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Rick's List

Americans Stand Accused of Kidnapping in Haiti; Security Guards Stand By While Girl Fight Turns Brutal; Protests Rock Iran; Washington Still Shut Down?

Aired February 11, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Here is what making the LIST.

Ten churches burned in Texas. Who is starting the fires?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disbelief and shock.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our hometown, and people are coming in, destroying churches. This is not right.

SANCHEZ: What is behind this? We are on it.

Look at the security guards in the yellow vests. Why aren't they stopping the beating of this 15-year-old girl? And their boss says they did the right thing?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If these folks want a fight, it is a fight I am ready to have.

SANCHEZ: Why is the president excusing -- quote -- "savvy businessmen's" Wall Street bonuses?

Iran reaches a milestone, and there is violence in the streets again.

Record cancellations. Why is Washington still not open for business?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, of course, we all get freaked out, but we hope that will be one of the lucky ones to leave.

The lists you need to know about. Who is today's most intriguing person? Who is on the list you don't want to be on? You will find out as our national conversation on Twitter, on the air starts right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.

All right, these are the things that are going to be talked about on the LIST today. First, let's start in Washington. Why is Washington still shutdown? We are going to be talking about that.

Also, sometime during the show -- let me repeat -- sometime during the show, there could be a very important break in the story of those 10 missionaries that are being in Haiti. Look, that has got to be awful, folks. Imagine the conditions that they are in. Imagine that they're in a country that is very poor, a country that has just had earthquakes, a country where the roof could fall on their head while they go sleep at any time.

If that happens in the next couple of hours, you are going to see it right here. You will see it as it develops live. Remember, we have still got crews in Haiti.

Also, protesters -- I told Ali this just a little while ago. I don't know if you heard me, but it looks like the protesters in Iran this time -- let's just call it what it is -- are petty much getting their butts kicked. We are going to take you to Iran. We're going to talk to our guys there, and we're going to let you know what is happening there.

Meantime, though, let's begin with breaking news.

All right, here is the situation. Right now, in Afghanistan, we understand five American soldiers have been injured. Before we get to the analysis on this, let's get right out to Fred Pleitgen. He is in Kabul right now and he's going to fill us in on the X's and O's on this story.

Fred, take it away. What do you got?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Rick.

Yes, and certainly some very disturbing developments there in Eastern Afghanistan. All of this happened at a U.S. base in Paktia province. That's right on the border with Pakistan. And as you said it was a suicide bomber who blew himself up.

And the disturbing thing about it, Rick, is that he managed to get on this U.S. base. Now, we have our information from the local government there in Paktia province, and they say -- quote -- "He blew himself up inside the sleeping quarters."

We're not exactly sure what that means. It seems to indicates that it was the housing units on that base where he blew himself up. They have told us five U.S. soldiers have been wounded. The NATO military here in Afghanistan still not willing to come out with numbers of how many soldiers were wounded.

And the really disturbing thing about this, Rick, is the fact that this bomber apparently was wearing a uniform of the Afghan border police. Of course, base infiltration in Afghanistan has been a major issue here, Rick.

SANCHEZ: OK, but let's clear this up. There's a difference between the border police -- we saw -- Roger, do me a favor. Show some of that report that we showed yesterday, the one that was filed by Atia Abawi, where she was able to embed with our guys training the Afghans how to become their own army.

Tell me now, Fred, and explain this to our viewers. There is a difference between the Afghan police and the Afghan troops that we saw in that report. Correct, or am I wrong?

PLEITGEN: Well, there certainly are. No, no. Yes, you are absolutely right.

On the one hand, there is the Afghan national army, which a lot of Americans who are here is actually in a pretty good state, is actually moving ahead very quickly.

There is a unit that is in a lot more trouble, which is the Afghan national police, which is not as well trained, has a lot of issues with things like defection, also with things like infiltration by the Taliban and also with things like drug abuse.

And then there is the border police. Now, what the border police does, as the names indicates, is it guards the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, that, of course, one of the most dangerous places in the world, a lot of Taliban activity there, a lot of Taliban infiltration there.

And the border police has been a unit of great concern for America here in Afghanistan. They have also seen a lot of infiltration of those units by Taliban infiltrators. They have also seen a lot of defections there, so certainly this is not a unit that is a very high-standard unit. It is one that has been the cause of great concern. And now it appears, once again, that that concern has been justified, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Yes, yes, and especially the way you told the story.

In case the viewers didn't hear what he just said, he said it may have happened inside an encampment while one of the guys was sleeping and the guy who blew himself up was wearing a uniform of some type, possibly a border patrol uniform.

That is a heck of a story. Fred, thanks for catching us up on that over there.

Let's go to the Pentagon now. Chris Lawrence is standing by there to give us some analysis and some perspective on this story.

Look, Chris Lawrence is a former Marine. He's a guy who has been around. He handles the Pentagon. He has got sources there.

Do your antennas go up, like mine do, when you start seeing us training the Afghans and then hearing that there is more attacks of our guys over there? Do you worry, as I do? It is justified to worry?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think some of the soldiers and Marines there are worried, Rick.

I mean, when we were in Afghanistan just a few months ago, we were at one of these checkpoints where the Afghan police were working, and the soldiers came up on a pile, and it was a trash pile, police uniforms, jackets, boots, insignia, hats, all kinds of uniforms just thrown in the trash.

Some of the -- one of the young captains came over to the Afghan police officers and he started chastising them, telling them, you leave uniforms like this just laying around. If these uniforms are stolen, that could be a major problem with security.

So, that is one problem right there, the ease with which sometimes people can get their hands on uniforms. The other issue is trust with the actual Afghan police and border police. We spoke to a lot of the young soldiers there who said they have got some trust issues, that they were not always sure that the people that they are training and working with are necessarily on their side.

SANCHEZ: So, it is a combination of carelessness and trust. It's the best two words to use to kind of nail that down.

You say when you were there you saw uniforms being strewn about. And the problem, just to put a punctuation on this, is, somebody can find those uniforms and suddenly pretend to be an Afghan soldier or an Afghan border patrol or an Afghan police officer. Lo and behold, next thing you know, they have got a bomb under their vest or under their shirt, right?

That is what we have got to be really careful about.

LAWRENCE: Yes, it is that. There are two issues. There are two separate issues. One is, people who are not affiliated with the Afghan police and border police getting their hands on these uniforms and posing as them.

The other issue is the trust factor between NATO troops and some of the Afghan troops that they are actually training. You know, we were with this bomb disposal unit that was down there. They were going out looking for the IEDs. They were telling us just two weeks before they got hit by a massive IED. They lost several men in their unit. And they said, you know what? The Afghan police have been patrolling that road everyday for the last three days leading up to that attack. He said, you know, they didn't see anything? They didn't see anything the whole time?

So, I think there is some level of trust. You don't want to blow that out of proportion and paint the entire police, but there are some very real issues with trust there.

SANCHEZ: No, no, no, I think the viewers, we get it, and we are glad that we have got someone like yourself who can put perspective on this. It does not mean that all the guys who are being trained in Afghanistan are incompetent or bad or are not loyal.

LAWRENCE: Right, exactly. SANCHEZ: We know there are problems there. I think it is just important for viewers to know, Chris, that with every step forward, as my mom used to say, you sometimes end up taking two steps backward. There is a yin and a yang. There's a result from every new thing that we do over there. And sometimes there are negative consequences. And we just need to consider that. And we are glad that you were able to bring it to our attention, as we bring this breaking news story to our viewers.

Now, let me just repeat it to you, as we got it here, five U.S. soldiers wounded Thursday when a suicide bomber attacked at a U.S. air base, a U.S. base, I should say, and the guy who blew himself up was wearing a uniform of an Afghan border patrol officer. He was inside the tent and apparently while the whole unit was sleeping.

Heck of a picture to put in your head, isn't it?

All right, we have got a lot of stuff going on. We are going to continue to follow that story up and let you know what the conditions on those soldiers.

Also, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Why is the president making excuses for the Wall Street bonus guys? This is interesting. We are going to be drilling deep on this one with Jessica Yellin.

And then Washington is shut down. Why? Maybe it is better that way. I mean, after all, these guys are -- well, here, watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MICHAEL B. ENZI (R), WYOMING: Governor Rod Blag -- Blag -- Blagovi -- Blagovi -- Blagovi.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blagojevich.

ENZI: Blagojevich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, stay on vacation. You see what I mean? What is he actually trying to say? Good question. We're going to be right back. And I got this guy joining us a little bit. We're going to try and figure out what is going on with the weather today, not as bad as it was yesterday, but obviously there are issues.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Snowing in Dallas.

SANCHEZ: Dallas?

MYERS: Dallas, Texas.

SANCHEZ: Dallas?

MYERS: Show you in a minute.

SANCHEZ: We will be right back. The LIST scrolls on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Guess what is happening in Iran right now? More violent protests, but this time, this time, it looks like the opposition is really getting it handed to them. Let me take it through this. OK?

These are some of the picture the Iranian government wants you to see, beautiful shots overhead, huge turnouts, massive, for a government-sponsored rally marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. These are supporters of the government. They are not protesters.

Quick listen now to state-run Iranian television as it describes this.

Now look at this. I am going to show you what the Iranian government does not want you to see, in fact is going to great lengths to prevent you from seeing. This is what is happening to the opposition today. Really, you know what it is, folks? It is a beat- down. We are taking you through several videos here. And as you watch them, you will get the same impression that most of us got as we were watching this.

And that is that the government has been adamant about making sure that this particular celebration, which is what they are calling it over there, 31 years after the ayatollah took hold and they kicked out the shah, they are making darn sure that this holiday was not hijacked by anti-government protesters.

Riot troops have broken up opposition rallies. You saw that guy just a little while ago there in that video being beaten up, right? They also barred media coverage of protests. That is why we are showing you some of this amateur video.

Our folks, our guys there, our CNN guys are not allowed to shoot this stuff or get it out of there or use social media to tell the story.

Ivan Watson has been following this story for us.

Look, Ivan, truth be told, it looks like the government has really put down this protest. I mean, we can show some incidents of folks trying to fight the government, but for the most part, it looks like the government has the upper hand here, don't they?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. They have got the monopoly of force. You have a government with all the money they make off of oil exports. This is one of the biggest oil producers in the world, and they employ a massive security apparatus, secret police, militias, and they're not afraid to use force or execute people that they accuse of being opposition activists.

Rick, can I show you something really quickly over here?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

WATSON: YouTube has been a big source of -- a lot of the opposition stuff has been put up there. It is almost midnight in Tehran. This is video we think from this evening. You can't see much, but listen. Now, if you listen a little bit further there, what it is, this is a show of defiance from that opposition that you were mentioning looks like it is getting beaten up, and it is true, yelling from the rooftops at night.

This is one of the ways they show their defiance. And tonight, what we have been hearing is them yelling, death to the dictator. So, despite the fact that these people risk being thrown in prison just for speaking out against the government, they go to the rooftops and they yell their opposition.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you something else. Did Ahmadinejad talk about -- did Ahmadinejad talk about the situation there with them being able to enrich more uranium, almost being braggadocios about the fact that they're real close to having nukes?

Because I have got a quote here I want to read you, OK?

WATSON: Sure.

SANCHEZ: I'm going to read you this quote. This is from Robert Gibbs, President Obama's guy. He said this. He says: "Many things are said by Ahmadinejad that turn out to be untrue. We don't believe that they have the capability to enrich to the degree to which they are now saying they are enriching."

So it sounds like the Obama administration through Robert Gibbs is calling Ahmadinejad's bluff and saying, you are talking out of -- you're bragging, but it ain't true. You don't have the -- you are not enriching uranium like you say you can.

What do you make of that?

WATSON: Well, we know that during his long speech, President Ahmadinejad, he was praising the accomplishments of Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. One of the things he says that they had achieved was they have become a nuclear state -- that's what he called it -- because the first piece of 20 percent enriched uranium had been produced in Iran, the decision to enrich uranium on their own coming out on Sunday and angering Western governments. And that was one of the big accomplishments that he mentioned in his speech.

SANCHEZ: So, it is kind of a he said/she said situation, or he said/he said. He is saying, we have got all kinds of great stuff to enrich uranium. We're close to having the nuke. And the White House is saying, you are full of it. It's not true. You are just saying things like in the past where you have lied

WATSON: And what we will try to do, Rick, is try to reach some of the international monitors that are on the ground there, try and get their side of this story.

SANCHEZ: Can you do that? And when you get that, can you just let me know? Just tap us on the shoulder. We will get you back on.

WATSON: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Ivan Watson. We appreciate it.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

SANCHEZ: Look at this fight. This is at a bus station. The big question is, look at those security guards. See the guys wearing the yellow jackets there? OK.

There is a kid, 15-year-old girl, Chad, getting beat up there. The guys in the yellow jackets, they are not doing anything. They're just watching. Now he picks up the radio and he's talking on the radio. Hey, I got a little girl getting beat up here. Look, he is stomping on her head. This is crazy. Why don't they do anything?

Well, we called. They say that is their policy, to not do anything. We are drilling down on that in just a little bit. And I'm -- well, look, as a parent, I would be upset if that was my kid, OK.

Also, is the president changing his tune on Wall Street bonuses? That is next. Stay with us. The LIST scrolls on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.

You remember how the president was so tough lately when it came to those Wall Street bankers? Here, I will refresh your memory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: If these folks want a fight, it's a fight I'm ready to have.

And my resolve is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform, and when I see soaring profits and obscene bonuses.

I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of, you know, fat-cat bankers on Wall Street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: OK. Sounded tough, sounded like the right thing to say, right?

Well, here is a head-scratcher for you. He was just asked in an interview about the bonuses paid to two of the big banks' CEOs. That's Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase, $17 million, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, $9 million.

You would think he knock that one out of the ballpark, right, given what you just heard him say a little while ago? Well, here's Barack Obama on the bonuses paid to Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein -- quote -- "I know both these guys. They're very savvy businessmen. I like, most of the American people, don't begrudge people's success or wealth. That is part of the free market system."

Huh.

Jessica Yellin joins me now.

Would the real Barack Obama please stand up, Jessica?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh.

Yes, Rick, this is an interview the president has to in some ways regret giving, or at least that phrase. The way he put it is in truth not different from what he has said in the past, Rick. He has previously said -- and the White House has gone to pains to point this out -- that he does not begrudge people their success; it is the American way to be rewarded for hard work.

The problem here is that the president is getting caught between two conflicting messages. On the one hand, he is clearly worried about being branded as anti-business. Any time he has tried to suggest he wants to regulate or rein in Wall Street, Republicans have accused him of trying to be a socialist, trying to control business.

On the other hand, when he tries to criticize Wall Street, or, you know, he is -- when he tries to help out Wall Street or says something like this, we sort of -- then he is suddenly accused of being too cozy with Wall Street and too tight, and he has not figured out the right balance.

He is really caught in the middle.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: In fact, I have got some examples of just what you are talking about right now.

YELLIN: Yes. SANCHEZ: I'm going to take you through a couple of these, all right, because he gets hammered from the right and he gets hammered from the left.

YELLIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Here is conservative Bill Kristol, super-conservative Bill Kristol. "If Obama's idea of moving to the middle politically is to embrace Wall Street's too-big-to-fail banks, he's crazy. If he becomes the spokesman for big government intrusiveness and the apologist for big business irresponsibility all at once, good luck with that."

All right, now let me take you to the left. Here is Nobel- winning economist Paul Krugman, right, of "The Times." He says: "Oh, my God."

YELLIN: "Oh, my God."

SANCHEZ: "How hard is it for the White House to understand that it is a really, really bad idea to be saying nice things about the bailed-out bankers, Goldman Sachs in particular?"

How do you like them apples?

YELLIN: Unbelievable.

You know what is interesting is, it seems the president, he almost shies away from a fight in the particular. When he is asked about Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein, he doesn't want to be too critical. When he is speaking in "BusinessWeek," he doesn't want to be too anti-business.

But when he is talking in the sound you played earlier about Wall Street broadly, he doesn't mind taking the fight to them.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: I'm sorry. I don't mean to interrupt, but I just can't help but think that the Democrats -- look, let's call it what it is, OK? Am I going to get in trouble for saying this? Yes, probably.

YELLIN: I don't know. Let's see.

SANCHEZ: I probably will.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Republicans took a ton of money from the health care industry, OK? That is a fact. And that's probably a big reason why we see health care reform the way it is.

Democrats take a bunch of money from the guys on Wall Street. That's a fact, including President Barack Obama. And maybe that is why he is so scared to criticize them.

YELLIN: Well, look, Rick, his policies have been excoriated by Wall Street.

The new financial reform legislation he is proposing is hardly popular on Wall Street. That may be one of the reasons he is trying to soft-pedal the interviews try to ram home some hard legislation.

I have been very skeptical about some of the economic team's proposals to date, but this financial reform legislation is certainly not popular up here in New York. Both sides have -- I mean...

(CROSSTALK)

YELLIN: ... playing on both teams here.

SANCHEZ: I know that. I know that. I just wonder, more often than not lately, if you follow the money, you find the policy and why people decide, speak or vote the way they do.

YELLIN: Of course. Why do you think financial reform legislation is already bottled up?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

YELLIN: It can't get done. And it is not because of the snowstorm. Nobody really wants to drive it home. This Volcker rule the president proposed a few weeks ago, we made a big brouhaha over that. It is not going anywhere. You talk to the folks who are writing the legislation, they are not planning to stick it in the bill.

So, there is a lot of resistance in Washington, because there is a lot of money coming from Wall Street.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Well, you know, I guess because of from where I come from, I tend to be a populist, and I always look at these kind of things.

YELLIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And like most Americans, I get a little upset when I see the tendencies on both sides of the aisle.

But this is one that is going to make me less mad. In fact, it will probably put a smile on your face. We found this, and we wanted to share it with our viewers, because we thought it might make them think that maybe the politicians should just stay away from Washington for another five days. This is like an Elmer Fudd funny moment.

Go, Rog.

(LAUGHTER)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ENZI: And former Illinois Governor Rod Blag -- Blag -- Blagovi -- Blagovi -- Blagovi.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blagojevich.

ENZI: Blagojevich.

(LAUGHTER)

ENZI: Yes, sounded like one of those Super Bowl commercials.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Whatever your name is. When you are...

YELLIN: What commercial is that?

SANCHEZ: When you are in a hole, stop digging, man. That was Tuesday, by the way.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

YELLIN: It is a hard name to pronounce, but the poor guy.

SANCHEZ: Blagojevich. Did you just want to hug him, though?

YELLIN: I know. Haven't you had that moment, when you just can't get the word out? We have all been there.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes. Yes. It could have happened to any one of us.

YELLIN: Painful.

SANCHEZ: God bless him.

All right, you're the best, Jessica. Thanks.

YELLIN: Good to see you, Rick. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

We are waiting word for on the 10 missionaries held in Haiti. Could they come back to the U.S.? We are going to bring you this the moment it happens. There is a possibility that a Haitian judge could give them -- grant them bail. Wow.

Also, the Iranian resistance movement did very little resisting today. Some violent scenes in Iran seemingly, well, worked, I guess you could say, for the government anyway.

And that leads us to one of today's most intriguing people. He is a world leader, a world leader becomes the most intriguing on this day. Who is it? Help us to figure this one out. Stay there and "The List" will continue into your living room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. I just got some information from my executive producer that I want to pass on to you. So, kind of hold your horses here, because we are mobilizing the forces now.

We have just learned that the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho, will be holding a news conference at the top of the hour, sometime right around just prior to 4:00 or right after 4:00. We're expecting to hear from the families whose relatives are stuck in that jail in Haiti.

This going on while at the same time there are reports coming out of Haiti that there is a possibility that a Haitian judge is going to grant bail to those ten Americans, or maybe not, or maybe grant bail to some of them, but not all of them.

Imagine what it's like for them. Now, there they are in a Haitian jail. Obviously, that is not new video. That's the video we had from the past, but think about that. They are stuck in a jail in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, where there has been already earthquakes and aftershocks as well, and they don't quite know what their situation is.

As it stands, because the charges against them are so serious, they are really not supposed to get bail. So this might be an exception to Haitian law if they get bail.

We do know that according to Haitian law, a judge now has 60 days to rule on whether they will in fact be prosecuted or not. Just because they are charged does not mean by that will be prosecuted. According to Haitian law, another judge steps in and says we will not prosecute them after all.

But this decision apparently today, has to do with bail, and now we're learning that we are going to get a news conference coming up here in a little while from Idaho. So this thing could shake out in the next couple of hours, folks. Stay with us and we will share it with you.

Meanwhile, this story as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here is Mike in San Diego sent this tweet a while ago, and I have to tell you, I want to take issue with Mike. He is criticizing us, criticizing me and CNN. He says, this is what he writes, "The plight of the ten Americans is a nonstory. Their imprisonment is nothing compared to the suffering of thousands of Haitians."

Mike, you are absolutely right. It is maybe nothing compared to the suffering of thousands of Haitians, and that's why we at CNN are covering both stories. Just thought I would pass that along.

He is facing death threats today and promising to deliver a punch that will stun the world. Time for "Most Intriguing."

Right now people are taking to the streets saying no to him and what he represents. They are marking a big anniversary, the day 31 years ago that the Islamic Revolution happened. Many say that's the day the country really changed into a nation under the unrelenting grip of religious extremism.

One of out "Most Intriguing" today is the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is the final authority of Iran and the man who says he has something planned during the anniversary that will surprise everyone.

All right, that's the story we will be talking to you about in a little while. This is unbelievable video. It's a fight. A girl's head gets kicked, stomped, kicked again, stomped again.

Here is what makes this a story, folks. The security guards there, you see them right there in the yellow jackets? He is right next to the girl who is kicking the other girl in the head and could possibly kill her, and he does nothing. Why? Well, we made some phone calls on this, and wait until you see what we found out.

Also, a look at this video. That's a helicopter, and it's going down, down, down, and there was a camera on board. And we will share with you that image with you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: OK, folks, are you ready to watch this together? These are these pictures that I have been telling you about that I watched last night five times at least and found absolutely fascinating. Brooke Baldwin is joining me now and we are talking about Seattle and a 15-year-old girl.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A 15-year-old girl --

SANCHEZ: And if that is your daughter, I'd be upset with what I saw on the video.

BALDWIN: And you really need to watch the beginning.

SANCHEZ: Let's do that.

BALDWIN: And the middle and the end. OK, so, let's go straight to the video. Keep in mind that this whole altercation started in a Seattle downtown department store and continued into this bus tunnel. Keep your eyes on the three guys in the yellow vests. Now, you see the two girls, so they start to fight.

SANCHEZ: The one in the black shirt or jacket is hitting the one in the brown jacket. Now, watch the brown jacket one goes down.

BALDWIN: So, she goes down. SANCHEZ: And then the one in the black jacket stands up and starts to kick her in the face. Look at the guards. Look at this, stomping her head. Look at the guard.

BALDWIN: Stomping her, beating her, they end up robbing her. And you see these guards -- keep in mind the guards. I watched this whole thing a couple of times as well. The guard in the far back appears to be calling in for support.

Now, with these guards, these are contracted security guards, considered civilian guards. They are not police officers, and it's their duty not to intervene, according to a policy that they have under the King County, you know, the metro transit, and the policy is not to intervene in a violent situation, and so they followed orders.

They have standing orders instead to respond, to get on their walkie-talkie and call 911.

SANCHEZ: Well, that sounds like hogwash, though. There is a difference between policy and then what you have to do as a decent human being when you see another human being -- Roger, roll this thing again. Roll this thing again. Let's all watch this together with clear heads, and, you know, because I get what you are saying about this policy.

BALDWIN: It is the policy --

SANCHEZ: I know, but --

BALDWIN: But inherently --

SANCHEZ: But, you have my instinct as a human being and dad, and maybe that 15-year-old girl is -- policy be damned. Watch this guy here -- he is watching, watching, watching. He is still watching. Look at the guy there next to the sidewalk, he is watching. Now, it is right in front of him, look at this. All he has to do is to put one arm up, Brooke. Look! He is right next to her.

BALDWIN: He appears to be --

SANCHEZ: Say please, stop.

BALDWIN: -- to verbally perhaps cease this whole, but physically it is against policy for him to do anything. I talked to metro transit today and I said what are these guards for, and they said to keep people out of the way of buses and to perhaps fix equipment. But beyond that, there are 68 other metro police officers who eventually responded, as did Seattle police.

But during the whole meat of this thing, you see these three men with the yellow vests not doing anything. So it brings us to a lot of questions. Do we have a guest here?

SANCHEZ: I don't know.

BALDWIN: Yes. SANCHEZ: Sergeant Urquhart?

BALDWIN: Sergeant John Urquhart. He is with the King County sheriff's department, I believe. And sergeant, I think we should just first begin with -- when you look at the video, we are sitting here and we think inherently something is wrong with these three grown men who are security guards are not doing anything to stop this.

SANCHEZ: Explain to us why not.

SGT. JOHN URQUHART, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON, SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Well, I think it has been explained pretty well. It is not a good explanation, but it's what the facts are. And the facts are that by policy, by SOP, they are not to become involved in confrontations. Their job down there is to observe and report. That is exactly what they did. Now --

SANCHEZ: Is that a good --

URQUHART: As a father of two daughters as a matter of fact, I'm as outraged as you are that they or somebody else on that bus platform at 7:00 at night didn't step in to do something.

SANCHEZ: Is that a good policy?

URQUHART: There is plenty of outrage out there.

SANCHEZ: It is a good policy though, to have two guys in uniform watching a 15-year-old girl getting her head bashed in and do nothing?

URQUHART: Well, obviously, no, it is not a good policy from any viewpoint. And what metro transit is doing now is to figure out how do we fix the policy and make it better to make sure this does not happen again. That is what is going on now, and they have stepped up to the plate I think, very, very quickly to figure this out.

SANCHEZ: Is it -- let me ask you a question, because people sometimes -- we do it in our jobs. People sometimes take rules or information to extremes.

In other words, we gave you a policy that says we don't want you to get involved in the altercations. Just call the cops, and they will be there.

But there is this little thing that you know and Brooke and I know about very well and it is called common sense that is supposed to kick in a regular guy or gal that says if you see a fellow human being getting their brains beat in, see if you can try to stop it before they are dead. Is that what this really is about?

URQUHART: Yes, that's right. I think that is where the outrage comes from. Regardless of the policy, they didn't do anything. And that is what everybody who watches the video says. There's no question about that.

That being said, I have been a police officer for 30-some years, and I have seen lots of incidents where people didn't react quickly enough to do something, policy or not.

SANCHEZ: How do you train these guys? I mean, do you -- do you -- when you go back to re-look at this -- and obviously, you are being a stand-up guy about this and saying it is what it is, and I won't make excuses for it, and I think the viewers appreciate that by the way, that you are being earnest.

When you look at this, and if you had to change the picture so it doesn't happen again, is it about training or is it about policy?

URQUHART: It's probably going to be about both. And that's something that metro transit has to decide. Remember, their contract is with this security company and has nothing to do with the sheriff's office.

We are there to investigating the crime, and we will advise them on what the best policy is going to be to improve security down that tunnel so this doesn't happen again.

And whether it's more training, changing the policy, putting a different group in there, or putting armed police officers, more of them, because we are down there, putting more armed police officers down there in the tunnel, that is what metro transit has to decide, and we will help them to do that.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you one more question -- and do you want to get in here?

BALDWIN: I just want to be clear that we did reach out to these contracted security guards to the company. Of course we wanted to talk to these guys who were involved, Olympic Security Services, and they did not return our phone call.

SANCHEZ: They didn't. That is on the record.

BALDWIN: No.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you one more question that comes to mind as I hear you explaining this, and now I'm going to ask you a tricky question as a police officer -- is there a possibility, sir, that one of the security guards could be charged with negligence for failing to act?

URQUHART: No. Washington does not have any laws that require people to become involved in violent confrontations.

SANCHEZ: Even if they are in uniform.

URQUHART: No, that is not going to happen.

SANCHEZ: All right, you know what, you are a good man and I appreciate you taking time to take us through this.

URQUHART: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Thank you, officer, John Urquhart, we appreciate that. BALDWIN: He is honest. It's a security and perhaps even a personnel issue, too. He said both.

SANCHEZ: But, it still goes back to a normal human being looks at a normal situation, common sense has to kick in and that's when policies and rules have to go out the window.

BALDWIN: Yes, I am with you.

SANCHEZ: Either that or we are crazy. Things won't work.

BALDWIN: I am with you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks Brooke, thanks for bringing that to us.

This video now from a helicopter that was pummeling toward the ground. Can you believe this? They are talking in Portuguese because the pictures are from Brazil. There it is. Stay with us, we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Look, we have been looking at some unbelievable videos. A lot of you are tweeting about the one we showed a little while ago, a lot of you are tweeting about that one.

But look at this video. This is interesting. This is a helicopter pilot who lost his life in a helicopter crash. His actions, though, are credited with savings the lives of others. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Poor guy. You see the houses over there. See how close he came to hitting some of those homes. He obviously tried to avoid the homes, so say some of the folks talking to him at the tower. And he went into a green space that was nearby. It happened over downtown Sao Paulo in Brazil, captured on camera.

Two views, by the way -- first you see the TV news chopper spinning to the ground, crashing near that area where those buildings were. And then the pilot was able to maneuver the chopper away from it and away from the crowded neighborhood and the traffic.

The cameraman onboard the chopper also reported the final seconds right up to the moment of the impact. And you can see that shot as well. That's the shot from inside the helicopter.

Photographer in the helicopter survived but is hospitalized with very serious injuries. The pilot, a ten-year veteran of the station, was trying to make an emergency landing and just wasn't able to do so.

Let's see if we can see that video once again, the one from inside the helicopter. I think it was looped on this. I think if we stay with this for a little while we will be able to see it. That's the video just after -- that's right after it crashed. We will see if we can get back to that later.

Meanwhile, show them this, Roger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Militia beating away protesters in Tehran on this 31st anniversary of Iran's revolution. We will get to some of the details the Iranian government doesn't want you to know.

And before we do that, Roger, go to the twitter board if we possibly can. Take Gillian off for just a moment. I want to bring to you over to the twitter board just because while we are on it, we are talking about Iran. Look at John McCain. Look at the tweet he just put out. Go to the John McCain tweet.

He's responding and says video coming out of Iran today showing demonstrators being beaten in the streets, "outrageous." He's on one of the lists we're following.

Sorry Roger, I should have given you more of a heads up. Go ahead and put Gillian's picture up now. This is Gillian Michaels of TV's "Biggest Loser." There is a sense of hypocrisy here, there's a lot of stuff going on.

She has just gotten hit with a class action lawsuit. You're not going to believe what the class action lawsuit presumes or alleges. You are not going to believe it. You are not going to believe it.

We'll be right back, stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

The new offensive in Afghanistan is anything but secret, and civilians are already leaving in droves. We are going to tell you why at the top of the hour. Listen to this guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to be very careful and very disciplined, and we have to be very accurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's right. You tell them. And he's talking to Afghanistan soldiers.

Here is the bad news. Just as we were getting ready go on the air, we got new information that five U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan have been injured in a suicide bombing, a suicide bombing that apparently took place because someone, who was wearing an Afghan uniform of their border patrol, was inside of a tent with U.S. soldiers and he blew himself up, thereby taking with him or injuring, I should say, five other U.S. soldiers, five other people, five of which are U.S. soldiers.

We don't know what their condition is right now, but we are all over this story, and it really transcends the stories we were talking about yesterday with the training of Afghan troops, so we will give you information and analysis on that story as we move forward.

Also, John Mayer, Grammy winner, and the guy who dated Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston and has bragged about it, in fact, has been downright kiss-and-telly about it, somewhat disgraceful about it, crude -- thanks, Angie.

Now he does something else that gets him in trouble. He goes and uses the "n" word in an interview. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: As we approach the end of the 3:00 hour, it is time for one of the segments many of you like the most, "The List you don't want to be on."

Spot three is going today to musician John Mayer who is a Grammy winner and renowned playboy that dated both Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston.

However, he's writing more apologies than songs today. Why? For using the "N" word in an interview with "Playboy" magazine. He talks about how he's so famous he never has to be wait to seated. And here is how he describes how black people love him, something about him getting a hood pass.

"Someone asked me the other day, what does it feel like to have a hood pass? And, by the way, it's a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you would call it an "n" word pass."

By the way, talk about kiss and tell, he also tells the interviewer about what Jessica Simpson is like in bed. Let's just call him Mr. Classy.

Let's do number two now.