Petraeus knew "almost immediately" Benghazi attack was linked to terrorists
Erin Burnett discusses the latest developments in the Petraeus scandal. New details are coming in about the former CIA Director's highly anticipated testimony Friday on Capitol Hill. CNN has learned David Petraeus will acknowledge he knew almost immediately after the attack that it was the work of Ansar al-sharia, a militia group linked to al Qaeda.
This is a significant development. Remember it was five days after the Benghazi incident that Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., went out on Sunday talk shows and said the attack grew out of a spontaneous demonstration against an anti-Muslim video.
The reporter breaking this news is our Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Sen. Coats: No signs of demonstrations
Burnett also spoke to Republican Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He was briefed today and will be at the hearing tomorrow. He is Outfront.
Sen. Durbin: Raising tax rates isn't the only option for averting fiscal cliff
President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet Friday with the top leaders of both parties to start negotiations on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. Already, both sides are blaming the other for a lack of action on the more than $500 billion in tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the end of the year.
Poll: Americans say Obama should focus on economy
The President wants $1.6 trillion in tax increases over a period of a decade in order to pay down the deficit.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says that's a non-starter.
"Let's be clear - an opening bid of $1.6 trillion just isn't serious," McConnell said. "It is more than Simpson-Bowles or any other bipartisan commission has called for. It has been unanimously rejected in the House and Senate. It is twice as much as the White House seemed ready to agree to during last summer's debt ceiling talks. It's a joke."
OutFront tonight: Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Americans wasting vacation days: U.S. workers get 12, but only take 10
A new study shows American are wasting two vacations days every year. How do we stack up to the rest of the world? Erin Burnett has the story. FULL POST
Demanding answers from Justice Dept., FBI: Why wasn't the President informed sooner?
The CIA announced Thursday it's opening an exploratory investigation on the "general conduct" of former CIA Director David Petraeus.
Who knew what when and why wasn't the President told sooner about CIA Director David Petraeus' career ending affair with Paula Broadwell?
Today, Attorney General Eric Holder tried to explain.
"We felt very secure in the knowledge that a national security threat did not exist that warranted the sharing of that information with the White House or the Hill. But when we got to a point in the investigation, it was very late in the investigation, after a very critical interview occurred on the Friday before we made that disclosure – when we got to that point where we thought it was appropriate to share that information we did so," said Holder.
But was there in fact a threat to national security? And why wasn't the President informed of the investigation - which began in the summer - before last week?
OutFront tonight: Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) who sits on the House intelligence committee and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), member of the House Oversight Committee.
Israel on the brink of war?
Israel is on the brink of war? Israel is continuing its blistering assault on Gaza - taking out nearly 200 targets. Israel says the barrage of rockets in retaliation to the 750 rockets fired from Gaza into the Jewish state this year alone.
The shelling is now threatening Israel's peace with its neighbors - including Egypt where the violence is testing Egypt's new Islamist-led government.
OutFront tonight: Ed Husain, Author, "The Islamist "and Senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, Naftali Bennett, former Chief of Staff for Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Twitter
