Return to Transcripts main page
Rick's List
Five U.S. Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan; Connecticut Attorney General Under Fire; Student Lies His Way into Harvard; Former Food Network Chef Involved in Murder for Hire Plot; Oil Continues to Flow in the Gulf of Mexico
Aired May 18, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: There is something to be learned from some of these brand-new pictures coming from under the ocean.
Go ahead, Rog. Let's show them some of these shots that we're looking at right now. And as you look at these pictures, you start to get a pretty good sense of what it is that we are talking about. In these pictures, you actually see some of the oil as it starts to come out.
From this to what else is in our newscast today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making the LIST on this day.
BP says the size of the oil spill in the Gulf is irrelevant. Irrelevant?
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: It's truly come to the point that BP has to be held accountable.
SANCHEZ: Balls of tar found in the Florida Keys, but is it from the spill? We're drilling down.
REP. MARK SOUDER (R), INDIANA: I'm sick of politicians who drag their spouses up in front of the cameras, rather than confronting the problem that they have caused.
SANCHEZ: This is a U.S. congressman from Indiana. Why is he crying? And where's his wife? I will tell you.
Connecticut's A.G. running for Senate says he served in Vietnam. Uh-oh. Guess what? Not true.
And what is so alluring about that man's shoe? Hey, foxy, what's the deal? In "Fotos."
The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's landed on the list you don't want to be on? Who's making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list.
Pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
This is one of those days when there are things that just need to be said, so I'm going to say them, because, as we begin this newscast, I want to call your attention to what is easily the most overlooked story of the day. Talk about something that needs to be said.
Five American soldiers died today in Afghanistan. They died in a suicide bombing that took out a dozen civilians and a Canadian service member in Kabul. I thought it was important for you to know that and to stop for just a second to think about those who serve us, who give their lives, who watch some of the guys and some of the gals next to them almost lose body parts.
It's tough to watch. It's tough to experience, especially considering the story that I am about to tell you about, because those soldiers, the five who died that I just told you about, those are real soldiers who fought a war, who made the greatest sacrifice.
This next story is about a man who did not go to war at all, but took credit for being there. I'm talking about Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. He is a Democrat running for the Senate.
He has claimed, on numerous occasions, to have served in Vietnam. It turns out that's not true. He avoided military service by getting a bunch of deferments between 1965 and 1970. Then, when it looked like he couldn't get another one, he joined the Marine Reserve, knowing he likely wouldn't have to go overseas.
Yet, here is what he told a group of Veterans and senior citizens two years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL: We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam. And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it, Afghanistan or Iraq, we owe our military men and women unconditional support. And we owe it to them not only while they're away, but when they come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Did you catch that, "since the days I served in Vietnam, I served in Vietnam." That's a direct quote. You heard it yourself.
Caught red-handed by "The New York Times," first of all, he says, well, he may have misspoken, but no one should doubt that he served his country. That's what he says.
Now, here he is less than an hour ago having to face what's now being said about him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BLUMENTHAL: Now, on a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service. And I regret that, and I take full responsibility.
But I will not allow --
(APPLAUSE)
BLUMENTHAL: I will not allow anyone to take a few misplaced words and impugn my record of service to our country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: How do you misspeak about something like that? How do you forget that you weren't in Vietnam?
Well, that's what he's saying today. He says he just wants to be able to move past this. And we get it. But, according to "The New York Times," this is what Blumenthal said in 2003 in a speech to military families. Oh, yes, there's more.
He was talking about troops returning from Vietnam, as if he were one of them -- quote -- "When we returned, we saw nothing like this." "When we returned, we saw nothing like this. Let us do better by this generation of men and women."
"When we returned"? What, does he have a pea in his pocket? The clear implication is, he was in Vietnam.
I have got another one for you. Listen to what "The Times" found in 2008. This is a speech he gave at a Veterans War Memorial in Connecticut, where he said, "I served during the Vietnam era." Misspoke? Quote -- "I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even the physical abuse.'
His reserve, by the way, was noted for doing a Toys For Tots campaign in Washington during that era, which is very honorable and very respectable, by the way. So, what is he talking about? What taunts? What insults?
Before this controversy surfaced, three top political publications favored Blumenthal to win in November. A lot of pundits were saying that Connecticut was such a -- such a Democratic state, Blumenthal, a Democrat, had to be a shoo-in.
Our own Allan Chernoff was there today as Blumenthal made his statement. And he's joining us now once again.
You know what was weird as well, and I have just got to tell you flat-out? The fact that he's the attorney general, Allan, of Connecticut, and he asked citizens to come forward and vouch for him.
Well, you know what, Allan? If he's the attorney general, it's almost, like, assured. What are they going to say to him, no, I'm not going to stand next to the attorney general and say whatever he wants me to say?
There was something -- something really weird, something Fellini- esque about this guy going to explain his case while surrounded by these people that seemed like they had to be there, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, we are at a VFW hall, and the people surrounding him were former Marine Corps Reserve members. All of them said they were very proud of the attorney general.
The attorney general was saying not only that he misspoke. He also told us that he was unaware that he was speaking in error when he was saying that he had served in Vietnam, rather than during Vietnam.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: But, you know -- but, you know -- and, again, I go back to the point that, why were those people there? The problem he had to answer -- it was his problem. He misspoke. The reporters did not gather there to criticize people who went to Vietnam or people who didn't go to Vietnam or people who were reservists or National Guard. That had nothing to do with it. They were there to ask a congressman -- or -- pardon me -- an attorney general why he lied.
So, it almost seems like --
CHERNOFF: Right.
SANCHEZ: I don't know -- like he was almost hedging by having them there.
Was that brought up at all during the news conference?
CHERNOFF: The attorney general really tried (AUDIO GAP) and that he was very proud of that. He has repeatedly talked about that many, many times. He has been a real advocate of veterans' rights. And he has spoken many, many times about how the United States must respect, must honor its veterans. And, of course, he does include himself in that group.
SANCHEZ: But the bottom line is, he did at least come clean today, and he said, I misspoke. He wasn't equivocating, right?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I mean, he -- what he calls misspeaking, by the way, a lot of people would call a lie, and they wouldn't be necessarily wrong. But what -- did he equivocate?
CHERNOFF: He said, "I misspoke." He would not apologize. He said, "I regret the fact that I did misspeak," that he made a mistake.
SANCHEZ: Well --
CHERNOFF: And he was just saying it was, several times, a mistake.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
And, of course, you know, and the problem isn't so much that he did. And anybody can make a mistake. I don't understand not knowing that you weren't in Vietnam, how that can be explained away, but the real issue here, and one that we should -- before we close out this segment, we should mention, is, it seems to be a disservice to those who did go, who did fight, and who did lose limbs or, worse, their lives to have someone come forward and take credit for their accomplishments.
That's all. And we will leave it there and let you, with your Twitter board and your tweets, let me know how you feel about this story.
Thanks for covering that for us. We certainly appreciate it, Allan.
Meanwhile, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOUDER: I wish I could have been a better example.
And here's my statement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It's kind of hard to tell, but he's -- he's crying when he says that. And he continues to cry and tear up throughout this thing. It's a congressman who shows up for an apologetic news conference without his wife, without his wife -- the story that ties that together coming up in just a little bit.
Meanwhile, new images of the oil that's spewing from the floor of the ocean. There it is. Notice -- notice the hue, the color. Chad's going to explain to us what why that is so important. Stay right there.
There's a lot of news today, and a lot of it does have to do with what's going on in the Gulf. And there, too, people believe that lies are involved. We will get right to it. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Step up here.
All right. Here we go. We're -- this is a -- by the way, on this -- on RICK'S LIST, we have yet to use this venue. You know these new digs that we have here, all these giant spaces? This has got to be one of the coolest studios of anybody --
(CROSSTALK)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know why this is cool? SANCHEZ: This is called U-Touch.
MYERS: This is a plasma screen.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: We could watch the Super Bowl on this, dude, in 1080p.
SANCHEZ: And we will. And we will, except they don't let us bring beer into the building.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: They won't let us.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: All right, here's the deal.
We have got four brand-new pictures coming out of the Gulf. These are the latest pictures that we have received of what the leak actually looks like. There's news to be made here.
And, by the way, our thanks to Senator Bill Nelson --
MYERS: Correct.
SANCHEZ: -- because he's the one who's been on this thing like you know what, and he keeps coming up with new information. We're glad he's doing it for you.
Take it away, Chad.
MYERS: He was interested to figure out, hey, did this -- did this tube that they inserted in this, this RITT tube, did it really work?
SANCHEZ: All right.
MYERS: Let's go down and see. What do you think? That's what it looks like now.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: That's not working.
MYERS: It's not working perfectly. And that's what --
SANCHEZ: Explain to me --
MYERS: I don't know what that is.
SANCHEZ: -- is the tube right there?
MYERS: I think -- I think the -- well, the tube is here. The old -- the old pipe -- the oil pipe is here. The tube is in here. You can't see it because it's still inside the plume --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Oh, I see. Oh, it's going this way.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: OK.
MYERS: The plume of oil is still coming out this way.
SANCHEZ: Got it.
MYERS: Now, Andreas (ph), I know you're listening to us. Go ahead and show us the one that was the oldest one that we can get to, because it will show how the oil was pouring out. We got this today.
This is the top of the blowout preventer.
SANCHEZ: OK.
MYERS: It's still leaking. They haven't even tried to stop that yet.
Now, a little bit older, I think it's this one here. See how I can touch and get all these things here.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Bang, bang, bang.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: There you go.
MYERS: And then this is the oil coming out. This is the old picture of that same tube. The insertion tube is in here collecting some of this oil, but certainly not all of it, because obviously we just saw in the first picture there's still oil coming out.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: It's getting, I think, 1,000 gallons of it?
MYERS: One thousand to 2,000 barrels --
SANCHEZ: Barrels.
MYERS: -- which is 42,000 to about 84,000 gallons a day.
SANCHEZ: But they say, OK, they're getting 1,000 barrels. They say there's 5,000 barrels coming out.
MYERS: Right.
SANCHEZ: So, by that estimate, they're getting one-fifth of it. (CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: If you go by the experts who say there's 70,000 barrels actually going into the Gulf, then they're getting percent -- I mean, a minute amount.
MYERS: There's nobody that has an exact number here.
SANCHEZ: It's a lot.
MYERS: It's just a lot.
SANCHEZ: Anything else that we learned from of this, before we let you go? Because they're wrapping me.
MYERS: No. I did -- we learned that they're not getting all of it. And they knew that they weren't.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: And now we know. And now we know.
MYERS: And now Senator Nelson has proven that.
SANCHEZ: The picture tells the story.
MYERS: Still coming out.
SANCHEZ: Keep an eye on that and we will continue to talk about this.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Now, let me tell you about this. Look at this video. This is a huge store, hires a wild animal to take back its merchandise. Look at this, Chad. I mean, this is amazing. Apparently, this guy bought a pair of shoes, and they wanted it back. Give me the shoe. Give me the shoe, that fox is saying.
I mean, how else would you explain this? Wait until you hear the real story, by the way.
Why are you laughing, Chad?
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: I don't get it.
SANCHEZ: You don't believe it.
MYERS: I don't.
SANCHEZ: Is Arlen Specter on the verge of losing Pennsylvania?
And also this: What does Mitch McConnell stand to lose in Kentucky, even though this is a race where he's not even on the ballot? Two veterans facing a potentially long day. Jessica Yellin's going to be all over this, and she's in Kentucky following it for us because of Rand Paul. Her hot list is next.
Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. This is your LIST. This is RICK'S LIST. This is your national conversation.
And this guy is Rand Paul, and you know what? He does not look angry. I have got some video to show you. There it is. You see it right there? As of today, he may become the face of the anger that's supposedly driving a lot of the voters.
Polls do show that Paul is on the verge of becoming the first Tea Party candidate to capture a statewide election. He is apparently way ahead in Kentucky in the Senate Republican primary. So, he's the guy who could translate the anger into a true political force.
But, as I said, he doesn't seem angry. Just listen to this exchange where -- with our own Jessica Yellin. This took place just a short time ago. Let's watch it together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yet, Kentucky benefits from some of the earmarks you said you won't support. You get more federal dollars when the state pays. Are you willing to see folks here suffer for your principles?
RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I think what should happen is that the money should be spent based on the objective nature of the projects.
You know, if a road is in disrepair, we fix it. If a bridge is in disrepair, we fix it. But we don't fix it based on the seniority of the congressmen and the senators. That's why you have to have term limits. I talk about Robert Byrd, to pick on someone, but they paved every inch of West Virginia, based on his seniority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Unflappable? Perhaps, some would say. OK. I got to show you something, Rand Paul with Jessica Yellin. This is Monday. Now, look at this, Rand Paul with Jessica Yellin Tuesday. These two are getting to know each other.
What are you doing, Jessica? Are you stalking this guy? What's going on here?
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: No, Rick, that's the job. You got to be aggressive. Plus, you know, part of his success is, he is very media-savvy. That's why he's become a national star to help jettison him to the top of the pile here, but he's very easy to interview.
SANCHEZ: He says -- he says, by the way, that his positions are mainstream. Is he right?
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Is he a mainstream guy, or is he on the right or the left? Do you pigeonhole this guy?
YELLIN: No, you cannot pigeonhole him. But many of his views, Rick, are far from mainstream. Just because he's a national -- has a national following doesn't mean that he's in the middle.
His -- some of his views are very much like his father, Ron Paul. He -- for example, he wants to close down the Federal Reserve. He does not believe there should be a national or a federal Department of Education. He wants to return that to the states.
Some of his views are so out of the main, in fact, that one of his opponents has -- a group has run an ad against him here that has him next to a cuckoo clock, with a cuckoo coming out next to him. The implication is clear.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: So, I asked him about this in one of these interviews. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Your opponent in the primary is suggesting that, sorry to use this word, but that you're a bit of a cook, that your positions are so out of the mainstream that you could, A, never win in November, and, B, couldn't legislate well.
PAUL: Well, he hasn't looked at any of the polls, then, because if you look at all of the national polls that poll us in the fall, we beat any of the Democrat challengers by 10 points.
The other answer, I would say, is, I think what is extreme is a $2 trillion deficit. I think a balanced budget is a rather conservative and mundane idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Hmm. What --
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: And, Rick, he continues to focus on the ideas -- ideas of his that are really mainstream, which is balanced budget and term limits. And so far, those ideas look -- have him poised to probably win today by a hefty margin -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Haven't a lot of politicians in the past, though, said, you know what, if I win, I will only serve two terms, and not a single day after that, and then they have gone on to run again?
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Ding, ding, ding, ding. Yes. We just covered Robert Bennett in Utah, who made that pledge.
SANCHEZ: Right.
PAUL: And he said two terms -- 18 years later, that's part of the reason they booted him.
So, this is a guy, though, who is unusual. He says he will march to the beat of his own drum. We will -- you know, we will see.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks so much, Jessica. Great stuff, as usual.
By the way, we have got some breaking news coming in. Let's go to that.
CNN has just learned that Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the Times Square car bomb plot, is about to appear in court this afternoon in Manhattan to face the federal charges against him. All right, remember, that truck was found in Times Square May 1. Today, 18 days later, he's going before a magistrate to face five charges.
We have a correspondent on the way to the scene. They will be at the courthouse. We will let you know when we see him. We will let you know what they're saying inside the courthouse. We will give you the details of this very first court appearance. You will have it all right here on CNN. So, stay with us over the course of the never -- the next couple of hours, and we will take you through this story.
Also, here is that new video of the oil that's spewing into the ocean. NOAA has just shut down -- we have learned NOAA has just shut down another part of the Gulf of Mexico. That would make a total of about one-fifth of the Gulf of Mexico that is now shut down. Yet, BP -- BP is saying they're not interested in just how big the oil spill is. Really? Really, you ask? So do we.
Also, up next, who is our most intriguing? That's next right here on your LIST, your national conversation. This is RICK'S LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: A couple of stories I know you're going to love. Have you ever had your order messed up at the drive-through? And, of course, you don't realize it until you get home and you go, oh, no. I wanted a cheeseburger or a burrito.
Well, maybe not such a bad thing all the time.
Time for our video list. Let's do "Fotos."
You're not going to believe this. This is a woman ordering food at a Taco Bell in Dayton last week. But, instead of a taco, she got a whopper, a whopper of a deal, that is. The clerk handed her the restaurant's bank deposit, $2,000, instead of the Mexican food. Talk about a value meal. She kept the change. It was basically a failed security procedure.
The deposit is generally placed in a Taco Bell bag. The manager pulls up to the drive-through, pretending to be a customer, and then takes the deposit to the bank. Maybe they should rethink that plan.
Tyrone, Georgia. I live right next to Tyrone, Georgia. What is in this guy's shoe that makes it is so attractive to this fox? I mean, look at this. Gimme that shoe. Gimme that shoe. What's he got, a mouse in there or something? Don't answer that.
Actually, this did turn serious. The fox would not quit going after this guy. The guy kicked it. He hit it with a shovel. He even used a fire extinguisher on it, but it just kept coming. So, finally, police had to show up and they had to shoot the dang thing. Was he rabid? Well, police are tell running tests to find out. We will let you know.
And from crazy canine to comfy canine. This video is going viral today. It's a presumptuous pooch hitching a ride. They're playing a shell game, you might say. Do you think the turtle is even aware the dog is on his back?
You can see all of our "Fotos," by the way, on my blog. It is CNN.com/ -- look at him. He seems so happy. It's at CNN.com/ricksanchez.
SANCHEZ: All right. Have you heard of this? It's a TV chef. He's being charged with trying to hire his homeless wife -- pardon me -- his homeless man -- a homeless man to kill his wife. What is he saying about -- I mean, what's his explanation? That's ahead.
Also, lying your way into a Rhodes scholarship -- lots of stories about lies today. How do you do that? It's just one of today's trending topics. My gal Friday, or, as you know her, Brooke Baldwin --
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
SANCHEZ: -- she's coming up next. Welcome.
BALDWIN: Hi, Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: Welcome. We're coming right back at you, the both of us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez. We're talking about a lot of things that are not particularly honest today. On the impostor list, you'll be hearing more about what's going on. We told you earlier about one. Here's Brooke. She's got trending topics, and there's more. BALDWIN: Yes, I was talking about an imposter yesterday, it was a basketball player. Today this is my imposter number two. This is seriously my favorite story of the day.
Let me set it up. Harvard, how do you get in to Harvard, Rick Sanchez? You have good grades. You have stellar SAT scores, you have amazing teacher recommendations. O r you lie, you lie and get into the school.
That is what 23-year-old Adam Wheeler is accused of doing. But, he spent two years after doing that at Harvard getting $45,000 in grant money, research money, scholarships. But he got caught.
Yesterday the Middlesex district attorney up in Massachusetts indicted him on criminal charges. Look at the fraud charges he's facing. Let me walk you through this. He's accused of lying on entrance applications, false SAT scores, fake MIT grades, fake degree from Phillips Academy, falsified his professor recommendations and transcripts, plagiarizing academic papers.
What is the truth? The truth is the young man Wheeler went to Bowdoin University and he was suspended -- wait for it -- academic dishonesty.
SANCHEZ: No, not dishonesty.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: But the story doesn't end there. He was a senior at Harvard, he was this close to getting a degree. But that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to up the ante. So last fall, according to the D.A.'s office he applied for not only the Rhodes scholarship but the Fulbright scholarship. His work, they discovered was almost identical to the work of a Harvard professor. And that, my friend, was the catalyst, and the whole web of lies began to unravel.
SANCHEZ: Do you remember the Leonardo DiCaprio "Catch me if you Can"?
BALDWIN: Yes, that's exactly what I thought about all day.
SANCHEZ: Right. You go through life pretending I'm a doctor today and an airline pilot, and if you look the part, people believe it.
BALDWIN: And I can keep going. According to the D.A. he was trying to transfer to Brown or Yale, continuing the lies.
SANCHEZ: How did he get into Harvard in the first place?
BALDWIN: That I think is what Harvard is looking into. I picked up the phone and called Harvard, and they say, look, it's against federal law and we can't comment on an individual case.
But I asked them about it, if you can't talk to me about that, let's talk about the admissions. If they find that someone falsifies the applications, the grades are rescinded. And I should also say I was unsuccessful in reaching out this young man himself.
SANCHEZ: It's an interesting story.
All right, we got this guy. He's a TV chef, a lot of people were fans when he was on the Food Network.
BALDWIN: Right, the "Calorie Commando" a couple years ago.
SANCHEZ: Now he's charged with this criminal investigation and charged with trying to have somebody off his wife?
BALDWIN: Yes. There are all kinds of interesting twists and turns. This former TV chef and this murder for hire charge he's facing. Juan Carlos Cruz entered a not guilty plea yesterday. It was his first appearance in an L.A. county court.
He is charged with attempted murder and solicitation of murder for allegedly trying to hire homeless men to kill his wife. Let's take a quick look at the two of them. The D.A.'s office is not giving many more details. But TMZ, I think we have the video, talked to the men who Cruz allegedly hired to carry out the hit.
They told TMZ -- this is him and his wife. They told TMZ they were offered cash, but described Cruz as very meticulous yet very cheap.
SANCHEZ: They're homeless.
BALDWIN: They are homeless and they wanted money, and the plot was foiled because the homeless men went to the police.
SANCHEZ: Since when does a homeless guy or several guys have expertise in killing people? Why did he say, oh, let me just find some homeless guys?
BALDWIN: I don't know what their backgrounds are, maybe he thought, hey, let me give them some money, I don't want to do it so these guys can.
SANCHEZ: And of course, those are allegations, just to be sure.
BALDWIN: Yes, sir.
SANCHEZ: Two great stories. I can see why they are trending.
BALDWIN: They are trending. I have another one at 4:00.
SANCHEZ: Will you be back?
BALDWIN: Of course, I will.
SANCHEZ: Will you promise to be back?
BALDWIN: Yes, I will.
SANCHEZ: Thank you. Take a look at this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPECTER: My change in party will enable me to be reelected.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 45 years --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Will this ad do in Arlen Specter? Four states having primaries today and we've got them all covered for you.
But up next, who is the most intriguing person in the news on this day? That's the list we focus on next. Stay with, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
I have been, as I'm sure many of you have been, enthralled by the TV series "The Pacific." This past Sunday the finale showed soldiers coming home from World War II and showed just how difficult it is to understand a war, a real bloody battle, unless you've actually been in one.
That is why it's so terrible to have people take credit for somebody else's hardship. If you say you were in combat, if you say you were in a war, you damn well better have been in a war. You damn well better have been in combat.
This guy right here, he maintains the biggest collection of military decorations in the United States. And he's on a mission to bust phonies who pretend to be war veterans or exaggerate their accomplishments.
Here he is. His name is Doug Sterner. He's busted lots of posers and even helped write a federal law making it illegal to wear fake medals that you didn't earn, that don't belong to you.
He's a combat veteran himself, by the way, in Vietnam, and you'd better believe he's got his eye on U.S. on U.S. Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal, whose service record is under the microscope today. Doug sterner has no patience for phonies or wannabes. He is today's most intriguing person in the news.
An attorney general fighting to be the U.S. senator -- there he is, once again, being called out for lying about his military service. Well, we're going to tell you how he responded today, and already others are responding to how he responded.
Let's go to the Twitter board if we possibly can. I want to show you one of the tweets we got just moments ago -- that way. "A few misplaced words," well, that's how he explained it a little while ago when he gave his news conference, right? Listen to what Representative Ken Merchant is saying, "Translation -- lies." There's a lot of folks saying that. I've been checking my Twitter board. Many of you are saying you are disgusted by what he did. There are also those saying, you know what, move on, he just misspoke, perhaps.
Also, take a look at these. These are, like, balls of oil right there behind me. You see those? Now those, did they actually come from the oil spill that we've been looking at in the Gulf of Mexico? Or are they just part of the natural process off of some of the beaches in Florida?
Now, this is Key West that we're talking about, which is what makes this so terribly salient. We're going to drill down on this. That's next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: On our follow-up list, what else, the oil spill in the Gulf that doesn't seem to be going away. It's interminable. This is video just released, as I showed you this just a little while ago. Senator Bill Nelson's office put it out. BP was pressured in to doing this, they didn't do it because they want to.
This is a video from Sunday night after that tube was inserted. Now today NOAA has shut down even more fishing in the Gulf, in all more than 445,000 square miles. We're talking about 19 percent of the Gulf now off limits to any fishing.
Also today surveys are going to be conducted in Key West after tar balls were found on the beach there. Now, by the way, to be fair, it's unclear at this point whether these balls originated from the spill, but testing will let us know very soon.
SANCHEZ: Now, this is just more of the uncertainty around this disaster. For instance, that tube was inserted into the leaking wellhead to much fanfare.
Now, let me show you the animation so you can see exactly what they did. There it is once again, right? You see the submersible taking the insertion tube and puts it in there and tries to suck out some of the oil that's already going out.
Well, BP says that the tube is working and it is sucking about 1,000 barrels a day. BP says that's 20 percent of what is leaking.
Now, let's go back to the latest video. You see the amount of oil look leaking out? Well, there are experts out there who looked at the velocity of particles and estimated how much oil is leaking. And some experts say it's really more like 70,000 barrels a day. So if you're only capturing 1,000 out of 70,000 barrels a day, are you really getting 20 percent of it? I don't think so.
Listen to what historian Douglas Brinkley says about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, HISTORIAN: It was just a PR stunt. BP has had a horrific time the last few weeks. They decided to kind of get the news cycle working in their favor this week. It worked for about three hours or four hours today. They did garner a couple newspaper headlines.
But people like yourself and others are saying, you know, about 90 percent, 95 percent of the oil is still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. And where's the camera? Let's see this tube in action right now. While I'm talking on the other side of the screen it could show video of the Gulf of the stepped oil rushing out.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: That's a good point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, that was Anderson last night.
By the way, when the experts gave their estimate of 70,000 barrels, BP did not refute that amount. Now listen to what their COO, chief operating officer, is quoted as saying. "We're not going to take any extra now to calculate flow there at this point. It's not relevant to the response effort." Not relevant? "And it might even detract from the response effort."
All right, now, see that guy right there on the left? That's Chris Onus. He is the head of the offshore drilling at the interior department agency. In essence he was the guy who was supposed to be one of the watchdogs to stop these guys and make sure they were doing it right.
Most are saying he didn't do his job very well. He announced his resignation and will now retire at the end of this month.
For Donna Brazile, who you're looking at right there, this is not a story about politics. We'll let everybody else -- we'll let all the pundits in Washington talk about who's getting hurt here, whether it's Bush's fault or Obama's fault. For Donna Brazile, this story is personal. I'll explain to you when she joins me live in just a little bit.
Also ahead, we put together a list of the U.S. cities that are boycotting Arizona. You may be surprised when you hear who is on the list. A new one came forward today -- Seattle.
Also, hey, you want to be here? You want to join us here on these new digs we got, this brand-new studio that we're still trying to find our way around from time to time? All you got to do's call this number, 877-4CNN-tour, and you, too, can be a part of "RICK'S LIST."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, Roger, do me a favor. Show that picture again that's supposed to be the picture of the oil leak being capped that's really isn't being capped. It's the one where you see the oil with a red tinge out there. That's a part of it. What's the other one before that is actually a better example of it.
And the only reason I want to show you -- these are the pictures we're getting from Senator Nelson. That's it. This is supposed to be the leak being plugged up or stopped. Obviously, it's not. Go ahead, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Rick, that is actually the top of the blowout preventer. That one they have not even tried to stop that one yet.
SANCHEZ: So essentially They tried to plug up one side and all they did was have more come out the other side.
MYERS: That's quite possible. Remember we were showing this video earlier that it looked like oil was coming out at a good pace. You let this video play for minutes as I just did. It is obvious there is less oil coming out here.
So what I think we were showing, we were showing when this insertion tube was put in and when it was activated. The oil was all the way back here. You couldn't even see this equipment at all. Now what we're really seeing is the natural gas pouring out and an awful lot less black pouring out.
So quite possibly, if I let it play another ten minutes, we'll get more. I'll keep rolling it, because this is just coming in now.
SANCHEZ: You keep an eye on that. Let me bring Donna Brazile into this now. Look, I said this a while ago. I know you. And to you, this is not a story about politics. When you see all of that oil come out, what are you thinking?
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm thinking about the fisherman down there, who are clearly trying to help to clean up the spill, to prevent it from hitting our coastline. I'm thinking about the small businesses that depend on the industry down there. I'm thinking about people in the restaurants, the taxi cab drivers, tourism in Louisiana and Mississippi.
SANCHEZ: Are you angry, Donna, as you hear story after story of a regulator that may not have done his job, of tests that may not have been done or completed, of corners that may have been cut, and on and on and on.
BRAZILE: I spent the weekend in the gulf coast. I'm upset. I had a lot of sleepless nights down there. You can smell it. I'm worried about it getting into the water stream. I'm worried about it impacting the people down there.
They are in the process of recovering from hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike. And so, look, Louisiana is still open for business, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, but this could really have an impact on the coastal areas for years to come. So cap it, capture it, contain it, and clean it up, and help us restore the wetlands. SANCHEZ: Did we let them do it by establishing a situation where we let them make the rules, and the folks who were supposed to be trying to stop them from doing it wrong were simply too cozy with them?
BRAZILE: One word -- yes. We took our eyes off them, you know. For years we were too cozy with them. We basically said you guys go ahead and do it. We didn't inspect them or report what was going on. And clearly now we see the impact of not having the kind of regulations in place to police the oil industry.
I come from the Gulf Coast. I understand the need to drill for oil, and I under the need to also protect our environment. And I would hope that we would learn some important lessons from this accident, but the first thing that we should do is cap it, then contain it, clean it up and then, rebuild our coastline.
SANCHEZ: You know, Donna Brazile, the reason we had her on -- the reason I asked to have her on just to talk about this specifically, as opposed to the more political subjects that we often take up, is because in part we knew she was so tied to this, that it means so much to her.
In fact, she has written this op-ed I want to point you to. This is on CNN.com. You see the headline there, "Greed, Negligence, behind BP oil spill." That's Donna's writing right there if you want to hear more what she has to say.
By the way, she's going to be joining me in a little while and we're going to be talking about something else, something about the politics of the day, and there is a lot of it.
Here's a question for you -- will tee party Republican Rand Paul make Mitch McConnell a loser today even though he's not on the ballot? I'll explain that to you in a little bit.
And then everyone has a number on their head. I'm talking about your credit score. Did you know you had to pay for your number? Pay for a number? That could be changing. Poppy Harlow joins me next. This is your list.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
