Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Colorado Canyon Fire Forces 3,000 to Flee; Bellwether State Ohio at 10.3 Percent Unemployment; Van der Sloot Extortion Allegation; Perceptions of Obama Administration's Recent Economic Plans; "Conventional Idiocy" Out Today; Bittersweet Hospital Reunion
Aired September 07, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello there once again. I'm Brooke Baldwin, in for Tony Harris.
Top of the hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
Fears, frustrations, and the path of those raging wildfires.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're heading for the trailer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry. There is nothing we can do. It's been closed down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Imagine fires forcing people from their homes, keeping kids out of school today. We are tracking the winds whipping up those flames.
Also, a fated family reunion. A nurse caring for a dying man finds out he is actually her long-lost father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was fate. That's what was supposed to happen. I was supposed to meet my dad before he passes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You're online. We are, as well. Ines Ferre checking out "What's Hot."
Ines, what do you have?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, Apple may get some competition if Google launches a music service by Christmas.
And also, check out these photos. These are from astronauts in space sending tweets and pictures -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Ines, thank you. We'll see you later this hour.
But let's get started with our lead story. A lot is happening here at noon Eastern. Two stories we're watching for you.
First, this news conference in Manhattan on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. We are just four days before the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. We'll have details on what may be happening there later this hour.
We're also keeping our eye, as we do every day, on that White House daily briefing for any major developments from the Obama administration. We see anything we want to bring to you, we'll quick turn that around.
Meantime, west, to Colorado. Firefighters are hoping to attack this fast-moving wildfire from the air today if -- a big "if" -- the weather and the wind cooperates.
Gusty winds are fanning the fire in the mountains west of Boulder. Now, the terrain, I'm told, extremely rugged, making it very difficult for crews to do their jobs. And authorities say at least four homes have burned, even more threatened. Three thousand people who live in the area have been told to get out now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That whole area, it's closed off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what do we do with the dogs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I'm sorry. Nobody is going back up there. It's just that simple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do I do? I mean, the house -- as some of my neighbors have said, the house is insured. We were lucky enough to get stuff out. You know, papers and computer and stuff we can't live without. And beyond that, who knows?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of those things that really, you think may happen, but you don't believe it's going to happen. You know, you watch stories about Katrina and these various things. Here we are in the middle of this and it's scary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And officials say it is far too early to even begin thinking about containment.
I want to bring in Barb Halpin. She's on the phone. She is a public information officer when it comes to Boulder County Emergency Management.
And, Barb, just bring me up to speed. I mean, we hear from these people who are losing their homes or potentially losing their homes. What do people need to know in and around this wildfire area?
BARB HALPIN, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER PIO (via telephone): Sure. And again, our hearts go out to everyone who is affected by this wildfire.
It is a major fire outside unincorporated Boulder County, which is outside the city of Boulder. Essentially, people had to evacuate very quickly yesterday.
The winds yesterday were much higher. They were up to 45 miles per hour. Today they have gone down to three to six miles per hour, much more favorable conditions right now for fighting the fire.
The firefighters are out there, they're containing it within the perimeter that was established last night. So people still need to stay safe and away from that perimeter to allow firefighters to do what they need to do. We're focusing on protecting homes and all residences and structures in that area, and we're also -- we have investigative crews going in there to find out, you know, how this fire started and what -- how many homes have been damaged.
BALDWIN: So, Barb, just to be clear, we don't -- you don't know yet how this whole thing began?
HALPIN: No, we don't have that. We need -- it started so quickly. We have some witnesses who were nearby. We're going to be interviewing them, trying to figure out exactly how this began.
BALDWIN: And talk to me -- for people who don't know how this works, look, if you're a firefighter on the ground there -- and we saw pictures of some of the planes, you know, going over the flames, dropping that contaminant. I had read one of the fire trucks was just totally destroyed in the fire. Talk to me about the challenges that these men and women are facing battling this thing.
HALPIN: Sure. Well, in any kind of wildfire of this nature, you've got a lot of different things affecting it. You've got wind speeds, you've got weather conditions, you've got a rough terrain.
I mean, people who live up in the mountains generally drive 4 x 4s to get into their homes and that kind of thing. We have asked for state and federal assistance. They have been lending resources in terms of equipment and personnel.
You know, Boulder County is no stranger to these kinds of wildfires. The unfortunate thing about this is that it's in a very populated area.
BALDWIN: And because it is so populated -- and Barb, this is just kind of my final question -- how do you look someone in the face and say, look, ma'am, sir, you've got to get out, you've got to leave everything?
HALPIN: It's very difficult. You know, this time, because the fire was moving so quickly, people understood and they got out very quickly. We had people coming to the evacuation centers earlier than we usually do. I think they got the sense with the winds, the way they were, how serious this is.
BALDWIN: Well, we wish you the best of luck. We'll be watching this story, along with you, Barb Halpin. If you get any more information, any number get updated, do me a favor. Pick up the phone and call me again.
Barb, we thank you for that.
I also want to turn to CNN's own Jim Spellman, I know who is also out there, been watching this thing.
And Jim, I'm just so struck by how fast this happened and how quickly it has moved.
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I'll tell you, Brooke, yesterday I was actually camping a little bit north of where the canyon where the fire was yesterday, when this broke out, and the winds were just whipping through these canyons. It was almost like a dry hurricane. It was blowing our tent around and everything.
And yesterday, when the fire started, it spread so fast, by the time mid-afternoon came, you could see the plume of smoke all the way down in Denver. By sundown, it was all over Denver. You could see it from everywhere. You know, that's 30 miles away or something.
Today, the weather is so much better today. It's completely calm, it's clear. And they hope that that will really help them.
Here's what another official said about the weather a little bit earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK BROUGH, BOULDER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We still are estimating that we've had approximately 3,500 residents that have been affected by this. That's what the evacuations have been.
Today, from the weather forecasts, they're more favorable than we had yesterday. Yesterday, as you know, we had gusts up to 40, 45 miles per hour. Today they're -- what the prediction is, is three to six miles per hour, so that's much favorable for --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLMAN: So they hope that they can get the aircraft in the air to drop some of these retardants and get a much better handle and control this without all the wind, making it so much harder on them -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: So, Jim, I just have to follow up on what you said. So let me get this straight. You were camping, totally without your reporter hat on, you were just out camping in your tent and heard the fire first hand. Unbelievable.
SPELLMAN: Yes. I mean, you know, it's really popular to go camping around here, and there's tons of campsites. We were nowhere near, you know, the fire, really. We were several -- you know, about maybe 15 miles or so north. But the same wind just whipping through these canyons.
It's the first time I've really camped out here in that kind of windy condition that you get this time of year. And when we were -- we made really sure that our campfire was out and everything. You could tell that it was really -- the conditions were there and it's so dry to -- you know, for something like this to take off -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Unreal. Jim Spellman, thank you for that.
I want to talk more conditions, and the wind, specifically, with CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
Chad, I've been reading about when people talking specifically about this fire. They describe the fire as like a raging river or a tornado rolling through. I mean, that loud.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You have to understand that basically west of this is Estes Park, very high mountains. This is front range.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: These are canyons that this wind decided to roll down yesterday. And down it did.
West winds, those are the worst kind of winds to roll down a canyon that is facing east to west. So that air was drying out, kind of like a Santa Ana effect.
You think about this in California, winds coming down from San Bernardino, very, very hot and dry and can really fan the fires out there. The same kind of thing happened here.
Focus right there on Denver. And I'm going move this Google Earth here a little bit and show you what this area actually looks like.
When you move right into Denver, and then we're going to get right into Boulder, Colorado. That's where the University of Colorado is.
Now, I'm going to take you into the canyon. See this? This is exactly where they were worried about, these canyons all the way through, one more time, all the way in, and then there's Boulder, coming right back in there.
And this is how rugged this area is. You see the east to west. This would be the peaks, this would be the 14ers, back out to the west, and then down in here through the canyons where this fire happened yesterday.
And when the wind came through, some of the gusts, even Boulder, were 45 to 50 miles per hour. And you just can't handle a fire. You can't even put crews into a fire at that type of wind speed, because the flames and the sparks just keep going and advancing and advancing and advancing, and you can't get a front line.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BALDWIN: All right, Chad. Thank you.
CNN equals politics. We are on the road with the CNN Election Express. The best political team on television stopping through Ohio.
First though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: I love to do this just because it's fun. Chibi the Wonder Dog, she's quite the talent, as you're about to see in our "Random Moment of the Day."
Chibi likes to -- oh yes -- wakeboard. Look at this.
She is a 9-year-old beagle-terrier mix with a pretty decent balance -- I don't know how she is staying on. I couldn't -- and a lot of spunk. Her owner says she loves the water.
She can't do flips. Come on, Chibi. Somersaults? Not yet. Rocking the Doggles.
But Chibi sure has this down. Look at this. Chibi's talents go beyond wakeboarding. Apparently she likes riding around her Florida neighborhood on a motorcycle, just like a human. Instead of goggles, like I said, she wore Doggles.
And that is Chibi, our "Random Moment" for a Tuesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: When you start to look at the jobless numbers in the country, let's look at Ohio, for example. It's pushing about 10.3 percent. That's above the national rate, which sits at 9.6 right now. And that's one of the reasons we dispatched the CNN Election Express and the best political team on television to Columbus, Ohio, where my colleague T.J. Holmes is standing by.
And T.J., look, we all know Ohio's this bellwether state, right? It's always considered the swing state. And you can tell by how many times the president is rolling through there.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Time number 10. He might want to think about buying property here, he's here so often, Brooke.
But the president is on the way. He'll be in Cleveland. Not here in Columbus, but he has been to Columbus plenty of times before.
But before I let you hear from me too much, let me let you hear from them, the voters of Columbus, talking to CNN, but hoping that Washington is listening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think Ohio is a state that people look at because it has a huge mix in one state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I now hate politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're going to talk to different people and everyone's going to have different thoughts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard for me to figure out because I grew up in a very Republican family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's too much polarity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Sarah Palins is not part of what I wanted to be represented by.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I almost stopped, like, following it all together because I think it's just a load of crap.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're starting to see some Republican candidates come out ahead. You know, good strong candidates. And I think we're going to have a good run for it here in November.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jobs need to be brought back to America. I see that part.
I don't see anything now. I've got a nice hat that says, you know, "My Boss is Jesus." And when I look inside and I look at the label, it says, "Made in China."
OK. Where is "Made in the USA" at?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So why? Back to the point you were making, Brooke, why the president here so often? Tomorrow he's making his 10th trip to this state as president, going to be in Cleveland talking about some new initiatives and some new proposals to possibly kick start the economy once again.
Now, he has been here so often. Why? We hear it all the time, bellwether state, battleground state, and all this stuff. But why is that the case?
This is a state that has lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs over the past 10 years. They have just gone away.
This is also a state that has voted for the winner of the presidential election for the past 12 elections. That certainly will get a candidate's attention.
This is also a place that CNN has identified it has at least four critical races to watch, congressional races to watch, that could go either way. And, of course, Republicans are trying to take back the House. Also, if you need another reason to focus on this state, the governor is in a tough re-election bid here, as well. And, of course, the governors in these states can be very crucial in the presidential elections as they organize.
And Brooke, just in case you needed one more, there is an open Senate seat that was left by Senator Voinovich here, as well.
So there are so many reasons to come to this state, on top of the reasons we already know. And key, as well, 10.3 percent unemployment rate. It has been above the national average for the past year here, Brooke.
So there's a lot to focus on. The president, once again, keeping his eye on Ohio. He'll be here tomorrow.
BALDWIN: We will look for him tomorrow in Cleveland. And T.J., thank you. It's a pretty full bus with you on board that thing. And you guys are, I guess, winding your way to Kentucky tomorrow.
CNN Election Express heading south to the town of Covington tomorrow, and the best political team on TV will be on board, including T.J., in Covington, talking to the people about, you guessed it, jobs.
Another spin to the many tales from accused killer Joran van der Sloot. This time, it is remorse about allegedly extorting the family of Natalee Holloway. Ines Ferre looks at that for us.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We told you we would be keeping our eyes and ears on the daily White House briefing, and I just want to pass along a quick note.
We just heard Robert Gibbs tell the media there that president will be in Washington this 9/11, this Saturday. He will be at the Pentagon honoring all those lives lost on that significant anniversary. He will be at the Pentagon.
Meantime, there is also an event happening right now in New York, an update on the project, the memorial project at Ground Zero. As soon as we learn more information about that, we will bring that to you.
Also, if you have been following the story, as I know you and I both have, accused killer Joran van der Sloot allegedly has told a Dutch newspaper that he did, indeed, extort money from Natalee Holloway's family. He's also claiming to feel remorse.
But at this point, how can anyone believe anything this guy says, right?
Ines Ferre has been looking into the story. I know you were following it just as I was through all the twists and turns. So he says he's feeling remorse and he said he extorted --
FERRE: Yes.
BALDWIN: But -- is there a "but"?
FERRE: But he's not admitting to anything. He says that he doesn't know anything about what happened to Natalee Holloway.
Here's what happened.
He gave a jailhouse interview to a Dutch television station, and he says there have been people that have paid him for information, and so he's very good at making up stories. He also told a Dutch newspaper that he extorted money from the family of Natalee Holloway because he wanted to get back at her family.
Van der Sloot was a suspect in her disappearance in 2005. He said, "Her parents have been making my life tough for years. When they offered to pay for the girl's location, I thought, why not?"
Now, you'll recall that in May, the FBI gave Van der Sloot $25,000 as part of an undercover sting operation in exchange for revealing where Natalee Holloway was buried. He then went to Latin America, where he now faces murder charges for the death of Stephany Flores, who he met at a casino.
Van der Sloot's attorney now says his client's comments may have been mistranslated. His lawyer says he's not involved in Holloway's case, but he says maybe there's been a mistranslation. In this interview that he has given is about Natalee Holloway, about the extortion, he says maybe there is a mistranslation this.
BALDWIN: So what I'm hearing from you is in this interview he had said that he had extorted, yes, money from the Holloways.
FERRE: Exactly.
BALDWIN: And now they're saying, hang on a second, my interview was mistranslated. So perhaps he is retracting.
FERRE: His lawyer is saying that, that perhaps his interview was mistranslated.
But also, just to note, that he says that he knows nothing about what happened to Natalee Holloway. After all of this stuff --
BALDWIN: He knows nothing.
FERRE: -- he says he knows nothing.
BALDWIN: Wow. All kinds of twists and turns in the Joran van der Sloot case. Still in Peru, still in prison, right?
FERRE: Yes. BALDWIN: All right. Ines, thank you for the update.
FERRE: Yes.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A dire warning about a pastor's plan to burn the Quran. The U.S. commander in Afghanistan says this plan by this Gainesville, Florida, church would put the lives of U.S. troops in danger.
On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," that very pastor, Pastor Terry Jones, said he is weighing the concerns from General David Petraeus, but right now still has plans to go through with Saturday's demonstration.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR TERRY JONES, DOVE WORLD OUTREACH CENTER: We first declared September the 11th "International Burn a Quran Day" actually for two reasons. Number one, we wanted to remember those who were brutally murdered on September the 11th, and actually wanted to send a very clear message to the radical element of Islam. We wanted to send a very clear message to them that we are not interested in their Sharia law, we do not tolerate their threats, their fear, their radicalness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Also, top interfaith leaders, they'll be holding this briefing next hour responding to what some see, at least, as a growing tide of Islamophobia. The group plans to address this outcry over plans to build that Islamic center with a mosque just two blocks from Ground Zero. We will have live coverage of that in the next hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
But let's talk about what's happening in New York right now, all that new construction beginning to rise from the ruins of the World Trade Center, as we approach the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. And just moments ago we told you the White House announced the president will actually be in Washington. He'll attend the 9/1 anniversary services at the Pentagon. And the vice president, Joe Biden, will be in New York.
We're also getting an update on that whole rebuilding effort, and Josh Levs has more on how that whole project has been going on.
They're at the World Trade Center site. I know some people, Josh, have been waiting for progress.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are. And you know, a lot of those people are starting to kind of come around, because there has been a lot of pretty impressive progress in more recent months. But you're right, there's still a lot of people who say, hey, a lot more should have been done a lot sooner.
By the way, before we go into the video, this is interesting. So the president's planning to be over at the Pentagons. The first lady will actually be in Shanksville with former first lady Laura Bush.
So what we're going to start off -- we're actually look at all the memorials now, New York and the Pentagon and Shanksville.
Let's start off with New York. We're going to use a little bit of Google Earth here.
Let's just zoom into the World Trade Center site, and we'll get all the way in there. I want everyone to take a look at where it is. And then we're going to go into some video itself.
So are we zooming in? No, we're not? OK. Let's just go ahead to the video, guys.
We have video of what this is going to be looking like when it all goes up. And this is pretty impressive.
It's from Brookfield Properties, and the official Web site points to this. And what they're talking about is the creation of five new skyscrapers, including a national September 11th Memorial and Museum, as well, and there will also be a transportation hub there. Also, a retail complex and a performing arts center.
And what you're also seeing there is that the void where the World Trade Center towers stood will be the sites of these massive waterfalls leading into memorial pools with the names of all the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 9/11 attacks, plus, actually, also the names of everyone killed in the 1993 Trade Center bombing back then.
Now, the central tower is actually going to rise 1,776 feet. It will be the tallest building in the U.S. And the officials are saying it will actually redefine what the whole skyline looks like in New York. It will be serving as what they're calling a preeminent spot in lower Manhattan, kind of bringing business back and a symbol of the resurgence of that area.
All right. So that's what we're taking a look at for New York.
What I want to do now is also take a look at the other key memorial sites you should know about.
One is the Pentagon, and we can just go straight to the video. Let's just go ahead to the video of the Pentagon memorial.
And what we have there is -- it's really interesting. You're going to see this wall that sort of rises up within it.
It begins at three inches tall, and it steadily goes up. And the three inches represents the 3-year-old girl, Dana Fallkenberg, who was killed there.
And it continues to a height of 71 inches which represents the oldest victim, retired U.S. Navy Captain John D. Yamnicky Sr.
In all, 184 people were killed there.
And finally, before we go, I want to take a look at the video from Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It's the last video we're going to see here. And there's actually a lot of work being done there as well to create a permanent memorial. That's where Flight 93 crashed, killing 40 people on board.
There's work for a permanent memorial. There have been activities there before. We're seeing video from last year. And that is where first lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Laura Bush will be for a joint service on Saturday.
So, Brooke, we're keeping an eye on all those spots, on all of the memorials, and on all of the continuing efforts to get these memorials into a permanent state where they all plan to be, eventually.
BALDWIN: I was at the Pentagon memorial recently. It's beautiful. I can't believe it's been nine years.
LEVS: It's beautiful, I know. Incredible.
BALDWIN: Josh, thanks.
LEVS: You got it.
BALDWIN: President Obama rolling out what looks a lot like stimulus 2.0 this week. It's a hodgepodge of new spending and some tax breaks.
I'm going to talk to chief business correspondent Ali Velshi all about it.
Right, Ali?
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And taking a quick look at the Big Board, as I sneak my glance. New York Stock Exchange, Dow is down about 85 points, sitting at 10,362. You can always get the check. Go to CNNmoney.com.
Also, talking economy and restimulating it. Tomorrow, the president is expected to unveil a plan to give small businesses even more tax breaks. This is the latest move by the president to try and boost the struggling economy.
Chief business correspondent Ali Velshi walking on in, joining me with these details. I know you're the pro, you're the guy who can break this whole thing down, because we're talking -- he'll be in Cleveland tomorrow, right, and he's talking about the tax breaks -- $200 billion --
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
BALDWIN: -- and if you add up everything else that he's thrown out in the last week, it adds up to $350 billion.
VELSHI: Yep.
BALDWIN: -- which I know White House oh, is saying it's not a stimulus --
VELSHI: But half the value of what the stimulus was.
So, we had $50 billion which is infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, airports, roads, high-speed rail, things like that. He announced that. Then there was $100 billion yesterday that he announced -- research and development tax credits. Basically, the extension of an existing tax credit for businesses, you know, people who come up with research and development. And tomorrow, he's going announce $200 billion in tax credits for businesses that invest in physical plant and do things.
These are tax cuts. One of the reasons the White House doesn't want to call it stimulus is because stimulus feels like government paying for things that businesses or individuals should pay for. This is a tax cut. This is the idea that you stimulate businesses into researching, into developing, into building plants, into hiring people, and they do it, which is the way it's supposed to work.
There's an issue as to whether or not the president is going to get any of this done, because we are in this no new taxes, no more stimulus, government, get-out-of-my-way mood in this country.
BALDWIN: But that's precisely why you hear from, I think it was Mitch McConnell yesterday and other Republicans jumping in this whole thing and saying, yes, this is stimulus, because they say the other stimulus didn't quite get us to where we were hoping to be. And this is just another potentially failed attempt.
VELSHI: And stimulus has got connotations now to it that as economists they think of stimulus as a very specific thing. Right now, stimulus means the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that spent, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars, and has resulted in us having a higher unemployment rate than we did then.
However, most economists will agree that that stimulus did produce lots of jobs, and this year, we have seen 750,000 jobs added. The problem is, we have gone backwards more than we have gone forwards.
BALDWIN: Also brings up the question, though, as we hear this $350 billion just in this last week, would any of that create jobs?
VELSHI: You know, if we knew, really, what creates jobs in this economy, we would have an easy answer.
There are two schools of thought. One is, until consumers and businesses spend money like they're supposed to, the government should spend that money, keep people employed and create demand. The other school of thought is lower everybody's taxes, give everybody more money, they'll use that to buy stuff. That buying stuff will create demand and employ more people and you've got your economy going.
Neither of them have really worked the way they're supposed to, because we are all so scared about what comes next. So at this point, the thing that's going to create jobs in this economy is confidence that it's not going to get worse. And you can't bottle that. Confidence is hard to come by.
BALDWIN: I would buy it, if you were selling it.
VELSHI: I imagine I would be a rich man if I could sell confidence.
BALDWIN: You would. Ali Velshi, thanks for explaining. Appreciate it.
Coming up next, ooh, your friend and mine, CNN's Rick Sanchez in the guest chair. Look at him! You like that, Sanchez? We're changing - we're switching the roles around.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN HOST, "RICK'S LIST": Yes.
BALDWIN: I'm down with this. We're going to talk about your new -- some book you wrote? What's it called? "Conventional Idiocy." I'm so excited. There it is. There it is. We're going to talk to Rick about his big, new book, and why America is so fed up. You won't want to miss this. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: What are Americans really thinking? Well, let's ask a man who knows. Our own - my good friend -- Rick Sanchez. He anchors "RICK'S LIST" each and every day, and everyday hears the unvarnished truth from viewers through cool social networks like Twitter. And now he's gathered all of his wise wisdom - right, Rick Sanchez? -- in this book called "Conventional Idiocy," which is officially out today.
It's been so fun being on your show, Rick Sanchez, and you would come in and be exhausted, you'd be writing through the evening. What does feel like that today is the day? Seriously?
SANCHEZ: Mark twain said, "You become a man when you have a child, when you plant a tree and when you write a book." And on this day, I have fulfilled the third leg of that triad, I suppose. I'm feeling pretty good.
I have friends in down in Atlanta and friends down in Peachtree City where I lived, going to bookstores. You know, going to Borders and Hudson's, and they're going to the CNN store, and they're taking pictures of the exhibits and sending them to me. I'm sitting here --
BALDWIN: Buying the books.
SANCHEZ: Well, I'm sitting here looking at my BlackBerry and the pictures, and going wow, you can walk into a book store and see a book that I wrote.
So, look, for Paco and Adele's little boy who came here as a refugee and as an immigrant, and you know, nobody would have guessed back then that I would be able to write a book one day. So, actually, it feels pretty good. But the book is about the people that relate to you and me every day in the show.
BALDWIN: Right. And I love one of the final chapters. You know, a bunch of different chapters -- politics, and you have a whole chapter on immigration. And you start the chapter, you say you were -- it's a story you were always embarrassed to tell until now.
And you talk about this teacher, Miss Maclevain - I feel like this is your life, Rick Sanchez -- and the year was 1966, and she sent you home to your mom with this transcript that said basically, and I'm going to paraphrase, saying you were slow. Because you didn't speak a lick of English, because you were --
SANCHEZ: It was --
BALDWIN: -- an immigrant.
SANCHEZ: It was actually worse than that. No, she told my mom that I was suffering from a case of mental retardation. And --
BALDWIN: Oh.
SANCHEZ: But this is interesting. It's all perspective. I forgive her. She -- Miss Maccelvain essentially believed -- and remember, when immigrants first come to this country, and there is a scared boy sitting in the back of the room, that was me. That was that kid in the back of the room who was shivering, didn't know what anybody was saying --
BALDWIN: It's hard to think of you as a scared little boy, Rick Sanchez. You're so confident sitting in this chair here today.
SANCHEZ: Well, but you know, I was six years old, and I didn't know. And I was in a new country. We had just escaped from Cuba because of communism. My parents didn't want me to be raised there, so they gave up everything they had and came over here. Even though they had a nice middle class life in Cuba, they came to the United States where we were poor. As poor as you can possibly be.
And I couldn't go to Catholic school, where is where my parents really wanted to send me, because they couldn't afford that. So we went to the public school, and at public school, there were no kids like me, and all the kids spoke English. You know, it was Miami back in the early '60s, and that's how old I was, so I didn't know. And I couldn't communicate with her. And these strange sounds came out of my mouth, and she didn't know. So, she didn't know and thought there was something wrong with me, and she literally said this kid is mildly retarded and he's not going to make it in the educational system.
What's interesting is, I went on, Mann Walters (ph) Elementary School. When I graduated seven years later, because she did fail me. I failed first grade. She gave me -- and I write all about this in "Conventional Idiocy," by the way because it's kind of an immigrant story --
BALDWIN: Is Miss Maccelvain still around? I mean, does she know where you are now?
SANCHEZ: No, Miss Maccelvain was old when I was in first grade. So, imagine now.
But you know what's interesting about Mann Walters (ph)? I went on, and I detail this at the very end of the book. When I talk about my mom -- and my mom worked in a factory. She sewed leather and shoes.
And finally, they were going to have the awards assembly at the end when all the kids go away and graduate from school. And I write about how I got the Presidential Award, the American Citizenship Award, the -- you know, several other awards, the student most likely to succeed, the best athlete and all that. And I remember, I figure -- well, I was feeling pretty good, you know, like a kid who had done real well. And I looked out, and someone had clued my mother in that I might be getting all these awards, because I had straight A's and stuff.
BALDWIN: What did she say?
SANCHEZ: And I looked up, and I just -- I'll never forget that day. I had won all these awards, and I'm sitting here and I'm looking across the room, and people are clapping, and I see my mom in the back of the room. And she was scared, because she didn't speak any English. She still doesn't speak any English. And all I could see is her crying, and it was a little tear coming from her eye. And I looked at her, and I thought, wow you know -- and this is what America is about --
BALDWIN: No, and is it's amazing. All these different stories in the book. I mean, I work with you every day, and you know, it's fascinating for me to learn this, and everyone should go out and buy your book. "Conventional Idiocy," you're out talking about it today. You can get it everywhere, on Amazon.
Sanchez, I love you, and I will see you in New York --
SANCHEZ: Eh, thanks.
BALDWIN: -- In a matter of hours.
SANCHEZ: Well, yes, you're flying up as soon as you get off the air, right?
BALDWIN: I am, I'm hopping a plane to New York, just for you.
SANCHEZ: I'll be at LaGuardia to greet you.
BALDWIN: You better. Flowers, limo, bring it.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Rick Sanchez, thank you. Good to see you.
SANCHEZ: All right.
BALDWIN: All right. Got to get along to top stories. I'm getting the wrap.
Fast-moving wildfire has forced more than 3,000 people to evacuate their homes near Boulder, Colorado. Firefighters are fighting the flames in the steep canyon terrain. In fact, we've heard some structures have burned. Thousands evacuated.
The attorney general meeting with top religious leaders to discuss growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. Top Islamic Christian and Jewish leaders will discuss recent hate crimes leading up to this weekend's ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
And the man who killed John Lennon up for parole for the sixth time and may be questioned this week. His name is Mark David Chapman. He has been in prison for nearly three decades for the murder of the former Beatle.
A top forecaster revises its opinion on GOP gains in November. We will have those details and all the latest stories hot off the political ticker. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Time now for your CNN equals politics update. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, part of the best political team on television, she joins me from the Election Express bus. There she is in beautiful Columbus, Ohio, with three stories fresh off the political ticker.
And, Dana, let's start with number one. Nikki Haley, South Carolina's gubernatorial hopeful, now with her first TV ad.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We all remember Nikki Haley. She came from behind in the Republican primary in South Carolina for governor with the help, big time, of Sarah Palin and her endorsement. You're right, she does have her very first TV ad up of the general election campaign. And it's an uplifting ad where she talks about a movement, not necessarily her, but the fact that South Carolina voters should go for her because it's a movement of, as she says, "honest, conservative government that we can be proud." So look for that on the ticker.
Another issue that is actually going to go up on the ticker, this is hot off the presses, Brooke, it is another indicator of trouble for Democrats, especially when it comes to the House of Representatives. The Cook Political Report just issued a press release saying that Charlie Cook, who is one of the most well-known and respected prognosticators, says that the House has reached the tipping point. And he now expects that Republicans to gain -- will gain 40 seats. Forty seats, is, of course, the magic number for Republicans to get back the majority of the House of Representatives. He says that they could even get more because of all of the number crunching he has been doing on the ground in all of these House races. And this just comes hours -- hours after another prominent prognosticator, Stuart Rothenberg, said virtually the same thing. He said that he believes now 37 to 42 Republicans pick up when it comes to the House. And, again, that would, if it goes at least to 40, that would give the Republicans the majority in the House.
And one more issue that was very, very interesting, especially to those of us who watched the Obama administration. And that is Peter Orszag. He just left as the president's budget director. And he has an op-ed in "The New York Times" today where he breaks with the president and breaks with the president on one of his top campaign promises, and that is to do away with the tax cuts that President Bush put in place for those making $250,000 and above.
What Peter Orszag says is really kind of right off the Republican talking points. And that is that he believes that that would hurt consumer spend to get rid of those tax cuts right now. And that was interesting to me, Brooke, because we are out here in Ohio talking to Republican candidates.
And I've got to tell you, that is one of the issues, one of the questions that they are asking the Democratic incumbents, especially saying, do you really want to let these tax cuts disappear, because they argue exactly what Peter Orszag is saying. Now he's saying it just should be temporary. But regardless, this is going to give a big talking point to Republicans, that you have somebody who is so close to the president breaking with him on this very controversial question.
BALDWIN: Right. We know those tax cuts set to expire the end of the year. Orszag offering a bit of a compromise.
Dana Bash for those three items fresh off the political ticker. By the way, you can always get the latest political news, you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com.
Eighty thousand people with something to say. Well, we all have YouTube.
Plus, a local bully goes viral and tweets and pics from space. Ines Ferre has your trending stories coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: I like that music. Ines Ferre has a look at some of the trending stories for the day. People -- what they're clicking on, what they're looking at. And I know it's almost lunchtime and Mr. Seal is stealing lunch.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Seal is stealing lunch. Yes, that's right. We're going to show you the video right now. We'll go to it. It's from break.com. And you can see, this (INAUDIBLE) has gotten so many clicks.
BALDWIN: Moving along.
FERRE: He goes right into --
BALDWIN: Grab the fish and there he goes. Nice.
FERRE: Yes.
And then these -- this next one, tweets from outer space. Check this out. These are --
BALDWIN: These are Twit pics?
FERRE: Twit pics, right. And so these are astronauts that are sending pictures from outer space.
BALDWIN: That's amazing.
FERRE: This is Hurricane Earl right here.
BALDWIN: There's the swirl.
FERRE: Yes.
New Zealand here. Also Falcon Islands, Argentina, and then the city that never sleeps, New York City.
BALDWIN: Really?
FERRE: And it's actually upside down. Chad Myers was able to help me figure it out. It's upside down like this and this is Long Island, Manhattan right in there.
BALDWIN: I love that astronaut's tweet. Very cool.
All right, Ines, thank you.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, you may not believe this story. Four decades after this little girl in New York last saw her father, this bittersweet reunion in a hospital. Monica Morales from New York affiliate WPIX tells the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MONICA MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wanda Rodriguez has been a nurse for 23 years at Cavalry Hospital. She's seen it all. She never imagined on one of her shifts she would get to meet her father for the first time in her life.
MORALES (on camera): But how gorgeous is your daughter? How gorgeous is she? VICTOR PERAZA: She is. She is. She is. She is pretty too.
MORALES (voice-over): Wanda says every moment is now precious. You see, her father is dying. They're meeting by chance. August 25th he was sent her to Calvary Hospital for care, and Wanda was on duty. She was told she had a new patient.
WANDA RODRIGUEZ, NURSE REUNITED WITH DAD 40 YEARS LATER: Oh, my God, Victor Peraza. That's my dad's name. What are the chances of this being my dad.
MORALES: Peraza left when Wanda was just a baby. Her whole life she wondered where he was and why he left.
RODRIGUEZ: I can't imagine any little girl that wouldn't want to have a relationship with her daddy. Like he's been asking me for forgiveness and, please forgive me, Wanda. I really regret that I was absent in your life. I really do. And I did look for you, but the more time that passed, the harder it became to really try to look for you because the pain was too much for me to handle.
It was fate. That's what was supposed to happen. I was supposed to meet my dad before he passes. Especially because he says he had no family. So he was not meant to die that way.
MORALES: He's not alone anymore. He has Wanda and three grandchildren that visit regularly. Wanda says this is a story not just about fate, but forgiveness.
RODRIGUEZ: He says now that, you know, he's ready to die. He's OK and he's at peace because he says I met you, Wanda. I'm proud of you. Life goes on and you be proud. You be proud.
Bye, daddy. Love you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: And with that, we're at the top of the hour. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my colleague Ali Velshi.
