let s all go outfront. i m erin burnett. outfront, count down to another downgrade of america? the super committee held a rare public hearing today. they re the group of 12 charged with cutting the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. if they don t do it, we can end up on a rate to higher interest rates and a lower standard of living. here are the dates we need to watch. november 1st, cbo says the super committee must submit their plan for review. that is five days from now. november 23rd. that is the deadline for the final submission. and then december 23rd. the final deadline when congress must up or down vote that plan. the committee must come to an agreement, and congress has to pass it or automatic across the board cuts will be made, half of them coming from our defense budget. the problem is those cuts don t come until 2013. they are too small to prevent more downgrades. yes, thanks to congress, america s economic standing in the world is on the verge of another downg
put to rest months ago. it began over the weekend in parade magazine. here is the part of the interview that got people talking. when asked, governor, do you believe that president barack obama was born in the united states? governor perry says, quote, i have no reason to think otherwise. the interviewer points out that s not a definitive yes, the governor says, well, i don t have a definitive answer because he s never seen my birth certificate. the interviewer points out this is an odd answer, but you you ve seen his. which governor perry reports, i don t know. have i? you don t believe what s been released? i don t know. i had dinner with donald trump the other night. the governor said, and i quote, i don t have any idea. it doesn t matter. he s the president of the united states. he s elected. it s a distractive issue. keeping them honest, if it s such a distractive issue to use governor perry s own words, then why bring it up? here s how he answered. i said it s a g
hello, everyone. i m erin burnett. outfront tonight, a flat tax from presidential candidate, rick perry. it is time to pass a tax that is flat and fair and frees our employers and out people to invest and grow and prosper. he calls it flat. but the bottom line is it isn t really. the right word is sort of lumpy. here s why. a true flat tax would mean all americans start paying a flat tax of 20%. that s perry s rate on their income with no deductions. that s not how this works though. you keep your current rate or pick his new 20% rate. by allowing people to remain in their current tax bracket, americans will continue to pay different rates. there are six federal income tax rates now. perry s new plan, because we don t have a 20, will make it seven. that s lumpy. a poor flat tax doesn t allow for deductions, capital dividends, state and local taxes. we re joking a little. we all want bold ideas, and politically, you can t wake up and throw out and old system and go to a
antigadhafi brigades. human rights watch is calling on the libyan national council to investigate this. conditions in syria are getting too dangerous for the u.s. ambassador. the state department has pulled ambassador robert ford out of syria citing what it calls credible threats against his personal safety. u.s. officials say an armed pro-government mob attack ford an some colleagues in an embassy convoy last month. ford has been an outspoken critic of the syrian government s violent crack dourn on protesters. u.s. officials say they don t know when it will be safe for ford to return to syria. a growing danger in the skies with more people on the ground shining hand-held lasers into airline cockpits. it usually happens while planes are taking off or landing. the most dangerous times for pilots to be distracted or even temporarily blinded. the faa reports more than 2,700 laser incidents so far this year. nearly ten times the number reported in 2005. there are new stiff pe
did. a shocking praise from a conservative radio host, and you will hear her side of the story. and will this surveillance tape bring police any closer to solving a missing case in missouri. the hunter for baby lisa. those stories are right here, right now on cnn. it is almost dawn in the middle east, and when the sun comes up, it will show cities and villages in the eastern part of turkey pulverized by a major earthquake. rescue workers are racing nonstop through the night to reach the victims buried under dozens of collapsed building in the city of van. with e no e that 138 people did not make it out alive. that death toll is expected to keep rising. we have a reporter on the scene and spoke us to by phone about the extremely difficult circumstances facing the rescuers and survivors. and nevsin mangu talking about how people were frantically searched for under the rubble. to recap the quake a magnitude 7.2, and at least 130 people are known dead and hun hundreds more