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Rick's List

Toyota Announces Another Recall; New Orleans Celebrates

Aired February 09, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making news right now on your national conversation.

SEAN KANE, SAFETY RESEARCH AND STRATEGIES: Toyota's explanations do not account for the share of unintended acceleration complaints that we have examined.

LEMON: So, what does account for all of the those complaints? A CNN special investigation.

Senator Richard Shelby says he wanted to get the White House's attention by blocking dozens of president nominations.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Surely, we can set aside bipartisanship and do what has traditionally been done to confirm these nominations.

LEMON: Look like Shelby got their attention. We will drill down and find out, what changed?

What is this man's story?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Twenty-eight days that we're hearing that he was buried. It's kind of hard to believe.

DR. MIKE CONNELLY, PROJECT MEDISHARE, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Well, he was emaciated. It was obvious that he hadn't had anything really to drink or eat in quite some time.

LEMON: Dr. Gupta with the unbelievable rescue that unfolded on this program.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got to get out of here.

LEMON: Yes, you do. A gas station explodes.

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 and on the air for Tuesday, February 9, starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. Rick is off today.

So, making THE LIST right now in your national conversation, snow, and lots more snow, and wind, really strong wind, just as everything is -- everybody is digging out from last weekend's blizzard. How bad could it get? Well, some places in the Northeast, well, snow is expected to fall so hard, so fast, if you go to a movie, you might not be able to get in your car when it is over. Think about that.

Right now, you are looking at New York's Central Park and you're also looking at Detroit. New York could get about a foot-and-a-half of snow. You are also looking at Washington, D.C. You see a very snowy White House right there, which could get lucky and just a few more inches of snow. Not sure how lucky that is, after all they got this weekend.

Still not fun on top of the two-and-a-half feet that shut down the city, as we said over the weekend. So, we're staying on top of all of this for you. Our meteorologist Chad Myers will join us in just a bit to tell us who will get hit, how hard, and when it will happen.

And keep your eyes on the bottom of the screen for the latest on the weather and the airport delays coasts to coast, as THE LIST scrolls on.

But, first, this developing story. It may seem like we just saw this just a couple of days ago, the big boss of Toyota apologizing again, and the safety recalls, well, they just keep coming, this time for Toyotas that might have brake problems. A bit later in this program, we will take you to a lab where some pretty smart engineers have a major problem with Toyota's safety testing process. So, whether you drive that make of car or not, you will want to see the report from our Drew Griffin, right, with our Special Investigations Unit.

That's a little bit later, but, right now, our Brooke Baldwin with news about a Toyota model that until now has not been linked to the safety problems and, until now. Really, we should say until now.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, until now.

And a lot of people -- obviously, if you drive a Toyota, you have been paying attention. But, well, even if you don't drive one, chances are there is one on the road next to you. So, you just pay attention, because...

LEMON: Or someone in your family, right?

BALDWIN: Or someone in your family. So many people are touched by this.

And here is the latest bit of news we just got in today. Toyota has just announced this global recall. This has to do with those Prius problems, 437,000 vehicles, mostly 2010 Priuses, also includes a couple other hybrids here. The problem, as we told you, with the antilock braking system. Toyota calling this a software glitch. Now, they are working on that fix.

Meantime, let me throw another recall at you, 7,300 2010 Camrys with this four-cylinder engine. There's saying there's another braking with that car. And a federal agency is reviewing dozens of steering complaints on the 2009/2010 Toyota Corollas. Stay with me. This is why you need to pay attention.

LEMON: Sheesh.

BALDWIN: That is on all top of these two other recalls we have been talking about for the past couple of weeks. What is that, like 8.1 or so million cars involved in that? That was the floor mat issue, the sticky accelerator. Toyota, they're working on implementing their fix, the fix they it is. We will hear from Drew Griffin next hour to see if that in fact...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You need a notepad to keep up with all this stuff, as much as keeps coming every day.

BALDWIN: It is a lot of information, but you just have to take it in, because it affects so many of us and especially drivers.

We're hearing from these victims here, drivers like Nicole Pozen. She is coming forward with her story. About a year ago, she was driving. It was a rainy afternoon. The mother of two steered her 2007 Toyota Tundra around this tight turn and her accelerator got stuck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE POZEN, ACCIDENT VICTIM: As soon as I touched the accelerator it just -- it just -- it just jumped. I mean, it went over the curb and there was nothing I could do. I was too close to the curb to be able to do anything.

And I pressed the brakes. I did. I mean, I did everything that I thought I could, and I couldn't get my car to stop. I was thinking, you know, am I going to survive this? What is going to happen? Am I going to -- am I going to die?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, what happened was, she slammed into a tree going about 50 miles an hour. You saw that neck brace on her. She is suffering neck, back injuries, considering legal action. And when she heard about the Toyota recall, she says she felt vindicated, Don, but still so angry, because you're still wondering, if this is happening to her, it had happened to other people, and she's wondering when this could have possibly been prevented.

LEMON: And you wonder what is going to be next, because you keep hearing, oh, there's a possibility of something, because we heard about the possibility of Prius, right, and then all of the sudden, that possibility became a reality.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Camry, Corolla, possibly.

LEMON: And these are some of the most driven cars in the country.

So, then P.R. nightmare, and finally we are hearing from the head of Toyota about the Prius recall.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Finally, we're seeing the top man, if you will. For the last two weeks, we really have not seen Akio Toyoda, grandfather founded the company, has been out of the public eye. But this time, he has come forward. And he in fact said he tested the Prius himself just to feel the brake glitch himself.

And he is right there. He made this promise to customers. Can't be lost in translation here. He's speaking in English. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIO TOYODA, PRESIDENT & CEO, TOYOTA: Together, we will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Mr. Toyoda penned a column in today's "Washington Post."

In reading it, makes a couple points, including vowing to more aggressively investigate consumer complaints, and just do a better job reaching out to the agencies whose job it is to protect you, the public, driving their cars.

We heard from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week, said he would hold Toyota's feet to the fire. Toyota called now to testify before these two House panels this month. In fact, Don, they were supposed to be testifying tomorrow in front of the House Oversight Committee, but that is postponed because of the weather.

LEMON: Because of the weather.

Hey, listen, I am not ignoring you. You heard me talking there.

BALDWIN: What you got?

LEMON: That's because I was getting word from our producer.

Toyota -- there he is, there a spokesperson there tweeting about this. It says: "Toyota service centers will be working extended hours and weekends resulting in a combined capacity to repair 6,000 vehicles per day."

BALDWIN: Excellent.

LEMON: We are hearing this from the Toyota P.R. there, Scott Brownlee.

And that just came over...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Yes, extending threat hours, some 24/7, to get this thing fixed.

LEMON: All right. So check up on that and follow up on this information, because it is a ton for people to absorb.

BALDWIN: It is a lot.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: You're welcome.

LEMON: Thanks, Brooke.

So, drivers, if all this information is confusing to you, whether you own a Toyota or someone you love does, make sure you check out CNN.com/Toyota for up-to-the-minute recall news and what you should do, what you need to know. Toyota tweeting just now, a spokesperson, new information right here in this broadcast.

Boy, oh, boy, where is the party? You know where it is, don't you, Brooke?

BALDWIN: New Orleans.

LEMON: There you go. It's down in the Big Easy. You can say New Orleans. You can say New Orleans. You can say New Orleans. You can just call it not really my home city...

BALDWIN: You home state.

LEMON: ... but my home state. My home city is up the road about an hour.

But, anyway, you are looking at pictures from New Orleans. These are folks downtown pretty close to the French Quarter. And they are getting ready for that big Saints' parade that is going to start in just a bit. And we are going to carry it for you right on CNN. Who Dat, they have big reason to party down and be happy down there.

BALDWIN: Yes, they do.

LEMON: Overjoyed, as we are, too, for them.

And Then check out this. This man wore distinguished combat medals more than General Patton. Only, he is not even in the Army. That story is straight ahead right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, just before the break, we showed you that live shot of New Orleans. Look again and see the folks out there on the streets of New Orleans, ready for their champions, world champion Saints, to give them a big -- if it was New York , we would say ticker tape parade, but it's going to be a Mardi Gras, Who Dat (INAUDIBLE) parade.

You're going to see it here on CNN.

In the meantime, lots of you are tweeting about this. Hey, let's go to at RickSanchez on CNN. It says: "World champion has a great ring to it, doesn't it? Who's coming out to the parade? Next year, it's going to be two dat. Can you say repeat?" That's from a Saints player. That's from Heath Evans. Yes, that's from a player, Heath Evans. Rock on.

Do we have another one, Ang? One more. Here we go: "N.O., New Orleans, you deserve this moment. I'm just blessed to be part of it. Proud to be a Saint. For the love of our city our home, we finished strong." And this is Courtney Roby, another Saints player.

Hey, guys. Thanks for tweeting us. We are on your side. We are very happy. The weather looks great down there today in New Orleans. Wish I was there. Off tomorrow. Maybe I will go, hang out a little bit.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

LEMON: Hey, Chad, can I show you this real quick?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Go ahead.

LEMON: We're talking about weather. And it's also the Saints saying.

But it says: "It's great to see you on during the week." They're talking about me. "I hope they let us know how the Snowtorious BIG is progressing east," talking about the snow there. They're calling it the Snowtorious BIG.

MYERS: I have seen it called Snowmageddon.

LEMON: Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, or whatever it is.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Chad Myers.

MYERS: You got it. Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: On senator, as you all are aware, had put a hold on every single nominee that we have put forward, due to a dispute over a couple of earmarks in his state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Is he talking about Senator Shelby? Is Senator Shelby now dropping his hold on several of Obama's nominations? And why the turnabout?

And did you see how Robert Gibbs' started out the White House briefing today? We will have that next, plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that big blaze. All right, we have to get out of here before the thing blows up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That is a gas pump lighting up. That story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, so let's just call it bipartisan 2.0, if you will, and let's call it like it is. Sounds like it is really off to a rocky start.

Today, the president hosted a chat with the top congressional leaders, including Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner. The two big topics, job creation and reducing the debt. Health care reform is supposed to come in a meeting later this month, that meeting also supposed is to be bipartisan, but according to Congressman Boehner, maybe not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: And so we outlined our concerns about this conversation that the president wants to have. We certainly want to have a bipartisan conversation, but we need to know where are going to we start from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so, after Boehner's remarks, President Obama made an unannounced appearance at the White House briefing room, the subject, of course, bipartisanship. So, let's listen right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Now, bipartisanship depends on a willingness among both Democrats and Republicans to put aside matters of party for the good of the country. I won't hesitate to embrace a good idea from my friends in the minority party, but I also won't hesitate to condemn what I consider to be obstinacy that's rooted not in substantive disagreements but in political expedience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Don't you think we need some help with all of this? And this it person who can help us out. Our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger, she joins me from Washington.

Thanks for braving the elements to come -- and coming in. We know you guys have been snowed in.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

LEMON: You've got the president saying he is willing to call out Republicans. You have John Boehner saying he is making noise about boycotting the president's planned health care meeting. How is that stab at bipartisan going? Or maybe I should say, how is that bipartisan thingy working out for you?

BORGER: Yes, well, maybe not so well.

LEMON: Yes.

BORGER: Look, they had this bipartisan meeting. It is very clear the president coming out today is part of his new transparency, but it's also part of his effort to get the final word, right? They had this bipartisan meeting.

He came out there and he said, look, if we are going to be bipartisan, it does not mean that the Democrats give up on everything that they have been for in health care reform and you guys don't give up on some things, because he has got Democrats in his own party saying, look, we took some really tough votes for you, Mr. President, this year on health care reform, and you can't just abandon us.

So, as we head into the health care summit, the big question is, is it going to be a Kabuki dance or is it going to be real?

LEMON: Yes. Well, that is the thing, because from listening to John Boehner, and, you know, we will talk about it, but it seems like he may be worried that this bipartisan thing, this, the president -- this invitation in regards to health care at least, they think they may be walking into a trap? Am I wrong about that?

BORGER: Yes. Yes, absolutely.

They think -- they are a little worried they are being set up, not to put too fine a point on it. I just got an e-mail from, let's say, a senior Republican leadership aide. He said, we don't know what the format of this meeting will be, who is invited, how many are invited. Will there be speeches? Will there be debate. And who is going to moderate it?

LEMON: Yes.

BORGER: So, they are a little worried that it is going to be not such an even playing field for them.

LEMON: Hey, Gloria, can you hold on for a second.

BORGER: Sure.

LEMON: I want you to listen to the president and we will talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: One senator, as you all are aware, had put a hold on every single nominee that we had put forward, due to a dispute over a couple of earmarks in his state.

In our meeting, I asked the congressional leadership to put a stop to these holds in which nominees for critical jobs are denied a vote for months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Gloria, who is he talking about?

BORGER: He's talking about Senator Shelby of Alabama, who, until last night, had put a hold on 70 nominations of this president.

And he released most of those folks on that hold, because any senator can put a hold on a nomination, and hold it up. What the president was saying is, unless these things start to go through, because he says some of these things are not controversial, what I'm going to do is, I'm going to go around the Congress and I'm going to do what is called a recess appointment.

When you guys are out of town on your recess, I'm going to appoint these people anyway.

LEMON: Oh, boy.

BORGER: And then you have a year to finally approve them. But Senator Shelby gave in. His office says he has gotten the attention of the White House, which is what he wanted, because he wants funding for two projects at home he says are important for national security. The White House calls them earmarks.

LEMON: And on and on and on.

BORGER: It goes.

LEMON: OK. So, listen, Gloria, I know you were watching -- everybody did -- Saturday night, Sarah Palin, right, and then you know the whole controversy with the notes in her hand, of course.

BORGER: Oh, yes.

LEMON: That thing has legs, or we could say fingers, right?

BORGER: Yes, fingers.

LEMON: What was it? Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Today is Tuesday. Three days later, and you have this. This is White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs walking in to the press conference today. Here is how he started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I wrote a few things down...

(LAUGHTER)

... I wrote...

(CROSSTALK)

GIBBS: I wrote -- I wrote "eggs, milk and bread."

(LAUGHTER)

But I crossed out bread, just so I can make pancakes for Ethan if it snows. And then I wrote down "hope and change," just in case I forgot that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You know Hollywood? It would have been funnier if he had said I wrote down hopey, changey, instead of hope and change.

BORGER: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Let me tell you, it is tongue in cheek. And she can write on her hand. Everybody has notes. It is just that she did write on her hand, but the controversy is that she was criticizing the president for using a teleprompter, and it's really the same thing. It's a hand prompter, basically.

BORGER: Right. And she made a joke of it and wrote on her hand yesterday. I think Jon Stewart wrote on his hand.

LEMON: "Hi, mom."

BORGER: Now everybody is going to be writing on their hands, right?

LEMON: Yes.

BORGER: So, I think Gibbs could have done it in a funnier way, actually, if he had just kind of started looking at his hand, but I don't write his jokes. LEMON: Yes. Yes. So, I just thought we should point that out. It's going -- it is getting a little old now, don't you think? We should move on.

BORGER: Yes, I am over it.

LEMON: Thank you, Gloria Borger. Always good to see you.

BORGER: Sure. Take care. More snow. More snow.

LEMON: Take care. More snow.

No snow here, though. Let's go now downtown New Orleans. Oh, there we go. This is Saint Charles. It's front of (INAUDIBLE) hall. That's where they usually have the big reviewing stand. Is that in front of -- yes, there is the reviewing stand there for Mardi Gras. It's already set up for Mardi Gras. And now they are going to use it for the Saints.

And so we're going to go live to New Orleans and see what is happening, because that big victory parade is about to happen any time. You are going to see it live right here on CNN, so don't go away.

And look at this car. It smashed right through a wall in a parking garage. And now you see it dangling over the edge, that story coming up.

Plus, columnist, author, speaker, and political analyst, oh, yes, he is only 14 years old, by the way. Find out who this most intriguing person is right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hey, you know there was supposed to be a big hearing scheduled in Washington for Toyota, right? Let's see. They're going to change it.

And we are just getting from Twitter here -- and this is from the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. See it at the bottom of your screen there. It says OversightDems. See that?

It says: "Chairman Towns and @darrellissa," who is the ranking Republican, "have agreed to reschedule the hearing on the Toyota" -- or hash mark Toyota on Twitter. "The recall is" -- "The hearings," I should say, "is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24, 10:00 a.m."

This is all due to weather. This is no wrangling or behind the scenes, anything. This is all due to weather. So, that Toyota hearing by the House Oversight Committee, Wednesday, February 24, that is when it's going to be held.

OK. So, do you remember Alex P. Keaton? He's a conservative kid played by Michael J. Fox on the sitcom "Family Ties." He has nothing on this entry on our list of "Most Intriguing People of the Day." OK. So, this person is a columnist. He's an author and a political analyst whose speech became the talk of last year's Conservative Political Action Conference. "TIME" magazine calls him Lil' Limbaugh. All this, and he is not even old enough to vote.

One of today's most intriguing persons is 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn from Duluth, Georgia. His second book, "Defining conservatism," is hot off the presses just today. Now, listen to him defining liberals in this interview on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KROHN, CONSERVATIVE AUTHOR: There are a lot of liberals especially in Congress these days, who a lot of them they have put power over politics and principle. They have put power over principle, in that they want government to have more interference. Government gets more power. Government gets more power.

And when government gets more power, governments are only going to abuse that, so they can get more power. I think that that's really the liberal point of view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 14-year-old Jonathan Krohn, one of today's most intriguing people.

Hundreds of thousands are digging out from three feet of snow -- three feet, imagine that. Will they get pummeled again? That's the question. We're all over this one and we will bring you the latest as we get it here in "CNN Newsroom."

And check this out. Here's a hint -- if you're trying to make a fast clean getaway, make sure you ditch the red dye. It's a security pack, because you know, the cops may be able to follow your trail.

You can join our national conversation now whenever you visit Atlanta. Here is a number for you to call, 1-877-4CNN-tour. Or CNN.com/tour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hi, Don Lemon. Rick is off today, but he should be back tomorrow, so just sitting in for the day here.

Remember that fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel, right? They left bread crumbs to mark their. Note to wannabe criminals, you won't get away, not if you leave a trail. Case in point, right here, Wichita, Kansas, that red misty cloud you see right there is a obvious clue to the police they are on the trail of a bank robber.

The say she walked out of the bank with a bag of money only to get sprayed with the orange dye or red dye bag, somewhere between red an orange. So don't do that if you don't want to get caught.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The roof is on fire, dude!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have it with a camcorder. You want to record it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we have to get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That is Tacoma, Washington. A witness grabbed his camera and started rolling when a gas pump erupted into flames. The fire spread so fast they could hardly contain it. It went all the way to the roof. No one was hurt, but people a block away felt the heat from that. Again, amazingly, no one was hurt in this one, too.

It's like your worst nightmare when you are trying to park in one of those big tall parking garages. You could call this a bad parking job, of course. Police say that the 83-year-old woman behind the wheel of this Lexus had some kind of medical event and ran through the side of the wall.

Well, she somehow got out of the car and was walking around when they got there though and glad to know she is safe. She got out of that car? Good for her. We are glad she is safe.

For the second time -- sorry. For the second time in a week, Toyota issues a global recall which covers 400,000 cars. That story is at the top of the hour for you.

And this is another huge -- oh, my gosh, is that gumbo? Man, I wish this was smell-a-vision. That is gumbo down in New Orleans, and they are getting ready to celebrate the Saints as well they should. Send us some of that gumbo will you? Look at that, the folks out there in the reviewing stands.

You know what, you don't have to be out in the weather. It looks chilly there, because you can stay at home and watch the Saints' victory parade on CNN at 6:00 p.m. It is going to start before then, because we will start to get more pictures like this and you will see the people celebrating like this. They're in the midst of Mardi Gras and it will ramp up, so keep it locked right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, it's amazing what's going on on Twitter right now. This is story just into CNN. We are hearing that Secretary Clinton is going to make a trip overseas, right. They announced it on Twitter. This is the first time for U.S. diplomacy that the State Department has used Twitter to announce an upcoming trip by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

So followers to the department's Twitter feed were the first to get word of Clinton's February 13th or 16th trip to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. That happened Tuesday, and that was well before the formal announcement that is expected later on today. Clinton's aides say this is the first time that the state department has announced the secretary of state's travel plans through twitter. Learn something new every day, don't you?

We have this for you as well on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell her that she must have Haitian papers and the Haitians must give you papers to take the kids. I say it is forbid. I say that all of the kids get on the bus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That officer says that the ten missionaries arrested for child kidnapping tried to take other Haitian kids last month. We are getting new developments from our State Department team on this story. That is next.

And we're keeping an eye on the major snowstorm sweeping from the Midwest to the east coast, and these are live pictures now from Cleveland from our affiliate WJW, and snowy in Cleveland and gray. That is how Chicago looks a lot of the winter, trust me.

Washington is still digging out from last weekend of course, and another weather update is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, new developments the tell you about in those ten missionaries, American missionaries held in Haiti. They have a new attorney who is saying their previous lawyer demanded a bribe to get them out of jail.

And the new lawyer says they have a document proving that the missionaries have permission to rescue the 33 children they are accused of trying to kidnap. CNN's Karl Penhaul picks up the story from Port-au-Prince.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Did you explain to the colleagues you didn't have the paperwork?

PENHAUL (voice-over): The missionaries were tight lipped when they came back before a Haitian court. Baptist Pastor Paul Thompson quoted only a bible passage that says that god will comfort and protect you in times of despair.

The Americans are charged with kidnapping after trying to bus 33 babies and children out of Haiti without the proper paperwork, but attorneys on their legal team say that is not true. Lawyer Jorge Puella says they had the legal paper from the Dominican government at least.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had the legal paperwork. PENHAUL (on camera): Which legal paperwork did they have?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will give you information --

PENHAUL (voice-over): But despite that pledge --

PENHAUL (on camera): But you said you would show us that permission. Can you show us that permission now, Mr. Puella? And if you don't show us that permission, why did you say you would show it to us?

PENHAUL (voice-over): Puella left without sharing the documents he said he had.

The Dominican consulate in Port-au-Prince says it gave no authorization for the missionaries' so-called mercy mission.

Away from the court hearing, CNN tracked down a Haitian police officer who is now a witness in the case. He told us he shut down an earlier attempt by the missionaries to round up a separate group of children.

He explained that he discovered Laura Silsby and the Americans with 40 children on a bus. He believes they may have been looking for even more youngsters. The officer asked us to protect his identity for fear of reprisals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say, what is happening? She told me, the girl told me, I got some, I got some -- I got a paper, and I'm going to -- I have a paper to cross the border, the Dominican border with 100 kids.

I tell her, but you must have Haitian paper. The Haitian consulate must give you paper to cross the border with the kids. I say it's forbid. I say all of the kids get off of the bus.

PENHAUL: But that warning the policeman says he gave them appears not to have deterred the Americans. They were arrested three days later with a bus containing a different group of children.

Back at the court, one of the newly appointed Haitian attorneys says his American clients were holding up despite Spartan jail conditions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they believe in god, in god they trust.

PENHAUL: After two and a half hours answering a judge's questions, Silsby emerged. If convicted, she could face years behind bars. It was clear she was putting her faith in higher hands.

LAURA SILSBY, AMERICAN MISSIONARY LEADER: I am trusting god to reveal all truth, and that we will be released and exonerated of charges.

PENHAUL: Karl Penhaul, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And for new developments on this story, we want to go to Washington now and our State Department correspondent Jill Dougherty with an update. Jill, we're hearing that the secretary of state has spoken out about this.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Actually, Don, the secretary, herself, did not talk about it, but her spokesman P.J. Crowley did just a few minutes ago. We talked with him about this subject, and to set it up, there is a letter that has come from the lawyers from one of the American missionaries who is being held.

And this lawyer is saying, essentially, look, this was a colossal misunderstanding. The United States government should get involved. Hillary Clinton the secretary of state should get directly involved.

And what P.J. Crowley, the spokesman for Secretary Clinton is saying -- no, this is a Haitian government matter, a Haitian legal issue, and that is how it has to be resolved. And the real issue is whether or not these missionaries broke Haitian law.

So Crowley is saying they're getting the same services that any American citizen held around the world in another country would be getting, namely consular officials go over there to check on them and make sure they have proper medicine, et cetera. But they are not going to do anymore than they would do for anybody else.

LEMON: So, we will watch as this plays out. Our State Department correspondent Jill Dougherty. Thank you, Jill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toyota's explanations do not account for the share of acceleration complaints we have examined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Is there no quick fix for the Toyota problems? We have a CNN special investigation at the top of the hour for you.

And we will show you some of this -- live. Look at that. When you see food like that, you know, everybody talks about tailgating and most of the time it is hot dogs wherever you go, and beer. But it's not that way in Louisiana and especially New Orleans.

We are talking about gumbo, etouffee, and look at that, fried shrimp, yum, live down in New Orleans as they prepare for the Saints' victory parade setting up at 6:00 p.m. eastern. It already is gearing up, so don't turn away. We will have it for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Don't we have some New Orleans music? There we go.

(MUSIC) If I had my umbrella, I would do a little second line for you right here on the anchor desk. I'm a Louisiana boy. I'm not even going to hide it. I am hating on Ed Lavandera, because, Ed, I want to be right where you are now.

So, Ed, we don't have smell-a-vision, everybody in the control room is saying, my gosh, that looks good. I saw some fried shrimp, gumbo, some jambalaya. Where are you?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We at the corner of Poydras and Loyola. Last night our crew came out here and set up our satellite truck and everything to get ready for today. And we met the Vining family, and they brought out a truck that rivals our satellite truck. Look at this thing.

And we have Paul Vining here, a lifelong resident here -- hide that. That's all the Bud Light and stuff.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Ed, ask him if he make any crawfish bisque?

PAUL VINING, SAINTS FAN: We're having a party with our friends. We never thought this day would come, but we're here and we're celebrating.

LAVANDERA: Show me how we celebrate a super bowl parade New Orleans style.

VINING: Perfect. We've got ourselves some beautiful Louisiana fresh-caught shrimp, frying those up.

LAVANDERA: Check this out, guys.

VINING: In this pot right here we have -- the party would not be complete out the jambalaya. Shrimp, some sausage, chicken --

LAVANDERA: If the country could smell what we're smelling right now.

VINING: And of course we have hamburgers and hot dogs for all the kids. We're having a great time.

LAVANDERA: More important, tell me how special of a day this is for you?

VINING: This is a day, like I said, we never really thought this day would come. We've been has-beens and castoffs, and a team that's never got far, never got deep, and it kind of parallels the city in a way for many years.

LAVANDERA: Why do people here relate so much to the team here?

VINING: We're family. We eat in the same restaurants as these guys. We see them in day in, day out life. They're part of us. We're a community here. That's what we like. That's what we're all about. We've got fans all across the country because of that.

LAVANDERA: Do you guys feel it here that the rest of the world is rooting with you?

VINING: Yes. They love the Saints, they love the city. They love having a good time here. You know, it's a feel-good story, and it's more than that. This is generations of people going to Saints' games, and just like I showed you with our ticket, you know.

LAVANDERA: And Don, check this out. This is Paul's good luck charm. That is a ticket from the very first New Orleans Saints game ever. He carries it around in his pocket as a good luck charm. His father-in-law went to the game.

VINING: That's right. This was five weeks after my wife was born. He was at the very first Saints game. And we've been fans ever since the inception. And this is the culmination of years of hard work, determination --

LAVANDERA: Are you are you having fun seeing your family and friends celebrate like this?

VINING: This is awesome. This brings tears to your eyes.

LAVANDERA: All right, Paul, enjoy the day. Thanks for letting us come on board.

VINING: Thank you all very much. All of you have a great time. Who dat!

LAVANDERA: All right, Don, you should see, thousands of people have shown up, and we're still a few hours away.

LEMON: If you can ask him, ask him if he does some chicken, because I'd love some etoufee or crawfish bisque or something like that.

LAVANDERA: Etoufee or crawfish coming up?

VINING: That's tonight.

LAVANDERA: That's tonight.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Oh, my gosh.

LAVANDERA: He's got that stored away somewhere up there. I wasn't expecting that.

LEMON: All right, real quick, 3.7 miles, right, Ed? That circles through the business district and ends at the convention center, but it starts where you are, right, Poydras Street at LaSalle, actually, right near the Superdome, and again goes 3.7 miles and circles through the business district, just short of Henderson street.

And, of course, 250 Saints players, and they're expecting maybe 60,000 or more people there, Ed Lavandera?

LAVANDERA: Tens of thousands. It will be interesting to see what the final count will be. But the part that will by poignant as well is that portion of the parade that goes along St. Charles Avenue, that will be the spot where some of the players get a chance to speak to some of the fans, and obviously the Lombardi trophy will be on display for everyone to see.

But we're at the beginning of the parade, just a few blocks away from the Superdome, and already people lining up the streets. And what is fun about all of this, as more shrimp is about to go into the fryer, a lot of the crew floats will be used by the players, so they've taken floats from the Mardi Gras season, which is already going on here.

So it's a nice blend to be able to see how Mardi Gras and the Saints' parade is all kind of coming together as one.

LEMON: Ed, put that mic on there so we can hear it when he throws those shrimp in the fryer.

LAVANDERA: Here we go. Here we go. Don, I can't tell you how good this smells.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Ed Lavandera, down in New Orleans for the Saints' parade.

You've never seen floats like this. It's from the crews from the Mardi Gras. We're going to have it live for you on CNN, so make sure you stick around.

We want to tell you, we brought you this story yesterday as it was happening. It was a man who was pulled from the rubble in Haiti, and he may have been trapped for as many as four weeks, as many as four weeks.

I want you to take a look at this. This is a tweet from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta's producer. It says -- it's got -- this is Danille, it says "Just got an update on the man rescued yesterday at Haiti. He is stable, more alert, and requesting chocolate, so he has an appetite."

Thank you so much, we really appreciate it, Danielle. You and Dr. Gupta doing a great down there, his "360" team with Anderson Cooper, so we'll have that story for you coming up.

Plus we have this as well -- he is on television, he has in and out of court, accused of pulling a knife on his wife. He's on our "List that you don't want to be on." That's right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, listen, time for "The List that you don't want to be on" here. Spot three goes to this guy, Michael McManus, looking like an army general in dress uniform. The problem is that's not his uniform. He's not an officer, he's not in the army, and all those medals, they're not his, either.

McManus attended a public function in December, wearing more real-life medals for bravery than even General George Patton was awarded. Two distinguished service crosses, a purple heart, combat infantry awards, master jump wings.

There's another problem -- wearing United States military medals that you didn't earn, that's a federal crime. That's why he saw a judge just yesterday, and this is Michael McManus walking into the federal courthouse in Houston.

The FBI arrested him, and he's got new medals on. Drew Griffin says he has some new medals now around his wrist. The arrested him on five charges, all related to wearing military decorations unlawfully. That is why he makes the list.

Number two, there we go, show it -- yes, Charlie Sheen arraigned yesterday in Colorado, felony menacing, third degree assault, and also criminal mischief. He was formally charged with all three from his arrest on Christmas Day for allegedly holding a knife to his wife's throat saying he would kill her.

She was in court too, by the way, and they embraced after the appearance before the judge.

Make sure you stay with us. The number one on this list will be revealed, coming up.