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Erin Burnett Outfront
At Least Four Dead in Record Breaking Storms; Journalist Believed Beheaded, Fate of Pilot Unknown; Obama Won't Call Terror Fight A War on Radical Islam; Bodies Strewn Across Destroyed Ukraine Airport; 102 Cases Reported Across 14 States; Measles Outbreak: 102 Cases Reported Across 14 States
Aired February 02, 2015 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next. Breaking news, a deadly storm bury in much of the northeast and Midwest under a foot or more of snow. At least four people are dead tonight as the nation braces for freezing temperatures.
Plus, the measles outbreak spreading across the country. Now, a new case in New York. Outrage tonight at the growing anti-vaccine movement. And Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Christina Brown is fighting for her life after she was found face down in a bathtub. We have the latest developments on her condition tonight. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news. A deadly freeze. At least four deaths have been tied to the storms sweeping across the northeast. Sixty five million Americans in the path of record snow and frigid temperatures. The wind chill is making millions feeling subzero temperatures tonight. Chicago buried in more than 18 inches of snow. That's a one day record for that city for the month of February. More snow than it got all last month combined. Earlier today more than 50,000 there had no power. And heavy snow and high winds hitting Cleveland, much of northwest Ohio as the storm moved east. Boston all but grinding to a halt with another 14 inches overnight into today. That city, large sections of the entire state of Massachusetts are of course still coping with record snowstorms from last week. So much snow piled up on the streets of Boston that the city has postponed tomorrow's Super Bowl victory parade.
The driver of an ATV crashing into a parked SUV today in Worcester. As you can see then taking off as he crashed full speed. Worcester was covered in 33.5 inches. That's a record of snow just last week. Brian Todd is OUTFRONT tonight beginning our coverage in the streets of Andover, Massachusetts, about30 miles north of Boston. I can see the snow coming down. It's pretty much full out where you are now Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's very bad Erin. It's getting to the portion of the evening, things are getting especially dangerous around the Boston area. You can see the wind picking up here. Our photo journalist Khalil Abdallah can train his camera on that light up there. You can see kind of where the wind is taking the snow swirling all around here. You mentioned the conditions, the visibility is terrible. And here's another issue. Where to put all of it. These is about a 10 foot high mount of snow and this was shoveled here by a front end loaders just a little while ago. These scenes are very typical all around the greater Boston area. They're running out of places to put the snow. The roads are getting more and more treacherous right now because as the snow falls, in addition to the snow from last week, that still all of that has not still been cleared. You've got just fewer and fewer places to pull over if you need to, if you're in an emergency, if you think you're going to get stuck.
There's really no place along the roads to go either on the side roads or on the major interstates. So, that's been a major problem here. You cannot see the lane markers. So, the conditions for drivers have been very treacherous all day long. And now Erin, the roads are starting to freeze over. Subzero temperatures on the road starting about now. And again, they can't salt them yet because the snow is not finished yet. The plows are trying to get out and do what they can, but they can't shovel it up and push it to the side at the same rate the snow is falling. You talked about the fatalities. There was one in this area illustrating the fact that even the parking lots here are not safe. We got word of a woman in her 50s who was struck and killed by a snowplow in the parking lot of a condominium. So again, the roads are not safe. The interstates are not safe. Even the parking lots not safe here in Massachusetts.
BURNETT: Not safe. And those flakes are coming down where you are. As you said, it's still accumulating insignificantly so. Brian Todd, thank you so much. So, in Boston, the city shattering a snowfall record already, right? They've gotten 10 more inches of snow today. That brings the one week total to over 34 inches. That's in one week. And that is the snowiest since records began, that is back in 1891. 1891. All right. This is a time lapse video. So, we'll just show you here the intensity of the snowfall and how this comes down. It's pretty incredible what our photo journalist was doing here, watching really just the situation that's gotten worse and worse. Really what happened was it came down so quickly. It was impossible for road crews actually keep up with the accumulating snow.
Jennifer Gray is OUTFRONT live for us in Boston tonight. Jennifer, I was there with you last week. You've been in Boston since the snow began. Storm after storm. How are conditions right now?
JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the storms are lining up in the pipeline of course. We are seeing the snow tapering off now. We had a wicked ban move through just a few moments ago and dump a lot of snow. Now, it's tapering off and it should be it for the rest of the night, Erin. We're going to wait on those snow totals to come in. This could in fact be the snowiest day for, as far as November, February 2nd goes on record. And this could also end up being since January 1, more snowfall than they normally get in an entire year. This is what we're looking at behind me, you can see all the snow mounds. Plows has been coming through. And it just piles up on the sides of the streets. All these streets are basically going to freeze over tonight. That's what we call flash freezing. Temperatures are going to plummet overnight. We'll be in the single digits by tomorrow morning already
hovering right around those single digits. So, just a mess. In fact, that's why they postponed that parade. Because not only people in Boston trying to get to those parade routes, they have to continue to get all the snow in those front end loaders and haul it off. People all over New England are going to want to come to the parade. And roads are just aren't in good enough shape for them to get here. Let's get to the forecast though because the snow is moving out for tonight. Of course, those temperatures did plummet. Temperatures around freezing around noon. Dropped around 18 in the early afternoon and then down to 10:00 by 4:00 or so. So, it was a very, very quick plummet as far as temperatures go. We're also going to see temperatures stay in the single digits overnight and then the parade is going to be on Wednesday. Lows to be in the single digits. And highs are only going to be in the 20s. It's not going too much warmer than tomorrow. But still, it will give them more time to get the snow out of the way, Erin.
BURNETT: You know, a pretty terrifying when you think about those cold temperatures and how many millions of people, 65 million people in the path of this storm. And where you are, those temperatures extremely dangerous, roads extremely dangerous.
Jennifer Gray, thank you very much. Peter Judge of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is OUTFRONT now on the phone. And thank you so much for being with me. Peter, I appreciate it. Thirty four inches of snow over the past seven days. That's a record back to 1891 as we were just telling everyone. How do you cope with that? That's nearly three feet snow in one week. You've never had to cope with that before.
PETER JUDGE, MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Right. There are suburbs just outside of Boston that got 20 inches of snow today on top of 30 inches of snow with the previous storm. So, you know, we're looking at this sort of issue all across the state. As said in the previous story, the snow farms as they call them, they're trying to plow snow, they're filling up. They're going to try to truck around the state just to clean the city streets. And it's a losing battle right now.
BURNETT: A losing battle? And what about the temperatures coming in? Because we're talking with wind chill, you're going to have below zero, well below zero, for a lot of people.
JUDGE: Right. They're ejecting like 15 below zero wind chill factor tomorrow. That was part of the reason to postpone the event tomorrow with the Patriots. But that being said, we're fortunate there's been minimal power outages around the state. So, in that regards, you don't have to worry about setting up a lot of shelters and warming centers, four people, although we are reaching out to people to check on neighbors and make sure everybody is safe and everybody is warm.
BURNETT: And you're going to go ahead with that parade and they postponed it for a day. You're going to go ahead on Wednesday even with this clean up still ongoing and below zero temps? JUDGE: Well, as of right now. I know the average will be made
to make sure that the parade route is as clean as possible, the major highways so folks can get in from around New England. You know, it was closed today. However, the additional six inches that the city wasn't expecting probably through the change into that plan. But right now it looks like Wednesday is a go.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate Peter and best of luck. I know you are dealing with a record situation there as we said. More snow in one week in Boston that may have ever gotten since recordkeeping began back in 1891.
Next, a new warning from ISIS saying the group is quote-unquote, "thirsty for your blood." And measles, it's now in the East Coast in New York after a student rode a crowded train with a virus. Outrage tonight at the anti-vaccine movement.
And this incredible video of what has been the state of the art brand new airport. This is what it looks like now. We'll going to tell you why and take it to it exclusively.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight ISIS says it's quote, "thirsty for your blood." In a video that appears to show the beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. The ISIS murderer says, ISIS is an Islamic caliphate with an, quote, "entire army ready to attack." Meanwhile, the Jordanian government saying it will do whatever it takes to free a fighter pilot helped hostage by ISIS. They're offering to release this female suicide bomber in exchange for the pilot.
Jim Sciutto is OUTFRONT live in Washington. And Jim, all right, so now they're saying we'll do whatever it takes. We'll do whatever it takes. We'll do a trade if you wanted to do a trade. The problem is, we don't even know if this fighter jet pilot is alive do we?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No. And Jordan demanded proof of life from the beginning here, they haven't gotten proof of life. And they have determined that that is requirement for even continuing the talks. So, we're caught something in a haunting limbo here because there's no proof of life on the one hand but there's also hasn't been a decapitation video and any sort of video showing that they have killed him. There are other hostages still in their hands including its believed four westerners, one of them an American woman. But there are questions as well as to what ISIS is actually accomplishing with these videos as that number of foreign hostages dwindles. You know, have they actually fired up their base? Is this really helping them to recruit, or are they just turning people off showing their brutality? It's an open question.
BURNETT: All right. Jim Sciutto, thank you very much.
Tonight President Obama refusing to say, when he's talking about this ISIS conflict, that America is at war with radical Islam. Let me play it for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Are we in a war with radical Islam?
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: You know, I think that the way to understand this is there is an element growing out of Muslim communities in certain parts of the world that have perverted the religion, have embraced a nihilistic, violent, almost medieval interpretation of Islam. And they're doing damage in a lot of countries around the world. But it is absolutely true that I reject a notion that somehow that creates a religious war because the overwhelming majority of Muslims reject that interpretation of Islam. They don't recognize it as being Islam. And I think that for us to be successful in fighting this scourge, it's very important for us to align ourselves with the 99.9 percent of Muslims who are looking for the same thing we're looking for. Order, peace, prosperity. And so, you know, I don't quibble with labels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. Joining me now CNN political commentator Peter Beinart and Peter Brookes, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs. Now senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Peter Brooks, you just heard that answer, rather torture.
PETER BROOKES, SENIOR FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Right.
BURNETT: You don't like it. What's wrong about refusing so say the U.S. is at war with radical Islam, just like that, just in a clear simple, sentence like that?
BROOKES: Well, I think it's obvious. I mean, this has been going on for a few weeks. It's causing concern especially among members of congress. I think it's causing confusion among the American people. I think it undermines the President's credibility especially when his conduct of this fight against terrorism is being questioned. I think clarity is critically important. I mean, I'd agree with the President there, but I almost feel like we're in some sort of intellectual word game when we're actually at war. I think we owe it to American people, to the Congress, and to our servicemen and women that we're clear on what we're up against here. And I don't think we have really any good news that we're facing right now. So, I'm concerned about how the President is shaping this.
BURNETT: Peter Beinart, he does have a point. It was a rather long winded, sort of academic answer. I mean, after the terror attacks in Paris, the prime minister of France was very clear. He said we're at war with radical Islam. Okay. Here's what he said. It is a war against terrorism, against jihadism, radical Islam. The President of the United States categorically refuses to say, a couple of these other things, right? He won't say it's a war against jihadi, he won't say it's a war against radical Islam. Why not?
PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the President of the United States is right. I think the President of France is wrong. The previous guest talks about clarity. There's nothing less clear than saying we're at war with radical Islam. Can anyone define what radical Islam is? Does it include the government of Iran for instance which we're negotiating a deal with which is extremely hostile to the Sunni Jihadists groups like ISIS? Does it include the Muslim brother hood which controls Turkey, one of our NATO allies? We're at war with specific terrorists' organizations and networks like ISIS, like the various al Qaeda branches. We know who those are. We know how to fight them. Declaring a war against a very amorphous ideology is only going to get us in trouble.
BURNETT: Yes. I mean, Peter, what do you make of that? There was a study, Eli Lake, the journalist sited it today in Pew talking about various countries as Peter Beinart mentioning that people in those countries support quote-unquote, "radical Islam." In Egypt, 74 percent of the people support Sharia being a law of the land. IN Iraq it's 91 percent. And in Iraq, of Muslim, 60 percent say, honor killings of women are okay. So, if women has premarital sex or adultery, that's okay. Those are things the United States finds horrible. Those are things associated with radical Islam. But to Peter Beinart's point, we're not going to war against those populations. And we don't want to signal that we're going to war against them either.
BROOKES: Yes. I understand that. And the President has to make that more clear. You know, if we're not at war against radical Islam, what are we in war against? I mean, look at what we've seen. I mean, last week they were talking about that they're working the Taliban wasn't a terrorist group. You know, so there's a lot of problems here. And what I'm really worried about is that people outside of Washington need to understand why we're spending time, lives, and resources and fighting this. And I don't think the President has been quite clear on that. And I think there's a lot of concern. You hear members of Congress that are well briefed on these issues. There's a lot of concern about how the President is going about conducting this struggle and the threats that we face.
BURNETT: And Peter Beinart, to that point, right. So, the Taliban is a terrorist group one day. And the next day because you exchange prisoners with them, you don't want to call them a terrorist group. It killed three Americans last week. There does seem to be a sort of, well, if we feel like you're a terrorist group but we can change any time we want.
BEINART: Yes. There's a distinction between organizations to have audios, repulsive disgusting ideologies like the Taliban. An organizations that are actively plotting attacks against the United States. Morally, we can be hideously opposed to one but with only at war with people who are trying to kill us.
BURNETT: Even if they killed three American --
BEINART: So, we are fighting a war in Afghanistan. I think if we were to leave Afghanistan, al Qaeda would pursue us around the world. The Taliban would not. Because the Taliban wants to rule Afghanistan in a horrible barbaric way. We should try to stop them. But it's not the same as a group which is trying to kill Americans all over the world. BURNETT: Peter Brookes, you know, what's interesting is,
President Bush seemed to have a similar hesitancy on this issue, just days after the 9/11 attacks. He made this, very, you know, it was clearly trying to say, well, I don't want to say we're at war with Islam, it's a peaceful religion. Let me just play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH (R), UNITED STATES: The face of terror is not the true face of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do you think he'd be willing to say radical Islam, not just terror, now?
BROOKES: It's hard to say. I mean, we'd have to ask the President. But you remember that this is just in the days right after 9/11. I was at the Pentagon in 9/11. This was unchartered territory. It's almost 14 years ago. Then we were dealing with al Qaeda, al Qaeda core, Pakistan, Afghanistan. Now we're dealing with a violent Islamic movement that almost spans the globe. So, I mean, we'd have to ask President Bush what he would say. I don't want to try to tell you what he might put words in his mouth. But I think we're dealing with the different issue now than we were dealing with back then. It think it's worse now than it is than it was back then despite the terrible tragedy of 9/11.
BURNETT: Certainly more widespread even though we haven't had an attack of that skill. Thanks so much to both of you.
And now, a CNN exclusive. A bombed out airport, bodies strewn to what just a few years ago was a gleaning, state of the art new terminal. I want to warn you that these images are extremely disturbing. But for the first time tonight, we are able to show you the horrific price of Russia's war in Ukraine. Nick Paton Walsh is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- has the fighting being (INAUDIBLE) in the worst war to hits Europe since -- Donetsk once proud Sergey Prokofiev International Airport. Ukraine's army is still shelling here. Despite being pushed out of this former strong hold two weeks ago by these Russian-backed separatists, themselves heavily armed. This is their form of airport shuffle.
(on camera): We're moving now in an armored car towards a new terminal of the airport. Territory where the separatists have taken but it's still regularly under fire from the Ukrainian military.
(voice-over): We pull into the airport long term underground parking. (on camera): Occasionally shells are still landing here.
(voice-over): The fight killed hundreds as Ukrainians used service tunnels to hold part of the complex. The men claim these bodies were left in the Ukrainian retreat. The last call for passengers on this walkway passed months ago. These pictures from three years ago showing how it used to sparkle.
(on camera): Hard to imagine how just six months ago we were here flying out of Donetsk, it was then the state of the art international terminal. Just look at the destruction and how this symbolizes how far Eastern Ukraine has fallen.
(voice-over): Mortars often fall here so we move fast. They used to call this the new terminal, opened two years ago for football fans coming to see the European championship. But that newfound European optimism has evaporated. The war here is entering a new phase. The heaviest of weapons and the random shelling of civilians. In which victory has become more important than its spoils. These men blame Barack Obama for this devastation. Russia blames NATO for fermenting this war. NATO says nonsense and many of these fighters are actually Russian regular army. Blame, hatred, and charred remains everywhere. But Ukraine's bright hopes of modern prosperity, the gate is closed. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Donetsk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: All right. And next, measles on the east coast of the United States. The student with the virus in New York's busiest train station. Amtrak passengers are exposed.
And the growing anti-vaccine movement. Is this really all about Jenny McCarthy? A special report about the anti-vax movement.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight a jump in the number of measles cases in the United States. Health officials say that in January alone, 102 people in 14 states were reported to have the measles. We now know one of them is a college student from New York. And while infected with this highly contagious airborne disease, that student went to the busiest train station in the country in New York City boarded an Amtrak train, a train that travels up to Albany, Buffalo and finally Niagara Falls.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is outfront. And Elizabeth, should everyone on that train could have been in contact with this person be concerned?
ELIZABETH COHEN, SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Erin, you know, we don't know who did have contact with this person because we don't know where exactly this person sat. So, if you were on that train and you weren't vaccinated or your child wasn't vaccinated, yes I would be concerned. And even if you were vaccinated, you might not be fully vaccinated. So, it's worth a trip to the doctor to sort of sort this all out. And Erin, the reason for this is that we forget sometimes that before we had the vaccine in this country, 400-500 a year would die from the measles and another 4,000 would get encephalitis which is brain swelling. So, this is not something you want to play around with.
BURNETT: I mean, it's pretty terrifying when you think about it. And as we've talked about 90 percent of people exposed to it who are not vaccinated end up getting the measles. It's airborne, it survives for hours on its own, in the air or on a surface. And to your point about whether you're fully immune. I have this question. So many people do Elizabeth, I mean, I read some adults may need to update their immunity, right? Get another MMR shot. I mean, is it possible I think I'm immune because I was vaccinated as a kid but I'm actually not anymore?
COHEN: Sure. That is possible. And here's why Erin. And in 1990 the CDC figured out, wait a minute, we've been telling people to get one shot as a kid. But actually one shot may not be enough. It's enough for some people but not for everybody. So, if you were born before 1990, you know, you probably only had one.
BURNETT: All right. It looks like we just lost that shot from Atlanta. I apologize for that. I'm not sure why.
But you heard the bottom line of what she said. If you got your vaccine for MMR before 1990, you should go in and check as to whether you should have a second shot, that additional shot or not. And my understanding is that insurance does pay for that additional shot. As the number of new cases increases, there's a battle brewing across the United States as to whether parents should be allowed to refuse to vaccinate their children by choice. That means putting lives of other children at risk knowingly.
Dan Simon is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. NELSON BRANCO, PEDIATRICIAN IN MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Let's see what we got here.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Nelson Branco was a pediatrician in Marin County, California, a place at the epicenter of the growing friction whether parents should be able to refuse vaccinations for their children. That's because it has a high number of students with personal belief exemptions, 6 percent of kindergartens, about three times more than the state average.
BRANCO: I've seen children with brain damage from the measles.
SIMON: Dr. Branco has no real patients for the discussion, especially after two unvaccinated siblings in Marin County now have the measles. He's drawn a hard line at his clinic when it comes to the measles. If parents say no to the vaccine, you'll just have to find another doctor.
BRANCO: We were concerned that there would be a case of measles in our county. And we didn't want our practice to be where that case showed up. We didn't want to be spreading measles in our waiting room.
SIMON: With new cases of measles spreading almost daily, tension has been escalating across the country, with much of the ire directed at the parents who choose not to vaccinate their children.
An online petition movement now taking hold to vaccines mandatory to a 10 California schools. More than 14,000 now have already signed it. The debate also shifting to political circles. President Obama directly asked about it in his pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC News.
NBC NEWS: Do you feel there should be a requirement that parents get their kids vaccinated?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Measles is preventable. I understand that there are families that in some cases are concerned about the effect of vaccinations. Science is pretty indisputable.
SIMON: Though not directly answering the question, the president offered no support for those who refuse.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul taking a different stance.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: I'm not anti-vaccine at all, but particularly most of them ought to be voluntary.
SIMON: A position that might be considered surprising since he was a practicing physician before entering politics.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also taking some heat by suggesting that parents be given some flexibility, despite the fact he vaccinated his own children.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: And that's what we do. But I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well. So, that's the balance that the government has to decide.
SIMON: His press aid trying to quell a backlash, sending out an e-mail saying with a disease like the measles, there's no question kids should be vaccinated.
With more than 100 cases so far around the nation, doctors like Nelson Branco are hoping that's the message people here.
BRANCO: I think when there's a preventable illness that you can do something to keep out of our school, then it's your obligation to do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: And the data shows that states do a lot better when they take a hard line on vaccines. Erin, there are two states in the country that do not allow personal belief exemptions. They are Mississippi and West Virginia. They are two of the poorest states but they have the highest vaccination rates in the country. In the case of Mississippi, Erin, it's 99.7 percent.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much.
Well, OUTFRONT, Dr. Armand Dorian.
And, Dr. Armand, I want -- this whole conversation in some ways like they're living in alternate world. I mean, people have these fears. They have been stoked by people -- celebrities, people in the public community. And we're now all paying the price for it.
I want to play for you something Senator Rand Paul, who is a likely 2016 presidential contender, said today -- and I just want to make a point here, again, presidential contender and a doctor. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: I've heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: This is what some parents are afraid of. But, again, he's a doctor, senator, likely presidential contender.
When you hear Senator Paul say something like he said, what do you think?
DR. ARMAND DORIAN, ASSOC. PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, USC VERDUGO HILLS HOSPITAL: It's sad. It's unfortunate. He's losing his duty, not only as a physician but as a politician to take something so straightforward to actually help the United States, help the people of the United States, and actually he's doing harm by not taking a hard line here. We're letting there be a chance that people will die and be affected by measles. Something that the science is indisputable. That's why I could sit here and be so aggressive and be so passionate about this.
BURNETT: Right. I mean, because as we said, the study that linked autism -- you know, children that seemed to be normal and then were not has been protracted. The doctor has lost -- was fraudulent. And there's been -- I've seen seven or eight deeply peer-reviewed studies, all of which have shown there's absolutely no link at all. But people don't pay attention to those, right? They look at this one study that's been withdrawn. They're still afraid of it even though it was a fraud.
Rand Paul is not alone, though. And he's not alone politically. Another likely presidential candidate, Republican, said that vaccinating should be a choice today. And that's Chris Christie. Let me remind you -- I know we played it briefly. I want to play it again. This is talking about vaccinating his children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTIE: All I can say is we vaccinated ours. But I also
understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He's an authority figure, runs a state. States set the rules on whether kids are allowed to go to schools without vaccinations. As Elizabeth just points out, before there was a vaccine, up 500 Americans died a year of measles. When you hear Governor Christie, what do you think?
DORIAN: It's disappointing. Look, we have an opportunity here to make a big difference. We have an opportunity here for -- realizing if I'm vaccinating my kids, I understand the science, I lean to people who understand the science and rely on it. We need the surgeon general to step up here. We need people who have the information to say, look, this is a public health measure. It's not about politicians deciding whether they want votes or not.
We need to make the decision and understand we don't want for a kid to die for us to then turn back and say, why didn't we do that? That's why we're here. That's why we're talking about.
BURNETT: It is. And hopefully people will listen. Dr. Dorian, thank you very much.
We should point out, by the way, that when the New Jersey governor talks about choice. No doubt he deeply believes in that.
But, of course, New Jersey that has laws prohibiting you from smoking in public places and bars. It has laws that you have to wear your seat belt. There are all kinds of things in which the state takes away your right to a choice. So, in and of itself, choice doesn't make sense as an argument.
OUTFRONT next, the anti-vaccine argument is growing. As more states allow personal exemption for getting children vaccinated, we're going to have a full report on that. Really, is Jenny McCarthy truly to blame for this?
Almost three years to the day after Whitney Houston's death, her daughter found in the same condition. We have new breaking news on Bobbi Kristina Brown, her condition tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Measles, mumps, rubella, other diseases were eliminated in the United States more than a decade ago. Polio, perhaps even more.
But the latest measles outbreak, with at least 102 cases is frankly, mainly due to parents who have made a choice not to vaccinate their children.
How did this get started? Deborah Feyerick is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, TV HOST: Tonight, exclusive, Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It became a celebrity cause, from Jenny McCarthy --
JENNY MCCARTHY, CELEBRITY: Without a doubt in my mind, I believe vaccination triggered Evan's autism.
FEYERICK: To Robert Kennedy, Jr.
ROBERT KENNEDY, JR.: There is very, very strong science, really overwhelming science, linking those autism rates to the thimerosal that was in the vaccine.
FEYERICK: Praised at the time by talk show hosts.
JON STEWART: I appreciate you getting the word out.
FEYERICK: Those same people a decade later now satirized the anti-vaccine movement.
STEWART: Measles, mumps, rubella, or they're in, baby. A blast from the past.
FEYERICK: Vaccines in the U.S. successfully wiped out measles, mumps, rubella and other diseases by the year 2000. But autism was inexplicably rising, fueling theories based on incomplete and now discredited science.
MCCARTHY: Parent after parent after parent says, I vaccinated my baby. They got a fever, and then they stopped speaking and the became autistic.
STEVEN SALZBERG, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: When a Hollywood celebrity like Jenny McCarthy says something about a medical issue, for some reason, people pay attention, although there's really no reason why they should. So, scientists are left scrambling to try to figure out how do we counteract that.
FEYERICK: The anti-vaccine movement popularized by those celebrities grew out of a 1998 study in the "Lancet Medical Journal." The author Andrew Wakefield is considered a hero to anti-vaccine supporters. But he lost his medical license after his data was exposed as bogus.
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: There was one study that has since been shown to have been fraudulent.
FEYERICK: Still the study launched numerous anti-vaccination groups, like Age of Autism and Generation Rescue, spearheaded by McCarthy. MCCARTHY: This era will be marked as a time in history when a
group of parents fought the giants to help save their babies and future generations.
FEYERICK: By refusing to vaccinate their children, they may be exposing a whole new generation of people to diseases once thought to be eliminated from the U.S.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And, Erin, Jenny McCarthy last year she wanted to set the record straight. That she's never been against vaccines. What she's against she wants vaccines with lower levels of what she calls toxins. She also wants to make sure that the vaccines are not given four to five or six at a time but over an extended period.
But what she says is very confusing to people, because they're hearing what they want to hear, which is don't vaccinate your children. We want to set the record straight. And parents want to protect their science, but the science simply supports the benefits of vaccinations.
BURNETT: They do. And people should know that there's now less toxins in the vaccines than there used to be. So, yes, you get more at one time that you're actually receiving, your child is getting less toxin in the multi-dose now than they got fewer vaccines 20 years ago. That's a basic fact that a lot of people aren't aware of.
FEYERICK: That's exactly right. One thing that's so frightening about autism, as you know, and that is people whose children get autism, it happens almost like a flick of a switch. And it's so inexplicable because you think there would be signs, that it's frightening to parents, very frightening. So, they believe things that may protect their kids even if it doesn't.
BURNETT: Emotionally, you can understand. But again, if it's not the fact, and causing pains to others.
Thank you so much, Deborah Feyerick. And OUTFRONT next, breaking news on Whitney Houston's daughter. Bobbi Kristina Brown fighting for her life tonight. We have some breaking details on her condition.
And on a much lighter note, the story everyone is talking about today. Jenny Moos on talk of the Super Bowl, dancing sharks and a terribly dancing quarterback.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news: we're getting new details about Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina and her condition tonight. Bobbi Kristina Brown was found face down unresponsive in a bathtub full of water over the weekend.
Tonight, a source tells our Sunny Hostin that she's closed and opened her eyes and has had some seizures. She, though, remains in a medically induced coma. We're going to have lot more on this in just a moment, in exactly what they know and what's changed.
The way Bobbi Kristina was found in that bathtub, though, of course, is so scarily similar to her mother. That's how her mother died three years ago.
Victor Blackwell begins our coverage OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN: He came and he got, I wasn't breathing, my heart stopped, I had like seizure or something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's probably the worst time --
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bobbi Kristina Brown describing a 2012 health scare eerily similar to this weekend's medical emergency.
OFFICER LISA HOLAND, ROSWELL POLICE DEPARTMENT: Bobbi Kristina's husband found her face down in a bathtub, in the bathroom of their home. She was unresponsive, meaning not breathing, no heartbeat.
BLACKWELL: After CPR efforts failed, she was rushed to a local hospital and placed in a medically induced coma. It's the latest in a string of well-documented since her mother pop icon Whitney Houston was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton in 2012, a drowning, the result of a heart condition and cocaine use.
BROWN: I'm feeling mom's heart (ph), like big time for some reason. I want to sleep, that's all I want to do.
BLACKWELL: Tough times for the woman the world met when she was a cute six year old girl singing on stage with her mother.
Viewers got a glimpse of her tumultuous pre-teen years in a short-lived 2005 Bravo series, "Being Bobbi Brown".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to find another way to deal with us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all are.
BLACKWELL: In the months after Whitney Houston's death, the Lifetime series "The Houstons: On Our Own" exposed Brown's struggle with grief and alcohol.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know that in the past, her mother would allow her to have a glass of champagne, a glass of wine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if she's self-medicating in herself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When someone's grieving that way she's been grieving, it's sort of hard distinguish.
BLACKWELL: Through the grief, Brown told Oprah Winfrey, she still hears her mother's voice.
BROWN: I can hear her voice, you know, in spirit, talking to me, and telling me, you know, keep moving, baby. You know, I'm right here, I got you.
BLACKWELL: However, her troubles continued. In November 2012, Brown walked away from a dramatic car crash near Atlanta. Police say she lost control of her Camaro and drove over a curb and down this embankment. In 2014, she raised eyebrows after reportedly marrying Nick Gordon. Whitney Houston took him when he was 12 years old and raised him as if were his son.
BROWN: We were best friends long, long, long ago, long time ago. Now, I'm in love with him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was never adopted, nor am I her blood brother. We just really cared about each other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: And new tonight, we new received statement from a Houston family spokesperson thanking everyone for their prayers and well-wishes.
Also, a source close to the family tells CNN contributor Nischelle Turner that actor-director-producer Tyler Perry flew Bobbi Brown from L.A. to Atlanta to be by his daughter's side and the family here the hospital has to prepare for the worst, but continue to pray for a miracle -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Victor, thank you very much. So, I know that they're praying for a miracle. What is the latest on her condition now?
Sunny Hostin joins me on the phone. She has sources. She's been speaking with the Brown family.
Sunny, what you tell us about Bobbi Brown's condition tonight, Bobbi Kristina's condition tonight? I know that you were saying she could open and close her eyes?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): Yes, earlier today, she certainly was opening and closing her eyes. The family, though, Erin, was told not to read too much into that. She also experienced some seizures. They were hoping to able to lower the sedatives that she was taking that they could try to figure out how she was, trying to figure brain function. But they have now to keep her in this medically induced coma.
And so, family is playing what I've been told is a waiting game. They certainly are praying. They are together. They are supporting one another, supporting Bobbi Kristina. Bobby Brown, her father, is and has been at the hospital, as well as several family members. But they are, certainly, have been told that this is really a waiting game. And they are hoping and praying for the best.
BURNETT: All right. Sunny, thank you very much.
You heard what she said, opening and closing her eyes, but they haven't yet been able to take her out of that medically induced coma to evaluate any possible brain damage or to lower her sedatives. Thanks to Sunny.
And OUTFRONT next, Jeanne Moos on the worst call at the Super Bowl, and no, we don't mean that last pass. This is about dancing Bradys and dancing sharks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Did you notice something fishy about the Super Bowl halftime show? Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Talk about the worst call at the Super Bowl. No, not that one. We mean whoever called for dancing sharks -- as they gyrated alongside Katy Perry singing "Teenage Dream," they flailed their fins to fame. The shark screen left was a killer.
Noted one sports blog, left shark failed out of choreography school.
On Twitter, they were compared to hologram shark from back to the future.
Next thing you know, the dancing sharks found themselves in "Finding Nemo", peaking over the cast of "Shark Tank", inserted into "Jaws," the movie.
So, who are the mystery sharks causing such a splash with a flapping fins?
Two of Katy Perry's regular dancers came out of their shark suits on social media. Bryan Gaw, the left shark said, yep, the rumors are true. And look at the abs on the dancer who was the right shark. Scott Myrick tweeted, I've never more proud to be part of something in my life.
Check out his moves minus the shark scale.
Scott told Reddit that visibility in the suit was terrible. "I ran into a palm tree, but the camera missed it. He said he only and a half to change into his shark costume from his previous get up as a horse, and chessboard knight, as Katy sang "Dark Horse." Scott also danced the part of Katy Perry's "Kitty Purry" on tour, but nothing to the fish bowl that is the Super Bowl, soon one shark was dancing in a flip book.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was it imagination or were the sharks doing the "Macarena"?
MOOS: It's a feeding frenzy if everyone flips out over floundering fish.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And thanks for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
