. >> and from the left i'm allen schweitzer. >> erin burnett starts right now. >>> america spying onlosest friends. more questions about which world leaders are targeted by the nsa, and why the president claims he knew nothing about it. >>> plus a massive man hunt under wray tonight. prisoners off the run after taking an unusual escape

. >> and from the left i'm allen schweitzer. >> erin burnett starts right now. >>> america spying on its closest friends. more questions about which world leaders are targeted by the nsa, and why the president claims he knew nothing about it. >>> plus a massive man hunt under wray tonight. prisoners off the run after taking an unusual escape route. >>> let's go out front. >>> and good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. out front tonight. breaking news under pressure. the obama administration has just authorized the release of more details about the american government's collection of telephone data. the director of national intelligence, james clapper just said this in a statement. their declassification is not done lightly. i have determined, however, that the harm to national security from the release of these documents is outweighed by the public interest. now clapper and other officials are all going to be testifying in detail about this program on capitol hill tomorrow. the white house, though, so far has begged ignorance. but what exactly is the president's role? here's what