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Rick's List
Toyota Finds Fix?; Tony Blair Defends Iraq War; Stimulus Money Helps Employ the Unemployed; NBA Star Olden Polynice Locates Family in Haiti
Aired January 29, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Making news right now on your national conversation, Toyota says in a fix. Now they say they have a fix for millions of recalled cars. Now we hear Congress is demanding answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: After September the 11th, our view and the American view changed, and changed dramatically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The former British prime minister, have you seen this, defending the decision to place his soldiers alongside President Bush's soldiers in Iraq and taking heat for it from some of the men and women who are asking him questions across the pond?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a coward. He is ready to fight to the last drop of other people's blood. He is ready to send other mother's sons to their graves in these wars. He would never dream of sending his own children.
MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: And this is what they reinforced to me, charged me to do two things, raise money and win elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And we also have that for you, Michael Steele tooting his own horn. Has everybody been underestimating the chairman of the Republican Party?
You are going to find out as our national conversation on Twitter and on the air starts right now.
And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Your national conversation is coming to you live from the Grammy Museum today on the eve of Grammy weekend. This place is unbelievable.
I mean, take a look at this. It is like taking a walk through history, really. You know, in a couple of hours, I'm going to be moderating a discussion with some of the rock stars and some of the members of social media, many of which are one in the same.
They are gathered here in this building for the Grammy Awards show on Sunday night at the Staples Center next door. You are going to see a few of them dropping by, but, first, we have got some breaking news we want to share with you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the case of the State of Kansas vs. Scott Roeder, case number O9CR1462, we the jury find the defendant, Scott Roeder, guilty of the crime of first-degree murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I thought we were going to stay on that shot, and they came back to me.
That verdict came down just a short time ago, Scott Roeder guilty of murder in the shooting death of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas, last May. On the stand, Roeder admitted to pulling the trigger while Tiller was in church and why he did it.
There's much more on this breaking news story there. It's going to be coming up in just a little bit, so stay right there. We will let you hear from him.
Now, also making THE LIST, Toyota say it has a fix now for its sticky and potentially deadly gas pedals, but the giant automaker is still in a fix. More than five million cars have been recalled and now Congress is getting involved.
The question that everybody wants to know is this. When did Toyota first learn that it had a problem? And what, if anything, did it do about it?
Brooke Baldwin has been digging into Toyota's deepening problems all week long. She is good enough to join us now to let us know what she has learned today.
Brooke, what do you have?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, when we were drilling down on this really in our show meeting this morning, the theme we kept coming back to is this is a public relations nightmare. Think about it.
You have Toyota, the world's largest automaker, whose -- you see the commercials. Their cornerstone has really been quality. And now we just saw the number on the screen, 5.3 million vehicles. Actually, I just checked before I came on. I am seeing somewhere near nine million vehicles now worldwide. And we're talking about the U.S., now affecting Europe and also China.
The car company's leadership so far, still silent. We did hear from Ford's CEO Alan Mulally during Ali Velshi's interview yesterday saying, you know what, Toyota, they are doing the right thing. They're moving to root out the problem, find the fix.
But there is one marketing strategist that one of our crews talked to that said that they need to find that change and find it fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD LAERMER, BRANDING EXPERT: One of the real problems with crisis communication is that, if you don't act fast in cleaning up the mess, the mess just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. And with this, they knew something was going on, and they did not handle it as rapidly as they could have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I want to talk about numbers here, also. And it is hard to find comparative data when you look at the other automakers, but we're talking specifically about Toyota. And I want to look at some numbers coming down from the NHTSA on these crashes related to what we have been talking about with one of these recalls, the unintended acceleration.
So take a look at the numbers with me. We're talking about 2006 to November of 2009, 13 crashes, 17 injuries, five deaths, four of those -- do you remember that story from I think it was last August, that off -- patrol, California Highway patrol officer, his family killed as they were driving these this intersection doing 125 miles an hour. The gas pedal was actually stuck on the floor mat, according to the investigation.
Now, Rick, as you mentioned, Congress getting involved. They are now drilling down on Toyota with two separate investigations. One, we're talking about the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. They will meeting next week, February 4, specifically looking at the public risk. And number two, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce., they have sent letters to Toyota North America and also to the NHTSA.
They want to know, as you mentioned in your lead, Rick, when did Toyota first learn about these acceleration problems and how fast have they acted to find a fix?
Let me read for you something I got off of the committee Web site today. This is chair Henry Waxman. He says this -- quote -- "Failure to take every step possible to prevent future deaths or injury is simply unacceptable. Our hearing will press for answers about the source of this accelerator defect and investigate whether adequate measures have been taken to ensure the safety of Toyota vehicle owners and all Americans on the road."
That committee is convening next month, but, Rick, again, the headline just pushing this forward, Toyota saying they have found a fix. We don't know the specifics on that. They were saying something about a design issue. They will be announcing that shortly, but keep in mind this fix still has to be green-lighted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration before they can actually start implementing it to fix your car and my car and whoever has these particular models in question, but still really the question that remains unanswered is the public perception fix. Will that be permanent damage or not, Rick?
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, excellent reporting. And it is a story as you have seen all week long that we been staying on top of. As we learn anything else out through the course of the next couple of hours, we will get back to Brooke on that.
We also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEELE: We bested the Democrats in, let's be conservative, six out of six months last year in fund-raising where we raised more than they did. Don't believe me? Well, what do you think it is? Check your facts. I am sure you will, but get it right, because you have been getting it wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The Republicans' top dog gets testy with reporters. That is going to be coming up in just a little bit. We will let you know what he said and they said.
Also, Osama bin Laden goes green. We will bring you that as well.
And, as we go the break, I want to show you something, because we are inside this museum. This is the wall of history, at least when it comes to Grammy and music. Take a look at this. This from the '80s on, on -- well, check that. Let's start with 2000. No, let's go backward to the '90s.
All right. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. Guys, one of things that we always do -- welcome back, by the way, to the Grammy Museum here in Los Angeles.
One of the things we always do is we make sure that we can provide you with our access. That means that people who are communicating with us who we think are relevant to the news stories of the day, we share what they say with you. We monitor Twitter throughout the day, and we have been finding a couple of them as far as elected officials go.
Let's start with Patrick McHenry. Let's get a shot of that, if we possibly can, and you will see what his reaction has been so far to what is going on in politics. Here we go. "Listened to President Obama at a House GOP retreat." This is the president today who went to speak to the Republicans at their retreat. This is not something presidents usually do if they happen to be Democrats, as he is. "He is defensive and hasn't realized that people aren't happy with his policies, especially health care, spending and debt." So, there is a Republican calling out the president, who came and spoke to them at their retreat. And then you know Virginia Foxx. She is very much an ardent Republican. She says: "President gave us another lecture. Our guys asked great questions. Need independent fact-checker for his comments. Got autograph."
SANCHEZ: Got autograph?
Here is another one from her, by the way. "Am concerned that president thinks health care bill is centrist. He did not accept the scalpel. And it is a great tool."
Two Republicans talking about the president of the United States on his visit to them today.
Also, this. What are we all to make of this? I want to show you something. This you have got to hear. And before you write it off as patently crazy, consider the implications. This is a new message from Osama bin Laden, the topics, the economy and the environment.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): All the industrial countries and especially the major ones are responsible for the global warming crisis. Most of them agreed on the Kyoto protocol to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, but Bush and the son and Congress before him refused the protocol to satisfy the big interest countries.
They also are behind the current global financial crisis and behind monopolization and globalization and its catastrophic consequences which added tens of millions to THE LISTs of poverty and unemployment.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Our people say the voice sure sounds like bin Laden. And we have never missed on that before. Also, consider that there was a reference to the recent climate change summit, suggesting that the tape was recorded some time after mid-September. So say the experts.
This is the first time, by the way, the first time ever that Osama bin Laden has devoted a presentation strictly to economics and to the environment. The experts are telling us he is trying to somehow broaden his audience.
Now this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEELE: The members of this party -- and this is what they reinforced to me, charged me to do two things, raise money and win elections.
On those two fronts, I think we are doing OK. We have a lot more work to do. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is interesting. The RNC chairman gets feisty with reporters.
Our Jessica Yellin is up next with the Yellin segment.
And then what happens when a water tower is left high and dry? Look at this. It has a date with a demolition crew. We will stop it there. We are going to show you what happened in our next half-hour.
And as we go to break, I want to show you something. This dress was the news for an entire week. Everybody was talking about this thing. Let me show you exactly what we are talking about, first the picture of the dress. You see it right there. And everybody wondered, how did that thing not come off. What was going on with it? Well, there is the dress, the actual dress that she wore at the Grammys. That is Jennifer Lopez's dress. It, like so many others, are here.
And, no, there is no double-sided tape on that dress, at least none that comes with the dress itself. We are going to be right back. THE LIST today from L.A. continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to THE LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.
We are coming to you live from Los Angeles, from the Grammy Museum, as a matter of fact. It is a gorgeous place.
Wait until you hear what the president said today when he met with the other side. He went to meet with the House Republicans. They were having their retreat, which is usually for Republicans. The president, as you know, is a Democrat.
Good stuff for Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent.
But before we do the president, though, there is something else that we have to absolutely cover, Jessica. I am here in California. They're in the midst of a governor's race and talk about a blast from the past. Jessica, you know who is running ahead in this race, right?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know who is running ahead, Rick, is a man who is not even in the race, really.
Jerry Brown, who used to be the governor of California back in the '70s for two terms, when he was just in his young 30 then, is -- has not officially declared that he is going to run for governor of California. Everyone knows he is in the race. He has already raised $12 million, that he plans to jump, and he is polling at least 10 points ahead of his nearest Republican competitor.
Now, get this. The people on the other side of the race are the $39 million-dollar woman. Meg Whitman who used to be the CEO of eBay, has put $39 million of her own money in the race already before the primary -- during the primary, vs. the guy who is the state insurance commissioner, a guy named Steve Poizner. He has put just $19 million of his own in the race.
This is set a -- this whole scene is so crazy. It is my favorite governor's race in the nation right now.
SANCHEZ: Well, I am tempted to ask if they are bringing back Afros as well. It really is. You said a blast from the past.
YELLIN: Total blast from past.
SANCHEZ: But there is a serious point here, too. I mean, is the California race out of new faces and out of new ideas? And about Jerry Brown, how serious do we take him? Because there was a time when people made fun of him as a politician. And suddenly Californians and others are looking at him and saying, no, no, we had it all wrong; this guy is the real deal.
YELLIN: Well, I have got to admit, this a soft spot to me. You're in my hometown of Los Angeles. I'm very sensitive about California, but it does have a history of being ahead of the pack when it comes to the nation. They tend to do things there first.
And Brown was -- he is just one of four states where old governors, governors who held that office, are running again for reelection. Iowa, Georgia, those are other states where it's happening as well.
But it's not just California, Rick. Think about our conversation earlier this week when we talked about maybe Paul Volcker being a contender to take Ben Bernanke's seat the Fed if Ben Bernanke hadn't gotten confirmed. He had.
There's this almost political moment, this Zeitgeist thing where it feels like the baby boomers are hankering back for the stars of the '70s and they want a do-over. You wonder if maybe, in these tough times, people want a familiar face. It is a little odd.
SANCHEZ: Well, I can relate to people think that -- thinking that sometimes you are a little ahead of your time.
YELLIN: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: A lot of people thought I was crazy when I started this Twitter thing. And they used to call Jerry Brown, tell me if I am wrong, Governor Moonbeam.
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And it was because he suggested that when they have government state meetings, they should use teleconferencing, something everybody does now, right? YELLIN: Right.
And one of his big initiatives was that we should have satellites up in space, or every state should have a satellite up in space for emergency communications, so they called him Governor Moonbeam. Now states do that.
He also believed in this wacky idea that we should use for alternatives to using oil for gasoline, that we maybe should use, I don't know, corn or wood chips. He was mocked for that. Now people are moving in that direction.
There are other things. He lived a very simple life. He did not like to spend a lot of government money. Now a lot of politicians are trying to do that. So, he is using this message that he was ahead of the curve is his argument and people did not get him now, but his ideas are hitting.
California is mired in budget and political crises, so he is saying, look, I have the creativity it will take to dig out us of this. Rick, my quickly for you is, are you the Jerry Brown of TV? Is that what you are telling us?
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Well, maybe of Twitter.
YELLIN: Not quite, right? You're just ahead of your time.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: No, no, no, no. I want to be no one but my mother's son, Paco (ph) and Adella's (ph) boy.
Hey, question for you.
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: This is pretty brazen, for a Democratic president to go to the Republican retreat to speak to Republicans. I mean, this is a place where you would almost expect that he would be booed out the door, not that they did something like that.
Let's hear just a little bit of what the president had to say today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you were to listen to the debate, and frankly, how some of you went after this bill, you would think that this thing was some Bolshevik plot. No, I mean, that is how you guys -- that is how you guys presented it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The tweets I have read so far seem to indicate -- now, frankly, one of them was from Virginia Foxx -- but the tweets I have read seem to characterize this meeting as not so good, almost like they hate this guy.
YELLIN: Well, there is enormous frustration among Republicans toward the president, because you could hear it in that room.
One of the members stood up and said, Mr. President, you also have broken your promises. You said you would hold health care negotiations on C-SPAN. They were behind closed doors. You promised no lobbyists in top government positions. They are there.
So, enormous frustration on both sides. Look, the parties are at this critical, pivotal moment. Do they want -- does the Republican Party want to make some bipartisan deals with Democrats so that they avoid being called the party of no going into the 2010 elections and let the Democrats have a win on bipartisanship? Or do they decide not to go along with President Obama on anything, and risk being called the party of no?
On the other hand, the Democrats are in this very awkward position of trying to compromise, but how much are they willing to give up? How much is the president willing to compromise? So, it is a very careful dance.
And, Rick, I go back to that focus group I talked to you about when I watched people during the State of the Union. It is much more imperative right now for independents that President Obama achieve bipartisanship.
Independents blame President Obama more for the lack of bipartisanship, because they say he promised to change things. The other side didn't promise to change it, so it is up to him.
So, the pressure is really on him now, and both parties have to make choices.
SANCHEZ: That is an interesting way to look at it. That's interesting. I never looked at it from that perspective. And I suppose, as you say, there may be some independents, just like you learned the other day when you were in Ohio, who may have that point of view.
Jessica, always a pleasure talking to you. Have a good weekend.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Enjoy, L.A., yes.
SANCHEZ: I will, your hometown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAIR: I would say it's not really about the President Bush axis of evil speech or anything else. I think, after September the 11th, it was clear this whole thing was in a different framework.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is one heck of a story. Have you seen what is going on over across the pond? Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing some tough questions about his decision to go along with former President George W. Bush in the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. This is fascinating.
And then from lead singer of a popular band to living on the streets. We are going to tell you why this man is on our "Most Intriguing Persons List". That is coming up next.
And as we go out, I want to let you know we are in one of the most fascinating places in Los Angeles. This is the Grammy Museum. And you will see some of the pictures of some of the scenes that you see in this place.
Boy, my son Robbie (ph) would love this. You see who that is right there? That is Celia Cruz. She has passed on, but, before she did, she and I had, well, the kind of conversations that sometimes only a mother and son could have. Maybe I will tell you a little bit more about those at some point. There is the rest of this place. Unbelievable.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you to the Grammy Museum. We are right next to the Staples Center here in beautiful Los Angeles. Oh, my goodness, and what a great day this is to be in Los Angeles.
You know how sometimes the visibility is not as good as other times? Well, today is one of those days in Los Angeles where it is absolutely picture-perfect. You don't only see the mountains. You see the snow on top of some of the mountains. Remarkable.
Let me tell you about this. A few years ago, this person was hooked on drugs, alcohol and had no place to call moment. Time for most intriguing.
His life story makes -- well, it kind of sounds like the makings of a great blues song, lead singer of a popular band in the '70s and '80s and then addiction and depression set in. He ended up lying on the streets in the early '90s. Flash-forward now to this weekend, where he is nominated for not one, but two R&B Grammys.
Charlie Wilson, who was one-third of the Gap Band, along with his brothers, is one of our most intriguing persons of the day. Talk about a comeback. That is our first most intriguing.
Ice whiteouts, pounding rain, the opposite of what I was just describing here in Los Angeles. The Southern Plains are getting a smackdown.
And this guy right here, he has been trapped in California floodwaters. That was a week ago, as you might recall, then trapped in a dog pound. It is about time that somebody, anybody, took him home.
We will be back. We are in Los Angeles. We will bring you an update from here with the upcoming Grammys in just a little bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
***15 (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We are at the Grammy Museum where we are going be doing a panel a little bit later with some of the entertainers, and I found the perfect outfit. This thing was worn in 2008 by Kayne West at the Grammys. and it responds to the sound of my voice. Check out the glasses just above it, by the way.
Now, you tell me, and go ahead and twitter me if you get a chance and tell me if you don't think that this is the perfect anchor suit for Wolf Blitzer. You tell me if this would not electrify the man like nothing else ever has. Look at that.
I can't wait to have Wolf on the air. He is coming up in a little bit. I want to show them this thing. In fact, I want to make a duplicate of it and send it to him. Now, that is a "foto del dia."
Speaking of "Fotos del Dia," I know that Wolf is on the phone, yes, I know -- quick, know something you'd expect something that you expect to see in the middle of the sea -- a whale, dolphins, but a dog? "Fotos del Dia."
This dog was on some very thin ice. Look at. This it is an ice floe in the Baltic Sea. He had floated 75 miles before the crew of a Polish research ship saw him. They lowered a pontoon, lured him on to the edge, and grabbed him.
The dog has made himself right at home. Oh, look at the pooch. They are warming him up. For now they are calling him the new mascot Baltic. Great name for this guy, huh? Talk about the catch of the day. There it is.
Now, from right here in Los Angeles, the most famous dog in this town. You know the mutt, airlifted from flood waters last week. He has finally been reunited with his owner. What took so long? The rescue was all over and TV and milked for some time by our competitors.
But somehow this 70-year-old grandmother missed it and never saw the shot on TV. She wasn't sure where the German shepherd was and until a friend took a closer look at the rescue on YouTube. She picked up Spiky from the shelter, and, get this, she also spotted one of her other missing dogs there, too.
She has now bought a new lock for the gate from whence they escaped. Good idea, grandma.
Skaggs Island, now, California. It is not the leaning tower of Pisa. This water tower had to come down, so it did, all 12 stories of it. We were hoping for a humongous splash, but unfortunately this one went down without a whimper, because it was empty -- a whimper instead of a bang.
From Los Angeles, I'm happy to say Tom Foreman is in my hometown, my place of residence. Look at all those papers. He is manning the stimulus desk and making a list of the most interesting -- hey, man, it look like a little reading tonight.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am trying to find some money in here for one of the light-up suits for you. You would look good in that.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I can't wait to talk to Wolf about that one. I bet that everybody in Washington is already bringing it to his attention.
FOREMAN: Well, think they Wolf has one, but he wears it on weekends.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: All right. Foreman is coming up and so is Wolf, and so is "The List That You Don't Want To Be On", featuring a father and son project that started with a bad idea and ended with dad in jail. We will be clear when I come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Time to cut through the clutter about what's really good for your heart. The biggest key, says registered dietician Page Love, is reducing the levels of inflammatory compounds in your body.
PAGE LOVE, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: Inflammation is your body's response when disease is cultivating and often there are foods that can actually help do the opposite of that in the body.
GUPTA: So, what are these super foods?
LOVE: Eating red helps decrease inflammation. For example, cherries, particularly tart cherries, red grapes, tomatoes.
GUPTA: Blueberries and strawberries also top the list as do leafy greens like spinach, even oatmeal.
LOVE: There's quite a bit of evidence that the fiber in oatmeal helps to lower cholesterol, so it's kind of one of those key disease- fighting breakfast foods.
GUPTA: If you're looking for a good snack food, try a can of nuts.
LOVE: Nuts are a good protein source, a good healthy vegetable fat source.
GUPTA: Avocados are also full of healthy, unsaturated fats that can help boost good cholesterol. Oily fish like salmon are rich in cholesterol-lowering Omega-3s which can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of clotting.
Then, of course, there's everybody's favorite, chocolate.
KATHERINE TALLMADGE, NUTRITIONIST, AMERICAN DIABETIC ASSOCIATION: The cocoa is full of compounds called flavonoids and produce a lot of benefits, relaxing blood vessels, reducing blood clotting, improving blood flow.
GUPTA: OK, but despite the benefits of chowing down on chocolate...
TALLMADGE: Keep sweets or sort of extra foods to about 10 percent of your calories per day.
GUPTA: So, here's to your heart health.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez from Los Angeles.
This is the Grammy Museum where I am going to be hosting a panel discussion here with some entertainers about social media. I am honored they have asked to us join them.
What does $862 billion look like? One way to visualize it perhaps is a huge stack of black binders now occupying a big chunk of space in the "CNN NEWSROOM." As a matter of fact, have we got a shot of that, because it's impressive to look at?
This is -- you know, we call this the stimulus desk, and inside of the binders are all of the projects, thousands of them, that are being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and all are aimed at getting jobless Americans back to work. And that's a great idea, right? But from idea to application are two different things.
Now, let's go to the guy who is actually next to the stack, who looks like shorty compared to the stack. By the way, I look like shorty here, too, and I will tell you why in a minute. Don't go there yet, but believe me, if you feel like shorty, wait until the next segment and I will tell you why I feel shorty.
Meantime, remember, just think NBA. But tell us why you're next to that stack, if you would, Tom, start us off.
FOREMAN: Well, Rick, this is 15,000 pages, and it lists every one of these projects that you out there are paying for with your tax dollars in the stimulus plan, and we have been grinding through all of these. We have gone through about $9 billion worth so far just trying to figure out what it is spent for, whether it's creating jobs or it's doing good things.
This is our team over here, and these folks have been working from the early morning to late at night, and they are practically exhausted at this point, but they're keeping on the job.
We want to show you, Rick, the ones that we really found interesting. We walk over to touch wall and zoom here into the beautiful town of Columbus, Ohio. This is a place where a big event happened.
If you take a look at this, the problem was that early last year, the police force there had a problem there. They had 25 new cadets, and they simply could not afford to keep these people.
So, as an early part of the early part of the stimulus plan, the president shows up, and he says, let me help you guys out, and they will get the stimulus money flowing this way, and indeed, that is exactly what they did. They put $1.2 million into the Columbus police department to keep these folks on the force for the remainder of the year.
Well, then the money ran out, but the good part is the community responded and passed a new tax in August, and they are able to keep all of the people employed, so that is very much what this is supposed to be about, Rick and it worked there in terms of helping the community, money well spent.
Now, though, look at something else. Here is the big picture of the country, all of these projects all over, and another one that caught our eye is about $110,000 that was given to the Army Corps of Engineers. And you know what that was given for? To buy picnic tables and grills for a variety of parks in places around the country, Rick.
And there is no indication that this created work. It just seemed to create picnic tables.
SANCHEZ: That is a problem.
FOREMAN: Yes, some people were not very happy about this. We talked to the company involved in doing this and they said they regularly do this anyway, so it wasn't like they created any special work in doing this, and this is what they do.
So this is the kind of thing that will get people not very happy, and it even made the White House unhappy. When we told them about this, they reached out to the Army Corps and said nix on the money for the picnic tables, so they dropped out of that for a while.
And the next one that we want to talk about is finally for the model of what this is about. What is the stimulus supposed to do, Rick?
SANCHEZ: Make jobs for people.
FOREMAN: Make jobs for people, and that is what everybody has been talking about. In Tennessee, near Nashville, there was a $2 million grant given to the Southeast Community Capital Corporation, and this seems to be exactly what people were aiming for, because they had all sorts of small towns all over Tennessee that were basically having trouble on Main Street. They had businesses that were struggling, and they needed some money to keep them moving along.
This $2 million went to encourage these businesses, and what they think they will get out of it -- one job in Tennessee for every $35 of that $2 million, which is going to be good money spent there for an awful lot of taxpayers out there. Rick?
SANCHEZ: Finally, we got one. We got some jobs out of the deal. Tom, have a great weekend.
FOREMAN: You, too, Rick.
SANCHEZ: By the way, Tom, are you there?
FOREMAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Remember I told you that you would feel like shorty next to the stack?
FOREMAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: How do you think I feel? Next to me, give me a shot of this guy. This is Olden Polynice, NBA superstar, and he is 7'1". I am staring at his knees.
FOREMAN: Really? Tell him that next time he is in D.C. I think I can take him one-on-one.
SANCHEZ: Tom says he can dunk, too.
FOREMAN: Sure, Wolf and I and you.
SANCHEZ: And the whole CNN staff.
He has a very personal story to tell that is something that I'd like for you to stick around for. For several days he didn't know whether his father was dead or alive. You see, Olden is from Haiti, and when the earthquake took place, 12 members of his family were suddenly nowhere to be found.
One of them has been found. Many others, they still haven't found. He is going to take us through this from what it is like to go through it from here, from the heart. You know, it is his story, and I think that we should listen. So, we will be right back with that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I kind of grew up as a bit of an athlete from time to time, and it is always such an honor to be able to talk to, you know, superstar or professional athletes whether in the NFL, Major League Baseball, NHL, or the NBA, as is the case here.
Most of the time when we talk to professional athletes it is about Xs and Os and things at the end of the day are not all that important. Today we are talking to a professional athlete, a superstar in his own right, but we're talking about something that really is important.
Olden Polynice played 15 years in the NBA. He was a center for the Sacramento Kings, the L.A. Clippers, and the Detroit Pistons. Polynice is Haitian, he was born in Port-au-Prince, and the place where our crews are, the place where we have shown you pictures, the place where maybe hundreds of thousands of people have died.
A large number of his family still lives in Haiti and was devastated by the earthquake. He thought his father was dead, to be quite blunt, for many days, until finally his father was found. But 12 other members of the family are still missing. So, you know, this is one heck of a story, and we thank you for coming here to share it with us.
OLDEN POLYNICE, HAITIAN-BORN FORMER NBA PLAYER: Thank you, Rick, for having us.
SANCHEZ: Well, what was it like when you got the news -- well, take it back. What was your reaction when you heard about the earthquake? I understand that you are completely -- you're a big guy, you are 7'1" and I can't imagine you breaking down, but I understand you were a broken man when you heard about the earthquake and couldn't contact your family.
POLYNICE: Definitely. My family is there, especially my dad, and it is a situation -- ironically enough I was at a funeral when the earthquake hit, and I was sitting there at the funeral listening to the words, and then after the funeral my girlfriend and I went to the gravesite, and her dad was the same last name as my dad, Lester.
So the irony of everything else, and at that moment is when the earthquake hit in Haiti, but at the time we were standing in front of the gravesite. And so all of that was going through my head when I found out about it. Then we were calling and we could not hear the answer from his phone, I lost it.
SANCHEZ: I can only imagine. I am so happy that you were finally able to not only find out that your dad was still alive, but actually reunite with him. We have some video of that, apparently it was on one of the shows, "Dr. Phil's Show." This is the moment that you and Lester are reunited. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLYNICE: I told him after he got out of Haiti, it's the same thing. I love him and thank him for everything he's done. He's a survivor. That's where I got it from, you know.
It's so funny, people used to always wonder when I got hurt in a game, you know, because I always played no matter what, and they were always wondering, you weren't hurt. They would always minimized it. No, I'm hurt. I just learned a long time ago to play through it, and I learned that from him, because that's what he did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Even when you're 7'1", you know those little things are so important, like the love between a dad and his son. You must have totally broken when you didn't think he was going to make it through. And then you get the news.
And what about now? There's 12 other members of your family that still haven't been found? Who are they and what can you possibly do? How are you dealing with that?
POLYNICE: To clear some things up, there were 12 missing. We've accounted for nine.
SANCHEZ: Oh, good.
POLYNICE: Four did die in the earthquake, and --
SANCHEZ: Were they close to you?
POLYNICE: Yes -- well, one raised me.
SANCHEZ: Really?
POLYNICE: Yes, when my mom and dad left for the U.S., she was the one that raised us, and she was kind of like a mom as well. And she was the first one that we found out about. So it's been tough like that because, I mean, that is my family.
This world is not a big world. We tend to make that a big world, but it's not really. It's a small world. And I'm close to everybody I've ever come in contact with in some shape or form. That's what made it so tough, because this is actually my family members.
SANCHEZ: You are so well spoken and you seem to have such a grasp on the reality of this situation. Final question -- what should we who are listening to this show and listening to your words now do to help, to better understand what's going on in Haiti right now? What would you suggest as a Haitian?
POLYNICE: I've been on this mission for 25 years, ever since I signed a contract with the NBA to help, and right now what I'm look for and what I'm asking people to do is to support me and everybody else on what we're doing.
But my personal mission is the kids. I want to give back to kids the opportunity to reunite with family members or to even have somebody that they can call dad.
SANCHEZ: Do you have a twitter page or a website or something?
POLYNICE: I have a twitter page. I'm involved with a couple foundations, A.J. Foundation in Miami, AJE. They have orphan kids they're working with, trying to place them.
And that's my life mission. Those kids are homeless, they're hungry, they need beds, they need somewhere to sleep. I have friends down there working with the kids. One of my friends, William Relaford (ph), he just treated a young girl, did surgery, and she has on nowhere to go, no family. That's my mission in life.
SANCHEZ: That's a good mission, and I'm so glad you were here, big guy, to talk about it with us.
POLYNICE: Thank you very much
SANCHEZ: God bless you, appreciate. I hope everything works out for you and your family.
POLYNICE: Thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: Say hi to your dad.
POLYNICE: I will.
SANCHEZ: We also have this coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, FORMER U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I would say it's not really about the President Bush axis of evil speech or anything else. I think after September 11th, it was clear this whole thing was in a different framework.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, that's Tony Blair. He's in the hot seat and is firing back about his decision to take Britain to war in Iraq.
Also ahead, I'm going to talk to Grammy award winner Jody Watley, who is making some news doing, well, what I do, and what Mr. Polynice is doing as well, social media. I guess everybody is doing it these days. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state of Kansas versus Scott Roeder, case number 09-CR-1962. We the jury find the defendant Scott Roeder guilty of the crime of first-degree murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And with that, the man who confessed to killing a Kansas abortion doctor learns his fate after some startling admissions on the witness stand. That story is coming up in just a bit. We have a lot of new details.
But next, the man who didn't want gambling in his state has a pretty ironic twist. That's next as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Time for the "The List That You Don't Want To Be On."
The third spot occupied by David Barber. He was the head of the task force aimed at stopping illegal gambling in the state of Alabama. I say "was" because he resigned after news emerged that he came into a pile of money.
Guess how he came into that pile of money, folks? Gambling. He won the dough in a casino across the state line in Mississippi. This is part of his resignation letter, quote, "On a recent visit to Mississippi I visiting a legal casino and won a $2,300 prize playing a legal game."
He goes on, "I am convinced that the focus that operate illegal casinos in Alabama will focus on my actions."
The antigambling guy winning a money in a casino? David Barber says it would be a political distraction. It is? OK.
