good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, the big scare. with just four days in the congress high tails it out of washingt washington, there was plenty of talk about the looming consequences of the looming fiscal cliff. we're talking about tax cuts expiring for everyone automatically, payroll taxes going up, emergency unemployment benefits ending and, of course, the $1.2 trillion in so-called sequestration cuts. about half of that sum is going to come from defense. >> the obligation of the commander in chief is to act like the commander in chief, and that would be to prevent these cuts, which in the words of his own secretary of defense, would devastate our national security. >> interesting, acting like a commander in chief, because a lot of the previous commanders in chief have done a lot more than barack obama may be about to do. we've certainly been here before. former president ronald reagan during his second term cut defense spending by about 10%. the cold war was winding down. those cuts continued under former president george h.w. bush, about 18% in cuts. and then former president clinton. clinton did start to increase defense spending during his term but it still ended lower than where it was when he took office. another thing that stands out to me about this chart is defense spending. you're looking at real terms defense spending is higher now than it was in the cold war or even during vietnam. it looks like it was higher during world war ii although there were extraneous spending items then. that's not an entirely fair comparison. but the chart is courtesy of the center for american progress and the department of defense. so when you look at that, you have to ask the question, do the claims of national security disaster add up when it comes to the sequestration? i asked that question to someone who should know the answers. wes bush, the ceo of northrup grumman. >> sequestration could have a devastating impact on our overall economic condition. you mentioned 2 million jobs lost. that could raise the unemployment rate on a national level about 9%. we're talking about both defense and non-defense jobs. sequestration impacts both elements of the budget. so the two million jobs span much more than just the defense side of it. >> so help me understand because i've heard that argument and it makes sense. but then i look at some other numbers and it doesn't make sense. for example, the cuts, in terms of real terms, the cuts that the defense department already agreed to and then the sequestration on top of that would only be about 11%, in real terms. ronald reagan cut defense by 10% in his second term. george h.w. bush cut it. so this is right in line with those. that seems to make sense. >> yes, when you're talking about percentages, always matter where you're starting from. i think it's more instructive to actually look at the dollars being cut. if you look at the total between defense and nondefense, it would represent a reduction of over $100 billion in the coming fiscal year. and that's really the number you have to focus on that translates into the economic impact that we're talking about. so a structure today, this would be a precipitous set of cuts that would happen very quickly, would happen without the benefit of strategic thinking on how they would be applied. >> right. >> and to do that at a time when our nation continues to face an array of security issues around the globe, that demand our attention, demand our presence. demand our military capability, really does not make any sense. >> so are you saying, then, that on a percentage basis, that these cuts would be fair, but your problem is the way they're going about it? they're going on every line item. so they're cutting everything, as opposed to maybe cutting some things that really should go and keeping other things? >> what we're talking about here is another $500 billion in cuts. if we're talking about those two added together, i would not say that that would be an appropriate level of cut. >> but that's where i get the 11%. >> something that was important for the nation -- >> right, but that's what i'm trying to understand, because getting those two together is where i get the 11%. hold on -- on real terms, which is about the same as ronald reagan did. so -- >> no, from the total size of the cut, this magnitude would -- relative to the array of issues that our department of defense is addressing around the globe, i believe be unprecedented. if you look at what secretary panetta has said, he's been very clear that the department's ability to meet its requirements, to really execute its mission would be fundamentally impaired by this magnitude of cut. and by that, we're talking about the second $500 billion. >> but then -- let me just get your answer to this. in 2008, we had nearly 188,000 men and women serving on the ground, troops on the ground in iraq and afghanistan. now in 2012, we only have 67,500 and we're going to have even fewer. as we have fewer people actually serving in war, we would appear to need fewer tools for them to use in those wars, right, not more? >> yeah, this isn't just a matter of quantity. if you look at the capital investment in the nation's infrastructure, to support our military over this last decade, we've had to bias the investment toward the conflicts we've been addressing. so there really has been a reduced amount of investment to support the force structure. >> how many people will you have to lay off at the beginning of next year due to the sequestration specifically? >> it's hard to tell exactly today. that's part of the challenge that we're all dealing with with sequestration. the law that was implemented specifies a percentage cut and has some description of how that gets applied. we've sought guidance from the federal government to be more clear about how sequestration would actually be implemented. the federal government itself is having difficulty coming up with that guidance because of the nature of the law. >> i want to bring in john avlon now. what's interesting is he said that we didn't have an overall number for how many people they'd have to lay off, even though he stood by the industry lobbying association's number of two million for the overall industry. i thought they would have more specifics to make their point. >> that was not all about specifics, that interview. where you stand is a matter of where you sit. the head of this business is not going to want defense spending to be cut at all. but it's stunning to see him not have an answer. when you raised historical comparisons and made the point that we have been here before, the republican presidents have cut defense spending. in fact, even before that chart, go back to eisenhower, nixon, when we have fewer wars, we spend less on defense. and defense contractors aren't going to like that. that's not news to anybody. >> a lot of the numbers, too -- it's frustrating, he says the cuts are big. that's because we were projected to have large increases in defense spending. so a lot of what's going away is what was ratcheted in before you get to a cut. >> this is what lobbyists always cry about. they're judging against projected spending. if you cut that, they consider it a cut outright. what boggles my mind isn't just people like him. i understand his self-interest is in keeping defense spending at unprecedented levels. we note, historically, these cuts are not unprecedented. what boggles my mind are members of congress who talk about reducing deficits. and after the super committee, couldn't make a deal, and all of a sudden these cuts are real, they run extreming in screaming in the opposite direction. they don't like the pain it causes. any cuts can be said to reduce economic growth. but if you're serious about it, you deal with it, not just demagogue it. and this boggles my mind. >> what now are your odds of -- there's the whole debate going on of pre or post-election. i'm sort of in the post election camp. are you more optimistic? >> i would love to be. let's say these folks want to avoid the pain of sequester. there's a way to do it. make a deal, cut spending, reform entitlements, raise revenue. this was never anyone's first choice. it was always supposed to be painful. >> right. >> now the fact that it's coming, in maybe that will focus people's minds. >> john avlon, thank you very much. a plea for reason and accountability. there's a little of it out there. still "outfront," mitt romney is talking about his taxes, but talk is not action. and penn state university may be on the verge of a huge blow to its already crippled football program. and then, she wrote an article about the glamorous life of asma al assad, the wife of the syrian dictator, as the syrian regime began cracking down on its people. now the reporter telling the behind-the-scenes story of what she says really what happened when the first lady of hell, as she called her, duped her. i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pride, that was on my face. i am jocelyn taylor. i'm committed to making a difference in people's lives, and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. do you have any idea where you're going ? 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[ female announcer ] live the regular life. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs g of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. would you mind if to be i go ahead of you?omer. instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs. that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. now our second story "outfront," mitt romney dodging questions about his taxes again, in an interview with abc news. >> there was one year when you paid about a 13.9% tax rate. can we clear this up by asking you a simple yes or no question? was there ever any year when you paid lower than the 13.9%? >> i haven't calculated that. i'm happy to go back and look. but my view is, i have paid all the taxes required by law. >> you say you would go back and look. you would look for us? >> i haven't looked at the tax rate paid year by year. i know that i pay a very substantial amount of taxes. and every year since the beginning of my career so far i can recall. >> we're betting that mitt romney is aware of whether he paid 13.9% or less in some years. roland martin joins me along with alice stewart. alice, there's something else that mitt romney said during that interview. he said, quote, from time to time i've been audited, i think as happens to other citizens as well. and the accounting firm which prepares my taxes has done a very thorough and complete job paying taxes as legally due. this seems to -- it confuses me even more. he's been audited, which proves the point we've been making for a while. he's never done anything wrong or remotely shady in his taxes. why won't he release the returns? >> why should he? he's 100% acted in compliance with the law. he's produced the last two years of his tax information. he has never broken the law in this regard. why should he? if he does release two more years, the media and the obama campaign is going to want him to release ten or 20. this is nothing more than a pathetic distraction from the obama campaign who would rather talk about something that the average person is not concerned about, than what people are concerned about, which is the obama administration's record for the past three and a half years, which is not good. >> roland, one thing i have to say, i think the right question was asked. people would care if he paid less than 13.9%. there have been reports out there, which we're not going to know whether they're true or not, unless he tells us, because of losing investment inco in 2009 may have paid no taxes that year, zero. >> this is hilarious. this is the guy who tells us he loves his father and he wants to emulate his father. wasn't it his father who set the standard for releasing taxes? now he wants to roll that back. here's the whole deal. republicans were trying to get mitt romney to release his taxes back in march so this would not be an issue. what he has just done is handed the obama campaign a bat to bash him upside his head like in "the untouchables." they're going to run ads showing conservatives saying, he should release his taxes. so romney, what are you doing? you're not going to win this argument. your daddy set the standard. follow your daddy. >> i mean, alice, does seem if he has nothing to hide, why not do it? to be fair, the standard has changed. like it or not, most people now who run for president are releasing six to 12, in some cases, 20 years of taxes. >> his daddy started it. >> that's fair, his father did start it. why not, alice? if you've got nothing to hide, take the 20,000 pages, have fun. >> he's done everything the law has required him to do. i can assure you, i've traveled across this country on the campaign trail. not one single person has asked any questions about the income tax return of any of my candidates. i can assure you when we have 23 million americans out of work, we have an abysmal gdp at 1.5%, we have unemployment above 8% for the past 41 months, that is what people are concerned about, who is going to get in there and turn those numbers around. >> real quick, erin. >> hold on. alice hogan gidley, who worked on the campaign with you said he thought that mitt romney should release the taxes. >> that's the point i was going to bring up. >> the point is, mitt romney has released everything that he has required by law that he has to do. what he's doing, smartly enough, is heading on the campaign trail, talking about what people want to hear about. the average person is concerned about jobs and the economy. the latest gallup poll says they want their presidents to focus on health care, the economy, doing away with corruption in government, the education and social security. those are the issues that people are talking about. i don't know why we're wasting time sitting here talking about something when the average person is not concerned about that. >> alice, don't give me the gop talking point. your former boss who you were working for said during the campaign, mitt, release your taxes. so i'm sure during the santorum campaign, you guys used that as a talking point. please don't give a gop talking point. you know as a political pro, romney is hurting himself because he's giving the impression, i have something to hide. this is why you do this four months ago. he's only hurting himself. >> he's released everything by law he's required to do. and he's doing what we need to be doing at this stage of the game. what we're doing, we're now 99 days out from this election. people are concerned about what are your policies, what are your views, what are your positions on the key issues, which is turning the economy around and creating jobs. that's what he's doing. that's why right now, the poll numbers show he's neck and neck with the president. and for a sitting president to be neck and neck at this stage of the game is not a good place to be. >> i want to turn the conversation before we go to something else. and i'm sure you all can talk for quite a while about. this is the democrats saying they're going to include gay marriage as a platform in their official party platform at the convention, in north carolina. it's a gutsy move. roland, why are they choosing to do it? >> easy. >> this could cost a couple of states. >> keep in mind, it was president barack obama early in the year who was not supportive of this being included in the platform. once he came out and announced that he was supporting same-sex marriage, that changed the whole ball game. i wouldn't be surprised if you polled folks nationally that probably thought it was already in the platform for the democratic party. >> alice, final word. will this galvanize voters for the gop or a non-issue now? >> if the gay marriage issue wants to take on the traditional marriage folks, game on. i think they're in for a tough battle. the fact of the matter is they may galvanize their base, but this election will be decided by the independents. those folks are results oriented. they want someone who will produce results in the presidency. >> thanks very much to both of you. we appreciate it. next "outfront," the court battle between titans. the two biggest phone makers on the planet. and a new milestone in the miraculous recovery of aimee copeland, the young woman who battled flesh eating bacteria. a big milestone and her father is going to tell you about it "outfront." i'm barack obama and i approve this message. [romney singing]: oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesty, above the fruited plain, america, america, god shed his grace on thee, and crowned thy good, with brotherhood... fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the latest innovation. only for ink customers. learn more at chase.com/ink battle of the titans. it doesn't get better than this. a battle between the biggest and sexiest tech companies on earth. we'll let you decide which is which. this is the battle between samsung and apple. there is no david in this story. there are billions of dollars at stake and you might end up losing your phone, too. this matters. jury selection has begun in the patent fight between apple and samsung. basically, apple wants samsung to pay $2.5 billion to apple in sales, damages and lost profits for supposedly violating its patents. the intellectual property being fought over includes things like the tap to zoom and scrolling functions you're accustomed to. but one of the biggest issues is design. take a look at this. apple says that after the iphone came out, samsung started copying its design. this is in the apple legal brief. they say this is what you were doing before, samsung. look at your little phones. they look like blackberries. then here came the iphone. and now look at the samsung devices. apple says, doesn't that look familiar? and look at the time line. this is an interesting image. this is for the ipad. again, apple is saying, this is what samsung's product looked like before. then out we came with the ipad and now look at samsung's new touch screen tablet after the ipad 2. samsung says this is a whole load of -- it's bogus. samsung's briefs describe this as cherry-picked by apple and in fact they have a very long and complicated thing that shows all the iterations of phones to show that the iphone was not the catalyst for how your saung galaxy looks. that brings me to the number tonight which is -- $24. that's how much apple wants for every single device that samsung is selling that violates what apple says is its design patent. this is according to foss patents, a blog that's tracking this battle day in and day out. $24 a device is a lot of money. samsung says apple is violating some of its patents and wants money from apple on its 3g technology. it goes back and forth and back and forth. but the bottom line is it's big money and it could affect whether you're able to have those samsung galaxy phones that now are much more popular than apple's around the world. still "outfront" in our second half, new york city mayor michael bloomberg has a new target in his so-called nanny state. an interesting term, considering now he is trying to force women to breastfeed. and a former "vogue" reporter says she was duped by the first lady of syria. you can now try snapshot from progressive free for 30 days. just plug this into your car, and your good driving can save you up to 30%. you could even try it without switching your insurance. why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. ♪ i want to go ♪ i want to win [ breathes deeply ] ♪ this is where the dream begins ♪ ♪ i want to grow ♪ i want to try ♪ i can almost touch the sky [ male announcer ] even the planet has an olympic dream. dow is proud to support that dream by helping provide greener, more sustainable solutions from the olympic village to thetadium. solutionism. the new optimism.™ ♪ this dream we start the second half of our show with stories we care about, where we focus on our reporting from the front lines. the man accused of killing 12 and wounding 58 in the colorado movie theater has been formally charged. james holmes has been charged with 142 criminal counts, and here's how they break down. 24 for first-degree murder, 116 counts of attempted murder, one count of felony possession of an explosive device and one count that is a sentence enhancer. half the seats in the courtroom were filled by victims of their family members. of course, at the last hearing, some said holmes appeared disoriented. our ed lavandera was in the court. he said this time around holmes appeared more lucid and aware of what was going on. although he said he appeared to zone out at times. corn prices have hit a record high in this country as this country suffers through its worst drought in 50 years. we went through the usda's latest crop progress report. only 24% of the american corn crop is in good or excellent condition. that's down 2% from just last week. nearly 40% of this country's soybean crop is rated very poor or poor, matching the lows seen during the 1988 drought for soy. right now, the weather forecast indicates some of the northern corn belt will get a little bit of rain. but there will continue to be a drought in some of the hardest-hit areas. tonight, we're learning some of penn state's football players may be transferring from the university. earlier this month, the ncaa placed severe sanctions on penn state. as a result it's allowing football players to transfer without penalty. junior quarterback rob bolden is no longer listed on the penn state roster on the team website. and there are several reports that silas redd visited usc over the weekend. we might see more players try to take this opportunity to transfer after the season, putting the penn state program in question. a couple in northern mali was stoned to death this weekend for having an adulterous relationship. they were executed according to sharia law. this is not the only violence people in mali are experiencing. as you know, we've been talking a lot about that. what we saw there, if you want to help some of the people in mali including children like this one we saw there, we've partnered with save the children to send food and medicine to the refugees who are fleeing the radical islamists in control of much of the northern country. visit our blog. it has been 361 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? it's almost going to be 365, and we have something special planned. now our third story "outfront," mayor michael bloomberg and his so-called nanny state. first he introduced a proposal to ban big servings of soda. now he's taking on baby formula. starting in september, bloomberg will implement his "latch-on nyc" initiative. new mothers will be encouraged to breastfeed. nurses have to sign out the baby formula and explain to them why it's not the best thing to do. this is a "voluntary" initiative. but so far, two-thirds of new york city hospitals have already latched on to the idea. >> most public health officials want to encourage women to breastfeed at least for the first couple of weeks because the outcomes are better. if they can do it, that's great. if they can't, they can't. our job -- we're not making anybody do it. we're suggesting it. >> is this a step too far for the mayor? "outfront" tonight, renee silar. also "outfront" tonight, kristin howardson. a blogger for rage against the minivan.com. i love both of your blog names. let's get to it. does the mayor have a point? obviously he said, i'm looking at a couple of weeks. but pediatricians recommend six months of breastfeeding. is he doing the right thing? >> before anybody says anything, i have to say, i'm a big proponent of breast-feeding. i nursed both of my children. i just don't think this is the way to get that done. i don't think -- he says it's a voluntary program. t a woman who's just had a baby and her hormones are all sort of being regulated and she's got this screaming child and she's trying to feed this baby and then you have to call a nurse and ask the nurse for formula, it seems like so much. then the nurse is going to stand over you and lecture you about -- >> right, if you don't want to do it or it hurts somehow you're made to feel like a failure or a bad mother. >> exactly. i feel like this is one more attack on mothers and on women. i feel like -- it's not that women don't want to try. i think most women understand, most everybody knows that breast is best, unless you've never heard that before, which i'd be shocked by. we know that breastfeeding is good. we know it's best. but like in the case with me and my daughter, it took three weeks before we figured it out. >> it can take time. what about the new york health department? they're putting out a lot of numbers out there. one of them, 100% excess risk of inner ear infections. that can happen early on in a baby's life if they're on formula. but 44% of all infants get that, whether they're -- ear infections, whether breastfed or not breastfed. some of these numbers appear to be a little bit scare tactics. >> yeah. it could be. but i do think that this initiative is good in that i think that there is pretty rampant formula pushing happening in american hospitals all across america. i know when i had my babies, both times i was given a gift bag that had branding of formula all over it. i was offered formula bottles by nurses. so i do think that there's a middle ground here that we should be striving for, where women are encouraged to breast-feed and aren't just offered a bottle of formula to give to their children as soon as their baby is born. >> what do you think about that? they're pushing formula, is that a fair characterization? >> it's been a long time since i had a baby. it's been like 14 years. but pushing formula might be a bit much. but she's right, there should be some middle ground. i don't believe that middle ground is having a nurse sign out the formula each time you need to feed your screaming baby. >> what about, though, the difficulty that a lot of women will have to deal with? which is, they have to work. soon after having a child, they have to go back to work. i know that technically there's all these things in place where you can breastfeed at work or pump. but for a lot of women, that's not practical. >> i think it's important to notice that this initiative is addressing children in hospitals. this wouldn't have any effect on working moms. we're just talking about the time period of when a woman's in a hospital. it's really just 24 to 48 hours after birth. after that point, every woman can leave and do what they feel is best for them. >> but it literally took me three weeks of frustration, trying to teach and trying to work out this breastfeeding dance with my own daughter. that was not with someone standing over my head saying, you're doing it wrong. that's not, i don't believe, the support that nursing mothers need. they need it to be in a loving and caring environment and not someone saying, hey, you're doing it wrong, the wrong way. >> thanks very much -- go ahead, final word, kristin. >> i think in that case, we have to trust that nurses are going to be gentle and helpful with moms. the hope is that they're not going to be shaming but that it's going to encourage nurses and moms to give ate shot instead of just reaching for the bottle. >> thanks very much to both of you. we appreciate it. viewers, let us know what you think. mayor bloomberg, what is next? soon his picture will be on the wall in hotels like in certain parts of the world, maybe. fourth story "outfront," defense secretary leon panetta has some advice for syrian leader, bashar al assad. >> i'm sure deep down assad knows he's in trouble and it's just a matter of time before he has to go. >> what would you say to him? >> i would say if you want to be able to protect yourself and your family, you better get the hell out now. >> get the hell out now. to date, human rights groups say the conflict in syria has left more than 20,000 people dead. but before the atrocities in syria were known to the world, a journalist wrote a growing profile of the first lady called a rose in the desert. it appears in the march 2011 vogue magazine. protester protesters demanded that article be removed from its website. "outfront" tonight, joan juliet buck says she was duped by asma al assad and her family. i was saying, what was she thinking with this article? and now you're going to tell us what happened. what happened that made that article come out the way it did. >> well, the piece was -- "vogue" is a magazine that looks for the positive. if you're in "vogue," you're going to look great, you're going to be wearing great clothes. and whoever writes about you is going to say only the best things about you. that's the way it goes. but i went -- at the time, bashar al assad was thought maybe as a reformer. hillary clinton said it. lots of people said it. john kerry was there the whole time. there was hope that maybe bashar al assad was not an evil person like his father and that he and his wife, the beautiful asma, represented something new in the middle east. it was evan believed he could be some kind of conduit to peace in the middle east. >> right. and i think we should note, in your defense, that the research and the writing of this article was actually done in december of the year before, before really anyone knew about tunisia. >> as i write in "newsweek," i was given this assignment on the 1st of december, 2010. the tunisian fruit vendor, mohammed bouazizi, set himself on fire december 16th. i was already in damascus. during january, there were small uprisings in various middle eastern states. tunisia happened in january, and by the middle of january, ben ali had fled. and tunisia was free, as it were. that dictator was gone. there was also egypt where we were all cheering what was happening in tahrir square. >> did you start to get nervous -- >> absolutely. >> here's your article, you said, she is fresh and very chic. you talk about syria, a place without bombings, unrest or kidnappings. >> right. but there's a couple of other lines where i say that it conducts strict electronic and personal surveillance on both nationals and visitors. >> which you experienced, right? >> which i experienced. but it was funny because somebody got into my computer. but i didn't actually have the computer looked at until i'd finished writing the piece because i didn't know exactly what it meant. and it was something, you'll think about it later. >> so a lot of people are going to say when you look back on what you saw -- forget what you wrote and whether you wrote it more glowingly than you wish you did. what about the relationship between asma and bashar and the children? what, looking back, did you see? >> what i saw -- obviously when people are being visited by americans, they're at their best. they want to look gorgeous and glamorous and their house is going to be really clean. so she used a brand-new saucepan. i don't know if that meant that the house was a fake set with all new props or if they'd gone out and bought a new saucepan -- because american "vogue" was coming. >> you raised the possibility that it could have been a set. it could have been a fake place. >> it could have been a fake set. i don't have the political training. i'm not a political journalist. i know what was exactly in front of my eyes. and what was in front of my eyes was a kind of nerdy guy who didn't seem threatening or particularly complex. >> really? not particularly complex? interesting. >> and a woman who was very, very on message. she's a banker. i don't really trust bankers. it's a prejudice of mine and everything she said was for me to know that the children of syria were her number one concern. that with her discovery centers, she was going to help the children of syria have the confidence to build a civil society. she said it to me so many ways and so many times, i had gone -- because i was hoping to look at antiquities. all she talked about was enabling the children of syria. >> and you in "newsweek," your headline is, mrs. assad duped me, my notorious interview with the first lady of hell. >> what happened, she enabled -- did she do it deliberately? did she know what she was doing? by telling a totality of over 200,000 children, young syrians, aged between 5 and, say, 20, that they had the power to change the way things were in their country, by telling them that, was it she who enabled the nine -- the 15 kids who at the end of february 2011 wrote a graffiti on the wall of their school saying, the people want the regime to change -- these are the kids who were arrested. these are the kids who were tortured by assad's regime. and for me, the whole reason i wrote this piece, i met a woman who was on message like a banker, but it was all about enabling the kids. and from the moment the atrocities started, which was with the torture of the kids who had done the graffiti and this torture was discovered at the end of march, from the moment this started, i was saying to myself, who's this woman i met, who only spoke about enabling the children of syria? >> maybe there's a very great irony in all of this. thank you very much, joan. we appreciate it. joan's new article about the story -- and it's worthwhile in reading. it's sort of a minute by minute of what she saw and what happened. i enjoyed it much more than the first article. it's in "newsweek" right now. "outfront" next, the recovery of aimee copeland, the young woman we've been talking about with flesh eating bacteria. her father with the milestone she achieved this week is "outfront" next. where ? where ? it's getting away ! where is it ? it's gone. we'll find it. any day can be an adventure. that's why we got a subaru. love wherever the road takes you. wow, there it is. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 like a lot of things, the market has changed, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and your plans probably have too. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we'll give you personalized recommendations tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 on how to reinvest that old 401(k). tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and bring your old 401(k) into the 21st century. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 rollover your 401(k) or ira and receive up to $600. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 see schwab.com for terms and conditions. i'm one of six children that my mother raised by herself, and so college was a dream when i was a kid. i didn't know how i was gonna to do it, but i knew i was gonna get that opportunity one day, and that's what happened with university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky's the limit with what i can do and what i can accomplish. my name is naphtali bryant and i am a phoenix. visit phoenix.edu to find the program that's right for you. enroll now. male spirit present.trong it's the priceline negotiator. >>what? 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our fifth story "outfront," aimee copeland, the 24-year-old who lost her leg a foot and her hands to a flesh-eating bacterial infection that almost killed her, has been defying the odds in her recovery. she's in the midst of grueling physical therapy sessions that are geared towards the basics. getting in and out of a chair. she's also learned to work with a new hand and leg prosthetics. it's been a miraculously quick recovery. and "outfront" tonight, andy copeland, aimee's father has been giving us updates. good to see you. i know physical therapy sessions have been difficult. what are some of the things that most recently she's mastered? >> well, i'll tell you, just the regiment she's under now is incredible. she does 200 crunches in about seven minutes. 400 leg lifts in about seven minutes. she does an untold number of push-ups. in fact, one day i went there to see her, she was doing push-ups and her therapist, she must have talked to him for five minutes while she was doing push-ups. she does this thing called planks and side planks. i looked it up to find out what it is. it's just an unbelievable regiment she does for an hour and a half each day. so she's really pushing hard right now. >> how many of the prosthetics does she have? is she fully acclimated with? >> she's actually -- has three prosthetics now. she has two hooks that she uses basically in place of hands. it's interesting, it seems that after having those hooks on for about ten minutes she seemed to have been able to master the ability to use them. she reached over, there were a pair of shorts hanging over her wheelchair. she was going to transfer from her bed to the wheelchair. and she just grabbed over effortlessly and grabbed the shorts, threw them across her body and said, let's get in. he looked and said, wow, usually it takes three days for somebody to be able to master the coordination of using those hooks to do something like that. plus, she has one prosthetic on her right leg which is the area of her below knee amputation. her left side, she still doesn't have her prosthetic yet on that side. that side's not really that healthy. she still has some sores that are pop up and it's possible she may require an additional surgery there sometime before the end of the year. >> you're standing in front of your house. you've got a developer that's been helping you build what you're calling aimee's wing. how is that coming? i know that's going to be a place that she -- completely friendly to her when she does return. >> yeah. it's been remarkable progress. pulte homes has stepped in and they've really knocked this thing out in record time. they gave us a schedule of 40 days but i think they're scheduled to complete this sometime next tuesday. so it's amazing that they've knocked it out in the time frame that they have. we also have a general contractor, casey moon, who's working on the inside of our structure now. he hopes to be done with the existing structure by the 14th. so we're really pushing that to make sure everything's ready in time for aimee to come home. >> this is a time that could have been many months away, no one knew. given what you're describing with her push-ups and her -- the miraculousness of this recovery, when do you actually expect her to come home? >> well we're seeing she's going to be home by the 22nd. and it's interesting. i told her, i said, great, when you come home, i want to have cameras there, everybody seeing aimee come home. she goes no, dad, i don't need that, i need -- let me come home. and she said, i just need to come home. because i felt like it was going to be a great big moment that we could record. she doesn't even want me to record it with a home video. she said, you know, did you record me when i went off to college? i'm like, no. she said, okay, this is the same thing, don't make a big deal out of it. she's asked us to give her some personal time when she comes home, that she can become acclimated to her new environment, and just be able to enjoy being home because, gosh, she's been in a medical facility now for three months, and we're really looking forward to her being a place where she's -- feels safe and where she feels like she's finally home. >> and that will be a great day. "outfront" next, a russian rock band held in jail for almost five months, with no end in sight. why the government's cozy relationship with the church could be behind it. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state. one that's working to attract businesses and create jobs. a place where innovation meets determination... and businesses lead the world. the new new york works for business. find out how it can work for yours at thenewny.com. last season was the gulf's best tourism season in years. in florida we had more suntans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records on the gulf. this year we are out to do even better... and now is a great time to start. our beatches are even more relaxing... the fishing's great. so pick your favorite spot on the gulf... and come on down. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. those little things for you, life's about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. in march, we brought you the story of the russian punk band. pussy riot, an all female groups. they put on masks so you can't always tell which ones are there. they're known for being anonymous and politically charged. they were krit iices of vladimir putin when more than 100,000 people took to the streets of moscow earlier this year singing a song called "putin chickened out." according to russian authorities, they went too far. on february 21st when they stormed the altar of the christ the savior cathedral to sing an anti-putin punk prayer. p including the lines virgin mary drive putin away. they were only there for about a minute but it offended many believers and shortly after the performance three of the band's members were snatched off the street and currently face up to seven years in prison. they've been held with no bail since february which is almost five months. their trial finally began in moscow today. the official charge is hooliganism with, quote, religious hatred. is this about religion or politics? the prosecution says the women's treatment and the charges are fair but there appears to be more to it. although church and state are officially separate under russia's constitution, the orthodox church is one the primary supporters of putin. and has claimed a leading role in setting moral standards. this cozy relationship has led much of the russian public and celebrities to champion the pussy riot cause. reenlet recently a lawyer for the band said, the documents tried not to make it look like a political case, but for