i'm erin burnett.onight, an "outfront" special investigation, the truth about benghazi. for nearly a year, america has been searching for answers about the deadly attacks that took the lives of four americans, including ambassador christopher stevens, information officer sean smith and two former navy s.e.a.l.s. that search for answers could not be any more relevant than tonight, as u.s. embassies and consulates around the world are closed or on high alert. prevents another attack means getting to the truth of what happened there. we go back to benghazi of where it all began to investigate why all the attacks happened. plus, john king gets to the bottom of the talking points and the evolving story coming out of washington in the days and weeks after the attacks. to presidential politics lead to a coverup? and what did the families of the four lost americans want most? you'll hear from them directly. but first, we go back to the hours before the attack. september 11. in america, a day of solemn remembra

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it's called the truth about benghazi, erin burnett, 10:00 p.m. eastern. >> thank you very much.'re looking rather blooming. >> that's a nice way to say it. i'm rather large. >>> i'll talk to the experts coming up next. [ female announcer ] last day, deb. checking out of the hilton shouldn't be a pity party. your next trip is calling. saying, "deb, find a view for two at a conrad." or "make room for more at an embassy suites, deb." or "deb, lead a victory dance at a hampton." so chin up, love, and never stop vacationing. book during the great getaway for great rates at our ten top hotel brands. travel is calling you to hiltongreatgetaways.com. >>> ariel castro's family moves items out of the house they call the monster of cleveland. his house will be leveled to the ground. a long journey to recovery is only beginning. talking to their psychiatrist. who testified for the prosecution, at castro's sentencing. how important is it do you think to have this house of horrors torn to pieces for the victims in particular? >> i think it's a good move. tim mcginty is the cuyahoga county pro

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good evening, i'm erin burnett. out front, michelle knight and ariel castro speak. life behind bars plus 1,000 years with no chance of parole. that's what castro, the cleveland kidnapper, is sentenced to today. he abducted the three women and held them captive for more than a decade, subjecting them to constant physical and emotional torture. knight was the only one today who chose to confront her abd t abductor face-to-face, and she didn't hold back. >> ariel castro, i remember will all the times you came home talking about what everybody else did wrong and act like you wasn't dog the same thing. you said, at least i didn't kill you. you took 11 years of my life away, and i have got it back. i spent 11 years in hell. now your hell is just beginning. i will overcome all that you put me through, but you'll be in hell through eternity. i cried every night. i was so alone. i now blames everyone else, blames society, and even says that what was happening was consensual. that is the delusion that keeps someone like that alive because if he were to face what he actually d

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let's go outfront. >>> good evening i'm erin burnett. house of horrors gone. a demolition crew today levelled the cleveland home where three young women were held captive for a decade. michele knight who has become the most vocal of castro's three victims was there. she took a final look. martin, what was the seen like today? >> reporter: it was incredible. i think in a lot of ways i anticipated some of it but definitely not all of it. there was cheering, crying, church bells ringing, bull dozerers, demolishing and then michele knight in front of it all. take a look at what happened. 32-year-old michele knight showed up exactly where no one thought she would be, outside the home in which she was a prisoner for 11 years. with the beaming smile and bright yellow balloons she used the demolition to bring attention to the plight of missing children. >> nobody was there for me when i was missing. and i want the people out there to know including the mothers that they can have strength. they can have hope. and their child will come back. they will. just have the lov

people can tell me what they think and not the real erin burnett at cnn.com, my other e-mail address,is is the rankest hypocrisy. this is exactly -- >> it's not -- >> that's the thing -- >> yes, it is. it's exactly -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> stephanie -- >> they did not agree to this. >> all right. >> they have a database -- >> i have to leave it there. >> the only concern about selling more guns, that's all they are interested in. >> i hope the viewers as passionate about the three of you. let us know what you think at. >> dirk dikler 13 at hot mail.com. >>> a major story of controversy at the white house this week everyone was owing and awing at beau and sunny running around together. seemed like a terrific decision by the president to get another dog, maybe not. i'm referring to cat, people. cat owners are up in arms president obama did not choose a cat. the cat lobly thinks with everyone owning at least one cat, the president is cutting out a huge group of american voters. in his defense, he was following the lead of past u.s. leaders. since americans stopped using horses for

i'm erin burnett.egin with a major development in the nationwide search for 16-year-old hannah anderson and her suspected kidnapper james dimaggio. the san diego county sheriff's depa

i'm erin burnett. we begin with the developing story. new details on the ups cargo plane that crashed near the birmingham airport. we know the plane broke to pieces, as you can see. it was an inferno. both pilots on board lost their lives and officials have not yet been able to recover the plane's black box. at this hour that wreckage is still burning. what is the latest on the ground that you know? >> reporter: the people living around this airport have gotten used to living with jet noise. what woke them up this morning is something they will never forget. the broken and burnt wreckage of the cargo plane sits in an open field a half mile from a neighborhood. nearby broken trees and power lines show how close the jet came to killing people in their homes. >> i am grateful that it did not kill us. that's dangerous. i mean, it was just like the plane was like this and we were in the middle. >> reporter: pieces of the plane litter barbara benison's yard. the ups plane was out of louisville, ken tucky, flying over roof tops. people say they

i'm erin burnett. want to begin with a major development in the nationwide search for 16-year-old hannah anderson and her suspected kidnapper james dimaggio. the san diegcounty sheriff's department tells cnn they feardy imagineio is armed with explosives and may have rigged the abandoned car with them. paul, i know you have been covering this. you were talking to the san diego police department today. you were able to break the news on the improvised devices. what more do you know? >> well, let me tell you. this case has a sense of urgency. that's heightened because they are very, very concerned about dimaggio. and this notion of him having homemade bombs. >> we believe he may be in possession of kind of improvised explosives. working on the theory that he abandoned the car, we think there is a possibility the car could be rigged. we want to put out there for civilian safety, officer safety, if you see this car, do not approach it. call law enforcement. >> as they also said to me, they are also warning

erin burnett starts now. >> "outfront" next breaking news we now know how u.s.ered a possible al qaeda attack on american embassies. they cracked their code. that news top of the hour. >>> plus, senator rand paul comes "outfront." we'll talk birthers and sarah palin and a comment about tapping your phone that will probably surprise you. >>> and a serial killer goes on a cross-country murder spree, and tonight the terrifying chilling video "outfront." let's go "outfront." ♪ >>> good evening, everyone, i'm erin burnett, "outfront" we begin with the breaking news. cnn reports that u.s. intelligence officials intercepted communications that signaled an imminent terrorist attack on aman

erin burnett starts now. >>> "outfront" next, gearing up for a military strike against syria. as the white house is ratcheting up pressure, the stock market takes a dive. >>> also a massive outbreak of measles in america. while some people are blaming some christian teachings. >>> and a montana teacher is convicted of raping a 14-year-old student. why did the teacher only get 30 days in jail? >>> let's go "outfront." >> >> i'm jessica yellin in for erin burnett. >>> "outfront" tonight, breaking news, stocks dive as the drumbeat to war with syria gets louder. wall street suffered its worst day since june as the obama administration clearly laid the groundwork for a possible military strike on syria. >> there's no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in syria. the syrian regime. the president believes and i believe that those who use chemical weapons against defenseless men, women and children should and must be held accountable. >> market analyst todd schoenberger is "outfront" with us tonight. thank you for being here. how much of this market drop

i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, a developing story. idaho burning. a dangerous wildfire out of control and threatening to destroy thousands of hopes including multimillion-dollar homes of celebrities like arnold schwarzenegger and tom hanks. here you just see a lot of fire. it's the beaver creek fire about six miles south of ketchum. it's just a few miles away from the resort town of sun valley. ted rowlands is in haley tonight. and when i look at those maps, it's right there along the highway. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, it has been growing so quickly. and it is huge. you mentioned at 100,000 acres or 1,000 firefighters plus. we're expecting new numbers in the next few hours and the hope is that they had a good day today and have more containment. but there are 5,000 homes that are potentially in danger here. and you mentioned a lot of them are very high dollar homes. in fact private insurance companies -- or insurance companies have hired private firefighters to come in here and specific protect people's homes because they are so expens

erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. take it away. >>> next, i'd odaho burning threatening to destroy thousands of homes. we'll go to the scene for the latest 37 plus there has been a huge jump in wild animal attack this is summer. why? and a new and disturbing development tonight in the hannah anderson investigation. her kidnapper left all of his money to one person. we have that for you. let's go "outfront". good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, a developing story. idaho burning. a dangerous wildfire out of control and threatening to destroy thousands of hopes including multimillion-dollar homes of celebrities like arnold schwarzenegger and tom hanks. here you just see a lot of fire. it's the beaver creek fire about six miles south of ketchum. it's just a few miles away from the resort town of sun valley. ted rowlands is in haley tonight. and when i look at those maps, it's right there think look tal highway. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, it has been growing so quickly. and it is huge.

"erin burnett outfront" starts right now. >>> "outfront" next. moves closer to war, u.s. officials telling cnn that navy destroyers could execute a mission in syria within hours of the president's orders. >>> and an exclusive update on the three women held captive for a decade in cleveland's house of horrors and why the city is demolishing even more homes around the house today. >>> and a massive wild fiern continues to burn out west. san francisco's water and power supply now being threatened. let's go outfront. >>> i'm jessica yelly in for erin burnett. breaking news, a u.s. official tells cnn that the u.s. is prepared to strike syria, quote, within hours. that is if an it's a big "if" the president orders military action. today, the obama administration laid out its case for retaliation because it says the syrian government did, in fact, use chemical weapons against its own people. >> anyone who could claiming that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated, needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass. what's before us today is

i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, a developing story. idaho burning. control and threatening to destroy thousands of hopes including multimillion-dollar homes of celebrities like arnold schwarzenegger and tom hanks.

i want to bring in our own erin burnett, host of cnn's outfront. has a special "the truth about benghazi" airing tonight. this libyan militia leader, your team found him and interviewed him for the special. what do you make of the fact that there are now criminal charges under seal filed against him? >> it seems there's absolutely no coincidence about that. as we reported, there were dozens of armed militants who stormed that embassy. at this point no one has been brought to justice. jake, there's been one person detained for questioning and that person was released. now we have this news today about ahmad abu khattalah, that's his name, who is now being charged, under seal. our arwa damon was in benghazi in may and able to speak with him. he has been public. he has been willing to speak to journalists. he told her yes he was there that night. he said he was directing traffic but he was talking about some of the weapons that were there and the fbi had not spoken to him and now there are these charges. i think the real question, jake, is are they go

erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >> "outfront" next breaking news we now know how u.s. intelligence officials discovered a possible al qaeda attack on american embassies. they cracked their code. that news top of the hour. >>> plus, senator rand paul comes "outfront." we'll talk birthers and sarah palin and a comment about tapping your phone that will probably surprise you. >>> and a serial killer goes on a cross-country murder spree, and tonight the terrifying chilling video "outfront." let's go "outfront." >>> good evening, everyone, i'm erin burnett, "outfront" we begin with the breaking news. cnn reports that u.s. intelligence officials intercepted communications that signaled an imminent terrorist attack on americans. those intercepts led to the unprecedented closing of 19 u.s. embassies and consulates around the world. barbasrbara starr broke the newd she's at the pentagon tonight. barbara, what more can you tell us? >> good evening, they are not only intercepts but those intercepts by all accounts now contain code words that signaled an attack might be imminent,

i'm erin burnett. "outfront," i want to begin with breaking news. the justice department has filed its first criminal charges in the deadly attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi. federal authorities have charged several people including militia leader. it is important to note the suspects have been charged but they have not been arrested. in fact, our report he sat down with khattalah about his potential involvement. he told cnn that he had not been approached by the fbi. evan broke the story. you broke the story about the charges. what can you tell us about these charges? >> well, the charges were filed under seal in new york which is not an uncommon thing. the fbi and the justice department has been working on this case as you said for 11 months and they have been interviewing hundreds of witnesses and have been trying to build the case against these men. we are told that the case has been filed under seal and right now, they're still working on trying to figure out how to bring these men to justice. as you mentioned, the reporter from cnn just i

i'm erin burnett. outfront tonight, mob boss, james "whitey" bulger, guilty. the former mobster and fbi informant from boston convicted today of 31 out of 32 counts, including a role in is -- role in 11 murders. whitey is one of the country's most notorious criminals. he spent 16 years on the run as one of the most wanted by the fbi. deborah feyerick has been covering the trial, she was in the courtroom, and deb, what was the reaction to the guilty verdict and did those looking for, you know, revenge and fairness here get what they wanted? >> reporter: well, depends on who you ask. james "whitey" bulger portrayed absolutely no emotion. he had called this trial a sham, but he stood and he listened to the verdict as the count of guilty was read, 31 out of the 32 times. prosecutors, erin, they looked visibly relieved. it has taken them decades to bring whitey bulger to trial, and they mounted a huge case, calling more than 60 witnesses. but as for the victims' family members, well, all 19 wanted justice, wanted resolution, but only 11 got it. the jury was not abl

erin burnett starts now. the muslim brotherhood claimed protesters had been shot. the news agency reported 15 people have been killed so far. another report that wounded are streaming into a medical center in cairo. government forces are using live ammunition. and muslim brotherhood source says there is a full on assault and the latest report of an egyptian soldier killed and four others have in fact been injured. this operation began about two hours ago. we have seen bulldozer's moving, heavily armed security forces wearing gas masks and flak jackets, caring weapons as well as batons. arresting supporters of the ousted president taking them away and one by one. they seem to be going peacefully but so far there are other reports that a number of people have been killed, yet to be confirmed by cnn. the death toll now stands at 15. this operation began on a wednesday morning, and within the interim government and military carrying out an operation like this because of concern of the bloodshed that may result and we have seen that now. we'll have much more on this com

i'm erin burnett. outfront tonight i want to begin with the breaking news with the new details breaking tonight about a gunman who opened fire at a georgia elementary school today. the suspect was armed with an ak-47 when he began firing inside the school. you can see here the footage of the children sprinting hundreds of panicked children then ran for safety. now, the miracle here is they weren't injured. none of them. but we're learning tonight that the gunman was armed and ready to kill a lot of people. our david mattingly is outside the discovery learning academy just outside atlanta with the latest tonight. david, let's start off first of all with this gunman. what did they find, what was he prepared to do? what do you know about him? >> reporter: when police first got to the seen shortly after 1:00 eastern time today, the gunman inside fired about a half dozen shots at them. they returned fire. that was all the shooting that went on here. but you can bet there was a great deal of concern about wh

erin burnett starts now. >>> "outfront" next, gearing up for a military strike against syria.ite house is ratcheting up pressure, the stock market takes a dive. >>> also a massive outbreak of measles in america. while some people are blaming some christian teachings. >>> and a montana teacher is convicted of raping a 14-year-old student. why did the teacher only get 30 days in jail? >>> let's go "outfront." >> >> i'm jessica yellin in for erin burnett. >>> "outfront" tonight, breaking news, stocks dive as the

i'm erin burnett. outfront tonight, mob boss, james "whitey" bulger, guilty.er and fbi informant from boston convicted

>>> let's go "outfront." >>> i'm jessica yellin in for erin burnett. "outfront" tonight breaking news a senior u.s. official tells cnn's jim acosta that the u.s. could go it alone in syria after our closest ally votes against taking action. british lawmakers just voted down a proposal to strike syria. britain's prime minister says he will not go against parliament. here at home right now, top lawmakers are being briefed by the white house. the president's top national security officials are making their case against the syrian regime. will the administration be able to win enough support? our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is in washington. hi, dana. i know you have been working your sources all day. it looks from here like the mood in washington really seems to reflect the mood around the country right now on syria, it's conflicted. so, what are you learning right now? >> reporter: that's right, hi, jess. i should tell you that the conference call should be wrapping up right about now and i'm hoping to get a read on what the top lawmakers

all of this is a subject of a cnn special investigation by erin burnett called the truth about benghazin cnn. erin is joining us from new york. excellent work, erin. i know you spoke to the mother of one of the americans who was killed in benghazi. what did she tell you? >> you know, it was amazing. we had a chance to speak with the families. and for me, i remember that night. it was 7:00 eastern when we first got news that an american had been killed in benghazi. and we had just gone on the air. we had that breaking news. and at that moment it's a disembodied thing. we've covered it day in and day out for the past nearly a year. but talking to those families you understand how emotional and crucial it is to get answers. most of them were apolitical. but one of them the mother of shawn smith, pat smith is angry and does feel it's political. and she blames someone very specifically. here's pat smith. >> it's hillary's legacy over there. if not -- i had told her personally nose to nose, please tell me what happened. and she promised me she would get back to me. she did not get back to me.

i'm erin burnett. outfront tonight, the developing story of the night. a terror threat directly from the leader of al qaeda. cnn is learning that an intercepted message from ayman zawahiri, to senior al qaeda operatives led to the unprecedented shutdown of 21 american embassies and consul e consulates on sunday. that warning has been extended for one week for 14 of those diplomatic posts, as you can see, concentrated in the middle east and africa. five additional locations have been added. barbara starr is at the pentagon. barbara, can you tell us what exactly was in that message that got officials to go ahead with this unprecedented shutdown? >> reporter: well, erin, good evening. the message was from ayman zawahiri, the leader of al qaeda in pakistan, and it was to a man named nasser al wahishi. first of all, you have this unprecedented link between the core al qaeda group back in pakistan and this growing al qaeda presence in yemen. the message by all accounts was very specific in terms of sa wa zawahiri saying do something. do something big, do somet