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Rick's List

Scott Brown Speaks Out; President Obama Targets Big Banks; Documentary About Afghanistan

Aired January 21, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making the list new video of last week's earthquake just as it happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am serious, shaking, man. My house is like -- I thought was my house was going to fall.

SANCHEZ: This poor French man caught in the moment. What is he saying? We will translate it.

Brianna Keilar gets Scott Brown.

SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR-ELECT: If it is something the president feels is important, I am certainly willing to look at it.

SANCHEZ: He is on the record, and you will hear it.

Which TV and radio host said, "I don't trust this guy," referring to Republican senator-elect Scott Brown, and then goes on the say -- quote -- "I'm just saying that it could end up with a dead intern"?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Enormous and costly risks.

SANCHEZ: President Obama smacks Wall Street bankers right in the chops, accepting the Paul Volcker plan.

And the floods in California, we are getting you to the news any way we have to.

The lists you need to know about. Who is today's Most Intriguing Person? Who is on The List You Don't Want to Be On? You will find out as our national conversation on Twitter, on the air starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello, again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Here is what is making THE LIST right now.

There's more aftershocks, did you hear, today in Haiti. One has measured 4.9. Clearly, this is an ongoing geological event now, and there is no sign it appears of letting up.

Now we have a vivid image of the quake that started it, as it happened, January 12. This video that I am about to show you, you will see only on CNN. This was the view from a man's balcony in the hills overlooking Port-au-Prince as the quake struck. Let's watch it together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is huge. I am serious shaking, man. My house is like -- I thought was my house was going to fall. Here is another one. It is shaking again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And there is a lot more. The video keeps rolling as powerful aftershocks ripple across the island. You are going to see flames, and you are going to see smoke rising from the city in this next video that I am going to show you.

Now, because most of the people, yourselves, watching this right now don't speak patois or speak Creole, we asked a translator to come in this morning to help us provide subtitles for you. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This station is on fire. Where is my mother? The station is on fire? What an earthquake. What is this? It's falling again. That's the station. That's the gas station. Oh, my God. Look. What an earthquake. Where is my mother?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: In the immediate aftermath of this disaster, people in the hills just suddenly poured into the streets. They began heading for higher ground. No translation is necessary to understand the anguish and the disbelief as the victims try to make sense of what has just happened.

As we look at this video, I can tell you that nine days later -- that is how long it has been -- thousands upon thousands of Haitians are now destitute and homeless. Many still have no place to go, so they have been gathering at the port. They are waiting for salvation.

Yesterday, it came, sort of, a masting rusting hulk of a ferry. And as soon as it appeared on the horizon, a flotilla of small wooden boats crammed with quake victims rode out to meet it. Look at this scene. Their hope, their expectation is that the ferry will take them to other parts of Haiti perhaps to stay with relatives, perhaps to just start over.

Anywhere but Port-au-Prince, that seems to be the catch saying of the day. The ferry is only meant to hold 600 people, but within hours thousands were packed on its deck. The ship owner told our Ivan Watson that there really is not much that he can do about it. Now, try to wrap your mind around what you would do if trapped for days beneath tons of crushed building. Would you have -- I mean, this is something we have all been asking ourselves who have been watching this video for the last couple of weeks.

Would you have the mental will to survive at all costs? Listen to Jens Kristensen. He is a Danish U.N. worker. He was pulled alive from the rubble of the U.N. headquarters in Port-au-Prince five days after the building collapsed on top of him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS KRISTENSEN, RESCUE U.N. WORKER: A belief I would survive, that I would be found, I think, mentally, made me survive.

I could save my urine for -- and then drink it eventually, if it came to the point. But it never came to the point. And it is not very -- it doesn't taste good. It does not smell good, so thank God I didn't come to the point where I needed to drink it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Kristensen told his rescue rescuers that he heard tapping from other quake victims inside the rubble, but it had been more than a day since he last heard any signs of life by the time that he was rescued.

Emergency aid is now getting to the people who need it, and throughout this program, you will hear from Anderson Cooper, from Ivan Watson, possibly from Dr. Sanjay Gupta, as they report from Haiti about the people who are being helped now and what the conditions are now, especially with the aftershocks like the one we heard of just a couple of hours ago.

Much more is needed, by the way. In fact, let me tell you this. If you would like to help, tomorrow night, at 8:00 Eastern, Anderson, and George Clooney and Wyclef Jean are going to host the Hope for Haiti telethon. It is described as a global benefit for the organizations working directly on Haiti's recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: So, if these folks want a fight, it is a fight I am ready to have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A fight he is ready to have. President Obama punches Wall Street bankers right in the mouth. It was kind of unexpected, actually, and you know who made him do it? There is a tall guy right there sitting right next to him as big as they come. That is Paul Volcker.

That is not. Maybe the hair is tall. The deal is final between NBC and the tall-hair guy, Conan O'Brien, but it is still an ugly situation, and we have got the details coming your way. Also, who is number one today on the list that nobody wants to be on? Have you been able to figure it out? Have you thought about it? This one may or may not surprise you. We will be right back. THE LIST scrolls on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

We like to do this everyday for you. I check and see what people who are -- who have something to do with some of the stories that we are covering have to say. We call it RICK'S LIST on Twitter.

Let's go to it right now.

This is Troy Livesay. He is sending us this message. He is there in Haiti. He says: "Just passed an ambulance from the state of Qatar. The gang's all here. I hope some of these others bypass the bureaucracy, unlike the U.S. and the U.N." That seems to be a bit of a shot.

Now, from the Pentagon, this is our own Pentagon people. They just sent us this message. This is the latest news that they learned out of Haiti. "The U.S. has conducted a second airdrop over Haiti. A C-17 dropped bottled water and food at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time, an Air Force spokesperson is telling CNN."

So, we have just learned -- these are our Pentagon people are sending me this tweet so you can know that our military is still hard at it, making us proud once again.

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The (INAUDIBLE) that comes in and gives you $5 to carry this stuff around the mountains and tells that you are doing a jihad and go fight the Americans is doing nothing for you except for making you a slave for $5 as he hides on a mountain, because he won't fight my soldiers. These foreigners, they don't fight my soldiers. They hide on a mountain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is incredible video we're going to show you. This is right out of Afghanistan. Two filmmakers are sharing this with us. It is one of the deadliest outposts in Afghanistan. And we go there in the dark of night. Can't wait to see what that one is about.

And then this. How much flooding are getting in California? I thought you would enjoy that video, because it kind of answers the question, doesn't it?

Also, up next, the king of the hill, at least for today, but is Scott Brown getting sworn in as he promised us that he would? And this. Who out there actually said that Scott Brown's election could end up in a dead intern -- a dead intern? Who would say that? THE LIST scrolls on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Hey, Rick. This is Susan in Arizona.

I picked up the phone yesterday to hear Brown telling me that he totally supports John McCain's efforts to defeat health care reform in America. I have a preexisting condition. This does not make me happy.

And I hope that Republicans do not take back over our White House, because they are disgusting. Thanks. Bye.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I am reading my Twitter page over here, and I can see that a lot of you are guessing as to who is going to be the number-one person on the list that you want -- don't want to be on today. A couple of you are right. So far, most of you are wrong.

All right. Come back. Scott Brown, he touched down today in Washington, but guess what? He is turning right back and flying back to Massachusetts, no swearing-in, still not a member of the U.S. Senate. What happened?

You heard him say yesterday right here he is ready to go, wants to go the Ted Kennedy route of taking the oath of office lickety- split, just like Ted Kennedy did, right, by the way. Whatever, he is getting the royal treatment there in Washington on this day. Boy, is he ever. Here is a meeting with John McCain. There you see the video, meetings with Mitch McConnell as well. Several other Senate Republicans have been cajoling him.

And take a look at this. He was chased downed and questioned by CNN's Brianna Keilar. This is how we do it here at CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here we go. He is coming into the elevator.

Senator-elect Brown, CNN.

If Democrats pare down some of their -- if Democrats pare down some of their ideas for health care, are there any elements that you would go along with? Which ones?

BROWN: Well, I would like to look at the bill, but I am certainly not in favor of higher taxes, cutting Medicare a half-a- trillion, affecting medical coverage for veterans, and basically having a one size fits all. So, I know what I don't want. Now I am looking forward to reading the bills, as I have the others, and coming up with a plan, because if it is something the president feels is important, I am certainly willing to look at it.

KEILAR: Stopping the denial of coverage on the basis of preexisting conditions?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Brianna Keilar going for it, good for her, getting Scott Brown to say that he is willing to hear Obama on health care. We will see what happens.

Let's talk to Jessica Yellin. She followed Scott Brown around Massachusetts, just as just saw Brianna Keilar doing. And now she is back in the nation's capital.

I guess the main question is and what I want to know, because we were told by several people with his campaign that they would this happen right away...

YELLIN: Right.

SANCHEZ: Not that it is a big deal one way or another, by the way, but why wasn't he sworn in today, as they said he was going to do?

YELLIN: Welcome to the U.S. Senate, where nothing moves fast, Rick.

This guy thought he could get it done right away. There are procedural things that have to happen. Basically, the bottom line is, you need certain paperwork certifying the vote from the secretary of state's office. That hasn't happened yet.

As soon as that is done, Harry Reid's office, the U.S. Senate, is ready to swear him in and make him the next senator. I will tell you even Republicans are not upset about this lag time. They don't expect any big votes, no big changes while they are waiting this out, but it is the Senate molasses taking effect already.

SANCHEZ: I was listening -- I was coming into work today and I was listening to all the talk shows. I was listening to Imus for example and Smerconish, and all the Republicans were getting on those shows bragging about the fact that Scott Brown was coming to their office to shake their hands.

YELLIN: He's a rock star.

SANCHEZ: It is like he is Elvis. They're happy. Republicans are happy. That is understandable.

What is interesting, though, is watch some of these Democrats try and figure out what just hit them. Are they going to be blaming President Obama for losing control of the agenda?

YELLIN: Well, they are blaming him. They are blaming each other.

The real vibe up in the Senate right now and when you talk to Democrats around town is dazed and confused. Threat entire world has shifted, and they haven't figured out their place in it yet. And there's debate among themselves. Should they move left? Should they tack right? Should they go against the White House?

Everyone is looking out for their own hide, bottom line, because they all know it's going to be a tough season. The one remark that might surprise you is I have heard from a few people that they are actually relieved in some way, because they say, look, we never had 60 solid Democrats. There was always Joe Lieberman who opposed us on things, they say, and then a couple of other centrists, and at least this frees them up to say, it is tough to get all the votes.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: But, still, you know what? Let's do a comparison here.

YELLIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Here is where I think a lot of the Americans who may have voted for this guy, and thought that he would take the initiative, and so would Democrats, are looking at them now and going, why can't you do what the other guys did?

Look at the Republicans, right, under George Bush. They seemed to get almost everything that George Bush wanted with a small majority. Democrats now, with a superduper Senate majority, they can't use it to govern as well as Bush and Cheney did to get their way.

Here. Here is the best example of what I am talking about. Watch Jon Stewart. Here's how he puts it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": If Coakley loses, Democrats will only then have an 18-vote majority in the Senate, which is more than George W. Bush ever had in the Senate when he did whatever the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) he wanted to do.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

YELLIN: Rick, I will match you your Jon Stewart with a Jay Leno remark, which was, President Obama did something that no one thought possible. He took a broken, decrepit thing and brought it back to life, the Republican Party.

The guy got into office. Republicans were terrified of criticizing President Obama. And with just the stimulus bill, because Democrats did not involve the Republicans enough in that, it organized the Republican Party and they have been full-steam ahead ever since.

And there is an enormous of rage at the White House among some Democrats that somehow they allowed this to happen, letting the Republicans get coalesced in a way Democrats really took eight years to get to -- well, six years -- during the Bush presidency, so, yes, enormous amount of frustration.

SANCHEZ: Well, but to a certain extent there are people watching us right now who may be thinking this, so let me go ahead and express it for them.

YELLIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: It seemed to me -- and maybe it was because it war- related and those issues are a little tougher to fight -- but it seemed to me like the Democrats under Bush were much more apt to acquiesce than the Republicans have been apt to acquiesce under the Obama administration.

YELLIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: In fact, it has all been but a brick wall of Republican opposition.

YELLIN: Absolutely. Even Lieberman said it. We can outstretch our hand, but they have to meet ours. They have reach out to take it.

Right after 9/11, do you remember the vibe here in Washington, around the country? Everybody was so on board doing what they can to work together and be truly unified. And as the months passed and you got more distance from 9/11, Democrats were still afraid to look like they were opposing the wartime president.

SANCHEZ: Right.

YELLIN: That is gone. So, Democrats were in a very different position than Republicans are today opposing a president, and it is not easy for Democrats to negotiate. But they haven't made it easy on themselves either.

SANCHEZ: Well, let's see. The president did a little change of tune today when he came out with his speech about Wall Street. I'm going to be talking later on about that with our colleague Wolf Blitzer. I'm also going to be talking to Ali Velshi about it in just a little bit.

This may be -- this in the end may be -- and I don't have more time for this segment, but you and I can talk about this a little more tomorrow -- this may be the beginning of a brand-new Barack Obama. Let's see.

Thanks so much. I appreciate it, OK? Jessica Yellin.

YELLIN: Good to see you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: California rescue teams have their hands full. Flooded streets are apparently leaving dozens of drivers stranded. The next big fear, mudslides. Serious. We are watching this for you.

Up next, an apartment building is literally about to fall off of a cliff. We are live with that one. There's the picture right there. We have got a correspondent who is standing by on this story. He's going to bring it to us. That is a crazy story. Unbelievable. It's happening right now.

Also, what do these rallies have to do with our most intriguing person? They have a husband and wife in a very public disagreement. It is a very high-profile couple. Have I given you enough clues? Ah, you are probably going to get it now. Who is our most intriguing person of the day? Stay there. We will I have it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I told you about all this rain that was going on, right, in California, and I also mentioned to you just a while ago that now they are worried about mudslides.

We have got this video I want to share with you. This is video of an apartment. It's an apartment building that literally could fall off of a cliff.

And Dan Simon is standing by there to bring it to us.

Dan, what is going on? Take us through this story, if you possibly could.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right.

Well, Rick, first of all, this unrelenting rain here in California has created a very dangerous and serious situation here in Pacifica, California. I am outside of an apartment complex. And I want to go inside one of these units that was evacuated several hours ago.

Last night, the person who lives in this apartment -- her name is Darlene (ph) -- she was enjoying her world-class ocean view. Then ,about 5:00 in the morning, she heard a sound. And you know what that was? It was the cliff that this apartment sits on. It just started crumbling. About 10 feet of this cliff just vanished, went right into the ocean.

As you can see, this is sitting precariously above the water. The engineer told us we could be out here just for a short period of time, so I am going to just kind of show you what it looks like. Then we're going to go back outside, Rick, because, as you can see, this is just terrifying to see what has happened here.

Jim, let's go on out.

Rick, this has been actually occurring for the last several years, but things over the past couple of months, it started to get really bad, because of the rain and because of the way that soil is over there on the cliff. It is very compact, and it lends itself to a lot of erosion. Engineers, engineers, they have been trying to get things fixed here for the last several months. You can see this crane here, but a lot of the people who live here think that, ultimately, Mother Nature is going to prevail in this battle -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: So, tell me again. That picture you were just showing -- let me get back in the shot here. Sorry about that. That's my fault.

That picture you were just showing, where we were looking straight down, that was the right from their balcony?

SIMON: That is literally right from their balcony. And as one engineer described it, right now, it is basically like standing on air. He told us -- he said our crews could go in there just for a few seconds, we could get a picture, but really go outside, because, you know, they fear that that thing could -- that this apartment could topple down.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Wow. And how long -- and that drop, and that drop, what would you say it? It looked like was about a football field or so, or maybe a little less?

SIMON: I think that's about accurate, about 100 yards or so.

Let me also show you here what you're seeing here. These are people who live in this unit. There are only four apartments here, but they were told to evacuate this morning. So what they're doing is they are collecting their belongings. That is the woman who lives here, Darlene. She did want to be interviewed, but there she is.

SANCHEZ: That's OK.

SIMON: Yes, there are some other apartments that are vacant. And so neighbors they just started unpacking basically and taking everything to these other apartment units. And, right now, they are basically sitting empty.

SANCHEZ: That's amazing.

SIMON: We will just see how long -- we will see if engineers can get this thing repaired, but, obviously, these units are going to be vacant for a very long time, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And it's probably high-priced real estate, even during these times, with views like that.

Dan, good job. Keep us honest on this thing. Anything happens, let us know. OK?

Appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

SIMON: Thanks, Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right, meanwhile, this. Husbands and wives disagree on big issues from time to time, usually in private, right? Very few couples' disagreements are as public as the one involving one of our most intriguing persons of the day.

She is a former special education teacher and an heiress to a beer fortune, also one of the most famous women in America. We have all watched her standing by her very high-profile husband. And now she is involved in a different type of campaign, one that she and her husband disagree on.

Have you figured this out yet? Intriguing number three is Cindy McCain. Mrs. McCain wears duct tape across her mouth and "No Hate" painted on her cheek in this photo for a group protesting Proposition 8, the voter approved band on same-sex marriage in California.

The no hate campaign says Cindy McCain contacted them and volunteered to do the picture. Her husband then released a statement saying that he believes marriage is only defined as between one man and one woman.

I heard Senator McCain tell Don Imus this morning as I drove into work this morning, and his discussions with his wife he says are, to quote the senator, "spirited." Who is next on our list of most intriguing persons of the day? That is coming up.

By the way, you know that we collect tweets here from people that we think are relevant to particular stories. Who is relevant to this particular story? Cindy McCain's daughter, Megan. And here she is.

We are collecting this tweet from her, Megan saying about her mother, "I couldn't be more proud of my mother for posing for the NOH campaign, the no hate campaign. I think that more Republicans need to take a stand for equality," she goes on to say, "and civil rights in this country and set an example that this is not a partisan issue."

There you go, Megan McCain talking about her mother Cindy McCain. And this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, these fantasy things that stand in the way of the acceptance of them as people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What is he talking about? And what does he have to do with the list that you don't want to be on? He is obviously one of the best directors in the world.

Also, take a look at what some fashionable sports fans are going to be wearing this summer. Details on a stab vest. That's right, I said stab vest, next. Remember, you can join the national conversation whenever you visit Atlanta. You are welcome to come into the studio and sit a spell and spend some time with us. Just call this number, 877-4CNN- tour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Soccer fans, if you plan to attend the World Cup in South Africa, it is not too early to go over the checklist. Let's see, tickets, check, beer money, check, stab vest, check -- huh? Let's do "Fotos."

Some Brits have a violent soccer reputation that one businessman thought it was high time that he cashed in. So he did with this creation. It is called the protector vest, or as detractors are calling it, "the stab vest." It's really more of an anti-stab vest. For $69.95, you can have a vest with the logo of your favorite soccer team stitched over the Kevlar, of course.

Soccer organizations are outraged and say it creates a climate of fear. You think?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just don't choke me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go. Step up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Wow. Southern California soaked with some of the worst rain in decades. We will stay on the story for you. They are worried about mudslides and cars up to the axles in water and some deeper than that. Fire crews have had their hands full rescuing trapped drivers who didn't heed the rule don't drive through standing water, stupid.

Also, for a place used to sunny days and riding with the top down, this drenching has been rough on some of these folks.

Which leads us to Seal Beach, California, a story which puts a smile to your face. One of our i-Reporters sent this to us. We had to share it with you. Why not grab a board and tie a rope to the back of the pickup truck and take a little ride? He does.

He lives in Seal Beach, by the way, and of course, a reminder, kids -- don't try this at home.

Banks, consider yourselves put on notice. One year in, the president is now saying, did so just a couple of hours ago, that he has a plan to bring you in line. Where was that before? Don't answer that. But I will answer, or I will ask that question of Wolf Blitzer when he joins me.

Also this -- two filmmakers make trips into one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan. It's called the perfect smuggling route for Taliban, and their goal is to make viewers feel like they have been through a 90-day deployment. I am going to take you there, actually we're going to take you there, Brooke Baldwin and myself.

This is amazing video. Most people have never seen anything like this.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a great story. It is opening Sundance tonight.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the filmmakers and the video when we come back. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Time for our Brooke segment. Brooke Baldwin is sitting here with the two of us. Do you like the way I gave it a name already.

BALDWIN: I like that.

SANCHEZ: You like that? Something catchy.

She is as fascinated as I am about a documentary that we were just talking about. This is a documentary, you are going to have to see this. The filmmakers have shared some video with us. But they go into the war of Afghanistan, and they go to places where no one has ever been before, and they tell it from a perspective that no one has ever told before.

BALDWIN: One of the dangerous valleys in Afghanistan.

SANCHEZ: Where Al Qaeda and Taliban are smuggled across.

BALDWIN: We will go there in a minute.

SANCHEZ: Apparently you have an update on the Jesus guns we told you about yesterday.

BALDWIN: Right. So we told you this story yesterday, remember, about how this company in Michigan who have been putting biblical codes on the sites of these weapons. They have been providing them to both U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army. And here is a picture.

Guess what, CNN found out today that this company Trijicon came out today and said they will stop putting these biblical codes, and not only will they stop putting them on the guns, but they will provide members of the marines and the U.S. army basically the kits so they can start to filing them off.

SANCHEZ: Because, as you said yesterday, it violates the rules of the army and it makes the soldiers more susceptible to attack.

BALDWIN: Right. In fact, General Petraeus came out yesterday before learning the development today, and he was aware and they had been a real concern for the military, and we were chatting about that specifically yesterday, and he said, because it can indeed create a perception, quoting, "a perception that is absolutely contrary to what it is that we have sought to do."

SANCHEZ: Right.

BALDWIN: So that is the update, no more.

SANCHEZ: That makes perfect sense.

Now, I want to know about the filmmakers and I want to see the video.

BALDWIN: I'm excited about this, because this is a fill that is opening up Sundance tonight, and this film, these two filmmakers that we will chat with in a moment, they embedded in what is called the "valley of death," basically sort of this valley between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it's a spot where the Taliban is very much so present.

It's a spot where they can go from Pakistan straight into Kabul, and it is called the valley of death for a reason. And the goal of these two filmmakers is to really tell the story of the soldiers, just the soldiers, themselves, the fear, the boredom, what is going on day in, day out.

We have the trailer. Just watch.

SANCHEZ: Cool.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot sleep and not dream about it than sleep and see the picture in my head. It is pretty bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the southern corridor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not ready for this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are in no-man's-land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where the road ends, the Taliban begins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did everybody from the entire country come to the valley? Is nobody else fighting anymore? Is every bad guy in my face?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could make more money and make your guys richer, but what I need, though, is to have you join with the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fear is always there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to die here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say a prayer and move on. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't get a better high. It is like crack, you know. Unless you have been shot at, you can't top that and come down from that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you going to go back to the civilian world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This film is named after one of the fallen medics who died in action. So talking about the filmmakers. How about that?

SANCHEZ: Well, they are coming up next, lickety-split as we say. These guys debut the film at the Sundance this weekend.

BALDWIN: Tonight.

SANCHEZ: And that is where they are going to be joining us tonight. Their goal is to throw out politics and show the real feelings of soldiers.

This is not a Democratic or a Republican story, this is a real story. They talk about things like fear and boredom. Those two guys right there with the real story from Afghanistan. Stay right there and you'll hear it. THE LIST continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Maybe this is the best way I can put this. You are about to see the distance fall away from wherever you are and a U.S. army unit in Afghanistan. This isn't spin. This isn't Republican or Democrats.

A moment ago I showed you a previous of an amazing documentary, and I am about to talk to the guys who made this documentary. First let me take you inside a firefight inside of Afghanistan. Turn up the volume, watch this clip. Roger, hit it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what we are talking about.

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SANCHEZ: With me now is Sebastian Junger, the renowned author and frequent guest on CNN. Also with him is Tim Hetherington. They lived in Afghanistan embedded with that army unit for a year to try and gather the material to make this extraordinary film, and it's great to have them with us.

Brooke, you will join me on this, right? You have been looking at the material as well.

BALDWIN: Yes. SANCHEZ: All right, let's start with you guys describing what the film is, and takes through some of THE characters that we see in the film, like that military officer we heard talking just a moment ago.

SEBASTIAN JUNGER, FILMMAKER, "RESTREPO": Well, the film is about a platoon for one deployment in one of the most violent parts of Afghanistan. It takes place in a remote outpost called "Restrepo" named after a beloved platoon medic who was killed early in the deployment. It was a two-hour walk from the nearest fire base.

There was no Internet and no phone, and there was a huge amount of combat. We wanted to make a movie that gave you the feeling of a 90-minute deployment. We have not a broader political look of the war, just the experience of combat itself. Tim can you tell you a little bit more about some of the soldiers we met out there.

SANCHEZ: Hold on, Tim, before you go, I am told that we have a clip that we are going to show, and then you will be able to describe that clip and those people after we see it. Let's work that way.

Show the clip, Roger. Go ahead.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what we are talking about, man. Kabul is taking in direct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ACM who comes in to give you $5 to carry this stuff and the mountains and tells you that you are doing a jihad and go fight the Americans is doing nothing for you except making you a slave for $5 as he hides on a mountain, because he won't fight my soldiers.

These foreigners, they don't fight my soldiers. They hide out in a mountain in a cave under a rock and talk on a radio and pay your sons a small amount of money to go ahead to shoot at my soldiers and my soldiers end up killing your sons.

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SANCHEZ: Who is that officer and who is he talking to and what is the message, Tim? Take it away.

TIM HETHERINGTON, FILMMAKER, "RESTREPO": That is Colonel Osland (ph) (ph) during and offensive operation called rock avalanche, and literally a couple of days after that there were three American dead and five wounded. So second platoon, the guys we followed, were the tip of the spirit in the American effort in the valley which CNN dubbed at the time the deadliest place in the world.

SANCHEZ: Do you get a feeling when you watch this that this takes you inside the war, what it's really like to be in it, as opposed to having any particular slant?

BALDWIN: I do. It takes us, it's the closest we will ever get to seeing -- perhaps we might go over to cover it -- but really truly to experience that part of the world.

And what struck me most, and gentlemen, perhaps you can weigh in, but it's the young men, these soldiers, and Sebastian, I read your article in "Vanity Fair" last January, and you said that most of them are in their 20s. You talk about a guy sitting there reading the latest "Harry Potter" book before this blur of gunfire.

What struck you the most about the young men? I don't know if there are any women in the platoon group, but what struck both of you?

HETHERINGTON: It was a combat unit. There were no women at all.

What struck me was that, you know, they had joined for various reasons. Some wanted to experience combat, some were sort of patriotic, some wanted to do something about 9/11. But once they were there, they were fighting for each other. For them it was a completely nonpolitical fight.

That's one of the reasons we decided to make a nonpolitical movie. They can't ask a general, why are we here? So we didn't ask any generals that question. We kept our cameras with these soldiers. We wanted to give people the experience of combat but back home in the United States.

SANCHEZ: Do you think the people of the United States have a clue as to what's really going on there now that you have spent so much time analyzing what's going on there?

JUNGER: We hope the film will bridge that divide between what the soldiers experience and what the public here knows about the war. This, we hope, is one of the most visceral war films that you can see, documentary film. And we are taking you into the war both kind of the humor, the fighting, the boredom, the comradery.

SANCHEZ: Why do we need to see it? Why should Americans look at that film?

JUNGER: Americans are asking young men and women to go to Afghanistan to fight. Some people are against that and some people are for it. It doesn't matter. This country asking these young people to do it, and their experience needs to be understood and needs to be honored.

And one way to understand that experience is to watch movies so you understand exactly what it is like to be a soldier in the U.S. army fighting literally every day against the enemy.

SANCHEZ: That's a good answer. That's actually a very good answer. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington. The film premieres today at the Sundance film festival. And I imagine then we will be able to see it -- how soon after it leaves the film festival are we able to see it in theaters in the United States?

HETHERINGTON: We are waiting to see if somebody will pick up the theatrical distribution. But we have made the broadcast sale to "National Geographic" and it will air later in the fall this year. SANCHEZ: Good. That's usually the way it works. I did not know that. Gentlemen, thank you. I appreciate your time.

JUNGER: Thank you.

HETHERINGTON: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: Just found out about someone else who is going to be joining us from the Sundance film festival, by the way, Rory Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, niece of the late Ted Kennedy. So, of course, I'm going to be asking her a lot of things.

She's also put a documentary together that shows what really happens when Mexican immigrants try and make it into the United States and that whole cat and mouse game that's played there.

But obviously I'm going also ask her -- I think she probably would be expecting that I would ask her how the Kennedys feel about the fact that their late senator -- their late uncle's seat has gone to a Republican.

BALDWIN: A Republican.

SANCHEZ: That's news, right?

BALDWIN: Is that tomorrow?

SANCHEZ: Tomorrow. She will be here tomorrow.

BALDWIN: Awesome.

SANCHEZ: This as well.

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BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So if these folks want a fight, it is a fight I'm ready to have.

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SANCHEZ: President Obama says enough is enough to Wall Street bankers. And the DOW takes a dive after he says that. Are investors mad at the president? Here is a better question. Who cares? The politics of money coming up in our next hour.

Also, Jay Leno at the Mirage this weekend in Las Vegas for some stand-up. Tickets are going for like 50 percent off.

BAIER: Uh-oh.

SANCHEZ: Are people mad at Jay Leno? We have to talk about this. THE LIST scrolls on.

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SANCHEZ: All right, I want to tell you something going on now. You know we like to make news using social immediate yes, Twitter in particular. We started doing this a long time ago and it seems every day somebody new is tweeting new information that we can use on the air to share with you. My access becomes your access. There we go.

All right, just a couple of minutes ago, Senator Bill Nelson, who is now tweeting, sent this. He is making news. He says "Just got off the phone with folks from the administration, and they will be allowing" -- this is a huge story, folks. There is going to be a lot of reaction to this. He says the Obama administration "will be allowing children, kids from Haiti with critical injuries quick passage into the United States."

Obviously we don't know the numbers, but this becomes an immigration issue at some point or another.

Also, the USS Comfort -- it actually says "USNS," which is the United States Naval Ship Comfort -- here's what they are tweeting now. They started tweeting just yesterday. They started an account so they can communicate with us.

And on that ship, naval hospital ship, as you know, first patients aboard, they say, they were flown in tonight from the USS Carl Vinson. The Carl Vinson, as you know, is an aircraft carrier. "We started early and we were ready. More patients tomorrow."

So that's news being made right here on Twitter. Happy we can provide that social media application to do that for you. We have been doing it for quite some time.

Also, late night turns into a good night for Conan O'Brien, the latest on the late night TV feud ahead. Also The List That You Don't Want to Be On goes to a guy who is finally making his peace. Who is it? We'll be right back.

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