these are pictures of burke burnett.ed, beaten nearly to death by three men over halloween weekend. he says they did it because he's gay. but despite the attack he is now speaking out about it. burke burnett joins me now to talk about this. appreciate you talking time to join us today. i want to start off though with -- you were at this halloween party. it's in reno, texas. you're there with friends. three men at this party find out that you're gay. explain how they found out and what hey did with that information. >> well, i'm openly gay. so i'm assuming -- i'm assume that they just knew i was gay from having lived in that small town themselves. their reaction to that was that that you just described. violent and hateful and horrible. >> what happened when this attack began? what happened with the other people at the party? how were you saved, as we say you were stabbed, as i understand it, with a broken beer bottle. obviously the men were beating and kicking you. they then threw you into a fire. explain how you were sa

. >> reporter: the photos of paul burnett's recent getaway are not the images of a tropical vacation.> it's made -- >> reporter: they're pictures of the fremont prosthetics visit to earthquake-ravaged haiti. the doctor has 31 years of experience fitting people with artificial limbs. casts were taken, artificial limbs made, lives slowly reconstructed. >> for their own body image, i have found that it's very important for them to feel that they're holding in. to actually have a prosthesis. it's a functional need for them, so this is part of the componentry that we use. >> reporter: shortly after the january 2010 earthquake it was seeing up to 40 patients a day. now the number is about ten a day, and every one of those patients is edged in burnett's mind. >> this picture was taken probably ten minutes after he got his prosthesis for the very first time, and probably within a half hour this fellow was walking without any crutches. once you get the prosthesis, just they brighten up. >> reporter: burnett's volunteer role went beyond treating patients. he was also there to teach a team of ha

and t-bone, burnett said, yes, you are. we're going to start a new band, new legend and you're going to prove everything you were trying to do. we started that four years ago and a month and a half ago, our first single which we put out a couple years ago passed a million downloads. no band has ever come even above 100,000 off their own website. there is no itunes, no nothing. there's been itunes, but that's separate. nobody has given it any help. all the effort was ours off of facebook and twitter and now the first music apps you can get anywhere. there's an audio player, so, if you're on an iphone or ipad, you have access to 400 shows of music. if you go to our video player, now we have a satellite system, so they're all not only high def but the highest def video you can get on an iphone or ipad. that's the laboratory. i've given up trying to invest in the stuff. instead, we're doing it to show people how it's done. i interviewed lyle lovett the other day and this is exactly what he needs. he has a great business in 40 c

and carol burnett. >> oh yeah, carol burnett.rol burnett and olivia newton john. >> jimmy: i mean, totally. >> and a madonna song. so i mean, that's -- it's an embarrassment of riches. >> jimmy: exactly. >> yes. >> jimmy: were you a singer? >> i sing all the time, jimmy, and they never ask me to sing on "glee." only every once in a while. i love to sing. i sing on set. you know, the kids don't sing on set for fun because it's their job. and they're kind of like, "i don't get enjoyment out of it anymore." and i am singing all the time, and yet they never ask me to sing anymore. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: that is so rude. >> isn't that awful? >> jimmy: unbelievable. >> i'm always auditioning for a song. >> jimmy: i want to show everyone a clip of you being funny in "glee." here's jane lynch, everybody. >> just thought i'd let you know we got the money so the musical's back on. >> why if it isn't porcelain's dad who may or may not have a baboon heart? i thought i smelled blue collar. >> just so you know, after the musical's done i'm gon

. >> erin burnett "outfront" >> erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> joe paterno out, will more victims come forward? and tied with obama in key swing states. but it is cain who keeps cashing in. and the bottom line of the super committee, they're in charge of actioning at least $1.2 trillion from america's deficit but will they stop bickering and get the job done? our jobs could all depend on it. let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett, "outfront" tonight. the group of 12 taxed with axing $1.2 trillion from america's deficit. last night, we brought you what was frankly a breakthrough. the architect of the plan told us he would support an increase on tax revenues on some of the wealthiest americans. today the top democrat said toomey's plan didn't go far enough. >> we came to the table to begin with and every day have said that for us it's extremely important. this -- whatever we end up with at the end of the day is balanced and fair and has real revenue on the table. >> we still haven't seen from the democrats is a plan that deals with our struc

joining me donna brazile, ari fleischer, dana lohse, erin burnett.avid gergen, the patriot act, conservative libertarian split that hasekisted since this was passed right after 9/11 came out in full force tonight however. >> absolutely. ron paul, i should tell you, john, he continues to speak well for the libertarians and you can see him on twitter, they're cheering him on because they thought he was strong tonight. but at the same time, i think when newt gingrich came back, as did mitt romney, they really speak for the majority of the republican party. a much stronger patriot act would be tough on terrorism, the war continues from their point of view. >> that's a question that essentially puts the legacy of the president wyou worked for i question, you want to continue in strength under the policies put in by bush or as congressman paul says walk way from it? >> it is 8% to 10% group that follows ron paul on this earn. i remember this, arlen specter, former prosecutor, senator from pennsylvania, sat in a meeting with bush that bin laden has been ind

erin burnett "outfront" starts erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> thanks, john. we're on the front line with the world's most notorious arms dealer, viktor bout. convicted in new york this week, we talk to the woman who spent 15 years tracking him. and wouldn't you get cozy with sarkozy? we can't resist finding out. >>> and the bottom line on herman cain. the lawyer for one of the accusers finally spoke out. let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett. out front on this friday, the lawyer for herman cain's accuser speaks. >> she made a complaint in good faith about a series of inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances from the ceo. she and her husband see no value in revisiting this matter now, nor in discussing the matter any further, publicly or privately. >> joel bennett, that's who it was, sawed his client stands by her comments while the cain campaign continues to call the claims baseless. jeffrey toobin is our senior legal analyst. gloria borger is our chief political analyst. great to have both of you with us. let me start with you, glo

let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett "outfront" tonight. ratings agency fitch says they're going to downgrade america's outlook from stable. stocks soared on wall street. because the markets closed before that action happened. the dow was up by nearly 300 points. the reason was a wow weekend for the american economy. retail sales surged. that's a fair word. they were up 16%. accord together national retail federation. it was the best kickoff to the holiday shopping season ever. topping off, today the federal reserve said household debt in this country fell $60 billion. the outfront strike team called this optimism, 85% of them said they were not going to go into recession. when the pundits were sure of just that. they ended up being right. can this optimism really last? peter, what's your take of this market rally? will it last? especially because after the markets closed, we got the hit from fitch, the ratings agency, which was expected but is another reminder of the failure in washington. >> it is about the failure in washington. but the

let's go out front. >>> i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, herman cain's pain. we have breaking numbers tonight. herman cain dropping 11 points in the past month, after four women claimed he sexually harassed them. he's now polling at 14% among republicans, down from 25%. that is pain. and his pain was not mitt romney's gain. romney also dropped 2 percentage points, although he's still in the lead. the man who's getting the game, newt gingrich. he is the only candidate up and it is big time. >> it's better than when i was at 4. this is the most volatile race of my lifetime. >> you can say that again. gingrich went on to say, who knows what the polls are going to be two months from now. and there's something to that. before there was cain, there was rick, who dropped from 32% to 12. a drop of 20 percentage points. and before there was rick, there was michele. she dropped from 14 to 6. tonight, herman cain is betting that someone he's known for 46 years can turn it around for him. that's his wife. >> to hear such graphic allegations and know that that would have b

i'm erin burnett. "out front" tonight, it's getting downright messy. a third woman has come forward with accusations of sexual harassment. the cain campaign is calling this is a baseless allegation. herman cain said a perry advisor leaked the story. the perry campaign denied that to us but mentioned other ties between the romney campaign and the leak. the come knee cam han has denied that. you get the picture. we asked nut gingrich what he thought about this leaking about herman cain. >> if it turns out that a republican presidential candidate deliberately went out and created this kind of a story about a fellow candidate, that they would pretty rapidly become a pariah and they would fire the people that did it. that's despicable behavior. that's the worst behavior. we need to be unified to beat barack obama. i don't know who did it it. i'm not taking herman's word for it but they better fire all involved in the next 24 hours because that's the kind of behavior i find totally repulsive in this political system. >> the story is developing and we're goin

let's go. >>> i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, herman cain, the gop frontrunner fighting back against allegations of sexual harassment. >> i absolutely reject. they simply didn't happen. they simply did not happen. >> four women have now accused the gop candidate of inappropriate behavior and we now know the identity of two. just hours ago, we learned more about another accuser, her name is karen kraushaar, director of communications at the treasury department and according to a friend, she called cain a quote/unquote monster. this is the woman whose lawyer told the nation on friday that his client did not want to identify herself and did not want to divulge any details about the alleged encounter. but obviously, she is saying now that she would do so, perhaps with other people in a press conference. niger ennis is an unofficial adviser to herman cain's campaign. appreciate you taking the time to come out and talk about this tonight. i just want to ask you this, have you at the campaign had the conversation mid

"erin burnett outfront" starts right now. >>> thanks, john. we're on the front line in california tonight. conrad murray found guilty in the death of singer michael jackson. was justice actually served? >>> then we still can't resist silvio berlusconi. critics demanding his resignation. not the first time but he's tough as nails. >>> the bottom line on herman cain. a fourth woman came forward this afternoon publicly with graphic detail on what she claims he did. let's go "outfront." >> i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, a herman cain accuser speaks. she's the fourth woman to accuse the gop front runner of sexual harassment but the first to give specific details and her name, which is sharon bialek. >> he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt and reached for my genitals. he also grabbed my head and brought it towards his crotch. >> we told you it was graphic. i got an e-mail from cain campaign before she even finished talking saying "all allegations of harassment against mr. cain are completely false. mr. cain never harassed anyone." you ho

erin burnett "outfront" starts erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com herman cain and newt gingrich are now in his way as perry and the bottom line on the penn state child rape scandal. mcqueary on paid leave. joe paterno out as coach and a super committee set up to investigate. that's our hour. let's go "outfront." >> "outfront" tonight, breaking news, a big day for the markets. the dow up 260 points, just shy of that, all three of the major indices back in positive territory for the year. the trading volume was light. it was veterans day but better than expected data in terms of american consumer sentiment and positive news out of europe was enough to encourage toward to buy. it's a big number. we wanted to highlight it. it has been six days since penn state university was rocked by child rape charges by jerry sandusky. they spoke out saying the university is dealing with the situation. assistant coach mike mcqueary who first reported witnessing the sexual abuse to joe paterno in 2002 has been put on paid administrative leave. a special committee has

"erin burnett outfront" starts next. >>> i'm erin burnett "outfront" tonight. >> that's right. and given enough time he can transcend them. >> all right. cain as a lawyer issued a statement, this appears to be an accusation of private alleged is consensual conduct between adults. mr. cain alerted his wife and discussed it with her. he has no obligation to discuss these types of accusations publicly with the media." paul, true? be on the ballot in nevada on february 4th. he's in over ten states he filed. the herman cain train is full speed ahead. he's got precinct captains in iowa ready to nominate him. the herman cain train is moving full steam ahead. i think that's not only healthy he is a rocket scientist. he worked for the navy. graduated from moore house college. pro-life man and all of that. this really boils down to if you have two african-american men in the general election with opposing political views, the race card goes away. there can be no question of race. they're both black men. and it will change that base. many people who voted for mr. obama in the last electio

i'm erin burnett. "outfront," we begin with breaking news. herman cain losing key support in new hampshire one day after a georgia woman claims she had a 13-year affair with the candidate. one new hampshire state representative, william panic, confirming to "outfront" that he was withdrawing his support for cain and switching to newt gingrich. adding the alleged affair was quote, the final straw. and within the last hour, the presidential candidate sending a message to his supporters. and i read it in part, quote, this woman's story is completely false. i am asking for your friendship. i am also asking for your prayers and support. this is a trying time for my family, my campaign, and for me. i'm looking at the letter here which concludes with, the ability to buy herman cain t-shirts and donate money. money is what this is going to come down to. cain's plea for support comes after telling staffers this morning that he is, quote, reassessing his campaign. a top campaign aide told cnn today, a decision will likely be made within a couple of day

let's go. >>> i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, herman cain, the gop frontrunner fighting back against allegations of sexual harassment. >> i absolutely reject. they simply didn't happen. they simply did not happen. >> four women have now accused the gop candidate of inappropriate behavior and we now know the identity of two. just hours ago, we learned more about another accuser, her name is karen kraushaar, director of communications at the treasury department and according to a friend, she called cain a quote/unquote monster. this is the woman whose lawyer told the nation on friday that his client did not want to identify herself and did not want to divulge any details about the alleged encounter. but obviously, she is saying now that she would do so, perhaps with other people in a press conference. niger ennis is an unofficial adviser to herman cain's campaign. appreciate you taking the time to come out and talk about this tonight. i just want to ask you this, have you at the campaign had the conversation mid

. >>> i'm erin burnett, "outfront" tonight. the group of 12 taxed with axing $1.2 trillion from america's deficit. last night, we brought you what was frankly a breakthrough. the architect of the plan told us he would support an increase on tax revenues on some of the wealthiest americans. today the top democrat said toomey's plan didn't go far enough. >>> i'm erin burnett, "outfront" tonight. the group of 12 taxed with axing $1.2 trillion from america's deficit. last night, we brought you what was frankly a breakthrough. the architect of the plan told us he would support an increase on tax revenues on some of the wealthiest americans. today the top democrat said toomey's plan didn't go far enough. >> we came to the table to begin with and every day have said that for us it's extremely important. this -- whatever we end up with at the end of the day is balanced and fair and has real revenue on the table. >> we still haven't seen from the democrats is a plan that deals with our structural debt crisis that actually solves the pro

erin burnett needs to prepare four her show. when we come back, mayor michael bloomberg will join us. he will tell us who he thinks should be blamed for the failure. and the man singularly responsible for the republican refusal to put tax hikes on the table. ok look, when gas prices jump... you still gotta work. so suddenly you're cutting back on everything from family vacations to cell phone minutes. well here's a thought - how bout cuttin' back on gas? here's how: the ford f-150. it gets 23 highway miles per gallon. that's the best. so you can get the job done and get a break at the pump. yeah, can you hear me now? this is the future. this is the ford f-150. >>> breaking news, the collapse of that super committee. design with coming up with reduction plans. the president after it collapsed is prolsing there will be no easy off-ramp when it comes to deficit reduction. moments ago at the white house, he said he would veto any effort to get around the automatic spending cuts. defense or domestic program that are now call for in t

now, though, erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >>> thanks, john. we're on the front line in texas with a brutal belt whipping. what new details does she have tonight? we'll tell you about it. >>> then you think greece has issues? berlusconi has troubles. >>> and the bottom line on herman cain. what happened. a man who has known him for 27 years comes out front, so let's go "outfront." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> i'm erin burnett, and "outfront" tonight, caingate. not only that, he's pointing the finger. here he is on sean hannity's radio show just a couple of hours ago. >> we knew we were going to be attacked. we just never thought that we were going to be attacked, based upon a planted story coming from another one of the campaigns. never imagined that. >> as for that, rick perry fought back just a couple of moments ago on "john king, usa." >> we found out about this the same time that i suppose the rest of america found out about it, both on the internet or next day in the news, so, you know, i don't know how to tell any other way e

let's go out front. >>> i'm erin burnett. out front tonight, herman cain's pain. we have breaking numbers tonight. herman cain dropping 11 points in the past month, after four women claimed he sexually harassed them. he's now polling at 14% among republicans, down from 25%. that is pain. and his pain was not mitt romney's gain. romney also dropped 2 percentage points, although he's still in the lead. the man who's getting the game, newt gingrich. he is the only candidate up and it is big time. >> it's better than when i was at 4. this is the most volatile race of my lifetime. >> you can say that again. gingrich went on to say, who knows what the polls are going to be two months from now. and there's something to that. before there was cain, there was rick, who dropped from 32% to 12. a drop of 20 percentage points. and before there was rick, there was michele. she dropped from 14 to 6. tonight, herman cain is betting that someone he's known for 46 years can turn it around for him. that's his wife. >> to hear such graphic allegations and know that that would have b

. >>> "erin burnett outfront" is coming up at the top of the hour. have done it privately and on e-mail, but it's my first on-air chance to say welcome. i know you're an old hand, but bk. >> thank you, you're so nice. >> i know you've got a ceo who told you he thinks there's something important missing from the super committee? >> he does. bis acumen is what's missing. he's going to be our guest, you know him from paul mitchell petrone, started out homeless, living in a car and became a billionaire, pledging to give half of his money away. but he feels strongly about things the super committee could do right now to still get a deal done, candy. so he's going to be our exclusive guest tonight. billionaires with ponytails, who have been homeless, not easy to come by. as we cover the occupy wall street demonstrations on the brooklyn bridge in new york, joined by the former nypd police commissioner, he'll be our special guest. i started taking a vitamin today, i'll bad about na, never take them. omega 3, 6, 9. the reason, dr. andrew weil told me. he'll t

erin burnett out front" starts right now. >>> thanks, john. in egypt, voters go to the polls today and an american college kid who was jailed in cairo comes home. he's out front tonight. >>> and late breaking news on herman cain's campaign. a woman claims she had a 13-year affair with him. is this the end of cain's candidacy? and the latest on the economy. something nice to say tonight. something nice to say tonight. let's go out front. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> i'm erin burnett. outfront tonight, ratings agency fitch affirms of the united states aaa credit rating but says guess what, we're going to downgrade your outlook to negative from stable. this happened after the markets closed. obviously, something negative and all relate the to the lack of action and the failure of the supercommittee, still stocks is soared on wall street. because the markets closed before that action happened. the dow up by nearly 300 points. the reason was a wow weekend for the american economy. retail sales over thanksgiving surged. that's a fair wo

erin burnett, "outfront," starts right now. >>> thanks, john. we're on the front line with herman cain. despite the accusations around him, he's leading. can he hold the lead? and baby lisa irwin. today is her first birthday. the attorney has a very specific person in mind about what happened. and the bottom line on the penn state child rape scandal. joe paterno out as coach. assistant mike mcqueary on paid leave. a super committee has been set up to investigate. that's our hour. let's go "outfront." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight breaking news. a big day for the markets. the dow up 260 points. just shy of that. all three of the major indeseize back in positive territory for the year. it was veterans day, but way better than expected data in terms of american consumer sentiment and positive political news out of europe. that will help, greece and i italy. it's a big number. all right. it has been six days since penn state university was rocked by child rape charges involving the former assistant co

let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett. out front tonight we're live from washington as ee get ready for the big debate tomorrow night. there's a super failure tonight. such failure that the leaders of the super committee didn't even face the press. they issued a statement. which read in part, "despite our inability to bridge the committee's significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation's fiscal crisis must be addressed." they didn't say by someone else. but they kind of did. they agreed on one thing that they who had the mandate to do a deal with a simple majority would all kick the can down the road. even though we are in a crisis. that is pretty audacious. super committee, you had the power as they say, if not you then who? if not now, then when? the super committee was told to cut 2.6% of the budget over ten years. that's it. 2.6%. and they couldn't do it. the president did approach a camera to say he would veto what john mccain had suggested, which was to halt the automatic spending

let's go ""outfront."" >> i'm erin burnett. we have breaking news. in a major turn of events, occupy wall street protesters told they cannot camp in new york's park anymore. the protesters were evicted in the early hours of this morning and the verdict came down as dark descended this evening. the tents were removed and protesters allowed to go back in to get their personal belongings. the new york state supreme court overturning the earlier ruling on this. we'll have the breaking story and the implications on the park tonight. >>> first developing news in washington. the co-chair of the super committee charged with cutting america's deficit said just moments ago, quote, we are in the hours to go. and the countdown is on. this is important and we are watching. the panel of 12 has got eight days, four hours and as you can see, 58 minutes and 11 seconds and counting to make a deal that cuts manager's deficit. if there is no deal when this clock hits zero, our economy will be hurt. your interest rates may go up and companies won't hire. we reached out t

let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, the market slid nearly 200 points today. the reason, fear and uncertainty. fear of europe and fear of the super committee. we are counting down to a huge moment for america on a day our commander in chief was warned china's military is building up with one main goal, taking on america. i'll get to that in a moment. first, the super committee is exactly one week away from its deadline to cut a minimum of $1.2 trillion from america's deficit. today was a day called critical by some lawmakers. the meetings have ended. there is no word on a possible deal. now, nearly 80% of americans don't expect the super committee to do its job. but no deal isn't just a chance to roll our eyes and say, hey, we knew it all along. no deal is bad for america. no deal means rising interest rates down the road and a halt in job creation now. we need a deal, and a deal is not hard to strike. we've shown one way repeatedly on this show. that's to roll back the bush tax cuts for everyone, ra

let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett "outfront" tonight. ratings agency fitch says they're going to downgrade america's outlook from stable. stocks soared on wall street. because the markets closed before that action happened. the dow was up by nearly 300 points. the reason was a wow weekend for the american economy. retail sales surged. that's a fair word. they were up 16%. accord together national retail federation. it was the best kickoff to the holiday shopping season ever. topping off, today the federal reserve said household debt in this country fell $60 billion. the outfront strike team called this optimism, 85% of them said they were not going to go into recession. when the pundits were sure of just that. they ended up being right. can this optimism really last? peter, what's your take of this market rally? will it last? especially because after the markets closed, we got the hit from fitch, the ratings agency, which was expected but is another reminder of the failure in washington. >> it is about the failure in washington. but the

erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. e -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> on the front line of penn state. is the prosecution's case as open and shot as it seems. the tsa says their body scanners don't cause cancer, but they're not going to taste them. are they right? the bottom line on america's place in the world. china trying to become the superpower. what does the super committee and the president need to do? let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, the market slid nearly 200 points today. the reason, fear and uncertainty. fear of europe and fear of the super committee. we are counting down to a huge moment for america on a day our commander in chief was warned china's military is building up with one main goal, taking on america. i'll get to that in a moment. first, the super committee is exactly one week away from its deadline to cut a minimum of $1.2 trillion from america's deficit. today was a day called critical by some lawmakers. the meetings have ended. there is no word on a possib