperate on the ground. the problem is that aid is trickling in very slowly. logistics and resources.

that is the challenge facing the military here in this disaster relief operation themselves don't have enough planes to get the basic necessities to these places. once they get there, it is the roads and the air field that's are damaged. a lot of the places haven't been accessed as yet which is frightening. when they enter those places, that's when we'll get a real idea as to the full stenl of this massive typhoon. we traveled with the military to one of the hardest hit places and this is what we saw. as the disaster relief operation shifts into overdrive, the roar of engines from c-130 hercules fills the air. we've been given permission to board this military cargo plane carrying vital aid and dozens of soldiers and police to one of the worst hit areas in the philippines. as we fly over the township of guiuan, all we can see the utter devastation.

this community was the first to be hit by super typhoon highian and since then there has been no communication. the plan is to conduct a search and rescue mission. these men know they're facing a recovery operation. the police and military on this flight have an enormous operation ahead of them. we have just landed and as you can see, these enormous palm trees have been snapped like twigs. everything has been nationalened. you can see the local people standing under a shelter. the roof has been ripped off. they have been without supplies for days. this typhoon hit this point first. this was the first town really that was devastated. and these soldiers that have no idea what they're about to face. as the troops unload bags of rice and boxes of bottled water,

the locals desperately watch on. >> there is a shortage of food, tents, everything. everything is gone. so we need help. >> of the 50,000 people in this town, almost everyone is homeless. dozens of people have lost their lives and many more are still missing. >> i don't know where to start. if you will look around, total damage. 100% damage. with the aid off, the sick and injured are carried on board. in less than 20 minutes the engines start up again carrying these traumatized survivors to safety. >> when you've -- just hearing those people begging for food and saying they need food. that is really hard to watch and i can't imagine how it feels from your perspective as a journalist being there. as we try to figure out how much worse this could get, you've

seen a lot of people who still don't know where their family members are. >> reporter: yeah. absolutely. the people who evacuate out of those areas may end up congregating here at the cebu air field waiting for news. you have to remember that communications are completely down on so many of these islands. these people have not heard from their loved ones since that super typhoon hit. these c-130 hercules that are picking up aid and delivering it and bringing back people who have evacuated from these hard hit towns, you know, they are really the life line between these islands and the outside world. but definitely, a lot of the missing and there are thousands of them. many of them are presumed dead. that is the frightening reality. >> all right. thank you very much. reporting as we said from cebu. as anna has been saying, the big challenge is that aid can't get

in in time. that's where you have this potentially incredible loss of life. the united states has 250 troops on the ground now. 107,000 pounds of supplies have been delivered and they're trying to get navy ships to help with the rescue. some of them with the amphibious ability to come up on the shore and cross the destroyed areas that you've seen because the roads are impassable. "outfront," nick peyton walsh. i know the survivors are running out of time where you are and i know where you are, there is been horrific stories about bodies on the streets and the horrible things people are seeing. what have you seen? >> reporter: when we arrived late last nightering with went through a town, a ghost town now. very few people living inside. tying to eke out a life in the skeletons of buildings by trying to keep warm. corpses lining the streets of the roads that we went down. one man trying to locate his family. a dog helping rescuers find

people. first the body of his son and then his daughter is that the search continued in the darkness to w his bare hands, looking for his ex-wife. he went further down the road and came across the church. central to life in the philippines. a church which people were not looking to find spiritual soleace. about a thousand women and children hiding out there. their main complaint, where is our government? they're not seeing the aid they expected and they're feeling left to fence for themselves. >> and when you hear anna talking about asking for food, begging for food. aid organizations, the united states government, they're all trying to get supplies in. how hungry are people? we had reported one general from the u.s. army said if the food doesn't get in in the next week, it will be too late for a lot of people. >> reporter: we didn't see

people on the edge of starvation. there is no real lethality here but there are the very young at risk. we're hearing mothers telling us they're having to feed their daughter dirty water. the children suffering from fevers. that will get worse as days go by. there is a capacity problem and air strips trying to get planes in fast enough. the philippine air force don't have enough to write in aid and assistance. the u.s. military trying to help too. until we see convoys, the industrial scale of assistance, people will be counting the hours here to see exactly what the decay and destruction is doing to health and the possible of more loss of life. >> thank you very much. and of course to anna who is nearby as we said in one of the first hit cities in cebu. still to come, a man spend a decade in a maximum security prison. a month ago on this program he said he was innocent. tonight he is free and he is about to speak and you'll herat live. plus, a controversial new rule why millions of americans who

are not on anti-cholesterol drugs could be soon. tens of millions of americans. are those drugs really the panacea they're cracked up to be? ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the mercedes-benz winter event is back, with the perfect vehicle that's just right for you, no matter which list you're on. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] get the all-new 2014 cla250 starting at just $29,900.

mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. man: [ laughs ] those look like baby steps now.

but they were some pretty good moves. and the best move of all? having the right partner at my side. it's so much better that way. [ male announcer ] have the right partner at your side. consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long.

tonight we go to italy where a costa concordia captain is on trial facing charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship. the big question is whether he fell into a layoff boat or jumped into one. and obviously you can tell why that is so central. i asked our report he covering the trial what witnesses said they saw. >> we heard more damning evidence against the captain in the trial today. a crew member following the captain that night testified how the captain did not fall into a life boat as he has main tained. in fact he jumped on to the top of a life boat to make his way off the ship before all the rest of the passengers made their way to safety. we heard from a technician in the engine room when the captain hit the rock that ultimately sank the ship. he said he was hit by a ten-meter jet of water that pushed him out of position as the ship's engine room filled with water.

we're expecting to hear more from crew members on the ship and eventually we'll hear from passengers who talked about their trauma trying to get off the ship and the captain is expected to take the stand sometime before the end of the year. our sixth story "outfront," jail for a decade but tonight a free man. here's the story. after ten years in prison for murder, a murder he says he never committed, 29-year-old ryan ferguson was released just moments ago because last week an appeals court threw out his 2005 murder conviction. he was going to have to spend the rest of his life in jail. they said the prosecution withheld evidence and ferguson has been serving in a maximum security prison for the murder of a local sports journalist. i want to bring in david mattingly. he has been to the jail and met with ryan. as he is clearing through getting out of jail, we'll be hearing from ryan any moment directly live here. what are you hearing? i know you have spoken to him. >> i spoke to him before all this happened today. he was trying to be very guarded

in his anticipation of this. trying to look forward to that day where he might be free. but knowing that so many things could happen along that way where he might actually have to stay in prison. today all those doubts dissipated late this afternoon when the state attorney general surprised everyone. they had 15 days to make their intentions known. if they were going on retry ryan ferguson. it took them only seven for them to release a very simple statement and it basically said, the state will not retry or pursue further action against ryan ferguson. that was his get out of jail free card that he has been waiting for for almost a decade. the wheels of justice then which have been turning very slowly so far in his case picked up the pace a little bit and now within the last hour, he walk out of courtroom a free man. >> walked out a free man. we can see that podium with a hotel set-up. that's a live picture where ryan is going to be speaking in a few

moments. now because you've spoken to him, you've had a segs of what kind of a man he is. you've spoken to his family. what is their reaction to this? >> well, to put it in perspective, you have to look at what the family for ryan has been doing. the extraordinary amount of support they've given him for the last decade. they have been going across the country pleading his case. his father has acted as part attorney and part investigator, trying to come one information in ways to free his son over the years. they've been relentless trying to reach that day. so you can imagine that this day, both for ryan who has been behind bars and denied his freedom and for his parents who have been denied their son for so long, this is truly, truly a joyous moment. and the first thing he's going to do in public is give his press conference. that's what you saw the set-up there in that hotel room. he will probably have a lot of thing to say about where he wants to go from here. i've been talking to the family

hoomd they were looking forward to having him home for thanksgiving but the way the courts were, they didn't know if that would happen until today. they know that wish has finally come true. and the father saying that he can't wait to play his son in a game of basketball. >> all right. thank you very much. our strength story out front, a new prescription for your heart. hours ago new guidelines were released and it could mean millions of americans, including you would have to start taking a stat tent. it is one of the most widely prescribed drugs in the united states. 32 million americans are on statins. sanjay, people have already sort of character rised statins is one a day will keep the doctor away but what is the recommendation? >> it's a shift in the way

doctors put it, the way they will approach heart disease and the number of people to take these statin medications and there were general guidelines of chris roll numbers. if it was over a certain amount you would be more likely to be prescribed a drug. they have specific guidelines. sometimes it's one risk factor that triggers a potential recommendation. if you're a diabetic, if you have any evidence of heart disease you could be recommended a statin drug, bad cholesterol, statin and if your ten-year risk is over 7.5%, statin drug. 3 2 million people taking this medication, if you do the math, it could double, 64, 65 million people. >> that's a stunning statistic and if this really does help the heart, a wonderful thing for so many people. last year the fda added to the

side effect of statins concerns about memory lose, right, and there is conflicting studies. i pulled them up today, statin may prevent dementia, common statin may impair memory. dementia and what that means to society and our own lives there is nothing more significant than that. if there is still a risk these drugs could cause memory loss, is it worth having the number of people take them double? >> it's an important question and i tend to ask a lot of questions when guidelines like these get released. some of these side effects are pretty significant. muscle aches can make it so a personal can't exercise or be active. memory loss as you boinpoint ou liver problems. these are significant problems. let me throw another point into that, erin, despite the fact there is good evidence it could reduced and the number of heart

attacks, if the question is this going to make us live longer, if doctor you prescribe this medication, am i going to live longer as a result? the evidence isn't that compelling. this isn't a thing where we're going to dramatically reduce the number of people dying of heart disease. we may reduce the number of heart attacks and cholesterol numbers but what we really want to know is how long will people live as a result of this and we don't know the answer of that conclusively. >> and when will we know all these questions? again, to your point saying it doesn't make people live longer, i guess my metaphor was off but the perception that statins is a little out there in a lot of people's minds. when are we going to know? >> well, you know, it could take some time and let me say something. i mean, there are a lot of doctors for sometime who said we should put this type of med

kag medication in drinking water, it's that good. they backed off that. they suspected lowering heart attacks is likely. some of the guideline information that's leading to the guidelines has been out there for a long time, but just now after american heart association, other organizations put it all together they arrive at these conclusions. >> thanks very much to you sanjay and let us know your thoughts on that. next, the rivalry between new york and chicago. this one, this is a great story. people don't have to think about where their electricity comes from. they flip the switch-- and the light comes on. it's our job to make sure that it does. using natural gas this power plant can produce enough energy for about 600,000 homes. generating electricity that's cleaner and reliable, with fewer emissions-- it matters. ♪

became big business overnight? ♪ like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. a research tool on thinkorswim. i started part-time, now i'm a manager.n. my employer matches my charitable giving. really. i get bonuses even working part-time. where i work, over 400 people are promoted every day. healthcare starting under $40 a month. i got education benefits. i work at walmart. i'm a pharmacist. sales associate. i manage produce. i work in logistics. there's more to walmart than you think. vo: opportunity. that's the real walmart.

time for the out front out take. there is a rivalry between new york and chicago since, well, the city it is were founded. people in both claiming the best comedians, sports teams and now buildings. the fight is whether the world trade center in new york is tallest than chicago's tower. in press conferences in both sideties, the height committee of tall buildings and urban habitat, there is such thing. 1776 feet tall, the world trade center and 1450 for the willis tower. i digress because the top line is new york wins the building

contest. the decision was not without controversy. it seems these 25 enga nears couldn't figure out what defines a building. spires that are a part of the building's decision and antennas that can be removed do not. no joke, sometimes a stick on the top isn't just a stick on the top. listen to the chicago mayor ron emanuel. >> if it looks like an an tan in, acts like an antenna, guess what? ist -- it's an antenna. >> they decided it's necessary for the building and made a part of history in this decision and he's right, picking new york over chicago is a part of history, a very little part because the world trader is officially america's tall's building, it's a shrimp, there

are much bigger than anything america has and there is a slew on towers that will rank higher than anything in the u.s. we're getting bumped in. two press confraszs, 25 judges to decide which u.s. city is number four, for now. number four, for now. ac starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening everyone. i'm anderson cooper like from tacloban airport in the philippines are five days after typhoon haiyan, desperation set in. there is little food, little water and there are many, many people in need. many people are trying to get out of here, out of the airport. there are scenes of people lining up all around me. they have been lining up here all night long and just wait at the airport. they frankly have nowhere else to go because out there on the other side of the camera, is what remains of tacloban and it is not a pretty sight. ad