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Rick's List

Jimmy Carter Released From Hospital; Rutgers University Student Commits Suicide; Killing for Sport in Afghanistan; Violence Erupts in Ecuador; Sources Say Rahm Emanuel to Step Down; Actor Tony Curtis Dies at the Age of 85

Aired September 30, 2010 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: If Sarah Palin throws her hat into the ring, that potentially for other Republican candidates out there could be a game-changer, given her power and prestige and influence in the Republican Party.

It is something to think about. You are going to want to hear this interview with John Thune. That's coming up in THE SITUATION ROOM in an hour.

Also, in Florida, your home state, listen to this. Yesterday, we had a CNN/"TIME" magazine poll that showed Marco Rubio expanding his lead over Charlie Crist and Kendrick Meek. A new poll out today, a Quinnipiac University poll, has Marco Rubio at 46, 33 percent for Crist, 18 percent for Kendrick Meek.

It looks like Rubio is doing very, very well. He's a favorite of the Tea Party movement. He's the Republican nominee in Florida.

Finally, Bob Woodward, he's continuing to generate a lot of excitement out there, his new book. And one of the things he's suggesting, is saying, it is not out of the realm of possibility that when Barack Obama runs for reelection in 2012,, maybe Biden won't be the running mate, but Hillary Clinton potentially could be his running mate, an Obama/Clinton ticket in 2012.

I'm going to speak to Bob Woodward in "THE SITUATION ROOM." That's coming up. We will go into depth on that, the war in Afghanistan, his new book, a lot more.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf Blitzer bringing us the latest. We're going to be talking to Wolf a little bit later on. And maybe I will talk him into doing a little duet with me.

As we begin this next hour, I want to welcome all the men and women who are joining us from around the world, watching us on Armed Forces Network. Here is your national conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making the LIST on this day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I read it online, I was shocked. SANCHEZ: A college student is dead, his most intimate moment shown live on the Internet. Who would do that to him? Who betrayed him? We have got the answer.

(CROSSTALK)

CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I will take you out, buddy.

SANCHEZ: Tea Party candidate Carl Paladino gets into it with a "New York Post" reporter. This is ugly.

Look at these surprising numbers. Can Lisa Murkowski actually win as a write-in candidate?

Guess who likes RICK'S LIST and is paying us a visit? Tie a yellow ribbon, knock three times on the ceiling. Have you got it yet?

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: All right, everybody, as we begin this newscast, I want to show you some big developing stories that have been developing today taking place in Ecuador, Quito to be exact. Show that video if you have got it there, Dan.

These are riots on the streets of Quito. Let me take you through what has been going on here. The president, Correa, as you know, has been beginning some austerity measures there, asking some public servants and police officers and firefighters to take cuts in their pay.

They are not happy about it. This is a riot that took place on the streets with burning and firing. Interestingly enough, the people who are doing the protesting, they are police officers, some 4,000 of them taking to the streets and protesting against the government.

There you see some of the pictures of what's been going on. And we continue to get more. Obviously, we are going bring you more reaction to the story as we go through with this newscast. Stay right there. We will have that for you.

But I want to shift gears real quick now. I want to show you something which will likely have huge consequences after this is shown around the world. This video was shown to me just before going on the air today. Now, I have got to tell you, after looking at it myself, it is quite troubling.

You may very well find this disturbing to see. OK? What you are about to see appears to be young men that are being led to their execution. They are blindfolded. The folks who seem to be executing them are wearing uniforms that look like they are part of the Pakistani military. They are shot and killed by a firing squad.

Our CNN correspondent in the region is Frederik Pleitgen. He is standing by to take us through this.

But, first, I will show you the video. And then we will come back and we will get the information on it. Go ahead, Dan. As you look at the video, you almost get the sense that these are boys. They look like very young men.

And then they are put around this tree area. One by one, they're walked there. And then you will see that there is a guard who comes over and talks to them and then the guard goes and talks to the firing squad as well.

And you will see it as it plays out here. Obviously, we froze that at the moment of death at the end, because it's really pretty gruesome. Not only did they shoot them when they were sitting -- standing side by side, blindfolded, but then some of them were still alive.

So, what you saw there at the end was the guard coming through and shooting them all at close range. It's unbelievable.

And CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is joining us now -- he is our correspondent out there -- to take us through what we know about this at this point.

It looks to me, Fred, like this is this is some kind of cell phone video. But what do you know about the players, the people that we just saw here?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF: Well, yes, it appears to us, Rick, as though this is a Pakistani military unit.

And what we have sort of gauged from people that we have spoken to is that if indeed this video is real -- and we don't know if it is real or if it's not real. We don't know where or when it was shot. But it appears as though it might have been shot during one of the offensives that the Pakistani military launched last year against militants, against especially the Taliban, in Swat and also in South Waziristan, those of course areas that were ruled by the Taliban for a very long time.

Now, we talked to the Pakistani military about this and I can tell you they are very much up in arms about this. They know this video is out there. They have seen it. They appear to be very much afraid of this video. They are telling us that they have launched an internal investigation into all this to see what happened there, whether or not this video is real or is a forgery.

But certainly they are taking this very, very seriously. Now, I have showed this also to a retired Pakistani general. And what he is telling me is that from the weapons those people appear to be carrying, from the uniforms that they obviously have on, from the fact that one of the soldiers there speaks Urdu to the people that are about to get executed, and also from the whole posture, he believes that this video could very well be very credible and be true.

However, of course, we are not able to independently verify that at this point Rick.

SANCHEZ: Well, you know, one of the problems that I think we would have that from a policy standpoint is Pakistan is a country that we have given a billion dollars to. And we have done so as our allies in the war on terror.

Seeing something like this would make a lot of folks not only here in our country, but around the world, a little bit uncomfortable with that alliance.

Do you perceive or have you asked questions of the U.S. military in how they can possibly control or hold back the Pakistani military from doing things like this, if indeed it is them, Frederik?

PLEITGEN: Well, certainly, yes, we have asked the U.S. military and also the U.S. State Department about at least some sort of comment about this video and how they perceive it.

Now, they say that they want to wait for the internal Pakistani investigation to take place. They have apparently asked questions of the Pakistani military about what actually went on there, about whether or not this video is real or fake.

Right now, they are saying, first of all, they want to wait for the Pakistanis to deal with this internally, before making any sort of judgment call. But you are absolutely right. If this is something that's perceived to be more widespread within the Pakistani military, that would certainly make it very difficult for the U.S.

And I can tell you, there's human rights groups here in Pakistan, but also, for instance, Human Rights Watch in America that for a very long time have been saying that there is extrajudicial killing going on, on the part of the Pakistani military.

Now, they believe that this is more sort of rogue field commanders, if you will, rather than something that is encouraged or even condoned by the military leadership. So, this seems to be more of a case of a lack of discipline, rather than anything wider spread in the military -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Well, it's certainly impactful video. It's a video that portrays a story that we need to ask a lot of questions about. And we are glad, Frederik, that you were there to help us take us through this.

If you learn anything else, certainly get back to us and we will discuss it as well.

Imagine being spied on during your most intimate moments by someone that you thought that you could trust. That's what happened to that young man right there. Not only was he spied on. It is worse than that, is, the video of what he was doing intimately was spread all over the world. It was put on the Internet for all the world to see. And it ends up in a tragedy. I'm going to take through that. That's ahead.

Also, former President Jimmy Carter's released from the hospital. What was actually wrong with him, though? It's the question we have been asking. And I think we have got an answer.

That's next right here on the LIST. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. We do lists here and this is the one we call "The Roundup List."

I'm Rick Sanchez. So glad you are here with us on this day.

Let's start with number one. This young man is dead. Authorities just a few minutes ago confirmed his body was, in fact, found in the Hudson River. His maim is Tyler Clementi. His family says he committed suicide. Now, two of his fellow college students, one of them his roommate, are being charged with invading Clementi's privacy before his death. They allegedly broadcast a hidden camera sexual encounter involving him, Clementi, and another guy. The investigators' focuses on whether their actions actually pushed Clementi to kill himself.

Here is number two. On the right, New York's republican candidate for governor. On the left, a columnist for "The New York Post." These two men got nose to nose, pointed fingers in their faces started raising their voices and it came real close to what the old fisticuffs expression is all about. Carl Paladino apparently took issue with the newspaper's coverage of his daughter, telling the reporter he's quote, " take you out." A New York political observer says it makes Paladino sound like a thug, but we'll let you listen to a little bit of it yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You're not entitled to it. At the appropriate time, you will get it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This guy is the attorney general of the state of New York.

(CROSSTALK)

PALADINO: And you're his stalking horse right there. You're his stalking horse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the evidence?

PALADINO: You're his bird dog.

(CROSSTALK)

PALADINO: You send another goon to my daughter's house, and I will take you out, buddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to take me out?

PALADINO: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you going to do that.

PALADINO: Watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you, threatening me?

(CROSSTALK)

PALADINO: You're out of line. You're out of line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He's going to take him out, those are the words he used. We will let you know what the fallout is from that.

Meanwhile, number three, Alaska republican senator fighting to keep her job as a write-in candidate. Senator Lisa Murkowski lost the GOP primary last month to a candidate backed by the so-called Tea Party movement. How is she going to be able to do this as a write-in?

Believe it or not, this race is very, very tight. A new CNN/"Time" Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Murkowski trailing Joe Miller by two points. Essentially, that means it is a tie, because it is within the margin of error. Right? The California- based group that calls itself the Tea Party Express says that they are about to start hammering the Murkowski campaign again.

Here's number four. Look at that smile and look at that wave. That's former President Jimmy Carter. He is leaving a hospital in Cleveland where he spent two nights getting over a viral infection. We are told he will get right back to his book tour and he's got a birthday to celebrate as well -- his own, President Carter turns 86 tomorrow.

All right, look at the violence today. Riots on the streets of Quito, Ecuador. You think the police are fighting back trying to control the situation? No, they are joining in. Police are the ones who are protesting during this disturbance. We will show you that as LIST scrolls on.

This is RICK'S LIST. We are going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Our military stories list, a story so disturbing when you hear it, you are going to hope it is not try.

Our troops, our soldiers, who we revere and appreciate for everything that they do for us, some of them apparently were representing us overseas in a really reprehensible way. They were allegedly killing innocent Afghan civilians for sport, even collecting fingers and body parts from corpses as souvenirs.

Now, we have told you about this story in the past, but There is a really interesting twist. There is a development in this story. These soldiers, by the way, are with the Fifth Striker Brigade near Kandahar. I know what you are thinking, say it ain't so. Right? Well, there's more.

Here's what may be the worst part of the story. Our military was told that this was going on and apparently at first did nothing. OK, who told them? The guy who told them is a man whose son is a soldier in Afghanistan.

So the son tells the father this is what's going on over here with my brigade, I don't know what to do about it, but I'm going to tell you, dad. The dad tries to reach out to the military and the military, according to the dad, hardly did anything about it.

Well, guess what. Now his son is among those that's being charged in this case.

Let me bring in Chris Lawrence now. Chris is our, as you know, Pentagon correspondent.

Chris, what -- when this man told the military, how did -- first of all, how did he know what was going on? And what did they tell him? What did they do about it?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Rick, he knew because the son, Specialist Adam Winfield, was Facebooking his parents the entire time. We've read through all of these messages that he was sending back and forth.

You know, he's telling his mom, you know, there is a rumor going around that I'm going to talk and the threats are already coming my way. Mom says, just tell them you will not tell. Just ask for a transfer or something. Assure them you won't tell. I don't want you to get hurt. He says, it doesn't work that way, mom. You can't just ask to move. We are already short-handed as it is.

Rick, you are a dad. You -- you put yourself in his father's position, he knows his son is in trouble and so he goes and he starts making calls to the Army. One of the calls goes to Fort Lewis, home base there in the state of Washington, and he finally gets a sergeant on the other line and he tells them look, there's a rogue sergeant there in Afghanistan, he's killing Afghans and he's threatening my son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER WINFIELD, FATHER OF U.S. SOLDIER ADAM WINFIELD: His reply was, that's terrible. You know, I can't believe that's happening, but things do happen over there. And Adam needs to come out over there and say something. I said, well, he can't. He is afraid, I already told you that.

LAWRENCE: At that point, when you made that call, one Afghan had already been shot.

WINFIELD: I told him, they are going to do it again. He said, my son told me that he overheard them planning another one and you need to do something. And he just -- didn't react.

LAWRENCE: If the Army had acted right then, what about the other Afghans?

WINFIELD: Two more murders happened after that. And there would have been two more people walking on this Earth right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Wow.

LAWRENCE: The thing is, Specialist Winfield is accused of one of those two murders that took place after that.

You know, I talked to the Army just a few hours ago and they told me look, they take what this dad says very seriously. They know that he did call Fort Lewis, they know he talked to someone there for about seven, eight minutes. But they cannot, because they do not record the calls, verify exactly what was said between them.

They have launched two separate investigations looking into whether this man's warnings got passed up the chain of command.

SANCHEZ: Well, do they know who he talked to? Do they have the name of the person who was on the other end of the line who told him that his son should just deal with it internally within his sergeant's ranks?

LAWRENCE: Yes, again, all of that is part of this investigation. And that's one of the questions I asked was it would seem to be fairly simple to just figure out hey, did -- did you hear what this man reported? And he said, well, it is not that simple because this has the possibility of being part of the capital murder case. So it is a matter of getting depositions, making sure, you know, all of the Is are dotted and Ts are crossed.

But they are working through this, trying to figure out if this warning got passed up the chain of command because If it did not, that's a very, very serious problem. And I got that directly from the Army.

SANCHEZ: What a serious story this is and what an interesting story it is as well. Chris Lawrence, thanks so much. Keep working on it and let us know what you find out.

Meanwhile, how can 10 million toys be so dangerous that they have to be recalled? Ten million? In just a couple of minutes, we are going to tell you which toys need to come out of your child's hands pronto. That's next.

Also this, yes, riots on the streets of Ecuador. Why are they so livid? Why are they burning things? Who are they? I'm going to tell you.

Stay right there, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We have breaking news that we have been following throughout the day. This is coming of Ecuador. I've been paying particular attention to the scene here in Quito. Let me show you what is going on there.

This is -- this is -- well, mobs, protesters, riots on the streets after President Correa, who I interviewed not too long ago in the Dominican Republic at a summit, has decided to implement austerity measures in the country. Well, what the austerity measures do is they basically tell some of the officials there -- police officers, firefighters and other public workers -- that they're going to have to start taking some pay cuts. Well, they didn't want any part of that, so they had been taken to the street.

Now I should tell that there is a little bit after story behind this because Correa has been accused by some of leaning way to the left. They worry, of course, that there may be some kind of Hugo Chavez-type of initiative that's starting here.

So now the -- the police officers and the federal officers there and some other members of the firefighters brigades actually rioted, taking -- there's Correa there in the middle, by the way. And -- you know, he has quite a situation on his hands.

When last we checked people were still on the streets. They have been burning things. They have been rioting. We don't have a count yet on how many folks who have been hurt.

Speaking of Chavez, I was just told that we have a Hugo Chavez tweet now as we look at this video. Here we go, let's see what he has for us. Hugo Chavez saying, "Estan trantando de tumbar al Presidente Correa." They are trying to bring down President Correra. "Alerto," alert, "lost pueblos," the people, "de la Alianza Boliviariana!" Alianza Boliviariana is what he calls his movement, the people who support him in his country and in other parts of Latin America.

He's alerting them what's going on over there. They are trying to take down his friend, Correa. Let's see, what else does he say? (SPEAKING IN SPANISH) He's -- look, he is backing Correa on this. Correa is a bit of a leftist. Obviously, Chavez is a leftist. And they are both arguing against this protest that's taking place here today. Interesting development there in Latin America.

Now this. Rahm Emanuel confirms the worst kept secret in D.C. in quite some time. He's resigning as Obama's chief of staff.

So, what else is making political news on this day? That he can read well? We will check with the CNN Politics Desk in just a little bit.

Stay with us. This is - this is RICK'S LIST! (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Time for a politics.com (sic) Desk Update. Let's see. Who is manning the desk today?

Oh, my God. It is a man among men. Paul Steinhauser is joining us now to let us know what's crossing. What have you got, Paulie?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITCAL DIRECTOR: Rick, I pay you good money to say that.

Hey, Rick, I don't know what you're doing tonight, but here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go home and have a few beers, eat dinner. You know, get some work done. But is Barack Obama going to be doing that? Probably not.

Check this out, Dave Jenkins, our cameraman. Come on, zoom right in here. Brand-new on the CNN Political Ticker, just went up a few minutes ago. Barack Obama tonight, he's going to be at two events. Private dinner in the District of Columbia, then he's going to a concert. The idea here is for him to help his party, the Democratic party, raise big bucks. I spoke to a source who told me that the events combined should raise almost $2 million for the party. You know the whole idea here obviously is to raise money and then spend on get-out-the-vote efforts and on television commercials for candidates -- Democratic candidates. Republicans doing the same thing.

That's what I've got. Mark Preston, our senior political editor, what have you got?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey Rick. You know, last week Republicans talked about their Pledge to America. That was their policy, quite frankly, their political blueprint heading into the midterm elections. Promises basically to the American people.

Today, John Boehner, that Ohio Republican who would be Speaker if Republicans take back the House of Representatives in November, said that he is going to reform agenda. He gave the sweeping reform speech down at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. He promised to change how Washington is done or how business is done in Washington. Democrats, of course, say that isn't true and that Boehner, who has been here for ten terms, is really part of the problem.

I will tell you what, Rick. We are heading into the midterm elections. It is starting to get very, very nasty. Paul?

STEINHAUSER: One more thing. This is maybe a little crazy here. But Barack Obama versus Hillary Clinton in 2012? No, no. Very highly unlikely the Secretary of State is going to mount any kind of primary challenge to the president in 2012.

But you know what? Just in case, Gallup asked the question. Brand-new poll out today. We put it up on the Ticker. And they asked Democrats if hypothetically, had Obama versus Hillary. Fifty-two said they would be supporting the president for the Democratic nomination. Thirty-seven percent saying Clinton.

Of course, we all remember they battled it out in 2008. That was an historic primary. But I don't think we are thinking it is happening again, Rick.

SANCHEZ: That would be crazy. Kennedy did that to Carter --

(LAUGHTER)

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Carter is still holding it against him.

Thanks, guys. You guys are fantastic. It is like -- the Apostles, Mark and Paul. Nobody does it better. We appreciate it.

Next hour, we will do it again. Political updates come your way. You can always get the latest political news at CNNpolitics.com and on Twitter @politicalticker.

All right. We all know the White House plays favorites. Right? You have to be naive not to realize it. But just in case you didn't, they all but spelled it out for you this week.

What's coming up "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On"? I can't say who it is. But their initials are MSNBC.

Also next, celebrities and fans alike are sharing their memories of Tony Curtis today.

What's "Trending"? Brooke Baldwin's coming up, and she's going to bring it to us.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I like the Tony Orlando.

SANCHEZ: Wasn't that great?

BALDWIN: It was nice.

SANCHEZ: I know!

BALDWIN: I liked what he said about Tony Curtis, but I was disappointed he didn't sing.

SANCHEZ: I like the fact - no, he made me sing.

BALDWIN: I know he made you sing!

SANCHEZ: He made me sing. I know. Everybody is tweeting and making fun of me and telling me -- keep your day job.

We will be right back.

BALDWIN: Tony Curtis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: This is such a sad story we have been following on the course of the day. I mean, look. When you get old, you pass on. We are all going to get there. But it is just that -- you know, as a kid growing up, there's something about Tony Curtis in the movies. Especially, like, in gladiator movies. Boston Strangler --

BALDWIN: Spartacus.

SANCHEZ: Spartacus. He just -- he was like the perfect guy for those roles. For that time as well.

BALDWIN: Truly legendary. He was 85. He did die today. He starred actually -- we're staying under 40 movies. I watch a clip with him, he's saying over 150 movies. "Spartacus" is one of them. I have seen Spartacus - that's with Kirk Douglas.

Also, "The Boston Strangeler." That's the movie he told Larry King was actually his favorite. Very highly critically acclaimed. He was nominated for an Oscar in his performance with Sidney Portier in "The Defiant Ones."

But a lot of people say the most memorable movie he was in - this is it. This is with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon. This is "Some Like It Hot."

SANCHEZ: See, I don't even remember that movie. I hear everybody saying that -

BALDWIN: You liked "The Boston Strangler" and "Spartacus" -

SANCHEZ: It just didn't stick with me.

BALDWIN: Stuck with a lot of people. In fact, just last year was the 50th anniversary of the movie, "Some Like It Hot." So, one of our own iReporters caught up with Tony Curtis just last year. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY CURTIS, ACTOR: Hi, CNN. This is Tony Curtis. I got in "Some Like It Hot" because Billy Wilder was planning on doing this picture of two guys and a girl in the 20s (ph) drag. He said at that time, "I want the handsomest kid in town," and they picked me.

That was a great compliment. And so, that's how I got the part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: They wanted the handsomest kid in town and so they picked him.

And I didn't realize this. You and I were talking about how people change their names. Remember how we had that conversation the other day? So, he was actually Bernard Schwartz. Born Bernard Schwartz in 1925. Changed his name when he started his film career after World War II in 1949. He has been married six times. Most famously to the beautiful Janet Leigh. His daughter is Jamie Lynn -Lee Curtis, excuse me.

And we have a bunch of tweet. I have time for - let me go for three. So, let's swing over this way.

First line from Arsenio Hall. He said, "First star I met in Hollywood waiting for his car outside of the Roxy. He had on driving gloves, holding a black vanity cane. Tony C., R.I.P."

One more. This is Kirstie Alley. "Tony Curtis, you will be so missed. You are so loved, and you have inspired thousands of actors and millions of fans. Hurry back."

And one more. There we go. Denise Richards. "My thoughts and prayers are with Tony Curtis and his family and loved ones during this difficult time."

SANCHEZ: Well, I was just thinking of other people that have names that they have changed over the years. Jon Stewart --

BALDWIN: Jon Stewart was one. Even - you talking about Larry King.

SANCHEZ: John Liebowicz --

BALDWIN: I thought he was the man of which we do not speak.

SANCHEZ: -- is his real name. Well, you know. What else you got.

BALDWIN: I kid. I kid.

Story number two, we talk a lot about recalls. Sometimes it is hundreds of toys. But this is big time. Millions of toys recalled. So, parents, pay close attention.

Fisher-Price is recalling 10 million toys in total because of the threat they obviously pose to kids. Let me walk you through what you need to pay attention to. 2.8 million types of Baby Play games. There are these balls, kids can choke. More than seven million tricycles because of some protruding part that can cut your child. 120,000 small car toys, wheels come off -- not a good thing. Add up to a million of several of these type of high chairs. Kids can cut their legs in half, cut their legs on these high chairs.

So, if you need more information, if I blew through that too fast for you, just call the Fisher-Price hotline. That's 1-800-432-5437.

SANCHEZ: You are at my desk opening up and playing with Barbies.

BALDWIN: Oh!

SANCHEZ: Is this something we are going to learn about at some future point?

BALDWIN: I'm told no time today. Next week. Wait for it.

SANCHEZ: OK. This whole Barbie thing you are doing?

BALDWIN: It is a tease. Next week.

SANCHEZ: OK. That was a tease, by the way!

BALDWIN: A good one. It's a good one.

SANCHEZ: You got me! And in person! Thanks, Brooke.

I know this may strike you as odd if it's the first time you're hearing something like this.

OK. Forget about this. Let me just tell you what I'm about to do. You ready? There is the president and there's Dick Cheney.

What's this have to do with MSNBC? Well, MSNBC is on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On" today. Why? Stick around, and you'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Much was made of Vice President Cheney's insistence -- remember this? -- on only watching Fox News in his travels. It's a true story. Whenever he checked into hotels, he would have his staffers tune all of the TVs in the hotel to only Fox News so he could just hear about his policies repeated back to him by a right-wing television network.

Well, today I asked this question: What about MSNBC and their relationship now with this White House?

Here's "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

Look, if you don't think for one minute that MSNBC is to Barack Obama what Fox was to Bush and Cheney, then you obviously haven't heard this comment that I'm about to share with you. This comment from Deputy White House Secretary Bill Burton.

Are you ready? Here it is.

"If you're on the left, if you're somebody like Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow, or one of those folks who helps to keep our government honest and pushes and prods to make sure that folks are true to progressive values, then he (Obama) thinks that those folks provide an invaluable service."

Now, I'm not sure that neither Olbermann nor Maddow is happy about Burton's comments. We tried calling them today for a comment about this segment, and so far we've heard nothing back. But essentially what's going on here is, in an effort to praise them, Burton has actually revealed MSNBC's bias, or at least what the White House perceives as their bias.

It's right there. I mean, that's what he is saying. Pushing and prodding progressive values is an invaluable service? What if as an American I don't agree with all progressive values, Mr. President? And by the way, since when is news supposed to have a limited point of view, only progressive?

Oh, that's right. I just remembered. Ever since Fox decided to give mostly the conservative Republican side, and then MSNBC followed suit with mostly the liberal Democratic side, I guess I forgot.

Look, from what I can tell, I wasn't necessarily liked by the Bush White House. And I don't think I'm particularly liked by the Obama White House as well.

And you know what? That's the way I like it.

Olbermann, Maddow, MSNBC, at the very top of "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's a little more than a month before America votes. President Obama's about to lose his right-hand man and one of his closest political advisers.

Sources are telling CNN White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will officially step down tomorrow to run for mayor in Chicago. And if you think this is new information that you've never heard before, you've probably on vacation somewhere overseas.

Wolf is joining us now from D.C. to tell us more about this story.

You know, this is one of those stories we keep hearing hints about, and it looks like it's finally going to happen. Right, Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as soon as we got word that Mayor Daley was not going to seek reelection, and everyone knew that Rahm Emanuel had, for years, had been saying that is one job he would really want to take on, becoming the mayor of his hometown of Chicago, immediately the speculation began within a nanosecond after we got word that Mayor Daley was going to just retire at the end of his term. And given the nature of the calendar, that election is in February. You've got to file all the documents by November, and you really legally can't do all of that kind of preliminary work while you are on the federal payroll.

If he is serious about running for mayor of Chicago -- and he is serious -- he has got to do it now in order to start the train moving if he hopes to have any chance. It's by no means a slam-dunk that he's going to be elected the mayor of Chicago. He'll raise a lot of money. But there are a lot of other people in Chicago who want to be mayor of that city, and there's going to be a battle there.

SANCHEZ: Now, you talked to Bob Woodward, right?

BLITZER: I will be speaking with him live during our 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour. He is coming here into "THE SITUATION ROOM." SANCHEZ: Yes. I'm just curious -- you know, great book, again. How does he get people to be as open as they are with him?

I mean, they give him access in many ways, and he's privy to things that most of us don't have access to. I mean, I don't -- you haven't talked to him yet, but I'm just curious. Have you ever wondered what's the deal with that?

BLITZER: Well, I have known him for many years. And he has been a world class journalist since the early '70s, when he and Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate story that led to the downfall of President Nixon, his forced resignation.

He has been writing these books -- I think this is his 15th or 16th book -- taking us inside a White House. And he's just a great, great reporter. He wins Pulitzer Prizes all the time.

So, you know, Bob Woodward is in a category by himself. He's got great sources.

And as he points out in the book, he knew General Petraeus when General Petraeus I think was a colonel or a major. You know, he's worked with these guys for a long time.

So he gets sources. And a lot of the officials, whether you're President Bush or President Obama, they want to speak to Bob Woodward because he is seen as someone who's reliable, he doesn't have an agenda, per se. Someone who's fair and just a great journalist. And they think it's better to get their side of the story into the book than just to get their enemy's side of the story into the book.

SANCHEZ: One quick thing before I let you go because I'm going to be off tomorrow. I'm going to be at my book signing here in Atlanta. I'm looking forward to that.

My Dolphins have the Patriots this week. Who do your Bills have?

BLITZER: Good question. I have been so busy this week, I haven't really paid attention. I know we're 0-3, and I'm sad about that. So, you know, just -- let me check and I'll get back to you.

SANCHEZ: Wait. I think -- Angie, is it the Jets?

Oh, my God. Another one of those -- last week it was the Bills against the Patriots.

BLITZER: It was New England. We did well against New England, yes.

SANCHEZ: And the Dolphins against the Jets. It's like they've reversed roles.

Well, you could beat the Jets.

BLITZER: Look, you know, we went to four Super Bowls in a row, as you remember. SANCHEZ: Yes. And that's enough.

BLITZER: Yes. We didn't win any of those Super Bowls, but we went to four of them in a row.

SANCHEZ: He was robbed.

Thanks, Wolf. We'll catch up with you a little bit later.

BLITZER: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Next, Tony Orlando. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: You guys know Tony Orlando, right?

(singing): Tie a yellow ribbon 'round -- come on, all together. Ready?

(singing): Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old --

AUDIENCE (singing): Oak tree.

SANCHEZ: How is that? Is that good?

Very good. You guys are excellent.

He was here on our newscast, and he shared some thoughts. Here, let's play them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY ORLANDO, SINGER: I want to congratulate you. I remember -- one of the things in this journey of 50 years in this business, Rick, is I met you as a young anchor in Miami Beach. And I knew you were destined to go on to great things. Congratulations here at CNN.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, man. That's very nice of you to say.

ORLANDO: Yes, absolutely.

SANCHEZ: What is it about that music of yours that makes people want to get up and sing and -- you know, there's some people, you play music, you listen to, and there's some people who play music that -- well, I've got to tell you, all day long today, my staff and I have been singing your songs. I'm probably not the first to tell you that.

SANCHEZ: I heard you were doing -- I heard you were singing every note. So, before we leave, are you going to do a little chorus with me?

SANCHEZ: Are you -- yes. Which -- I can do -- I can do "Knock Three Times" and I can --

ORLANDO: All right. SANCHEZ: You want to do "Knock Tree Times"?

ORLANDO: This I -- yes, I want to hear you do "Knock Three Times." Go.

SANCHEZ (singing): Knock three times on the ceiling if you love me

ORLANDO: "Want me." "Want me," Rick. It's "want me."

SANCHEZ (singing): Twice on -- if you're not going to show.

What, did you expect me to get the words right, too? I do news for a living.

ORLANDO: I can't believe you. I can't -- and you sing it well, too. Thank you.

You know, I'll tell you what it is.

SANCHEZ: Go. Tell me.

ORLANDO: I'll tell you what it is. I was very blessed to have some great songwriters like Tony Wine (ph) and Irwin Levine (ph) and Larry Brown (ph), who wrote all those hits. They had a style about them that was upbeat.

Remember, those songs became hits during a time when progressive rock, Led Zeppelin and Cream and all those happening. How they found their way through the cracks was just a blessing and good luck for us really.

SANCHEZ: You're an amazing guy.

Listen, I know that a dear friend of yours passed away today, Tony Curtis, who we all grew up with. When I think of gladiator movies, I think of Tony Curtis.

What would you share with us about him?

ORLANDO: Well, you know, one of the things about Tony Curtis was he was so eclectic an actor and a person. I mean, he was an intellectual, he was a painter. He was a dramatic actor, he was a comedian.

He was a genuine person who never hid his New York accent. He was creative enough to change his name from Bernard Schwartz to Tony Curtis. My God. That alone is an amazing change.

But he was a real guy. And he was a guy's guy.

And he was -- my condolences to Jamie Lee, who I love dearly, and his family. This is a great loss to our industry, but to this country.

If anybody out there is too young to remember some of those great films like "Some Like It Hot," rent them. They're timeless. As you know, Rick, they really are timeless.

And he was a great friend. Loved to come to the shows. And he would walk in and he'd go, "How about some Led Zeppelin, kid?"

(LAUGHTER)

ORLANDO: And Kerry Cohen (ph) in our band would sing Led Zeppelin for him and he would just be a happy camper.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: By the way, my singing, what do you guys think? No? OK. OK. You don't have to tell me.

Even Rick Thomason (ph) says, "Love you, man. But don't give up your day job to go on tour."

All right. I won't. At least not anytime soon.

And for that, Rick Thomason (ph), you get a copy -- an autographed copy, I should say, of our book, "Conventional Idiocy."

By the way, I'll be signing them here in Atlanta tomorrow at the CNN headquarters downstairs in the lobby. And if you want to come along, we'll see you.

I'm Rick Sanchez. Here's Wolf Blitzer.