Return to Transcripts main page

Rick's List

Political Incivility; Protests Over Human Rights in Cuba Escalate

Aired March 25, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, HOST: All right, thanks so much, Ali.

Here's what we got for you right now.

First of all, topping the list, just minutes ago, the Senate passed the slightly altered health care fixes bill. I want to bring you up to date on this, because what this means is that now it goes back to the House, as many of you know, although and it gets very, very confusing.

And the House is, of course, expected to just rubber-stamp this. They want to get done with it. We don't believe there's going to be anything drama on this, folks. Again, it just happened moments ago. So, we're still checking in.

By the way, as far as drama goes, these days, you never know, so I am going to be give you more information on this as it come in. I will be checking with our folks in Washington. And if anything changes or if there are any developments, I'm going to take it to you right away, so stand by.

But, obviously, look, the number one political story in the news today, more developments on death threats against lawmakers. This is the story that we broke here exactly 24 hours ago. It has dominated the discussion ever since.

And I'm going to start by giving you the very latest that we know right now about the security situation that is facing members of Congress.

First of all, Democrat Betsy Markey of Colorado now reports having received two death threats before the health care vote on Sunday. Two, Ohio Democrat Steve Driehaus also says he got death threats. Democrats James Clyburn and Bart Stupak both report receiving fax communications with the image of a noose. You see it right there -- quote -- "All baby killers come to unseemly ends either by the hand of man or the hand of God."

There's more. The FBI is now investigating a case involving a Virginia Democrat. His name is Tom Perriello. It includes accusations that somebody tried to cut a gas line at his brother's address, thinking it was him.

Then there's this, brand-new, a coffin reportedly left in or near the yard of Democrat Russ Carnahan of Missouri, windows smashed at Democratic offices in at least three states.

I talked to Bart Stupak just a little while ago, right? He's the Democrat who made the crucial deal on abortion. Here now, so you can listen to him yourself, are some of the phone messages that were left for him.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are a lowlife, baby-murdering, scumbag pile of steaming crap. You are a cowardly punk, Stupak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think about this. There are millions of people across the country who wish you ill. And all of those thoughts projected on you will materialize into something that's not very good for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right. Let's turn the corner on this now, if we can, as I continue my explanation on the story as it develops both politically and, in some cases, criminally.

You heard it here yesterday. Democrats Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn both came out calling on other House members to denounce these hateful acts, saying silence amounts to complicity. Several other Democrats are now taking it a step further today.

Let me take you through this. They are explicitly charging that angry Republican rhetoric during the health care debate has helped to create this climate. That's what they say. Obviously, it's a very serious accusation.

Several are pointing the finger directly at Republican House Leader John Boehner, who made this impassioned plea at the very end of the health care debate

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Can you say it was done openly, with transparency and accountability, without backroom deals and struck behind closed doors, hidden from the people? Hell, no, you can't!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, let me take you through what has been going on with Boehner. Boehner came out yesterday, and he put out a statement that said, any American angry over health care debate should channel that anger into politics, not violence.

I want you to listen now to a response to that statement. This is from a Representative Tom Perriello. He's speaking here to CNN as a matter of fact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. TOM PERRIELLO (D), VIRGINIA: Actually, I thought his statement was fairly outrageous. What he was saying was for those of you who are threatening people's children, we want you to channel that anger into the campaign.

No, we want those people to go to jail. That's what I'm hearing from the Republicans in my district and in my state. They understand the difference between someone who is breaking the law and someone who is simply upset about policy.

And for John Boehner to conflate these two was really quite an outrageous statement. No, people who are doing these things that are clearly outside the law, as my very conservative attorney general said, these people need to be prosecuted, not brought into the campaign room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now I want to show you another reason why some Democrats are calling out John Boehner specifically. He's the number- one Republican in the House, of course.

In an interview with the conservative "National Review," Boehner referred to fellow Ohioan Steve Driehaus as a -- quote -- "dead man" for backing health care reform.

He called Steve Driehaus a dead man and stated -- quote -- "He can't go home to the west side of Cincinnati. The Catholics," said Boehner, "will run him out of town."

As I told you, Representative Driehaus has now reported receiving death threats since that statement. And let me read you this from Driehaus himself. He says -- quote -- "I think it's really important for folks around here, especially Leader Boehner, to understand that his words have consequences. Leader Boehner suggested that if I vote yes on this bill and go home to the west side of Cincinnati that I could be a dead man. It really calls into question his ability to lead. They are tacitly endorsing the inappropriate behavior and trying to use it to their political gain. And they're willing, apparently, to put members' families at risk in order to do so."

That is what Perriello (sic) had to say.

Now, Minority Leader Boehner spoke to reporters today. He said -- and I quote -- "Violence and threats are unacceptable."

And then Boehner was questioned about calling Steve Driehaus a dead man by CNN's Dana Bash. I want you to listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Steve Driehaus as you know, you were quoted in an article saying that he would be a dead man if he voted for...

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Politically. Let's make sure we get it correct.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: He said he understood that you meant politically, but he said he's concerned that there are people out there who might not have. Given what's going on, do you maybe think that those words might have been taken out of context?

BOEHNER: I don't think so.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: He said it may have incited things.

(CROSSTALK)

BOEHNER: Listen, no one saw this quote of mine in this publication until Mr. Driehaus and others made a public issue of it.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So, he walks away. John Boehner does not deny, by the way, calling Steve Driehaus a dead man, but he -- he said he was employing a political metaphor, and he said it's only at issue because Driehaus made it an issue.

Now, hold that thought, because now I want to turn the corner once again. Republican Eric Cantor is now saying that Democrats are at fault in all of this. Notice the back-and-forth. Cantor said just a short time ago they are fanning the flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), HOUSE MINORITY WHIP: It is reckless to use these incidents as media vehicles for political gain. That is why I have deep concerns that some, DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen and DNC Chairman Tim Kaine in particular, are dangerously fanning the flames by suggesting -- suggesting that these incidents be used as a political weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Cantor also said that he's received threats. He's mentioned the fact that he is Jewish, and he said that, just recently, a bullet was shot through the window of his campaign office in Richmond, Virginia.

In an interview with a local newspaper, Cantor apparently said he doesn't know exactly whether the shot was random or aimed at a building, according to the quote in the paper.

So, there you have it. You have heard the setup, as far as we can give it to you based on everything that we followed on this story today. Coming up in just a couple of minutes, what's next for cooperation between Dems and the GOP? Is it even possible at this point? Craig Crawford has been covering Congress for 25 years. Has he ever seen anything quite like this? He joins me live.

Also, a rare sight: an official boat with American colors entering the Havana harbor today, as protests over human rights in Cuba escalate in Miami.

We're following both those stories. That's next right here on the LIST.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making the LIST today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congressman Stupak, you are one big piece of human (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

SANCHEZ: We broke the news yesterday about threats aimed at Congress members. Bart Stupak is one of the targets. He joins me live.

REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: ... baby killer.

SANCHEZ: He gets all the attention, but what about the Dems and the Republicans who do work things out? We're on that.

We have seen the signs, but what is real socialism? Protests over the Castro government escalate -- a personal take with myself and Emilio Estefan.

And the heat is on the pope, reports he failed to protect more than 200 deaf choir boys in Wisconsin who were sexually abused. And there's now a paper trail. The Catholic League's Bill Donahue joins me live.

The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list, pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. We do expect a lot of movement over the next couple hours during RICK'S LIST, and as those developments come in on the House bill going from the Senate back to the House, I'm going to be bringing you that.

And there's also this story. Look, folks, I will just be really honest with you, all right? There's been a lot of talk in this country of late about socialism. I know a thing or two about socialism, because I was born in a socialist country, and I came to this country in essence because my parents needed to go away from that place. I couldn't be more grateful. So, today, we find ourselves covering a story that affects the community where I grew up, Miami, Florida. There is the personification of something that Fidel Castro and his brother, Raul, have done which has made people in Miami extremely upset.

It's about jailing people for what they think, not for what they have done, including the story of a man who recently died in prison because he was willing to starve himself to death, rather than agree to things that he's just not willing to go along with.

This story is taking place today in Miami. It's a protest. His mother, for example, is one of those women in white, as they're called. They marched on the streets in Havana and were picked up by the government, just like the 71 to 80 other political dissidents who are in Cuban prisons today.

It's an interesting story, and we're going to be all over that. In fact, Emilio Estefan, a guy I have known since I was a kid, is going to be joining me here in a little bit. He shares a similar story.

But, right now, there's another Cuba story that is taking place. And this is almost like the marriage of two unbelievable stories. The Amistad is a story that affects African-Americans in this country like perhaps no other. Perhaps you saw a movie.

It's a story of a ship that arrived in port on a diplomatic mission, and, yes, you're going to recognize the name, because this is an actual replica that's arriving back in Havana Harbor today from the famous 1841 slave ship that wasn't allowed in.

I think we're going to have a live picture of this going on right now in Havana.

As a matter of fact, let's see what we can get.

There is Shasta Darlington. She is live on this replica, and she's joining us now to take us through what's going on.

Set the mood. Set the scene, tell us why.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Rick. This is a pretty amazing sight, unusual. Right here behind me is this American schooner Amistad, which, as you know, means friendship.

And it's just sailed into Havana Harbor. We're right here in the heart of the old part of the city. And this voyage today is really a reminder of that dark tradition of slavery that binds the two countries, Cuba and the United States.

And that's because this is a replica. The original Amistad set sail from Havana in 1839 for the United States, and it became famous because the slaves aboard rebelled. They took over the ship, and they were eventually freed, becoming a kind of symbol of the abolitionist movement. And this is also important for another reason, because it's a modern-day diplomatic mission. This small nonprofit group of sailors and historians has brought this ship here to try and bridge the political gap that divides the two countries today.

And what we're going to see over the next five days is Cuban schoolchildren, the general public coming on board to find out about the history of the ship, the history of slavery, and the crew will be coming on shore to visit museums and schools and even holding a simulcast with children around the world to talk about this shared history, Rick.

SANCHEZ: What a rare opportunity for our viewers to be able to experience this satellite shot coming there from the coast of Cuba.

Shasta Darlington, thanks so much for your report.

And obviously some very personal footnotes that I'm going to add on this story in just a little bit, so stay with us, folks.

You know, as I mentioned just moments ago, that is one part of the story. Here's another. It's a protest in Miami over the Castro government's handling of political prisoners and freedom. Yes, that's Emilio and Gloria Estefan. You have seen them on our shows before.

I'm going to be talking to Emilio about this, as I mentioned, in just a little bit.

Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans are egging on the crazies. Is that fair? And who and how and what are the Dems doing about it? Important questions for a guy who's written about Congress for 25 years and is still reasonably sane. Craig Crawford's going to...

(LAUGHTER)

CRAIG CRAWFORD, COLUMNIST, CQPOLITICS.COM: Somehow.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Craig Crawford's going to be joining me here after the break about something we can smile about here, but is quite serious.

Folks, stay there. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: This is the kind of day when you want to turn to the pros, and I think Craig Crawford fits the bill.

This is a guy who has written about Congress for 25 years. And what's going on in Washington, especially with Congress, right now is as bizarre as anything we have ever seen. By the way, he's a columnist for CQPolitics.com.

Craig, good to see you. Have you ever seen anything like this? CRAWFORD: Well, I have seen a lot of food fights on Capitol Hill, but bullets? We go back to the Clinton impeachment trial, Iran- Contra with Reagan. Carter gave away the Panama Canal. Those were big, big fights.

There was an incident, though, when Harry Blackmun, who wrote Roe v. Wade, someone shot through the window of his house, and the bullet landed on his couch when he and his wife were sitting there. I talked to him about that one time and he kind of joked. He said, yes, and the insurance company didn't cover it either.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: But the thing with this case is, there seems to be a lot of finger-pointing now, and it's not just a matter of what's going on.

Look, there's always going to be crazies. There's crazies no matter what happens in every arena. They come in all different heights and colors and shapes and sizes. But in this case what you have is at least one party prevalently calling the other party out for instigating these situations, and these are some of the examples they use.

As a matter of fact, Roger, roll this tape so our viewers can see what we're talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In America, we must never confuse the social safety net with the slippery slope to socialism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to be like Russia. We don't want to be like China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you so arrogant that you think you know what's best for the American people? Are you so ignorant that you're oblivious to the wishes of the American people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our colleagues are celebrating the birth of a great new entitlement program today. Only they see dependency on the federal government and the death of freedom as a cause for celebration.

BOEHNER: Hell, no, you can't!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The death of freedom, government takeover, words like socialism, are the Democrats wrong or right when they say that those things instigate people to act?

CRAWFORD: I think there's some truth in what they're saying. There's also some truth in Republicans saying that the Democrats are taking political advantage of it. But it does take it to a new category, doesn't it, this call for a revolt, basically, and saying that this whole take our country back thing, that -- that someone has taken our country away from us, and the American spirit, that calls for arms? You know, you look at some of the other things that I noticed today. I just now noticed what Sarah Palin had said in her tweet...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

CRAWFORD: ... where she said after he signed the bill, don't retreat; reload.

SANCHEZ: Yes. In fact -- in fact, I'm just going to interrupt you for a minute, because we collect this kind of stuff on this show. That's why we call it RICK'S LIST, and we keep a list of all the folks who are relevant to stories who are talking about these things.

Look at this tweet from Sarah Palin. There it is. This happens to be exactly what you're talking about now. "Commonsense conservatives and lovers of America, don't retreat. Instead, reload." And then she tells them to go to her Facebook page.

Let me let you continue your thought after I read that to the viewers.

(CROSSTALK)

CRAWFORD: And check out the Facebook page, too. The map on it has gun sights on the Democrats she want to defeat.

SANCHEZ: But, look, Craig, we just did a piece with Boehner, and we represented both sides of the story, obviously. And Boehner says it's like political satire. I don't mean to say that I want the congressman to be dead. I mean he's a dead man, as in politically.

CRAWFORD: I know. And I think we shouldn't overblow it, that this rhetoric directly caused these threats and some of this violence.

But I think it's come time for maybe Congress needs nap time like they have in kindergarten, and everybody just calm down. I think what both sides need to do at some point is come out together, Democrats and Republicans...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

CRAWFORD: ... and denounce this stuff.

SANCHEZ: Well, it's an interesting point. And, by the way, here's something else. To be fair, whenever we show one tweet, I like to show the other.

Let's go to the other side now. Here's Representative Steve Israel responding to the reload tweet from Sarah Palin that we follow. "Reload? SarahPalinUSA, is your choice of words inciteful or ignorant?" So, bang, bang, punch, counterpunch, cross, parry, whatever you want to call this in boxing terms. Let me ask you something about that I was impressed with. I was getting ready to go to sleep last night, and I decided to check one more thing. I read your stuff. I read I think Drudge, and I picked up another, and I found an article -- I'm not sure where it was -- I think it was on Politico -- that said that Jim Webb and Lindsey Graham in an act of defiance were not willing to stop talking to each other because they wanted to show that things can get done if two guys from opposite sides of the aisle sit down and hash things out.

I was I was impressed by that.

CRAWFORD: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Why isn't there more of it?

CRAWFORD: Well, I personally think we would be better off if Jim Webb was emperor.

(LAUGHTER)

CRAWFORD: I like the guy a lot. And he carries a gun, by the way.

But, yes, that's what we have come to, where civility is an act of defiance. And...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Wow. Think about that. Just stop and think about what you just said for a moment.

CRAWFORD: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We're -- you and I are talking about a news story today because two guys got along.

CRAWFORD: Yes. Yes, for this coverage, you need some of those graphics from the old "Batman" TV show, you know, pow, zoom, kapow.

(LAUGHTER)

CRAWFORD: But the political underpinning here, Rick, is both sides are fighting for independent voters right now, and Democrats in particular, because they are losing independent voters in these congressional races by about 10 percentage points.

And one way traditionally they have always gotten those voters back is when they think the Republicans have gone crazy and are going to take over and take the country in some right-wing, nutty direction.

SANCHEZ: Oh, yes, yes. No, the Dems are already trying to collect money on this thing, right, try and collect campaign funds.

(CROSSTALK) CRAWFORD: Democrats are taking political advantage of this. I don't doubt that a bit. That letter from Tim Kaine shows that. And I don't blame them. And traditionally this is one of the ways they have gotten those independent voters back.

SANCHEZ: It's the American way.

CRAWFORD: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Hey, I appreciate it, Craig. Good conversation, as usual.

CRAWFORD: You bet.

SANCHEZ: See you the next time.

CRAWFORD: All right.

SANCHEZ: All right, take a look at this, folks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... humiliate my family. You (INAUDIBLE) at me.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are a witness to insurance fraud. You are involved in a conspiracy. And...

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: While we're all over the subject of incivility, yes, he's out of control, and his brother is in the court with a net over his head. Who's the suspect here? This gets weird, folks. I'm going to be taking you through it as the screaming continues.

And then RICK'S LIST makes the news in Germany yesterday, and then in France today, yes, this little show. We're international.

And because of that, we have got a new candidate for the list that nobody wants to be on.

Next, though, who's the most intriguing person in the news today?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Whoa, this is a hot topic, folks.

We are getting a ton of tweets from you, all with a spattering of opinions on what's going on in Washington and the lack of civility. We're going to share some of those throughout the newscast, and, obviously, we're going to get some information from some of folks who are lawmakers who are tweeting just as much. But, first, it is now time to check the list of the most intriguing person in the news today.

This young lady is the organizer, the founder, and the driving force behind a one-day global effort that is happening right now. It's all about people connecting across the oceans on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, any social media conduit, something we here on RICK'S LIST believe in, follow, use as sources, gather news from.

Social media or social good and social awareness is what she believes in. Right now, thousands of people, including my staff, in hundreds of places are rallying with volunteers and charities online to help the estimated 72 million children in the world with no access to schools, classrooms. Get that.

Go ahead, let's show you what she looks like, this is she, Amanda Rose. She's created something called the "Twestival" -- the Twitter festival, and today is the day. Last year's Twestival generated $225,000 for people with no clean drinking water. You can find her on twitter. She's amanda@amanda. She follows me, I follow her, and you should, too. I recommend it.

Amanda Rose is today's most intriguing person, for making a difference in the news.

We've got some breaking news for you. Congressman Anthony Weiner has confirmed now that his Queens office was just sent a package containing some white powder. Here we go. With it we understand there is a threatening letter, pertaining to his vote on health care.

We also understand that his office is going to be issuing a statement very soon. Let me take you back to who Anthony Weiner is, for those of you who haven't followed the health care debate, it's almost guaranteed that you would have seen him. He's been on this show various times.

He tweets me, sends us information, as well as many others in Congress. But he has probably been one of the most vocal proponents, not just of health care reform, but of the public option at the very beginning, and only agreed to the health care reform that was passed when he realized that they were going to have to make some sort of compromise to pass something.

So, Anthony Weiner, Democratic congressman from New York, now saying that some substance has been sent to his residence -- pardon me, I think that was his office, right, guys? Let me make sure we get this right because the information is coming in. Come again, ngie? It was his office, right? His Queens office. All right, thanks, guys.

Some kind of white powder sent to his Queens office. He'll have some kind of statement in a little bit. If he comes to the microphone or if we can get him on the phone, we'll have him take us through this story.

He's not the first today. There's also Eric Cantor, who earlier today said there was a gunshot at his district office as well. Things getting crazy, and we're going to follow every minute of it and try to make as much sense of it as we possibly can.

As we move forward, we also have this coming your way --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stupak, you're a low life baby-murdering scumbag pile of steaming crap. You are scum, Stupak. That's what you are Stupak. You're a piece of crap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Imagine coming home to that or having your kids listen to that or your wife answering the phone and having to listen to that. I told you yesterday about all the new threats and I told you today when we started the show the new ones aimed at members of Congress and you just heard the latest with Anthony Weiner.

There are more, and one of the targets was Congressman Stupak, so Congressman Stupak has agreed to come on this show and talk about that situation with his family and those threats, that should be coming up in just a little bit.

Also, what appears to be a case of police abuse in reverse. This is weird. Take a look at this. We're going to have it for you when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Well, for those of you just now joining us, what is it, 36 minutes after the hour of 3:00, there is another breaking news story having to do with the trend that we've been seeing lately. This time it's Anthony Weiner saying some kind of white powder has been sent to his office in New York.

And he's supposedly going to make a statement about it any moment now. As soon as he does, we will do, as we have with the rest of the stories and take you through the details and see if some of these folks in Congress can somehow sort this thing out.

Meantime, there are textbook examples of how not to interact with an official who is a member of law enforcement. And then there are those who don't understand that. The best pictures of the day is what we call "Fotos del Dia."

I want to start, first of all, in Kingston, Tennessee. Listen to this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are involved in a conspiracy, and Mr. Haney, every one of you, every officer in this courtroom is involved in insurance fraud. Hey --

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Brooke is here next to me. She's trying to figure out what's going on here.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is he yelling?

SANCHEZ: It's hard to figure out, actually. Talk about incivility, his name is Leon Houston. He's interrupting his brother's court hearing. And you can hear him yelling accusations of conspiracy, of insisting that the judge needs to recuse himself.

Now, that's his brother, the one right there with that wrapping around his head and the net on top of his head. Apparently the Houston brothers have a penchant for lashing out, which is why his brother has been facially shackled, you might say. What a story. That's Rocky Houston, he came to court wearing a head net because he's charged in three -- get this -- spitting incidents so far.

BALDWIN: What?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: Spitting?

SANCHEZ: Rocky Houston is facing felony assault charges relating to a police chase just six years ago.

BALDWIN: Who knew?

SANCHEZ: Let's go to Portland, Oregon, now. This is somebody who's asking for it. Someone throws a bike at a police officer on a motorcycle. It's a bad idea. The good news is the officer was wearing a helmet. What a --

BALDWIN: Ouch.

SANCHEZ: Yes. The protester was wearing a mask, but they did catch him, and he's now been charged with multiple offenses, as he should be.

And look at those yellow eyes. That's a coyote, like Wile E. Coyote, like the Acme company and the roadrunner. He's not in this scene. He's conspicuously absent. Look at the cops. He's saying I didn't sign up for this.

BALDWIN: The poor thing is confused.

SANCHEZ: The animal was first spotted yesterday outside of Holland Tunnel in New York. Maybe he was tired of the subway. Officers used eight patrol cars, two motorcycles, an emergency truck, a helicopter, and at the end of the day the fugitive was not so wily after all.

Here he is out cold after authorities --

BALDWIN: Sleep it off. Sleep it off. SANCHEZ: They gave him a couple of shots of really good vodka. Just kidding -- tranquilizers, and they caged him. It's the fourth coyote sighting in Manhattan so far this year. Who knew?

BALDWIN: Who knew?

SANCHEZ: "The New York Times" is reporting that there is a paper trail on the sex abuse denial that leads right to the Vatican and to the Pope. The Catholic League's Bill Donahue is as animated a person as we ever have on the air on things that have to do with the Catholic Church. He's very possessive about the Catholic Church. He's coming up right here. That's going to be ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In his office?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's in my office area, in the front office.

Put your phone down. Put your phone down now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, then it gets ugly. You're going to hear a brutal beating yourself. It's just outside of a school. Where are the guards, one would ask? That's right here next on "Brookes Block." We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Yes, I'm reading your tweets and I see a lot of you are very involved in the news stories of the day. I'll get to them. Cross my hard and hope to spit.

Meanwhile, it's time for the "Brooke Block," her list.

BALDWIN: Are we going to get into the spitting things with that guy?

SANCHEZ: Do you need me to?

BALDWIN: Hopefully not, Sanchez.

SANCHEZ: What are you trying to say about me on national television?

BALDWIN: I was giggling on it earlier.

Moving on, I have two items on my list, because we are waiting for the thing out of the congressman's office. I will get to this first one out of south Florida. I want to warn you that some of these meetings are tough to look at.

This is a 15-year-old little girl, Josie Lou Bratley. She's in a medical induced coma, still. Two craniotomies, when they pull your skull back to do surgery on your brain, two of them after this massive beating last week at this middle school.

The accused attacker is a ninth grader who came to school reportedly in steel-toed boots, kicked this girl in the head half a dozen times as she was waiting for the bus.

SANCHEZ: Jesus.

BALDWIN: Well, today, we are hearing from the person who dialed 911 moments after that attack from the school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911, what is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have -- this is Deerfield Beach Middle. I don't know if a call already came in. We have a student unconscious on another student battery. And I also needed police immediately. I have a high school student that actually created the injury to this child.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And where is he, in the office?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's in my office area, in the front office.

Put your phone down. Put your phone down now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Saying put your phone down. Why? She's talking to the ninth grader, the suspect, now charged with attempted murder. Another interesting peg to this story, Josie Lou Bratley, guess who her former classmate used to be at this Deerfield Middle School?

SANCHEZ: I don't know.

BALDWIN: This guy, Michael Brewer. His story from a couple months ago was he was doused with rubbing alcohol, set on fire reportedly by a group of teens. So they had class together. He visited her in the hospital this week. Parents have said, yes, you know, she would have been happy to know he was there supporting her, wishing her well.

SANCHEZ: I go to Miami and I still see that story in the local news. It's like a huge story down there.

BALDWIN: Huge. Huge.

SANCHEZ: We did that together.

BALDWIN: You like that? Mano-a-mano.

Number two for me, this is a big story in Brooklyn. If you're a kid you play cops and robbers. No big deal. So when you hear about a kiddie jail on a playground, not a big deal. But not so fast, considering this jail here is on a playground in a housing project in Brooklyn. So parents say, this is the last thing they want their kids to be playing in.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN VANN, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: It's very offensive from the inception of it, for anyone to design a prison for babies? And it's equally as offensive if we'd been so conditioned by some that we can accept such a concept.

RACHEL DARDEN, LIVES NEAR PLAYGROUND: It was painted on the front of it had "jail" and the kids would peep out and look at it. And then I realized and I'm saying why am I bringing my son, grandson, around here, to be photographed with the word "jail" on it? Too many of our kids are going to jail anyway, because of the full truth that happens around here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, here's the thing, though, because this jail playground -- here it is -- it had been there for six years. But because of somebody writing this blog, they published this picture, served as the catalyst. A lot of parents were up in arms.

So, guess what, the Housing Authority have been out this week and they had painted over it. I did talk to the -- who are they called -- the landscape that --

SANCHEZ: It probably was not a malicious intent in here.

BALDWIN: Right.

SANCHEZ: But now once it's pointed out, you can't help but say, those folks are right.

BALDWIN: When I talked to the folks who make it, we've been doing it for 40 years, we make a number of these, and it's really the customer that asks for this, and we've never had an issue. But it's gone. A lot of people in the neighborhood are happy it is.

SANCHEZ: Change it into something else. A Ferrari?

BALDWIN: That's what you would have played in as a kid, as a big kid?

SANCHEZ: I didn't even know what a Ferrari was. I didn't know what a Volkswagen was. Thanks, Brooke. Good stuff.

Take a look at this. This is congressman Slaughter's office. That's the window in her Niagara Falls office after bricks were thrown through it.

BALDWIN: Wow. BALDWIN: Then there are threats against Bart Stupak's family as well. You heard some of those. We've got more, folks, and he's going to join me in just a little bit. He's voting in congress. As soon as he gets out, he's going to get in front of a camera and tell you his story that's affecting his family.

Also, what is real socialism? We're going to ask Emilio Estefan, who is right there, who's part of the protest that's going -- that's taking place in Miami today against the Castro government. That is next. Stay with us. We've only just begun.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Look, folks, there has been a lot of talk lately about socialism in this country. Let's talk now about real socialism. Let me tell you through the story of one man, whose name is Orlando Zapato Zumayo. He died recently on a hunger strike in a Cuban jail.

He was not a violent man. He was jailed for disagreeing with the principles of Cuba's government. And he was willing to die for his principles. All he had to do was say, OK, I agree with you guys. But he wasn't willing to do that.

There are many others like him in Cuba. And that's why protesters in Cuba, women, like these you see here, including Zapata's mother, have taken to the streets in protest. And they, too, were picked up by the government.

Full disclosure here, OK? I was born in Cuba, and I've spent much of my life wishing that I could get to know my cousins in Cuba. I grew up 90 miles from those cousins. But do you know what, it may as well have been 90,000 miles. It's a shame, isn't it?

I'm not the only one who grew up like this. Emilio Estefan is my friend, and he grew up in many ways similar to the way that I did. He just has a lot more money than I do.

(LAUGHTER)

He's good enough to join us now as well. Emilio, good to see you. First, a couple of questions -- first of all, take me through the demonstration that's taking place in Miami today.

EMILIO ESTEFAN, MUSIC PRODUCER/SONGWRITER: Let me tell you, Rick, it's a historical day. You see all the Cuban community is reacting to all the abuse we get in Cuba, all the human rights abuse that you see, all the things you see, all the images.

And this is one of the things that people will remember forever. We definitely we have the support from the president of the United States. He's saying that the -- saying, you know --

ESTEFAN: Let me ask you something, because this is the part -- stories like this, you know why stories like this matter? Usually it's OK. The situation between the Castro and the Miami and the Cuban and the American politics and the embargo and people go, whatever.

But this is a story of a man who was willing to die for his principles, who was willing to starve himself because of what he believed in. Can you take us through, our viewers through why that man was willing to do that, which is ultimately why you're protesting out there today, given the fact that you are who you are?

ESTEFAN: Absolutely. Even now we have Palina (ph) who is dying now. He's been on a hunger strike for almost 30 days. He's willing to do. He said people will not help him and show the world what is happening in Cuba.

For the first time we see all the Cubans say, I'm proud to be a representative and show the world what is happening. Today is going to be historical. Not only here. It's going to be in New York. It's going to be in Los Angeles.

I think, like I told you, there will be thousands and thousands of people all dressed in white, praying, and sending a big message to the world to reveal what is happening in our homeland.

ESTEFAN: One more thing. There's been a lot of commentary in the United States lately, he's a socialist, no, he's a socialist, no, they're socialists. Socialism has become a word we just kind of throw out. OK. Almost like stupid or something like that the kids say to each other.

You and I really know what real socialism is. Do you in many ways like me chuckle when you hear socialism being used so ordinarily?

ESTEFAN: I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about that. I can tell you something. Nothing is better to see the images that we're seeing today, worldwide, of the marching in Cuba and peacefully display of what is happening and the abuse they have.

The problem is how they're abusing people. You also have a different opinion in our homeland.

SANCHEZ: Emilio Estefan, thanks for being with us, my friend. Every time we call you, you're available. I appreciate that.

ESTEFAN: Thank you, Rick, man. We love you very much. Bye-bye.

SANCHEZ: Likewise.

That protest, by the way, tonight is at 6:00. Wolf Blitzer has told me he's going to be covering it expensively during "THE SITUATION ROOM," so you can watch for that.

By the way, "The New York Times" reports a paper trail is now out on the sex abuse denial that leads right into the Vatican, and, worse, folks. We had stayed away from the story here on "RICK'S LIST," but now it appears that "The New York Times" is reporting that there's a direct tie to the Pope himself.

And we're going to analyze that with the Catholic League's own Bill Donahue. We're going to let him respond to this. That's coming up in just a little bit.

Also, Octo-mom and PETA join forces. What? Yes, we'll put that together for you. Stay right there. The list scrolls on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. The story we reported to you moments ago is apparently continuing to develop. If you haven't heard, it is about Anthony Weiner, congressman from New York.

This is really a long list of incidents we've been telling you about. This is file tape of him, by the way. I believe this is file tape, right? Thanks.

We're expecting he's going to be making a statement shortly. We're trying to see if we can get him on the phone to explain what's going on with these reports that -- some kind of mysterious white powder has been sent to his office in New York. As we get more details on that, obviously we're going to bring it to you.

It's salient today because of everything else that's been going on in the news. For example, take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congressman Stupak, you are one big piece of human (expletive). And think about this -- there are millions of people across the country who wish you ill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: These are the types of messages that have been sent to Congressman Stupak, Bart Stupak of Michigan, ever since his vote on health care reform. It's not just him personally that's dealing with it, it's his family. It's his wife.

He's a former police officer. We broke the news about these threats yesterday. We asked the congressman to come on, and he's been kind enough to join us. And he's going to be joining me here in just a little bit to take us through his own story and his own situation.

So stay there, folks. This is going to be good. Let's take a break right here and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Within the last 20 minutes or so, as you may have seen first reported here, we learned that Anthony Wiener's office has been in -- has received some kind of white powder. So we're going to be following that story very carefully for you.

And he is going to be making a statement -- wait, there's an update as a matter of fact that I have now. I'm going to share this with you in just a little bit, the latest from Representative Anthony Wiener.

Meanwhile, Bart Stupak, congressman, is joining me live right after we let you know exactly what else is in this second hour.