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Rick's List
Obama and GOP Trade Accusations on the Budget Deficit; Toyota Apologizes for Recall; Grammy Awards Host Social Media Event
Aired February 01, 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: Here's what's making THE LIST, after going face to face with Republicans on their turf, the president today at it again on the budget and seemingly on the attack.
A heated exchange on CNN with an Iranian leader. The U.S. sent warships into the gulf to defend Israel against threats, riots in Kashmir. I'll tell you what started them.
Fresh off "30 Rock," Rip Torn, ripped again, in a bank this time? And a professional football coach, not a player, gives fans the finger. The lists you need to know about. Who's "Today's Most Intriguing Person"? Who's 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.
Hello, again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Here's what's making THE LIST today on your national conversation.
Twice today the president of the United States appeared before television cameras. Last week he called out the conservative-leaning Supreme Court right to their faces. Then he went right into the lion's den, visiting with Republicans at their annual retreat and taking their questions face to face sans teleprompter. Here's what he just said on YouTube answering more online questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Will you consider allowing the private sector to buy and take over the most troubled government-run agencies such as the U.S. Postal Service?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Bad idea, most of the time. There are examples where privatization makes sense, where people can do things much more efficiently. But oftentimes what you see is companies want to buy those parts of a government-run operation that are profitable and they don't want to do anything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The toughest battle of all, of course, is the economy, specifically how to cut the deficit while stimulating industry.
All right, those are a lot of big words. Let's cut to the chase. Let's drill down. Here's the president's new budget as thick as an old New York City phone book. Who will ever have time to read this thing? Here's the bigger problem. The deficit's still going up and that's a food fight in the making between the administration and Republicans over who is at fault.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Ten years ago we had a budget surplus of more than $200 billion with projected surpluses stretching out toward the horizon. Over the course of the past 10 years, the previous administration and previous Congresses created an expensive new drug program, passed massive tax cuts for the wealthy and funded two wars without paying for any of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Here's the president's position. The last Democrat in office, Bill Clinton, handed the last Republican George W. Bush, an annual budget surplus of $200 billion. The president further states that President Bush and Congress fought two wars without paying for either. They borrowed that money for the most part instead. He's also accusing the previous administration and Congress, of passing tax cuts weighted toward the wealthy. And he accuses the previous administration of launching that Medicare prescription drug benefit without paying for that either. That's President Obama's answer to his Republican critics.
Now let me show you numbers. We have fact-checked this. Bill Clinton's surplus, yes, around $200 billion a year. Think of that as a business running a profit. George W. Bush's deficit, yes, $1.2 trillion. Think of that as -- well, spending a lot more than you make. So yes, President Obama did inherit a huge deficit from President Bush after President Bush inherited a big surplus from Bill Clinton. Has he added to it? Has Obama added to it? Yes, he has. He's taken it from $1.2 trillion to $1.4 trillion in 2009, one year and now it's projected to grow again. The president said today no matter who's responsible for it, he wants to bring it down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I welcome any idea from Democrats and Republicans. What I will not welcome, what I reject is the same old grandstanding when the cameras are on and the same irresponsible budget policies when the cameras are off. It's time to hold Washington to the same standards families and businesses hold themselves. It's time to save what we can, spend what we must and live within our means once again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Is this a new Barack Obama? Let's do another fact check.
You know that Republican retreat last Friday? That's where the president heard a lot of accusations. He went there and faced them. Jeb Hensarling of Texas accused Mr. Obama of spending so much that in Hensarling's words, what used to be the annual deficits under Republicans have become the monthly deficits under Democrats. In other words, the president has increased the deficit by 12 times. Our fact check desk looked at that accusation. Here's what they found. Annual Republican deficit, as we mentioned earlier, $1.2 trillion. Current monthly deficit under President Obama, $118 billion. That's not even close. Congressman Jeb Hensarling was wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE WILLEIT, SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGE: Some of them for sure are not orphans because immediately as she arrived here a little girl, she might be nine years old, was crying loud, I'm not an orphan. I do have my parents. Please call my parents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Did a church group from the United States traffic 33 Haitian children across the border? We have new information on that story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: When you say that suddenly that I've got a monthly budget that is higher -- a monthly deficit that is higher than the annual deficit left by the Republicans, that's factually just not true and you know it's not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: You're going to hear a lot about that. Is the president getting more defensive with some of his critics? Not only on their turf, but in general. Is he at it again today? That's what we're going to be looking into with some of our guests. That story's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Were 10 American missionaries from a Baptist church in Idaho trafficking children? That can't be, right? That's what many Americans are thinking as they hear this news. What we want to do is provide you with the information as we know it, because these are serious potential charges ranging from kidnapping to exploitation to trafficking in children in the wake of the Haitian earthquake.
Reporting from Haiti, here is my colleague Karl Penhaul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They say they're answering Jesus' call. Now these American Baptists stand accused of trafficking 33 Haitian babies and children. The Americans deny the charges and say they believed the kids were orphaned or abandoned. But some were not orphans at all and were crying to go home to their parents. Haitian authorities and aid workers say Haitian police allowed the Americans out of their jail cells to talk to CNN. They described a poorly planned mission to bus kids out of Haiti to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic, but they denied wrongdoing.
LAURA SILSEY, NEW LIFE CHILDREN'S REFUGE: We believe we have been charged very falsely with trafficking which of course is the furthest possible extreme. Our heart is here. We literally all gave up everything we had -- income and used our own funds to come here to help these children and by no means are any part of that horrendous practice.
CARLA THOMPSON, NEW LIFE CHILDREN'S REFUGE: God is the one who called us to come here. We just really believed that this was his purpose.
PENHAUL: Haitian police arrested the 10 Americans from Idaho, Kansas and Texas Friday as they tried to cross the border from Haiti into the Dominican Republic. Team leader Silsby admitted the children had no documents, no passports, no official permission to leave.
SILSBY: They really didn't have any paperwork. This is, again, probably a misunderstanding on my part, but I didn't understand that that would really need to be required.
PENHAUL: The children between two months and 12 years old have been temporarily housed here at SOS children's village run by a Austrian charity in Port-au-Prince. The spokesman George Willeit said initial investigations show at least 10 of the youngsters have at least one surviving parent. He's now responsible for trying to reunite the families.
GEORGE WILLEIT, SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGE: Some of them for sure are not orphans because immediately as she arrived here, a little girl, she might be nine years old, was crying loud, I'm not an orphan, I do have my parents, please call my parents.
PENHAUL: We met 10-year-old Benatine Poulime. She'd been on the Baptist bus and was clearly frightened. She gave us the phone number of her mom (INAUDIBLE) Poulime. In a brief conversation the woman said she'd agreed to hand over her only daughter to the Americans and said she believed her child would be schooled and be well cared for. Her mother gave permission to interview little Benatine. In a quiet voice she told how she was loaded onto a bus just yards from here home with only the clothes she stood up in. She did not want to go.
BENATINE POULIME, TAKEN ON BUS BY BAPTIST MISSIONARIES (THROUGH TRANSLATOR: I said I wanted to get out of the bus, but they told me I had to stay. I was crying. I said I wanted to go to my mom, she says.
PENHAUL: Back to jail and Baptist team leader Laura Silsby. At least 10 of the children have either a mother or a father and they have the phone numbers of their mothers and fathers.
SILSBY: OK. I can tell you our heart and our intent was to help only those children that needed us most that they had lost either both mother and father or had lost, you know, one of their parents and the other parent had abandoned them. PENHAUL: Silsby told me her Baptist group first met a Haitian pastor by chance as they arrived in the country last week and he helped them gather the children.
SILSBY: We felt like it was a very God-appointed meeting.
PENHAUL: Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive banned fast track adoptions just after the earthquake and put a stop on Haitian kids leaving without official paperwork. The move was an effort to stop the risk of kids being sold for adoption or sold into child abuse rings. Bellerive said he believed the Americans had committed a crime and is vowing to fully investigate.
JEAN-MAX BELLERIVE, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER: For what I know until now it's a kidnapping case. If we had some related parents involved in the operation, the children certainly were not fully willing to go because some kids, from what I heard, they were asking for their parents. They wanted to return to their parents. So in any case, really just it's not acceptable.
PENHAUL: The prime minister conceded Haiti's justice system is not fully functioning after the quake. He suggested the 10 Americans could be extradited to the United States to face trial. Karl Penhaul, CNN, Port-au-Prince.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Obviously, a story we're going to stay on top of.
Let's do a Twitter alert if we possibly can. Let's move in. You heard what the president had to say about the budget. Now this is the other side. This is what Republicans are tweeting about the president's numbers. It's astounding to hear the president talk about fiscal sanity but then turn around and propose the largest budget deficits in history. So says Representative Tom Price.
Here's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, also a congresswoman and Republican from my home state of Florida. The president's budget sent to Congress today spends more than any other in history, same language and the largest deficit in history will result in largest taxes in history. There you have it. Meanwhile we also have this for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Let's talk about the budget once again because I'll go through it with you line by line. The fact of the matter is is that when we came into office, the deficit was $1.3 trillion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It was $1.2, Mr. President. By the way, the president continues to go toe to toe with the GOP on their turf and continues it today -- on YouTube.
Also, our Jessica Yellin is going to be reporting on what else the president is doing today and why. We asked the question, is it a brand new Barack Obama? The response that I'm getting to that question that I asked in our first segment so far on Twitter is astounding. All of you, I have been reading this messages throughout the last couple of minutes. Pretty spectacular how many people are talking about it.
Also, speaking of swimming with sharks, look at this. Just kidding, Jessica. They are circling off the coast of Florida. Those are all sharks, folks, big sharks. That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to our new show. It's called THE LIST. We're happy you're here.
I told you moments ago that everybody was talking about that comment about whether the president's changing his tune a little bit. Let's go to the Twitter board if we possibly can.
I'm going to show you what Michael wrote to us just moments ago. No, the president isn't getting defensive. He's getting real, separating the political BS and making everyone accountable. That's what Michael says.
Jessica Yellin is in President Obama's hometown today. Jessica, first he takes a shot at the Supreme Court, right to their faces. There was a lot of hay made about that last week. Then he goes face to face with the GOP at their retreat which is kind of bizarre because it's not something we have seen done too much in the past. Today, he defends himself against being a big spender with a new budget announcement and then goes on YouTube as well.
Seems to be a more focused, a targeted President Obama, at least in the last four or five days. Are we reading that right?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's a much more -- it's Obama, President Obama in campaign mode. He is engaged. He's combative. He's leaning into them and that's where his strength comes and that's when he connects well with people. I would disagree with you that he's more focused in terms of his messaging, Rick, only for this reason. Today is budget day. If this were President Bush he would come out with the budget in the morning and all day long the only message we would hear would be about his budget. Instead as you point out, President Barack Obama started with the budget, then we have YouTube. Then Robert Gibbs makes an announcement about don't ask don't tell. And so there are multiple messages out today and the White House then gets upset that their message doesn't break through. You've got to wonder why. Their message discipline is not where it could be.
SANCHEZ: Let's talk about message discipline a little bit. The meeting last Friday with Republicans was great viewing. In fact, you and I talked about it a little bit when it happened and this particular exchange is worth revisiting. I don't know how many Americans got a chance to see this because it was Friday and everybody was getting ready for the weekend. So I think this is important. The guy who's asking this question is Republican Congressman Jeb -- not Jim -- Hensarling. It's Jeb of Texas. Let's hear him out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JEB HENSARLING (R) TEXAS: What were the old annual deficits under Republicans have now become the monthly deficits under Democrats.
OBAMA: I'll go through it with you line by line. The fact of the matter is is that that a when we came into office, the deficit was $1.3 trillion. $1.3. So when you say that suddenly I've got a monthly budget that is higher than the annual -- or a monthly deficit that's higher than the annual deficit left by the Republicans, that's factually just not true and you know it's not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Who is this a winning argument for here? We are hearing this a lot and this happens in politics, both sides. Republicans have accused Democrats of being big spenders. Democrats accuse Republicans of being big spenders. But there is a right and a wrong here. Who's winning the argument and who has the potential or the ammunition to win this argument? Maybe that's the way I should phrase this question to you.
YELLIN: Yeah. To date the Republicans have been winning this argument. And President Obama in that answer, I think was calling on the media, more than calling out the Republicans. He was calling on the media to do its job and fact check better. And as you have shown in this show already, there was a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that did the fact check and found that what the Republican congressman said was not fully true. It was rather misleading. They called it false. So the president is pressing the media to do a little bit better job of instead of just letting the fights happen, actually playing referee occasionally which we are not always great at doing, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Is this president seemingly realizing now that he needs to be more of a frontal assault type of politician than waiting for stories to develop that could end up hurting him?
YELLIN: This is such a tough one for the president. He's publicly grappled with it a bit himself in some of the interviews recently. Democrats definitely want him to be what you call a frontal assault president. I know so many top Democrats who are thrilled with the president's appearance at the GOP hearing Friday -- event Friday and not as happy at the State of the Union.
But the challenge for him is that independents don't like the partisan tone. When he becomes aggressive the way he is, that can be potentially a turnoff to lots of independents and there is a new Gallup poll out today, the Gallup analysis of the public and it's finding that a growing number of Democrats are moving into the independent column this year. It's a big challenge for the president to continue to appeal to them and partisanship does not appeal to those independents. It's a careful balancing act.
SANCHEZ: Good explanation and good reporting as usual, Jessica. YELLIN: Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. Now back to swimming with the sharks. Enjoy Chicago.
YELLIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no reports that the protesters were shooting, firing. There are reports that (INAUDIBLE) and the revolutionary guard were doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you not believe there was violence there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was violence, but (INAUDIBLE) against the protesters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's an argument you're looking at there. This is a fight, a scuffle. That was an exchange between CNN and Iran's foreign minister. He talked to us. We asked him the tough questions or Fareed did. It got so heated he went from his native tongue to English. And those are the scenes of what he's talking about. That story's next in fact.
And if you drive a Toyota, are you in the clear now? We have brand new information on what Toyota is calling a remedy. You need to hear this. This is the new information on the story that we have been following for the better part of the last week. We're going to have that for you in 10 minutes.
Next, a rather princely performance makes THE LIST. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Who's intriguing out there? At the tender age of 12 he already exudes a poise much beyond his years. You want to find out who's most intriguing? Here we go.
For years his identity was concealed. His famous father wanted to keep him out of the spotlight that he had adored as a child. We all looked from afar but when Michael Jackson died last summer, the world met his children and last night, Prince Michael -- did you see this? One of today's most intriguing, accepted his father's lifetime achievement award at the Grammy's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE MICHAEL JACKSON: His songs, his message was simple, love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world. Thank you. We love you, daddy. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Prince Michael Jackson, age 12 and heir to the Jackson legacy, one of today's definitely most intriguing.
NASA's grand plan to return to the moon may be just a distant memory. We're going to tell you why. That's ahead. Also, I want you to take a look at this. It's the local Daytona of ice racing. It's kind of bizarre. What is that? A plume? Smoke, snow, ice? We'll tell you. You can join us by the way for the national conversation when you (INAUDIBLE) just call 1-877-4CNN/tour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Moments ago we did a story out of Port-au-Prince. We saw Karl Penhaul reporting on what is a huge problem for a family trying to take some children across the border. They may be charged.
And now we understand moments ago this family was before ministers there in Port-au-Prince. We have some sound we turned around. They just put this out. We're going to share with you a development on that story from the State Department. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
P.J. CROWLEY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: ... standing in Port-au-Prince to go before a Haitian judge and continue the investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So they might be tried in the United States? Do you have anything...
CROWLEY: First of all, it's up to the Haitian government. It's their country. You know, their police, you know, apprehended these individuals. Obviously Haiti wants to determine the motives behind the movement of children between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and we are assisting in every way possible.
And once we know the facts then we'll determine what the appropriate course is, but the judgment is really up to the Haitian government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And again it's the Haitian government making the accusation. Just to be clear, the missionaries from the United States, these Baptist missionaries, are saying they have done nothing wrong. At worst it may be a misunderstanding, obviously. Both sides being represented and we'll continue to follow and drill down on this story for you.
Now this -- when I was in college in Minnesota, a friend of mine invited me to go ice fishing in Minot, North Dakota. I thought that's about all you could do on a frozen lake. It wasn't. Let's do "Fotos."
It's amazing to watch these pictures. These drivers are using a frozen lake during what appear to be whiteout conditions to try and race their vehicles. Talk about a bitter blast. The January thaw put the event in jeopardy.
Yes, that's ice that they are racing on top of. And then the weather took an icy turn and still saved their fun. Hey, some of the racers aren't even street legal drivers yet.
Barbados now, much sunnier there. Here's a tale about Prince Harry and a thrown, but not the kind he's used to -- "thrown." Get it? As in thrown from a horse? He's at a polo match. The prince threw a royal tantrum to boot. There he is hitting the ground. See him in a light blue shirt.
A mystery businessman offered to donate $100,000 to the prince's charity if he managed to stay on the saddle. I guess the businessman won the bet. He paid anyway. Hey, it's a charity.
To Singer Island, Florida, where there is nothing like a quiet stroll on a sand and quick dip in -- quick dip? In that? You see what those are? You could be on the menu. Those are sharks, folks, apparently thousands of them. Look at this seemingly endless school of sharks swimming right along the beach making. Their way south for the season.
It kind of gives new meaning to, hmm, "open up." Look at that. Swim at your own risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Will you consider allowing the private sector to buy and take over the most troubled government-run agencies such as the U.S. Postal Service?
OBAMA: Bad idea most of the time. The U.S. post office provides universal service. Those companies would not want to provide universal service.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is a president who knows how to use social media. Or does social media know how to use him? It's not exactly town hall, but remember the YouTube debates? This is the president on YouTube answering questions.
This on the same day, by the way, that we're talking to his top economic adviser, John McCain's presidential campaign. He'll be coming to talk to us in a little bit.
Protesters clashing with the government in Kashmir. Police fired teargas, killing a child. Soldiers are running for cover. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Moments ago we heard from the president on the budget. We let you hear some of the large portions of that. Here's what it looks like, by the way. It's a lot of pages, folks. Let me show you that thing again. Thick as a phone book, can you say?
And let me remind you, the projected deficit here is more than $1.5 trillion, and the president said he doesn't like it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences, as if waste doesn't matter, as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like monopoly money, as if we can ignore this challenge for another generation. We can't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Let's talk to somebody who knows about budgets, knows about numbers. That's why we have him on, because we hope to be able to get a perspective on this from him, hopefully learn from him.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin was a former director of the Congressional Budget Office. He was a policy director for the McCain campaign for president, and he's good enough to join us now.
Let me ask you a question. The president said he doesn't like this deficit. Is he doing enough to cut it?
DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, FORMER DIRECTOR, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE: I don't think anyone should worry about the $1.6 trillion they are projecting for this year. I think it will probably come in below that. The real concern in this budget is we have deficits as far as the eye can see that are enormous.
If you go out ten years from now, we're still running a trillion dollar deficit under the plan, and that's long after the economy is supposed to have healed, long after the financial crisis is a distant memory.
And quite frankly, taxes are well above where they normally are. So this is a spending problem, and it's in the budget as far as you can see.
SANCHEZ: I think most Americans understand that. I think most Americans also understand that this president was saddled with a problem when he took over. I mean, that's what fair-minded people would say.
Did you just say -- did I hear you say that it's hard to criticize the first year? That means if John McCain had won rather than Barack Obama, you, as one of his advisers would have pretty much recommended that he do exactly what this president has done?
HOLTZ-EAKIN: I think had John McCain been fortunate to be elected president he would have inherited a budget that was badly damaged by economic distress.
SANCHEZ: $1.2 billion?
HOLTZ-EAKIN: Those are the facts.
SANCHEZ: Right.
HOLTZ-EAKIN: What would have been different is the future trajectory, and that quite frankly is the economic concern.
SANCHEZ: So let me go back to the question. You're saying, yes, first year, hard to blame this guy for what he's done. It's a big part of what he was saddled with. Is that what I'm hearing you say?
HOLTZ-EAKIN: That's year one. Year two's going up, not down. I think that's a mistake. Down should be the right direction. But year three, year four, five, ten, those are the big concern.
And that's what the budget is about. It's about laying out a plan, sending a signal to Congress about where you want to go, and more importantly in this situation sending a signal to our international lenders that we'll get this under control. And there is no such signal in this budget.
SANCHEZ: That's good stuff. And I think that gives us perspective, especially from someone like you who knows budgets.
HOLTZ-EAKIN: It's exciting.
SANCHEZ: What did you say?
HOLTZ-EAKIN: It's exciting.
SANCHEZ: It's exciting stuff.
Let me ask you a question. Did you see the president with the congressman from Texas when the congressman asked him the question -- our fact-check shows plain as day that George W. Bush inherited a huge surplus and turned it into a huge deficit. That's water under the bridge.
Do Republicans suffer a credibility gap on this one when they holler about the deficit given the set of facts we have explained?
HOLTZ-EAKIN: I think we have had a bipartisan failure on the budget for some time. I don't think Republicans have a particularly strong leg to stand on here, but if we're going to have a future where we meet our generational obligation to leave an economy that's stronger to our children and not saddle them with debt, both parties need to get it together.
SANCHEZ: That's fair. That's the right thing to say, that's fair. We thank you for joining us and we thanking you taking us through this and explaining the difference between year one and then the rest of the years. We'll continue to look into it. Thanks so much. Appreciate it, Doug. HOLTZ-EAKIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: There is a lot of stuff we are following now. There is a budget tweet I wanted to share with you, because we talked a lot about the deficit. Folks, the debt and deficit are two completely different things. Don't get them confused.
But we want to show you this, because one of the things we are following is the national debt as well. That's a tweet from national debt, and there's the number. You know, take out your calculators because it changes every few seconds, and see if you can follow it. Talk about too big -- too big to fail? Hmm.
If you own a Toyota or know someone who does, you need to stick around. There is word of a possible fix. That's right, and that's next.
Also, an NFL coach uses an obscene gesture on fans. We have heard of players doing that. We have heard of fans doing that, but a coach? Shouldn't he know better? We'll tell you who it is.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Nearly two weeks into this Toyota recall mess, news today from the company's president that they have a fix for the stuck gas pedal problem that we have been talking about. Here is what a gas pedal looks like. We have been explaining it to you. I'll put it in front of your shirt, since you're wearing a white shirt. In front of mine they can't see it.
This is Brooke Baldwin. She's been looking into this for the better part of the last five days. What's the fix?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I hope this is the last time I sit here and talk Toyota. Honestly, we're putting this gas pedal into retirement after this segment hopefully here, been they're saying -- let's first establish problem if you have been under a rock for a few days.
But there is a problem with the friction device inside this pedal somewhere in this thing that basically can fail because of wear and tear or environmental conditions.
So what's the fix? According to Toyota, today they announced they will install the steel bar to reduce the friction that causes the pedal to stick. But not only is that the timely news element out today from Toyota, they are not only announcing the fix, they are also offering two little words you may like to hear --- "I'm sorry."
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM LENTZ, PRESIDENT & COO, TOYOTA MOTOR SALES USA: I want to sincerely apologize to Toyota owners. I know that our recalls have caused many of you concern, and for that, I am truly sorry. Toyota has always prided itself on building high quality durable cars that customers can depend on. And I know that we have let you down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's interesting, "I know we have let you down." It seems when you hear him say that and it seems from everything that they have been very transparent about the way that they have dealt with this, which has made a lot of people react, including Congress.
Gary, turn that camera around. See if you can get a shot of that. Look at this. This is Darrell Issa. He's tweeting. And we just intercepted this tweet a little while ago. "Have you been affected by Toyota gas pedal problems? We have an oversight hearing scheduled for February 10. Let me know, and stay tuned."
He's saying, look, Congress will be meeting about this. But it sounds like Toyota is beating them to the punch. Darrell Issa getting on this bandwagon.
BALDWIN: We mentioned, I think Friday, two different Congressional committees are drilling down on this very issue, looking into the public risk and whether Toyota really acted fast enough.
SANCHEZ: Do they have to have that given that Toyota is coming out and saying, look, we have been up front about this. We have been very honest about this, and now we figured out how to fix it.
BALDWIN: I have a feeling they will investigate looking back so this problem doesn't happen again. But if this was a problem you had to deal with, and millions and millions of people had to, let's talk about what you really need to know, the takeaway really here.
The good news is that Toyota announced today they are shipping out these new parts, these reinforcement beams, these bars to dealers now which means dealers should be repairing your recalled vehicle in a matter of days.
So keep your eye on the mail. Toyota will send you a letter letting you know when and how to call your dealer to set up this appointment time. And if you're wondering how long the fix may take, we were talking to a dealer who said it should take all of half an hour. So that's pretty good.
SANCHEZ: I have an interesting question for you.
BALDWIN: Bring it on, Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: How do you drive the car there?
BALDWIN: Maybe they'll pick you up.
SANCHEZ: Don't you have to have it towed to get there? After all, if the car is dangerous to drive --
BALDWIN: Oh, you got me, Sanchez.
You know what, when I was listening to the dealer on our air, he said they will actually make house calls. Look, Toyota is saying, this is our bad. We are extending our dealer hours. Some people will be open 24/7. They will be making house calls. So if you can't get to the dealer, give them a call. Your dealer may actually come to you.
SANCHEZ: Pay for the towing.
BALDWIN: Pay for the towing.
But keep in mind we are talking about the sticky accelerator recall fix, which was announced two weeks ago. And these are the different models, eight models that were affected by that.
There was the other recall that was announced back in November. That was the issue with the floor mat and the pedal getting trapped on that. Those fixes are underway, so if that affects you and you haven't heard from a dealer, call your dealer.
Some people have been saying critics have been a little too slow to respond. Bottom line, a lot of people agree they are doing the right thing.
SANCHEZ: Get back to us on that question though. I'm sorry.
BALDWIN: You stumped me.
SANCHEZ: I should have asked you before the show. It came to mind now.
BALDWIN: That's fine. Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Thank you, Brooke.
(LAUGHTER)
Unbelievable video is coming into us. Look at this. These are riots in Kashmir. They're taking a deadly turn, as well, as we're going to have that story in our next hour here for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED LETO, ACTOR: I'm Jared Leto and I'm hanging out with Kanye West and the Jonas Brothers right here on the national conversation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, Jared Leto suddenly becomes a part of our show. He and I became very close while I was there.
BALDWIN: Did you? Did you bring him back to Atlanta with you?
SANCHEZ: He's a good guy, a good friend. He was part of part of our show on Friday. If you didn't see it, we were invited by the Grammy museum to go to L.A. We had a blast.
BALDWIN: Good time?
SANCHEZ: We'll take you behind the scenes, show you the blast.
We'll be right back. You're watching "The List." I'm Rick Sanchez with Brooke Baldwin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
This time on Friday, I was conducting this national conversation live from the Grammy museum in Los Angeles. They asked me to host their first-ever social media rock star summit. And from what I hear, they might actually invite us back.
It's turning online buzz into offline dialogue. We talked to the young creators of some of the biggest social media outlets, and people from around the world tune in to see this live on CNN.com as well as grammymuseum.com. Here's a look at some of the action that we couldn't show you Friday from behind the scenes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So this is the Grammy museum. There's one of the most famous Hispanic entertainers ever. This is gorgeous. That's perfect. Can we book it? If I wore that during the show...
I'm sitting here piecing together what we're going to do on the news today, because part of it is going to be themed around the fact that we're here and that we're in L.A., but another big part of it will be just our show, "RICK'S LIST" as we do every day.
Hello everybody, I'm Rick Sanchez. Your national conversation is coming to you live from the Grammy museum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODY WATLEY, SINGER: Hey, Rick, this is Grammy Award winning artist Jody Watley. What's on your list? Oh, wait, I'm on "The List" today. We're talking social media.
LETO: Jared Leto hanging out with Kanye West and my buddies the Jonas Brothers right here on the national conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, hey, Rick, who's on your list today?
SANCHEZ: Good job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear? Are we all clear?
SANCHEZ: We're done. Now we're going to make our way down to what would be the social media panel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We call you affectionately in the office "the godfather." The godfather of social media.
SANCHEZ: We were doing it on our show before it was cool, so now that the cool people are doing it, they're inviting us to come and talk to them, which I guess kind of makes us cool?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To welcome you to the first-ever social media rock star summit, Rick Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: Thank you. It's wonderful to be here.
These guys are like baby rich guy guys. Sorry.
We enjoyed doing the show out here and we enjoyed having the museum as the backdrop. I think it went great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes it did. And it went great because there were some really nice people involved in the planning. I'd like to thank my executive producer, or should I say my field producer, Michael Hurd, for helping to put all that together, and as well as Janelle, and Alisha, and everybody else that was involve with the trip. My thanks to all of you and, of course, the folks from the Grammy museum.
Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: There are no reports that the protesters were shooting, firing. There are reports that the Basij and the Revolutionary guard were doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do not agree there was violence there?
ZAKARIA: There was violence, but from the Basij against the protesters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's an argument that those two are having. It's one of Iran's leaders who sits down to talk with Fareed Zakaria, and he has some harsh words about the violence in Iran as the U.S. sends warships into the Gulf. That's the story at the top of the hour.
Also, next, a very ironic twist that lands one reporter on our "List You Don't Want To Be On." And hint -- he really literally landed there. Who is it? Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Time for "The List You Don't Want To Be On."
It is this guy, the pilot of this plane. He put a plane down on the Jersey Turnpike because he was in trouble. That's good. But he did so during morning rush hour. That's bad. Here's what's worse -- he's a traffic reporter. His job is to improve the traffic flow, not tie it up like that. Looks like a parking lot, which is what he did to get on "List you that don't want to be on" today.
SANCHEZ: Also on the list, Dr. Rip Torn. This isn't his mug shot, but he did have one taken this weekend. Arrested in Connecticut inside a bank, police found him, quote, "highly intoxicated," stop quote, carrying a loaded pistol.
His arraignment was this morning for burglary and for gun-related charges. He is on the list.
Who, though, is number one? That's in the next hour.
Here's what else we got.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making THE LIST.
After going face-to-face with Republicans on their turf...
OBAMA: That's factually just not true, and you know it's not true.
SANCHEZ: The president today at it again on the budget and seemingly on the attack.
Riots in Kashmir. I'll tell you what started them.
And a professional football coach, not a player, gives fans the finger.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
