long-term agreement. let's see if this cease-fire can hold. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm bofl blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" next breaking news. an all-american man turned jihadi who died fighting for isis in syria. now growing fears about the other americans answering the call for jihad as well. president obama makes a promise to protect the american people from isis. surveillance flights now under way near the syrian border. are air strikes next? and alarming new audio allegedly from the michael brown shooting now being analyzed by the fbi. what a pause heard amid the rapid gunfire might tell us. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm jim sciutto in again for

erin burnett. we begin with breaking news. an american dies fighting for isis. cnn learned today that a home grown terrorist, 33-year-old san diego resident, douglas macarthur mccain was killed in syria over the weekend fighting for the feared, brutal terrorist group known as isis. intelligence officials tell cnn they had been watching mccain for some time. more now on how a man born in america could die a jihadi. he's an american with an all-american name, douglas macarthur mccain, but this 33-year-old man from san diego went to fight and die in syria for isis, the terror group u.s. officials now call the gravest of threats. it was, after all, an isis fighter who beheaded american journalist james foley just last week. mccain's family tells cnn they were notified by the state department maupd that he was killed over the weekend. his uncle kenneth told me, quote, we're devastated and

we're just as surprised as the country is. mccain was raised christian but converted to islam several years ago. police in minnesota tell cnn that mccain had past run-ins with the law charged in 2003 with possession of marijuana and driving on a suspended license. several months ago he told family members he was traveling to turkey. that was the last they saw him. mccain is not the first american to die fighting as a jihadi in syria. mohammed abusallah was killed in may detonating a truck bomb. in a martyrdom video he's seen tearing up his u.s. passport and urging others to join the fight. >> you think that you've won. you've never won. >> reporter: he was fighting for an al qaeda-tied terror group. mccain is the first american known to have been killed fighting for isis, a group so brutal it was expelled by al qaeda. today american officials believe

that 100 americans are fighting as jihadis and more than 1,000 westerners. mccain was on a terror watchlist. the state department says they're doing their best to track others. >> we've increased our capacity, we've increased our tracking, we've increased our coordination, but clearly this is a threat that we take seriously enough to put it at front and center of our agenda. >> reporter: the fear now when they return home, they may bring jihad with them. we're joined by fpentagon spokesman admiral kirby. >> thanks for having me. >> this case remarkable. you have an american douglas macarthur mccain caught fighting and dying for isis. to the pentagon, what does a case like this indicate? >> well, again, we can't confirm whether it's true or not, but if it's true, what it reminds us here about is the very real threat of foreign fighters inside isil. we're not the

. as we go into this war, i think that's a pretty good chance it will happen. >> it's a tremendous fear. i've heard it from u.s.

intelligence officials for months moontsds. when you were in iraq dealing with al qaeda in iraq, the precursor to isis, one thing you didn't face there was americans and europeans in the numbers we see with isis now joining the fight there. how much does that raise this challenge from isis? >> we don't know who they are, all of them and they're able to fly into the united states without getting a visa. this is a tremendous national security challenge to our intelligence agencies and homeland security agencies.

>> clearly, some people have gotten through even if they are tracking them. bob, i wonder if i can ask you this, when these air strikes started in iraq, you heard a direct threat from the isis fighter who killed the american, james foley. you continue these attacks we'll take the fight to you. we will kill americans. how much of a concern is that, that as you step up military action there, you may spark reaction from isis, on americans whether inside syria or the homeland in europe. >> you can count on it. i'm not worried about our forces in iraq, they're so well trained they can take care of themselves it's europe and the united states. the problem is we have a situation where they have an academy, if you like, where people are indoctrinated for suicide bombers, westerners and syrians and iraqis and the rest of it. as the administration looks on

they can't let this continue on like the order of the assassins from the 11th century and hundreds of young men from the gulf going there who presumably could return home and why you have the gulf arabs so worried at this point. this is truly a cancer and spreading. i spoke to someone who had just been in rocca saying they're worse than al qaeda and taliban. >> it's amazing they were expelled by the al qaeda. you heard the rear general kirby saying the u.s. is stepping up its efforts significantly against isis and heard the president vow to protect americans against isis. do you have any fear the administration has been natural too slow to respond to the threat? >> the administration has been very deliberate. when you're talking about going to war, deliberate is good. i think the time for deliberation is quickly coming to an end. the administration has to decide

two things. first, is isis a threat to the united states? i think it is, many people think it is. if it is, what are we going to do about it? we need to put the is islamic state on the defensive. we can't be bullied because they claim to ramp up murders against journalists or conductor ror attacks. they wim do that anyway. it's incumbent upon the administration if they deem the islamic state a threat, to act. >> thanks very much for joining us. out front next, as isis gains ground, obama approves surveillance flights over syria while syria warns the u.s. against air strikes. just how will this work? plus, a series of gunshots recorded accidentally, the day the moment that michael brown was killed. what that audio may reveal about how he perished. drug overdoses are the leading cause of injury related deaths in the u.s.

could pot potentially help reverse that trend? when a pro at any 2014 pga tour event sinks a hole-in-one, quicken loans could pay your mortgage for an entire year. truly amazing! enter today at pgatour.com/quickenloans this is charlie. his long day of doing it himself starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. honey, you did it! baby laughs!

we'we're trying ourls. best to be role models. we don't jump at the sound of the opening bell, because we're trying to make the school bell. corner booth beats corner office any day. we make the most out of our time... and our money. the chevrolet malibu. j.d. power's highest ranked midsize car in initial quality. the car for the richest guys on earth. you fifteen percent or more on huh, fiftcar insurance.uld save everybody knows that. well, did you know words really can hurt you? what...? jesse don't go! jesse...no! i'm sorry daisy, but i'm a loner. and a loner gotta be alone. heee yawww! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

jesse? and our in-lawsary have agreed to... take care of our kid for a night. so we can finally get some sleep. the hotel has to be right. with hotwire, you can get a 4-star hotel for up to 60% off, even at the last minute. in the neighborhood where we wanna go? yes. you just won't the name until after you book. hmm. ooh. definitely. it's all about sleep. it's not all about sleep. yeah, well, for me it is. lucky me. get last minute hotel deals on hotwire ♪ move better, just talk to one of our scientists. they'll show you a special glue we've developed that bonds metal to plastic. and that makes the things you're trying to move... lighter. the less weight... the less energy. and what you save can be used for speed. for efficiency. or just for fun. this is the human element at work. dow.

. welcome back. president obama has authorized reconnaissance flights over syria according to a u.s. official. and those flights have begun along the syria/iraq border. as isis militants continue to gain ground in that war ravaged nation. flights inside syria seen as a forerunner of possible u.s. air strikes against isis in syria could begin at any point. we begin tonight with barbara

starr. she's at the pentagon. >> reporter: from president obama a threat and a promise. >> justice will be done. we have proved time and time again we'll do what's necessary to capture those who harm americans and we'll continue to take direct action where needed to protect our people and to defend our homeland. >> reporter: but as the u.s. prepares to potentially militarily confront isis, the pentagon will say little about the reconnaissance flights president obama authorized over syria. >> i'm not going to talk about intelligence matters. >> reporter: an administration official tells cnn that drones have flown over iraq near the border with syria to pick up whatever intelligence they can about isis troops, convoys, weapons and training camps just inside syria. anything on targets that could be hit to des rupt their brutal campaign of murder and intimidation. u.s. satellites have already

gathered some information. isis communications are also being monitored, but now the u.s. needs to get realtime intelligence. it will be tough. one of the type of drones being used, sources say, a global hawk like this. it can fly at up to 60,000 feet and especially equipped to gather targeting information on fixed and mobile targets. exactly the type of information on isis the u.s. wants. washington will not acknowledge if drones have penetrated syrian air space, a move that would violate syria's sovereignty, u.s. officials say. but once the intel is in hand, would u.s. bombers have to cross into syria to strike? perhaps. one option, b-1 bombers flying at high altitude dropping precision bombs, but many say air strikes alone will not defeat isis. >> these isolated military actions can only result in more

difficulty. the president needs to put together his national security team, the department of defense and put together a plan. >> reporter: and there's always the law of unintended consequences. a senior u.s. official tells me if the u.s. were to undertake air strikes against isis inside syria, one of the problems is it might actually benefit syrian president bashar al assad whose forces are also battling isis. jim? >> barbara starr at the pentagon. i want to bring you now amy davidson, executive editor of "the new yorker" and contributing editor at "the atlantic." amy, are air strikes the answer or part of the answer against isis? >> air strikes alone aren't going to do anything. and there's a real -- many scenarios in which air strikes could actually be counterproductive. barbara mentioned unintended consequences. if we just go -- this isn't a situation where we just need to

show the terrorists force, where a display of anger and justice that president obama mentioned is going to be the most effective thing. this is happening in a situation in syria where isis is our enemy. we've also been working very hard to overthrow or to support the people who are challenging bashar al assad. and isis is also fighting assad. if we just go in there and bomb isis, we not only have to think about whether it's going to actually benefit assad and be counterproductive in other ways but whether it might benefit isis. one thing that general dempsey said last week when he was talking about the u.s. military's option was the ultimate way to defeat isis is to make it that all of the sunni muslims in the region between damascus and baghdad don't feel completely disenfranchised.

if they see sunni rebels fighting against assad suddenly see us taking sides and think we've thrown out all of their grievances and their interests for this moment for a military strike, we're also going to possibly strengthen isis. >> isis would love to pick a fight with the u.s., peter. it raises their profile. it shows that they can stand up, that kind of thing. is that one of these unintended consequences that if you take the fight to them, that oddly enough, it might benefit them? >> i'm not sure that it would benefit them. yes, their profile is being raised. on the other hand, it's not fun to have the world's most powerful military dropping the most powerful bombs in the world on you. i think the problem is you can't take territory from the air. you have to have a ground ally. you look at the president's kosovo, for instance, afghanistan, always we had an ally, even the kurds in iraq. we don't really have an ally. and prk pesident obama has said that again and again and again we don't think that the nonjihadist rebels, the supposed

free syrian army, we don't think they're really very effective and a lot of other people have said the boundaries between them and the jihadists are not clear either. >> he's also repeatedly ruled out putting u.s. troops on the ground there. he did that again today. so it begs the question then, the u.s., the president, the american public clearly doesn't want americans on the ground in another middle eastern war. if air strikes aren't enough, how do you square that circle? what's the solution to respond as it becomes more of a direct threat to the u.s.? >> there's no military solution that will work alone. if there's going to be one, it has to be in conjunction with diplomacy and with a political discussion, a political discussion about the future of the iraqi government. also a political discussion at home just so the obama administration thing that america will grow stronger if we go into this without a discussion of the real possible consequences and costs among americans. >> and goals, what are the goals here? because many have said that's

exactly the debate this country did not have in the advance to war in iraq. the cost, how long are we going to be there and what's the endgame. >> the last thing our military needs is to be sent into an action that's ill defined. >> the enemies that president obama spoke out so strongly about not wanting mission creep but in fact this is exactly what we're doing. if you look at the rationale, it started with protecting the american embassy and american personnel in iraq. >> and protecting the yazidis. >> then this mosul dam could have been a threat. now that we've acknowledged that we're fighting against isis so we have to fight them on both sides of the border. striking that a president himself who has been so resoundingly opposed to allowing this to get bigger is doing exactly that. >> a good reminder to viewers because a couple weeks ago that was the mission as defined. lo and behold you're talking about action against syria. >> we've got justified rage because we've seen a journalist executed on film. but what we have to figure out

is how to really address that and not just plunge in. you know, and also keeping in mind with the assad factor that sometimes the enemy of our enemy is our enemy also. it's not as simple -- we can't pretend this isn't really complicated, that there might be trade-offs. >> and syria and bashar al assad are on the same side now against isis is now remarkable. we want you to weigh in with your thoughts and questions about isis. please join me tomorrow at noon eastern for a live facebook chat. you go to facebook.com/cnn, and we'll take your thoughts and questions as well. "outfront" next, an unexpected development in the michael brown case. the fbi now examining an audio recording taken by chance the very moment that brown was gunned down. plus a united airlines flight forced to make an emergency landing in chicago. why two passengers were removed from the jet.

ever since we launched snapshot, my life has been positively cray-cray. what's snapshot, you ask? only a revolutionary tool that can save you big-time. just plug it in, and the better you drive, the more cash you'll stash. switching to progressive can already save ye $500. snapshot could save ye even more. meat maiden! bringeth to me thine spiciest wings of buffalo.

co: until you're sure you do.you need a hotel room bartender: thanks, captain obvious. co: which is why i put the hotels.com mobile app on my mobile phone. hotels.com i don't need it right now. oohh, you got it!o i love the looks of it. (sound of garage closing) nobody touches my dodge dart, jake johnson not even your best friend slash neighbor? no one i can still get in craig i'd like to see you try all i'd have to do is roll in, dude. let's see it i choose not to right now come on indiana common, let me in. let me in! mmmm let me sit in the car mmmm ♪ don't touch my dart it's monday. a brand new start. your chance to rise and shine. with centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you can do just that. with our visionary cloud infrastructure, global broadband network and custom communications solutions, your business is more reliable - secure - agile.

and with responsive, dedicated support, we help you shine every day of the week. centurylink your link to what's next. ♪ [music] defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. easily absorbed calcium plus d. beauty is bone deep.

that's why i always choose the fastest intern.r slow. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. tonight a startling new clue in the shooting death of michael brown. cnn has obtained an audio

recording allegedly taken from the exact moment that officer darren wilson opened fire on the unarmed teenager. it was recorded unintentionally during a video chat by a man who lives near the scene of the shooting in ferguson, missouri. would like you to listen to the recording for yourself and just keep in mind you're going to hear this man's conversation with the shots in the background. >> you are -- you are so fine. just going on some of your -- >> a forensic audio expert analyzed that for cnn. he said there were six gunshots, a three second pause and then a total of ten shots. some focused on that total number, others on that pause, a three-second pause between them. at this hour, crowds are marching through ferguson, missouri. you're looking at live pictures. the protesters now making their way to the exact spot where michael brown was killed more than two weeks ago now.

our sara sidner is out front. wur right in the middle of the protests. they've been quiet for a number of days. what's the mood at tonight's march? >> it's interesting. tonight it really is about unity. you'll see signs where people are holding up signs of unity and for support for michael brown's family. they were just, you know, talking about justice. and that's what this community want. we're where some of the major protests have been happening. what you're seeing is somewhere around 100 or so people. we're not talking about just one age group or just one color. there are white folks here, there are african-americans here, children here, there are faeps here. they started at church and they're going to go all the way down to cainfield where michael brown was shot and killed by a police officer. what sparked all this off 2 1/2 weeks ago. it's calm and silent. what you're hearing every now and then is you're hearing people honk in support of the folks who have come out today in

a peaceful manner to try to make sure that what happened here in ferguson is never forgotten and that there is change. >> nice to hear that it's a mixed group. i know the rapper common led a moment of silence for mickal brown at the video awards on sunday but today he showed up where you are down in ferguson. he tried to avoid the spotlight there. i know you met him. what did he have to say to you? >> he said, look, i don't want all the media from around the world to see me here right now. i'm here right now in ferguson right where michael bloun was killed. and i'm here to show my support and to try and get people to understand that we have to change things. those are his words. then he walked off. he was here. he met also with michael brown's biological father who was out on the scene, happened to be there at the same time. he hugged him. then he talked directly to one of the cameras that were there from the community. a community activist was out. and he spoke to the community itself, and that's what he was there for. here's what he said.

>> this is common. i'm here in ferguson because i care about my people. we all know what happened here. ferguson with mike brown. god bless his soul. i know that we got to change the situation. i want to change it for our future. i want to change it for the people that's here right now. i want it to change all across america for black people across america. >> if there's one word that you can take from this particular rally and from two others today is the word "change." the community here wants to see change. mostly they want to see the relationship between police and the african-american community change, but they also want to feel a sense that people around the country and right here in ferguson care about what happened to michael brown and his family. . of cour >> of course the big question is does that get translated into real change in the coming weeks and months. jeffrey toobin here with me now as well as legal analyst mel

robinsonson. great to have you both on. you've listened to the recording of the shots in the background. you have the six shots, you have a pause, you have four more shots. we also know from the autopsy that michael brown was shot six times. what does this tell you about how that shooting took place? >> i'm not sure it tells a lot. i think it is suggestive and it's important that we have it, but it's not necessarily incriminating of the officer, it's not necessarily exculpatory of the officer. you could say that it was him trying to see what happened and mike brown kept coming at him, that's why he fired after the pause or you could say even though he had fired six shots and perhaps hit him, he kept firing which would be an incriminating version. it just underlines for me the need to see all the evidence, how all the pieces fit together. it's good that the investigators will have this audio tape, but it's only one piece of the puzzle, and i'm not sure that it

tells the us -- >> you never want to try these things in the public media especially since you're getting piecemeal, all these things piecemeal. i know you have a different point of view. before the audio, you said that the case didn't have leg. why do you feel that the pause in particular in this audio is so important? >> i think it's very important because what it shows, jim and jeffrey, is it shows a moment of contemplation on the part of the officer before he fired those final four shot, one of which was the kill shot that ultimately killed michael brown. and what we didn't have before this is we didn't have any physical or audio evidence of the moment that the shooting took place. we only were going to have witness testimony and the physical evidence of the scene. this gives us, jim, a ruler against which a jury can potentially measure the testimony of every single witness in the case. and to jeffrey's point, we don't

know what happened in those three seconds, whether or not michael brown was lunging at the officer or whether or not he was turning around with his hands up. but what it does tell us is something major happened in those three seconds because michael brown wasn't dead yet and those final four shots that ultimately killed him hadn't been fired. >> jeffrey, i want you to respond. but just for the sake of the audience, let's play the audio one more time. take a few seconds. then you can have another chance. here we go. >> you are pretty, you're so fine. just going on. >> you know, it's incredible. you can hear the shots, and the pause. ten shots is a lot for an una unarmed teenager. >> it's a lot. i have to say three seconds sounds like a lot when we're sits here in the calm of cnn

studios. in the life and death that's going on there, i'm not sure three seconds is as big a pause as it sounds now. as for the order of the shots and whether or not in fact the fatal shots were the last shots, you know, we don't know exactly how that unfolded. all we know of officer wilson's version of events is this woman josie who called into a radio show. again, i think it underlines the need to wait before we draw -- >> let the grand jury listen. mel, when you listen to that pause, let's just deal with this one piece of evidence and acknowledge it's only one and we don't have the complete picture, but how would that jury respond to that? would they say, hey, wait, the policeman, the officer had time to judge the situation and perhaps see that he wasn't armed? do you think that's how a jury will view this? >> absolutely. he either, jim, had time to judge the fact that nikal brown was lunging or he had time to see that he was turning around

with his hands up. depending on what the witnesses say, they'll be able to measure this against the timeline with the shots. we do know the last shot was the kill shot because it was to the top of the head and the medical examiner has said that a hundred percent he was falling forward when that shot went into the top of his head. so it was the last one. but i think the other thing that's interesting, and this goes to jeffrey's point, dorian johnson has said that there was a struggle inside the car and the gun went off there. if that's true, why are there six shots that quickly happening if it went off during a struggle and now the kids are running away. so i think that the importance of this is that we now have, if it is substantiated, if we know this is a legit recording, we now have a ruling against which to measure everything and that's a major development in this case. >> and it's certainly good that this tape exists because if you care about getting the truth of

this event, the more evidence, the better and this is, apparently, and we need to have it confirmed, but it certain he seems to be an audio tape of how the shots unfolded. that's only good for getting more information and getting at the truth. >> what needs to happen now is for the grand jury to listen to all of these pieces of information together so that they can make a judgment. thanks very much, jeffrey toobin, mel robins. out front next, ten russian paratroopers captured on ukrainian soil as the presidents of russia and ukraine come face-to-face for talks. is peace possible under those circumstances. if you have chronic pain, one study is suggesting you might want to reach for pot instead of a pain killer. does it add up? we help make sl tomorrows a reality for over 19 million people. [ alex ] transamerica helped provide a lifetime of retirement income. so i can focus on what matters most. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real.

♪ ♪ imagine the luxury... of not being here. the power you want with the fuel economy you dream of. performance with a conscience. this is volvo innovating for you. here at quicken loans.ing mortgage process we care about your loan as much as you do. we're not just number crunchers. i'm your buddy. i'm your team mate. i specialize in what i do and i care about my clients. call us for a mortgage experience that's engineered to amaze. [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn?

try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. exists 150 years of swedish coffee experience. that's 150 years of experience in perfecting the rich, never bitter taste of gevalia. and we do it for this very experience. this very second. this exact moment. that's good. i know right? cheers to that. gevalia. 150 years of rich, never bitter coffee.

that's why i always choose the fastest intern.r slow. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. after months of increasing tensions, russian president vladimir putin met face-to-face in a bilateral meeting with the ukrainian leader petro poroshenko. he tweeted after the meeting we have reached an agreement in y prying peace and freedom to all those illegally detained.

this just hours after ukrainian said it had captured ten russian paratroopers inside ukrainian territory. diana magnature is "outfront." >> reporter: they've released testimonies of ten russian paratroopers captured, they say, on ukrainian soil. russia's defense ministry has told state media that it was a mistake and that these paratroopers have never intended to cross the border. they have done so by accident. but that does ring hollow certainly to ukraine and to a broader audience, especially with these claims that ukrainian has made all along in this conflict that there is a steady flow of fighters and weapons from russia into the conflict area of the eastern ukraine which bolsters o the efforts of the pro-russian rebels against the government. and especially when you think back to crimea where russia consistently denied that it had any troops on the ground there beyond its fleet only weeks

later after annexation to admit that these little green men, as they were called, were, in fact, russian troops. meanwhile, there's been some very, very high level meetings in the capital of belarus, minsk between president put opinion and president poroshenko. this is really important. the two haven't met for a sitdown bilateral meeting since this conflict began. it's difficult to see, though, that any kind of talks between the two will resolve the issue. russia denies that any troops are crossing the border into the conflict area. it says that military escalation won't solve the problem. petro poroshenko, the ukrainian president, says the only way forward is to seal that border once and for all. but it is 2,000 kilometers long. it is very porous. and in many places there are no fences, which is what these paratroopers said. they said they crossed the border overnight. they didn't realize that they'd entered foreign ground. jim? >> diana magnate in ukraine.

a surprising new study for relieving pain. is pot actually safer than pain killers? our sanjay gupta is "outfront" next. plus a gadget touted for being as devious as it is ingenious. now being blamed for diverting a flight full of passengers. d" th. can i get my experian credit report... like, the one the bank sees. sheesh, i feel like i'm being interrogated over here. she's onto us. dump her. (phone ringing) ...hello? oh, man. that never gets old. no it does not. not all credit report sites are equal. experian.com members get personalized help and an experian credit report. join now at experian.com with enrollment in experian credit tracker sm. ♪ [music] jackie's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one.

if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. remind me to tell her happy anniversary. [ cortana ] next time you talk to caroline, i'll remind you. [ siri ] oh no, i cannot do that. oh, and remind me to get roses when i'm near any flower shop. sure thing. remind you when you get to flower shop. i can't do that either. cortana, it's gonna be a great night. [ beep ] oh wow! thanks for the traffic alert. i better get going. now that is a smart phone. ♪ oh, wait ♪ it's 'cause you make me smile ♪ ♪ oh, wait we'we're trying ourls. best to be role models. we don't jump at the sound of the opening bell, because we're trying to make the school bell.

corner booth beats corner office any day. we make the most out of our time... and our money. the chevrolet malibu. j.d. power's highest ranked midsize car in initial quality. the car for the richest guys on earth.

tonight, a potential victory for supporters of medical marijuana. a new study finds that states that legalize marijuana for medicinal use have fewer deaths from overdoses of prescription painkillers. researchers say that states that passed laws legalizing pot use between 1999 and 2010 saw a 25% drop in prescription pill fatalities. with 100 million americans suffering from chronic pain, could pot be part of the answer? dr. sanjay gupta is outfront. sanjay, are whwhat do you make this? it's remarkable that 25% is not an insignificant drop. >> i think for people who have been studying this issue for a long time, this isn't a big surprise for them. you know, because pain and chronic pain are some of the most common indications for which medical marijuana is prescribed. and i think it's been known for some time, jim, that either as

an alternative or at least as an adjunct, you know, something that can decrease the amount of pain pills you require, medicinal marijuana can really fill that bill. it tends to bind to some of these receptors in the brain that cause an anti-inflammatory response, and that can decrease one's, you know, overall pain perception and their need for these pills. >> so, potential dangers. i know that the national institute for drug abuse, it still considers marijuana addictive. is there an addictive danger when using medicinal marijuana to treat pain? >> yeah, look, i think that there is a component of addiction. some would say it's more of a psychological addiction as opposed to a true tolerance, where the body is physiologically changing because it's craving the drug. but here's the main point, jim, when you look at these pain pills, and by the way, 80 to 90% of the world's pain pills are consumed in the united states, accidental overdose is the number one cause of preventable death in this country, more so

than car accidents. those are pain pills. there's not been a documented case, that we could find, of marijuana overdose. so, you know, it's tough to get into the moral, you know, sort of putting those against each other, but if one can actually help treat pain and not lead to these tragic overdose deaths, i think it's got to be considered a viable alternative. and as you just said, in these states that have medicinal marijuana laws, you've already seen a decrease. 17 people lived in 2010 that would have likely otherwise died because of medical marijuana laws in those states. >> it's another conversation to have at some point about, you know, are pain medications overprescribed in the u.s. -- >> the answer is yes. >> a simple one. but in this case, you know, there's still debates ongoing in many states, very divisive about whether to legalize. does this give a real argument to legalize in these other states? might it turn the debate in some states? >> i think it could. in some ways, and i've been following this issue for a long time. i'm surprised there hasn't already been enough evidence for some people to vote in favor of this. i've seen situations, aside from

pain, where not only does medicinal marijuana provide benefit, but it provides benefit when nothing else had. so this isn't just in those cases some kind of supplement to what already exists, this is something that sort of treats a patient that doesn't have any other options. so, i think there's a real desire, especially, for cases of epilepsy, for example. this pain thing, it's the most common reason it's prescribed, and the fact that you're seeing a decrease in pain pill prescriptions and pain pill overdose deaths, i think, look, people have got to pay attention to that. that's realtime, that's happening right now. >> no question, the number one killer, as you say. i'm sure a lot of people do not know that. >> that's right. >> dr. sanjay gupta, so good to have you on. appreciate your thoughts. >> anytime, jim. a flight nearly ends in a fistfig fistfight. is one person's right to decline another person's right to incline?

♪ ♪ great rates for great rides. geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ sweet, sweet st. thomas nice ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce

♪ st. croix, full of pure vibes ♪ ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ st. john, a real paradise ♪ so nice, so ni-i-i-ce ♪ proud to be from the virgin islands ♪ ♪ and the whole place nice to experience your virgin islands nice, book one of our summer packages today.

now to the story of a guy who just wanted a little extra leg room on his flight to denver. listen, i'm 6'3", so i can emphasize. but did this one leggy flyer go too far? here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: a new air war has broken out, in the air space over your knees. >> the knee defender is a device that keeps people from reclining their airline seat into your knees. >> you put what amounts to two

hunks of plastic on the legs of your tray table to stop the seat in front of you from going back. do you get your knees crunched? >> sometimes. and i grin and bear it. >> reporter: but no one was grinning on the united flight from new york to denver that had to be diverted to chicago after a fight broke out. a 48-year-old male passenger deployed the knee defender to stop the seat of the female passenger in front of him. when she couldn't recline, she flagged down a flight attendant who told the man to remove the gadget. he refused and the female passenger threw water in his a flight. when it happens to others, it's funny, but as this reviewer of the knee defender joked -- >> the captain has turned off the seat belt sign. the device was invented by 6'3" ira goldman. >> i was tired of being bumped in the knees by reclining seats.

this was one of the early versions. >> the seat won't recline. >> now it looks like this and sells for $21.95. in the words of condi nas traveler, as devious as it is ingenious. and everyone we talked to agreed. >> i think they're kind of evil. >> that sounds terrible. >> why is it terrible? >> to make someone else uncomfortable. everyone's crowded together. >> it causes conflicts and problems. people pay for their seats and they want to push it forward or backward. >> the knee defender comes with a courtesy card to hand to the passenger in front of you. i have provided with you with this card because i have long legs and if you recline your seat, you will bang into my knees. the faa doesn't prohibit the knee defender, though airlines can and united does. but, hey, the story about the fight on the plane seemed to be great for the knee defender's business. the website crashed due to unexpectedly heavy demand. but whether you consider it a knee defender or a knee to the

flying public's groin, can't we all just remember what louis c.k. says about the wonder of flying. >> you're sitting in a chair in the sky. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. i'm jim sciutto, thanks for watching tonight. "a.c. 360" starts right now. >> good evening and thanks for joining us. one american's journey tonight from christianity to islam to jihad. an isis fighter, an american killed in syria during a battle with rival extremist. tonight, what we know about why he left the united states to fight alongside terrorists and why experts say there could be many more just like him. and also tonight, a scathing new report on an issue drew griffin brought to light more than a year ago, about delays in veterans getting the medical care they desperately need and in some cases dying on the waiting list. tonight, what the v.a. inspector general's report skpez what happens next. but we