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Rick's List
President Obama Prepares to Address Nation; Haitians Being Victimized? Tracking Stimulus Dollars; A Tablet for All Reasons?; John and Elizabeth Edwards Separate
Aired January 27, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The number they throw out is close to $900,000 of Kiefer's money. Ouch. The guy accused in all of this faces charges of forgery, embezzlement and grand theft.
Now, spot two. And on the list, it goes to -- well, you guessed it, Toyota Motor Sales USA. You know why? They're telling dealers to stop selling these cars, the ones you, your dad, your mom, your neighbor drives. It's a problem they say could cause the gas pedal to accelerate on its own. And they're being honest. They have no clue what is causing this.
Federal officials say this: "Toyota has a legal obligation to stop the sales of vehicles that would be affected under the recall." How many cars are we talking about? Close to $2.5 million. That's a lot of cars, folks. Toyota Motor Sales USA parallel parking at number two on the list that you don't want to be on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making news right now.
Just hours from this:
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
SANCHEZ: His numbers dwindling. Does he care more about Wall Street than Main Street? Now Republicans have their own problems -- 31 of them signed a resolution calling James O'Keefe an example for other citizens to follow.
JAMES O'KEEFE, ARRESTED: The truth shall set me free.
SANCHEZ: The problem? O'Keefe was part of a group just busted by the feds for allegedly posing as a repairman to gain access to a U.S. senator's office and phone system.
Steve Jobs' newest Apple gadget unveiled. Will this iPhone on steroids change the way we live?
And who will sit next to the first lady at tonight's State of the Union? Are they intriguing? 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 continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: I'm Rick Sanchez. Here's what you need to know.
State of the Union tonight begins 9:00 Eastern, in about, oh, five hours or so. Our live coverage here on CNN begins earlier.
Wolf Blitzer, you know he's going to be all over it. I have got more as well, right now, in fact.
Joining me from New York, Republican strategist Ron Christie, as well as from New York, Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman.
I say ado to both of you gentlemen.
Also joining us from Baltimore, Maryland, April Ryan of the American Urban Radio Networks. She's one of those rough and tough White House reporters you see from time to time shouting out questions.
APRIL RYAN, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO NETWORKS: Hi, Rick.
I want to start with Geithner, guys. He took a pretty good beating today. Talk about being taken out to the woodshed by your dad. How big of a problem is this man for President Obama, and if not Geithner himself -- I'm not trying to personalize this. It's not about Geithner. It's what Geithner symbolizes to many Americans.
Ron Christie, let me start with you.
RON CHRISTIE, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I think that's right, Rick.
Good afternoon to you.
I think many Americans around the country right now, as they assess the State of the Union, they're looking at Timothy Geithner. And this is a man who used to be the governor of the New York Federal Reserve system, and saying, was this man more interested in bailing out Wall Street than he was on Main Street?
And you heard a lot of members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, saying, did he invest too much with AIG? Did he not demand a greater sense of accountability?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I get that. I get that. And you know what? And I understand that. If anybody understands that, I understand that. We have been covering that story on this show for a long time.
But I heard some things today, in fairness to Mr. Geithner and Mr. Paulson, that I thought were interesting. They said, on the record -- and I was listening -- that if we didn't save AIG, the unemployment rate in this country would have been 25 percent, 25 percent unemployment, same as it was during the Depression.
And then Geithner was asked the same question. Here's what he said. Let's hear him out, just to be fair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We thought about whether it was better to default, to impose a haircut, to negotiate concessions under the threat of default.
We thought about keep paying and watching that money keep running out the door, with the counterparty still holding the underlying assets. We thought about negotiating over time, trying to stretch it out, see if we could find a better way to solve that problem.
None of those options were realistic. None of them were feasible. They were not better than the choice we chose.
And, again, if you -- I think if you look back and you take a fair reading of this, although the government is still exposed to substantial risk of loss, those losses are much lower today because of the actions we took in AIG. And this transaction, which, again, people are so understandably concerned about, has put the taxpayer in a better position than if simply we had kept making those payments or if we defaulted on them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. So, he's saying, look, if we don't save AIG, if don't do what we do, the economy goes to hell, the United States is back 1942, we're in a depression -- '32 -- we have got serious problems.
What should he have done, Ron? What should he have done? How would you have done it differently?
CHRISTIE: It's hard to say.
Look, I'm one of those people who thinks that this bank bailout was a mistake. This is the same Timothy Geithner who came before the American people when the president came in, when unemployment was an 6.7 percent, and said, if we don't pass this $787 billion stimulus package...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You're saying they should have let them go under? You're saying they should have let them go under? Is that what you're saying, let them go under?
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTIE: Yes. (CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: OK.
CHRISTIE: As a capitalist, I believe that there is no such thing as too big to fail.
SANCHEZ: OK.
CHRISTIE: I think that they should have allowed the banks to have gone under.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Disappear?
CHRISTIE: They could have restructured themselves, but the American people did not get a good bargain out of this deal, Rick. That's my problem with this.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I understand the last part of your argument, but it's the first part of your argument that those guys today would argue with.
You're saying let them go under. To hell with the economy. They're saying it would have caused catastrophic results.
April or Robert, either one of you, come in here. Do you agree with Robert that they should have just let them go under?
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: We have to remember that certain institutions in this country have to remain.
Look, if AIG and other banks were to have folded or fallen, gone into default, what would that have done to Wall Street? What would the havoc have been created on Wall Street? And you have to remember, the American public, the will of the American public was not for the bailout. And the bailouts began in the last administration just before the transition.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: So, let's cut to the chase, April. You're saying, no, they should not have let them fail.
And, Robert, I will bet you're going to say the same thing, right?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I don't want to be that predictable, because I'm fed up with the argument that organizations are too big to fail.
(LAUGHTER) ZIMMERMAN: But the reality here is we're talking about realistically the TARP legislation. I think obviously the government had to take steps to intervene with AIG, because of the impact that it would spread throughout Main Street and throughout the general economy.
SANCHEZ: Right.
ZIMMERMAN: But the reality here, Rick, is that the TARP legislation itself, as much as it was needed, was a bipartisan, flawed legislation.
It didn't require banks to loan to small businesses. It didn't control executive compensation.
SANCHEZ: There you go.
ZIMMERMAN: And that's why ultimately both parties, the Bush administration and the Democratic Congress that negotiated it, didn't finish the job with that bill.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: That's the nuance.
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: And that's the issue, the devil in the details.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Thank you.
RYAN: That's the issue, the devil that is in the details.
And, look, there are no teeth in this current initiative that the White House has as far as putting fees on banks over time. And the bottom line is the American public will have possibly -- the clients of these banks will have the fees passed onto the, and there's no teeth, accountability in these measures.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Isn't that right, Ron? Ron, if you lend me money, if I say, Ron, I'm having a tough time, and I can't feed my kids, and you're nice enough to give me a whole bunch of money, you're a good guy and you're going to say, Rick, pay me when you can.
But if you see me all of sudden using that money to go out and do illicit things with it or spending it at the track, or -- you're going to come back and say, wait a minute, I lent you the money, but what the hell is this, right? Is that what the problem is?
CHRISTIE: Exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTIE: And I think that's exactly what the problem is, and I think what April said is exactly right.
This bank initiative of taxing the banks is the wrong idea when we're trying to infuse credit into small businesses and getting businesses to grow. Why in the world would you say to a bank that I'm going to put a tax on you? It's insane.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Robert, you want to say?
ZIMMERMAN: I do want to point out, yesterday, we witnessed the Senate of the United States meet and convene and vote on the issue of a deficit reduction commission.
Now, this was obviously considered by every senator to be an important priority, yet this deficit reduction commission was voted down. Seven Republican senators, who endorsed and co-sponsored the legislation, voted against it.
And the point I'm making simply is we're going to see incumbents from both parties in fact voted out of office...
SANCHEZ: Yes.
ZIMMERMAN: ... and in fact ultimately harm the agenda for the Obama administration if they're not prepared to take the serious steps to deal with deficit reduction.
SANCHEZ: That's interesting.
Well, I want to see what Ron thinks, because I bet you Ron thinks that this is going to hurt the Dems more than it's going to hurt the GOP, but let's hold that. I'm going to get a break in.
When we come back, let's finish this discussion. It's interesting, because the four of us, I suppose, could call ourselves -- well, you three are intellectuals. I'm a pseudointellectual.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: It will be fun to continue the conversation and find out how our president is going to deal with this same conversation that we are having now tonight with the American people.
Stay there. We are coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Hey, Rick, this is David in Atlanta.
You know, I want the president to remind people that rational thoughts, concessions, are always going to be the key to diplomacy. You know, this fanaticism, intolerance against just ideas are never going to lead to a fair democracy or a functioning government. Thanks. Love the show.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We have got Ron Christie. He's a Republican strategist., We have got Robert Zimmerman. He's a Democratic strategist. And we have got April Ryan, who is joining us as well to give us a journalistic look at this.
And, as we look at this -- Ron Christie, let me come right at you on this. Why should Republicans get a pass on this? I keep hearing that the Republicans are going to destroy the Democrats in the mid -- I was going to say Olympics -- in the elections.
(LAUGHTER)
SNOW: I have got Olympics on my mind.
And yet -- and this is a sport sometimes as well -- when in fact this thing that we're talking about, which our polls and MSNBC's and FOX's polls and everybody's polls seems to show is hurting the president was actually conceived as much as the former -- by the former president as it was this president. Wasn't it bipartisan? Why should the Republicans get a pass then?
CHRISTIE: Well, I think the difference here, Rick, is a difference of trust and accountability.
When this president came into office, the definite -- the federal deficit was at $3.3 trillion. He -- excuse me -- it was at $6.3 trillion.
SANCHEZ: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: When President Bush came into office, it was $3 trillion. This president, his budget and his priorities will have escalated spending to an example of what President Bush spent in eight years. This president will have spent it in 20 months.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But is that fair?
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTIE: Yes, that is fair, because it's a Democratic Congress.
(CROSSTALK)
RYAN: You know, Ron, there are two wars.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: OK, Ron, let's let...
(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: You made a charge there, and I think fair-minded people would wonder -- and I'm not taking sides here on any side, but I think fair-minded people would say, well, you gave the guy a house that was in default and then you're blaming him for spending money to try and buy it back.
Robert, is that fair?
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: Rick, I need Dramamine to go with Ron's spin.
I have got to tell you, the house just wasn't in default. The house was collapsing and on fire. We were facing the worst recession and the Great Depression. Now you even have conservative Republican economic analysts, like Mark Zandi, saying the economy is moving in the right direction under this administration.
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: ... stop running down the economy for partisan purposes.
SANCHEZ: Let me bring April into the conversation, because we're about to lose her window, and I want to give her a shot, a parting shot, as they say.
April, you're in.
RYAN: Well, we came in, we saw this president come in, and we came into 2009 in two wars, Iraq closing out, Afghanistan not doing well. And then this country was in one of the worst recessions we have seen in a very long time.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
RYAN: So, to their credit, they are trying to work it out as much as they can. Yes, they have increased the deficit. They have increased the budget, but, at the same time, look at what you're dealing with.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We're losing your window.
RYAN: I'm sorry.
SANCHEZ: And I don't want you to pop out and make the viewers think, what happened to her? Did he get rid of her?
I didn't.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: You guys are all great.
Ron, Robert, April, thanks for being my guests. Great conversation. A lot of passion. A lot of energy. We will do it again. (CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: All right, let's let you know what we're looking at now. As the State of the Union get closer and closer, we at CNN are not just obviously going to cover it for you, by showing you what the president says. We're going to bring you all the anticipation, everything that happens before it.
We are going to have some of the best guests on to talk about it as well.
Let me show you now some of the folks who are tweeting about this. And this is important, because these tweets are about the speech tonight.
Let's start with House Democrats. This is Bob McDonnell, who is going to be tweeting in just a little bit. "As the president lays out priorities during the State of the Union, we will hope he will join in putting the middle class first."
Look, this is the same argument. This is House Democrats, by the way. That's not Bob McDonnell. But this is the same argument that we have been talking about all throughout.
And we also have this response. Here's the one from Bob McDonnell that I thought we were going to pop up.
Thanks, guys.
"Please up-to-date on my response to the State of the Union tonight."
Look, they're all pitching this. Isn't it funny? Isn't this funny, how all these guys, all these politicians, these politicos -- that's Bob McDonnell. He's a Republican from Virginia. They're all on Twitter now. And they're all saying, come check out my tweets. I will tell you what's really going on. You decide for yourself, America.
All right, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toyota has done the right thing and they have stepped forward here and done this voluntarily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: These are hard times for Toyota dealers and confusing times for Toyota owners. Between the recalls and the sales shutdown, what are drivers supposed to do? We are going to get some answers from our Ali Velshi. He's coming up in just a bit.
And this everyday woman got a chance to sit next to the vice president and got an earful. I mean, the president -- the vice president got an earful from her. Who is she? What did she do? What makes her intriguing? We will tell you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
I want to tell you about a development in Haiti now. But this is one of those stories -- remember, I -- whenever we share stories here, I always talk about, don't forget the nuance. Stories have nuance. Things aren't just black and white.
So, let me tell you about this. If this is true, it might be one of the most repulsive sides of humanity to show itself in this already awful disaster. Stay with me, children, orphans and what's allegedly happening to them in the chaos down there in Haiti.
I want you to watch this portion of this interview that took us all by surprise, all right? It's between Haiti's prime minister and our own CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me talk about the children.
JEAN-MAX BELLERIVE, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
AMANPOUR: The children, tens of thousands of them, maybe hundreds of thousands, have been separated from their families, many of them, families dead, families lost, families moved out.
What is being done to corral these children, to register them, to make sure no further harm comes to them?
BELLERIVE: It's one of the biggest problems that we have.
And this morning, during the coordination meeting of the international community, I addressed the question of the adoption, because I have a lot of petitions for that, but we have to be very prudent because...
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: You have to be very what?
BELLERIVE: Cautious, because there is a lot of traffic in that...
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: You meal illegal child trafficking.
BELLERIVE: Yes, even if it seems to be legal, but a lot of organizations, they come and they say there were children on the street. We're going to bring them to the States.
And we have already reports of a lot of trafficking, even of organ trafficking.
AMANPOUR: Of organ trafficking now? BELLERIVE: Yes, now, Already.
AMANPOUR: Of the victims of the earthquake?
BELLERIVE: Yes.
AMANPOUR: Do you know that for sure?
BELLERIVE: Yes. I know that for sure. And it was discussed in Montreal during the conference.
AMANPOUR: And do you know for sure that children are being trafficked now?
BELLERIVE: There's children trafficking for children and other persons also, because they need all types of organs.
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: No, but, I mean, live children, are they being trafficked now?
BELLERIVE: The report I receive, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is interesting.
Just as an aside, I should share with you that, as a correspondent, I spent a lot of time of following these stories, these oftentimes what are called rumors, not just in Haiti, but throughout South America.
But let bring in Christiane Amanpour. She did the report. You saw her conversation. Let's see if we can get some kind of amplification on this story, this surprising development, for a prime minister to say something like this.
Christiane, it's yours.
AMANPOUR: Well, Rick, you know, there had been concerns from the very beginning.
And, in fact, the executive director of UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, even the first few days after the earthquake, told us that one of the main areas of concern is that children will be trafficked.
There are predators in every situation, even in crises like these. They were concerned about it first during the tsunami in Asia, where it's a much bigger problem, the idea of child prostitution, as you know. But here, they were worried about it.
And now the prime minister is saying that he has heard reports from it. I mean, we have not been able to pin it down, but, certainly, we have heard about it. The organ trafficking was real news to us. He said that he had spoken about it and heard about it during the Montreal conference, and explained to some of the leaders out there. Now the U.S. State Department is saying that they are being very cautious. They want to proceed very, very carefully when it comes to Americans adopting Haitian children, because sometimes, in catastrophes like this, people think, oh, well, let's just go and get all the children out and that will be better for the children.
But they have to be extremely careful that this is done according to the law.
SANCHEZ: Well, you know, you're right. And the human trafficking is something that it's hard to get numbers on, but you and I both know, as people who have covered stories like this, that that type of thing happens.
The organ harvesting, though, I will tell you, from my own experiences, being a correspondent in South Florida and covering these stories, this is something that has been rumored throughout South America and more often than not in places where people are not as educated, that somehow the rich folks come to get the organs from our people.
It's obviously -- when I looked into this, Christiane, and I'm sure you have as well, it's very difficult to do. You can't just swipe in and all of a sudden set up an operating room and take out organs.
It's not that simple, but it does pass oftentimes for more of a rumor than a report, does it not?
AMANPOUR: Well, you know, I asked the prime minister several times, and he said he's heard reports of it.
Yes, it's hard to imagine, but, certainly, when the prime minister of a country tells you something like that, you know, it's something that needs to be looked into.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
AMANPOUR: As you know, the big disaster here, beyond all the other crises, was what to do with the dead. There are -- the latest official figures say, 175,000 people are dead, and how does the government know that? Because they have trucks which they have corralled to go and pick up bodies from the rubble and elsewhere, and take them to specially designated areas.
The U.N. peacekeepers have dug five mass graves.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
AMANPOUR: And there are other areas where the bodies are being taken. And they count each truckload. And that's how they're giving a total number.
So, the problem, of course, is, is they're not all being buried immediately. They just don't have the manpower, the place, the opportunity to do it. They're not all being registered. They're not all being photographed.
It's just a huge, overwhelming task. And, so, maybe some people are going over there and doing this dirty deed.
SANCHEZ: Right.
AMANPOUR: I do not know, because I don't know the facts about this. And, of course, some doctors say -- and even Sanjay Gupta said that -- when I told him about it, that it's very difficult to harvest anything worthwhile from bodies that have been dead for a period of time.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
AMANPOUR: There's some things that you can get, skin, maybe bones, maybe something in the eyes.
But, in any event, it's something really quite horrible. And they have so much to think about in terms of the living. And the prime minister was so focused on trying to get the food, water, medicine out to the living. There's no shelter here. There are no big heavy tents that have come yet.
They're terrified about the rains in the spring. They're terrified about hurricane season in the summer. I know it's a few months off, but there are -- they said he and the president went to the airport to look at what tents may have come in.
They have seen only 3,500 tents. They need hundreds of thousands. They have put out an immediate appeal.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
AMANPOUR: And when I say tent, I don't mean pup tents -- big heavy- duty tents that can house whole families or more. They need 200,000 immediately.
SANCHEZ: Tents that, as you mentioned moments ago so cautiously, will blow away in five or six months if they get into the thunderstorm and the tropical storm and the hurricane season.
AMANPOUR: That's right.
SANCHEZ: Christiane Amanpour, one of the best, following the story for us from Port-au-Prince -- thank you so much, Christiane, for bringing us up to date on that story.
There's a related note on this, by the way. We just heard from the U.S. State Department on the subject of pending child adoptions, which is something which, you know, obviously is to be taken seriously.
Those that are in limbo and those that might happen in the future, any adoptions, for example, a lot of Americans have been asking us to get information on this. So, here you go. They say that they're aware that the chaos there means potential mistaken adoptions -- read with me now here, because we have got the statement. And I'm going to get through it.
Quote: "We want to be sure that when a child has been -- a child has been identified, that due diligence has been done to make sure that this is truly an orphan child and not a child that actually has family. We're being very, very careful" -- stop quote.
By the way, you can see more on Christiane's program this weekend and hear of rest of her conversation with the Haitian prime minister. It's "AMANPOUR," Sunday, 2:00 Eastern.
Also, this -- she studied history and she studied communication. And now she teaches English. It's time for the most intriguing.
This educator was so eager to help young people, she joined the Teach For America program last year. She got a chance to meet Vice President Biden, who is married to a teacher, and tell him about her school in Arizona. And she gave him an earful about stimulus money and how, without it pouring into her district, she could lose her job. And that would mean other teachers would end up with up to 50 kids.
Now her position is safe. Her school got stimulus money. Jeanne Simons is our second most intriguing person of the day.
SANCHEZ: Ali Velshi is standing by. He's at the stimulus desk.
We have made this commitment to you all that we're going to continue to see what's being done with your money. He's following it up for you. This guy is working we're talking about like 7:00 to midnight, our tax money, Ali Velshi bringing us some interesting results, also, his take on the crisis with Toyota, their unprecedented sales shut down, what it means to the company -- jobs, for example.
Stay with us. We are going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
As we've been telling you all this week, CNN has made a commitment to track the stimulus bill. You know the stimulus bill. It was supposed to put unemployed Americans back to work. We're talking thousands and thousands of projects that are costing hundreds of billions of dollars.
Your tax dollars, by the way. Did we mention that?
Ali Velshi is at The Stimulus Desk. He's got a very interesting project that's focused on a strange new frontier.
What is this? OK. Now, I didn't know this -- I'm looking at my script -- how humans and robots interact?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's actually interesting.
How much is it worth for a robot that can actually help somebody who, apropos of what we've been reporting for the last few weeks, might be trapped in rubble? Very interesting story.
Now, listen, the gig is we're tracking money. Right? Fifty-seven thousand projects.
Robert is going to shows you these binders, 57,000 projects. We're finding them, we're phoning and finding out what's going on.
So, this one, $841,000 For the Texas Engineering Experiment Station in College Station, Texas. The idea was to investigate human robot interaction. And I don't know if we've got any pictures of these, but human robot interaction.
For instance, a little robot, think more like an iPod than a walking being, that can get into an area where someone is trapped. Rescuers can't get in there.
SANCHEZ: Oh, I get it.
VELSHI: This robot can interact with the people who are trapped, which can be very helpful if you're trying to keep somebody alive, for instance, keep them hopeful, keep them from getting into an anxiety attack and making themselves worse off than before.
So this project ends up studying these robots that can be used in rescuing people in hostage situations, in health care situations. Texas A&M and Stanford, together, are doing this. Texas A&M has created three jobs for graduate students and will hire more. They're also developing new technology that they believe ultimately is invaluable technology, technology that wouldn't have been researched without these stimulus dollars.
So you make your own decision as to whether you think that's enough, five jobs is enough for the type of money that's being spent on this. That's not what we're here to do, but we are here to find out that that's what the money went to and that's how it's being spent and it did create some jobs.
SANCHEZ: A millions questions about that, but we're kind of pushed for time here -- pressed for time, I should say.
I do want to ask you about Toyota. I mean, look, they did the responsible thing that a company should do when they do something that they can't figure out and can end up resulting in people's lives being lost.
VELSHI: Sure.
SANCHEZ: I mean, people could get killed with this thing if the accelerator doesn't work properly.
VELSHI: Sure.
SANCHEZ: But, you know, I mean, we're talking something like -- I think I read -- this is a "New York Times" story I just read before I was getting read for the newscast. I think they mentioned something like 53 percent of their total sales are affected by these cars that they've taken out.
VELSHI: Yes, this is huge, but, again, think back to Tylenol, think back to incidents like this.
The reality is, Toyota has taken a hit for the fact this has happened, but this is a company that enjoys a remarkable reputation. It's not likely that a lot of people who had their minds set on a Toyota are not going to buy one as a result of this. You can't buy today or tomorrow, but -- for the next few days, at least, we don't know how long -- they're not selling them.
They've stopped selling these cars. But the reality is they're going to fix these things at the factory end, not at the dealer end.
Ultimately, Rick, I don't think there will be much of a hit. There may be something along the margins. GM just came out and said they're going to offer incentives to people who were looking at buying Toyotas.
The bottom line, if you own one, call Toyota customer service, call your dealership, get this thing fixed. I think in the end they'll come out relatively unscathed given the speed with which this has been handled.
SANCHEZ: Well, if they can get it fixed and figure it out, obviously.
VELSHI: Yes.
SANCHEZ: That's the caveat.
VELSHI: But this is Toyota. I mean, we are looking at one of the most important, successful brands in the world. If I were a betting man, I would bet they're going to get to the bottom of this fast.
SANCHEZ: Not exactly a fly-by-night operation.
Ali Velshi, thanks. Good stuff. Appreciate it.
You don't see that very often, what happened when this situation occurred in this house. Now, what is it? What could possibly have caused a hole that big?
You've got to stick around to find out.
And then, is it an iPhone on steroids? Apple's revealed its latest creation, and everyone seems to be talking about it, so we're going to dig in, drill down and tell you exactly what it is and what people are saying about it. Oh, and how it works.
Stay there. Brooke's going to be joining me in just a little bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We're going to begin in the woods. And you know what bears do in the woods -- no, not that.
You hear the people talking? They're trying to scare the bear, unless they're scared themselves.
Oh, they let the cat out. Look, they let the cat out of the house, and now the cat is facing off with the bear. Who will -- what's going to happen here? Will the bear take down the cat or will the cat -- oh my God. Watch.
The cat is actually holding his own with this bear. Have you seen anything like this?
They're trying to get the trash. Well, the bear just got the trash, but not after Fluffy teaches him a thing or two.
Can you believe that?
San Diego now. What happened to that house? It looks like a bomb went off, and for the homeowner it felt like a bomb went off.
911 operators must have thought it was a prank call. A boulder the size of a car smashed right into that house. It's a ginormous boulder.
It slid down the hill and it crashed through the living room. Nobody was hurt, but locals say never seen nothing like it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's say it together... three, two, one, shoot.
AUDIENCE: Three, two, one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is a great story. Let me try and take you through it as fast as I possibly can.
You see, they're trying to punk him. He's taking a shot, but they didn't think he was going to make it. Their plan was that he would take the shot and they would cheer as if pretending that he would make it.
So they make him flip around three times. They put him at the half- court line. They get him all dizzy.
And then he shoots and they were going to applaud like he made it. Well, he actually did make it.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What are the odds?
SANCHEZ: Like one gazillion to one? Is gazillion a word?
BALDWIN: We're going to make it a word.
SANCHEZ: Gazillion is now officially a word.
BALDWIN: Gazillion. Get out Webster.
SANCHEZ: You want to see gazillion? Here's gazillion.
Go. He actually makes it! Who guts punk'd now? Huh, kids?
Way to go, teach. That will show them.
Who do you think is taking the tech world by storm? Just what is an iPad, by the way? How much is it going to cost? How could it possibly live up to all the hype that it's been getting, including on newscasts like this one?
You are going to take us through that, right?
BALDWIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: You look like the cat that just ate the canary over there.
BALDWIN: You're, like, yes, we're guilty. We're going to talk about the iPad. Yes, we are.
SANCHEZ: Well, it's OK. Everyone's talking about it. It's not like we do this kind of thing all the time.
Also, Kiefer Sutherland. What's up with Kiefer Sutherland? We're going to tell you what's up with Kiefer Sutherland.
He's in the news today, and it's not something that makes him proud. In fact, it's something that makes him probably feel dumb.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. Let's do gadget news now.
Why? Because everybody is talking about this.
Give me a two shot, Roger (ph), if you possibly could.
Oh, look. We got that.
And there's Brooke.
Say "hi," Brooke.
BALDWIN: Hello.
SANCHEZ: All right.
Here's what we're going to do. We're going to take you through this new gadget that everyone is talking about. Apple Computer has unveiled what could be its most remarkable piece of -- piece of what?
BALDWIN: Piece of gadgetry? That's another word.
SANCHEZ: I guess we call this hardware.
BALDWIN: Yes. Yes. Right.
SANCHEZ: It's an iPad, right?
BALDWIN: It's an iPad.
SANCHEZ: Tell us what it is.
BALDWIN: This has been years in the making. You're looking at Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
He unveiled this thing today at this invite-only setting in San Francisco. Who better to unveil it, of course, Steve Jobs?
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE JOBS, CEO, APPLE: You can turn iPad sideways, get a different view on your mail, push the "compose" window. A keyboard pops up that's almost life-size. It's a dream to type on.
For photos, your albums are shown in stacks of photos, your albums or events. You can unfold them, look at all your photos, flick through them, got some great slide shows built in. It's a wonderful way to share your photos with friends and family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Look, this is not a commercial for this gadget, by the way. But we figured it has enough interest, there are enough people who want to know when Steve Jobs comes out here, because he doesn't do it all the time.
BALDWIN: It's like a cult-like following, honestly...
SANCHEZ: Really?
BALDWIN: ... of people who are waiting -- I mean, twitter was all atwitter today over the trending topics. It was, like, Steve Jobs.
SANCHEZ: All right. So what is it? Tell us what it is.
BALDWIN: So, if you will, another demonstration for you. It's kind of like what a lot of people are saying, it's a mix between -- you know, you have your smartphone and you have your laptop. So, it's an all-touchscreen thing.
It just ways a pound and a half. It's 10 inches. You can use the existing apps. There's like 140,000. I think I'm getting that number right, apps from the apps store.
SANCHEZ: So you can do everything you can -- I'm opening up my laptop. I can do everything I can do with a cell phone.
BALDWIN: So, imagine just one screen, and we just saw him do the demo. I mean, you can look at your pictures, you can watch TV, you can look at movies, you can do your e-mail. It's the eReader, so you can read books.
SANCHEZ: And you can move things with your finger on the screen without having to actually hit the keyboard.
BALDWIN: It's kind of like, you know, you're Mac-hip, how you can use your fingers.
SANCHEZ: Right.
BALDWIN: And an iPod, somewhere.
SANCHEZ: A touchscreen.
BALDWIN: And, you know, a lot of people are still kind of wondering, obviously, will it live up to the hype? Will we like the idea of a touchscreen? OK, so it's just 1.5 pound, but is it really -- like, there are portability issues.
SANCHEZ: Yes. It does sound cool though, I've got to tell you. Not that I know anything about cool.
BALDWIN: And the price -- I know. I was about to ask, are you a high-tech gadget geek, Rick Sanchez?
SANCHEZ: No, I know nothing about nothing. Continue.
BALDWIN: Yes, right.
I think I'm the last person actually on the planet without an iPhone. But this looks kind of cool.
The price point, this is a biggie, because there was this rumor that was floated out there that it was somewhere around $1,000, and some people were saying, hey, it was really smart on Apple's part, if they floated that rumor, because it's just -- and I say "just," facetiously, $499. So, you know...
SANCHEZ: Right. Five hundred bucks.
BALDWIN: Five hundred bucks for this thing. But they claim it does it all. So we'll have to see. The jury is out.
SANCHEZ: OK. There you have it. And it's called an iPad...
BALDWIN: An iPad.
SANCHEZ: ... not a tablet, as some folks thought it was going to be called earlier.
BALDWIN: You are so hip, Rick Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: I'm telling you. Here, touch. It will go -- there you go.
BALDWIN: Wow.
SANCHEZ: Thank you, Brooke. BALDWIN: You got it.
SANCHEZ: Drum roll, please.
It's that time of the day for "Most Intriguing Person of the Day."
Here is a hint. She is an 18-year-old who knows more than most 99- year-olds.
We'll tell you why she makes the list. Don't go away, because I want to see if you can figure this out. I know you can.
Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: This story came across late this afternoon, and CNN can now confirm that John and Elizabeth Edwards have legally separated.
Let's talk a little bit about the timing on this.
First, you remember all denials, John Edwards denying for months that he fathered a child out of wedlock.
Let's listen to just a sampling of that first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS (D), FMR. U.S. SENATOR: It's not possible that this child could be mine because of the timing of events. So I know it's not possible.
I don't talk about these tabloids. And tabloid trash is full of lies.
I don't respond to these lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, no more denials, obviously.
Last week, Edwards finally came clean. Here's another important part of the timeline. Next week comes the tell-all book from the former confidante who helped Edwards conceal his affair with the videographer Rielle Hunter. And now comes word of this legal separation through a source close to Edwards -- close to Elizabeth Edwards, I should say.
Joining me now from New York is David Kaplan, senior editor of "People" magazine. "People" originally broke the story on the Edwards' separation.
Well, I guess, take us through this. What do you know? What happened to suddenly make this become a separation?
DAVID KAPLAN, SR. EDITOR, "PEOPLE": Well, Elizabeth and John separated shortly after Christmas. And it was actually after a friend of theirs tells "People" that they really had a nice Christmas together with their kids, but they separated then.
John is living actually at a part of their home in North Carolina called -- what they refer to as "the annex." He's living there, as well as a beach house about 160 miles away from where Elizabeth is. She's remaining in Chapel Hill right now.
SANCHEZ: What about all the stories we heard in the past? I mean, were they not true? Didn't they try to put things back together as a married couple?
KAPLAN: You know, they definitely were trying. They were trying to sort of make it work for themselves and for their kids.
You know, however, sources tell "People" in our current issue that, really, Elizabeth became really too mistrustful. It wasn't something that she could continue doing.
And, as well, on the flip side, they say, actually, that John really sort of got tired of almost being on his tiptoes. He didn't want to have to feel that Elizabeth, say, would be looking at his cell phone to see he was calling and all that sort of stuff.
SANCHEZ: So what happens to the mistress -- boy, it's almost uncomfortable talking about...
KAPLAN: Rielle Hunter.
SANCHEZ: Yes, what happens to Rielle Hunter and the child that he, I can say, had with Rielle Hunter, right?
KAPLAN: Yes. Right now they're actually living in a home in Charlotte, North Carolina. John bought the house, it's a little bit over $500,000.
Interestingly enough, John actually went house hunting, really, with Elizabeth. They got this house. John does not have any direct contact with Rielle. He deals with an intermediary.
SANCHEZ: Wait a minute. I just heard you say something. Take me back here. He went house hunting with his wife for a home...
KAPLAN: I thought you would find that interesting, Rick.
SANCHEZ: ... for a home where he would put his mistress and his child?
KAPLAN: For another woman. You're right.
SANCHEZ: Did you just say that?
KAPLAN: Exactly, I did say that. I know, it's unbelievable. You sort of say it and some people are like, huh?
But they did. Elizabeth, she went on the house hunt with John. He bought this house, and it was, you know, about $530,000 or so, something like that, in Charlotte. SANCHEZ: And who's going to live there?
KAPLAN: Rielle is going to live there with Quinn. I mean, it's really a testament, I think, to Elizabeth's character, that she did this, to be honest with you.
SANCHEZ: What a story. It's interesting stuff. You know, you guys broke the story.
Thanks for coming on and taking us through it, Mr. Kaplan. We certainly appreciate it.
Toyota made our "List U Don't Want 2 Be On," and I'm sure that you can guess why. Who is on number one on this slot? That's next.
And oh, by the way, tomorrow, I don't need to tell you that we're all going to be all over the president and what he does tonight during his State of the Union speech. Some of the best political minds are going to join me for analysis, including Donna Brazile and Kevin Madden, both right here.
Stay with us through that.
And we'll be right back with who is number one on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Are you ready, America? Time for the number one position on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
First, a quick recap.
There are three every day, so the bronze goes to Kiefer Sutherland. He was caught up in an expensive cow-selling scam, allegedly.
Next on the list, Toyota, stopping sales on eight models of cars, trucks and SUVs. "Safety concerns," two words you don't want next to your corporate logo ever. "Safety concerns."
OK. Here goes, today's "List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
The winner is James O'Keefe, 25 years old. He and three other guys are now formally charged with some really pretty heavy federal crimes, arrested for entering Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office this week under false pretenses. The FBI thinks they intended to mess with the phone system in some way.
I should tell you, two of them pretended to be telephone repairmen. They wanted access to a secured area. They had excuses for not wearing credentials.
It's bizarre. Costumes, too? And O'Keefe was recording all of this with a cell phone camera.
They didn't get very far. U.S. Marshals arrested them right away. O'Keefe isn't a stranger to the news. He's the guy who dressed up as a pimp last year and pulled that hidden camera prank or some ACORN offices, asking for help setting up an illegal brothel, and then putting the footage online.
If this was another prank, the FBI is not amused. Senator Landrieu is not amused. And every one of four men could go to prison, possibly for up to 10 years. It's a maximum of 10 years if they're all convicted.
James O'Keefe, 31 GOP congressmen call him an example for all citizens. Really?
We call him the guy at the top of our "List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
That's it for us. Thanks so much.
Remember, keyword here, president's State of the Union. And we're going to be all over it on CNN.
And who's heading this up? Wolf Blitzer. None better. He starts us off now in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
