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Rick's List
Details on Roethlisberger Incident Released; Iceland's Volcano
Aired April 16, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Where there is smoke, there's usually fire. And we will tell you about that in just a minute.
But, first, let's do, what were you thinking? Several teachers here in Georgia accused of tampering with students' answers on standardized tests. The parents are really mad about this.
In fact, here's Don Lemon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Mikole Harden is worried.
(on camera) Were you the only parent who's concerned about how it performs?
MIKOLE HARDEN, FATHER: No, by all means.
LEMON (voice-over): Someone may have changed the answers on the standardized tests at his daughter's school last year.
(on camera): Do you have concerns?
HARDEN: Of course I have concerns like any other parents. I have concerns. I hope that there's no cheating. And if it is cheating, there needs to be a punishment for it.
LEMON (voice-over): And he's not alone. The state of Georgia is investigating 10 percent of its elementary and middle schools, 191 of them, because of moderate to severe concern over test results in 2009.
(on camera): When the answer sheets like these were scored, the computer scanners could tell when the bubbles were erased and the answers changed.
(voice-over): Kathleen Mathers heads the state audit.
KATHLEEN MATHERS, GEORGIA GOVERNMENT'S OFFICE OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: It's not just someone had changed a bunch of answers. It was that when they changed answers, they got the answer right as a result of that change.
LEMON: Classes with an unusually high number of these changes were flagged.
MATHERS: It sort of like having a blizzard in Fort Lauderdale in the middle of July. You know, in theory it could happen. It's just so incredibly unlikely that you really need a substantial explanation.
LEMON: Usually when we talk about cheating, the focus is on kids. In Georgia, the finger is being pointed at teachers and administrators. CNN obtained affidavits in the case of two administrators at an elementary school in DeKalb County accused of tampering with tests in 2008.
Former principal James Berry admitted they went into an office and began to erase answer sheets and change answers. Dorethea Alexander, the assistant principal, says she read the answers to Berry."He needed for 26 students to pass for us to make AYP." AYP is adequate yearly progress, an improvement standard set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that repeatedly fail to meet AYP face sanctions.
Berry was charged with public records fraud, paid a fine and is on probation. Alexander was transferred and completed community service.
MATHERS: We have done some work with our monitors.
LEMON: Today Mathers is working with the state school board to keep it from happening again.
MATHERS: As a former teacher, I would say we're better than that.
LEMON: Georgia students are now taking the 2010 CRCT test under new guidelines. And watching over the whole process? State test monitors aimed at making sure these tests can be trusted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: A CNN special report, "FIXING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS," it airs this weekend, by the way. And a town hall moderated by Don Lemon, it features Education Secretary Arne Duncan and a audience of parents and students and teachers. "FIXING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS," Saturday 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
A 572-page report on the night that got Ben Roethlisberger in a world of trouble -- we have got the file. We will drill down on it. We will share.
Here is RICK'S LIST.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making THE LIST today.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the land of fire and ice, after all. SANCHEZ: Where there's smoke, there's fire, or ash. We're live from Iceland, where a big volcano is stranding fliers across the globe.
And should a little girl play this adult role?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "KICK-ASS")
CHLOE MORETZ, ACTRESS: Wow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Incidents like this have forced transit police in San Fran to put down their Tasers. Could it lead to new police procedures?
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: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
On our LIST, here's a question that I would like to hear you an answer. And -- and I will bet you would. With this Icelandic -- Iceland volcano erupting and all these commercial flights canceled, should President Obama really be flying over to Europe to attend this funeral in Poland? Is that a good idea?
Let's go to Ed Henry. He's standing by at the White House. I mean, I'm serious.
In fact, look, before I go to you -- Chad, are you there?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm here.
SANCHEZ: Chad?
MYERS: Yes, sir.
SANCHEZ: Because I want this to make sense to folks. OK. The president is flying to Poland, right?
MYERS: Yes.
Show people -- show folks at home how many flights are in and around Poland right now.
MYERS: He will be the only one in the air.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: And I don't believe that they're going to let Air Force One in the air either. It doesn't matter if he's president of the United States. He can't put himself and the rest of that -- that crew in danger, because there's not a plane anywhere into Polska, or Poland, anywhere into Denmark, the U.K.
Hey, I got -- it looks like a flight just came out of Dublin. I will have to check to see what that flight is.
SANCHEZ: Really?
MYERS: And all the way through Northern France, and into -- into Germany, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Landstuhl, all closing down. In fact, even troops that are being evacuated out of Iraq are not going into Landstuhl anymore.
SANCHEZ: So --
MYERS: They're heading straight over to Andrews.
SANCHEZ: So -- so, Ed, let me go back to you.
Chad Myers, the guy we consider an expert around here, who follow these kinds of things, diligently says, there's not a plane in the sky over Poland. Why? Because it's too dangerous because of that ash that could possibly get sucked into these -- into these engines.
So, now I go back to you. You're at the White House. You're covering the president's trip. Is he still going?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, they still don't know, Rick. If the flight was supposed to take off today, it's very likely they would have canceled it.
Right now, the schedule is for the president to leave on Saturday. So, they still have some time to decide this. And I'm told that there has been some important meetings with the Air Force and the Secret Service. Ultimately, it's going to be their call, not really the White House's call. They are going to make a recommendation to this White House.
And I'm told by officials here at the White House that, if they're recommended by the Secret Service and the Air Force that it's just unsafe to fly, they're going to -- they're going to have to cancel.
SANCHEZ: thank
HENRY: And the bottom line is, a lot of people, from watching the movie "Air Force One," probably think there's some sort of --
SANCHEZ: Cocoon.
HENRY: -- supernatural powers, it's a cocoon.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Yes, right.
HENRY: It's still a 747. And that's what officials here have been reminding me in my conversations today. At the end of the day, it's a 747.
SANCHEZ: Well -- well --
HENRY: And if other -- other 747s are grounded, this one will be, too.
SANCHEZ: And let me remind you of something else. He's going to the funeral of a man -- there's some irony here, but it almost has to be mentioned. He's going to the funeral of a man who died in a plane crash.
HENRY: That's right. And there have been Russian officials who have said publicly that they believe the pilot made a mistake -- the investigation obviously still has to go forward -- but that the pilot had been warned in that case not to land there because of the sight lines, it wasn't safe, et cetera.
There have also been reports that the Polish president was not supposed to bring that many military officials with him on the same plane, that it was sort of a break with protocol, because you don't want to have that many senior officials flying on one plane, for this very reason.
Obviously, even before any of that, this White House is going to be extra careful any time in ensuring the president's safety. I think you're right that, after the incident with the Polish president, this awful tragedy, they're going to be even more careful than usual.
SANCHEZ: Ed Henry, as usual doing yeoman's work outside the White House for us.
HENRY: Thanks, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Thank you, Ed.
All right, here is something that didn't make the highlight reel from Wednesday's Phillies game. It's an irate fan. And -- but he does the unthinkable when his friend gets tossed out of the stadium. I'm going to take you through this very carefully, as they say.
Also, subprime mortgages have blown up in a lot of homeowners' faces, ruined their finances. Well, now Goldman Sachs is feeling the heat as a result of what they did with many of those mortgages, when they got combined. Were they doing something that was worse than unethical? Was it criminal? Well, they're being charged with fraud.
That's next. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: I keep lists. I keep lists of people who are talking to us every day on Twitter. I keep lists of famous relevant people. I keep lists of people like you who I talk to throughout the day. There's about, well, 130,000 of you, when I last checked.
And then I also keep lists of the stories that I constantly check on, stories that I have been covering for the better part of two years, stories that, frankly, make us all extremely frustrated, like this one.
Number one on that list: The SEC is now investigating Goldman Sachs for fraud, as well they should be, many of you would argue. But here's what it has to do with. Remember, we used to talk to you about these credit default swaps? It has to do with Goldman's sales of many securities that are tied to subprime mortgages, in essence, some of those schemes that we have talked about in the past.
It's very complicated, obviously. But, basically, the SEC says that Goldman allowed a hedge fund to help pick the mortgages that were a part of a package that was then sold to investors,, and that some of those mortgages were subprime, and that the hedge fund was betting the value would drop, and, no shocker, that's what happened.
The hedge fund made $1 billion. They made a billion dollars off of stuff that many people knew was generally toxic until it was combined, and then they could say, well, it's got a high rating. Well, sure it has a high rating. But does it deserve a high rating? Goldman says the allegations are unfounded, and they're going to vigorously challenge them.
Now look at this. This is another story we have been following for you. It's San Francisco's transit service, BART. Remember this story? It's taken Tasers away from all of the patrol officers there. It's a temporary move while officers get trained in new procedures.
It comes after a series of incidents, including one last year where a BART officer shot and killed a passenger. The officer says it was a mistake, that he mistook his gun for a Taser.
And former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates has died. Gates, as you remember, was in charge during the 1992 riots after four white officers were acquitted in the 1991 Rodney King beating. Gates resigned shortly afterward. He was 83 years old and had suffered from bladder cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROMITA JR., COMIC BOOK ARTIST: This is an 11-year-old girl, and she's an assassin, and she's got a foul mouth. But there's more to it than just that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: A killer who can curse like a Marine. What in the world is this kid doing in an R-rated movie in what is essentially an adult role? We're asking for you. That's ahead.
And then Phillies fans are about as rabid as they get, right? Well, a lot of fans are that way, but they have been known to do that. They have thrown snowballs at Santa Claus, booed at their own players. Well, I have got one that beats all of those, all of them.
And it's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: This is the one that really got my attention. I want to share it with you. It begins like this.
Ah, America's pastime. You take the kids to the ballpark, right? You eat some peanuts and Cracker Jack, and it doesn't matter if you ever get back -- unless, of course, you're sitting next to an insensitive moron.
Here now, the list you don't want to be on. This guy's name is Matthew Clemmens. He's 21 years old and a Philadelphia Phillies fan. He went to the Nationals game Wednesday night. He was with a friend, who was kicked out of the stadium for being disorderly. So, now I guess it was Clemmens' turn.
Angry with people around him who were complaining about him and his friend, he is accused of sticking his fingers down his throat and forcing himself to throw up on a person, a father who had taken his daughter to the ball game.
Nice. Clemmens was busted on the spot. He was charged with assault and he was charged with harassment. Why? Well, the man he threw up on, off-duty police officer.
Oops.
Bad behavior and bad timing all at once place Clemmens at the very top of our list that you don't want to be on.
Bad behavior has also kept Ben Roethlisberger on our list for weeks. Now we have a more detailed account. It's a 572-page report of what happened the night that he was accused of sexual assault. That is going to be coming your way in just a little bit.
Also, Friday night is movie night, right, movie night for a lot of people. So, we have decided to take a look at something. And we were shocked -- shocked -- at what we found. OK, maybe just one shocked. You may be tempted to take your kids to see this movie because it's about an 11-year-old girl.
But she's no ordinary 11-year-old girl. This is a Tarantino film. Does that explain it? If not, I will. That's next. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
It's a superhero movie based on a comic book. It is not a Tarantino movie, but you would think it is, based on the way it's presented. It's called "kick-Ass."
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: That's the name of the movie. It's opening this weekend. You know your kids are probably going to want to see this, but hold on. Wait until you hear what's in it.
All right, watch this. This is A.J. Hammer with a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The baddest new superhero around wears a skirt. And hasn't hit puberty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "KICK-ASS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Who are you?
CHLOE MORETZ, ACTRESS: I'm Hit-Girl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Not everyone loves the pint-sized superhero who is the breakout star from the new movie "Kick-Ass," an R-rated comic book adaptation about regular people who dress up and fight crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "KICK-ASS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Leave him alone. You bring it on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: In the film, the 11-year-old Hit-Girl uses profanity, breaks one of the biggest language taboos left on screen (INAUDIBLE) doing things to movie villains we can't show on the air.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "KICK-ASS")
MORETZ: Hey, I got one of those.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Her violence and her language have outraged people around the world, like the English film critic who called her -- quote -- "one of the most disturbing icons and damaging role models in the history of cinema."
One of the men who created the story defends his prepubescent heroine.
JOHN ROMITA JR., COMIC BOOK ARTIST: This is an 11-year-old girl, and she's an assassin, and she's got a foul mouth. But there's more to it than just that. It's an empowerment. It's a young girl, instead of being abused or molested, she's the one that takes the vigilante role.
HAMMER: And neutral observers see Hit-Girl as a complicated character.
MELISSA SILVERSTEIN, WOMENANDHOLLYWOOD.COM: I don't think there's a really simplistic answer to hit girl. On the one hand, this film is extremely violent, and her flippant use of the C-word is unacceptable. But, on the other hand, the fact that this character is able to break out of the box, the norm of what we see for girls and women on screen, I find that quite empowering and refreshing.
HAMMER: And the actress who plays Hit-Girl, 13-year-old Chloe Moretz, may have lost her baby teeth while she was filming the part, but she says that she and her parents knew what they were getting into.
MORETZ: My mom reads every script before I do. And she read it, and she knew it was an amazing role. And I read it, and I was like, I want to be Hit-Girl, you know? Who wouldn't want to be Hit-Girl? She's amazing.
HAMMER: Either way, Hit-Girl is expected to be a major hit in theaters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And A.J.'s joining us now.
All right, whenever I see stories like this about a movie or a book, I begin to wonder if, possibly, the controversy is manufactured. What -- and I know you probably don't have an exact answer to that, but what's your sense of this? Is there really a controversy here, or not?
HAMMER: Well, I can actually give you kind of a maybe here.
You saw the co-creator in there, John Romita Jr. He told us at the film's premiere, Rick, that he was actually very opposed to it and argued against the young actress using that highly offensive word that you or I would get castrated for using. He argued that with the director. The director is Scottish, and the director wanted to use the word in the film.
So, the director ultimately won out. But Romita Jr. did tell us that he feels like he's a bit of a cynic, because he was an advertising major and he's well aware of the fact that controversy breeds sales. And he even went on to tell us that, essentially, if someone were to come up to him and say, you know what, I don't really like what you have done, he would say, OK, well, let's have that conversation on national television.
And here we are.
(LAUGHTER)
HAMMER: So, now, I actually found it really interesting.
Chloe Moretz, by the way, is just a very talented, talented young actress.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
HAMMER: I think she's absolutely brilliant. And she told us as well that if she ever used in real life the language that she used in this particular film, that she would be grounded for the rest of her life, and that she actually thinks that cussing is a sign of --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: So, at least she has a head on her shoulders.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: And then the movie is rated R, Rick.
SANCHEZ: But it's called "Kick-Ass."
HAMMER: Yes. And, as a matter of fact, it was funny. This morning, when I recorded the track you just heard in that piece, I actually got to record the "Kick-Ass" track. And I was amused by that.
SANCHEZ: Well, speaking of "Kick-Ass," you are doing a formidable job on your show of late. My goodness, it's at 5:00 p.m. every day. Tell our viewers about it.
HAMMER: Yes. Well, "Showbiz Tonight," TV's most provocative entertainment news show. People are used to watching us every night at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. And we're still on at that time, but we're now also on at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. So, in, yes, in a mere 36 minutes from right now, you can --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You go, A.J. You grow that product.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it. Good to see you, man.
HAMMER: Rick, you have a good weekend.
SANCHEZ: You too, man. You, too. Now go, you know, K.A., by golly.
All right, look at this.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: You're -- you're probably waiting for tumbleweeds to roll down the lane, right? The sounds of crickets? It's that lonely London Heathrow feeling. Why? Because of something in the sky, something called ash that could get sucked into the engine. So, no planes are flying. Airports are closed. This is serious, folks.
This story in Europe, I mean, it's having quite an effect, business effect, political effect, travel effect. And we're going to be all over it. Also, how do you explain this to AAA? Wouldn't want to be the driver making this phone call. We have got the details and the pictures. We put it together.
Stay right there. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is your national conversation, your LIST, RICK'S LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: It is 28 minutes after the hour of 4:00. Welcome back to RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Yesterday, as you know, was the deadline to file your taxes. You knew that, right?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, of course I did.
SANCHEZ: You got everything in on time --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Did them like two days' prior.
SANCHEZ: She's going to be bringing us with Brooke block -- why are you doing that?
BALDWIN: Because I'm so bad about taxes.
SANCHEZ: You're making like faces.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: We won't talk taxes.
SANCHEZ: I have never seen you make that face before.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Where has that been?
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: OK.
BALDWIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Here's the thing -- here's the thing about -- here's the thing about taxes. You ready?
BALDWIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: It's a day that many Americans say they get soaked. So, speaking of soaking --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: -- "Fotos."
BALDWIN: Let's do "Fotos."
That's right. You think you're getting soaked by the IRS. Look at this driver. He's in Houston. He lost control of his truck, and he got soaked, truck smashed through a fence and ended in a backyard pool. The tow truck driver borrowed swim trunks from the homeowner. Why? To dive into the pool and hook up the truck and see if he could get it out of there.
It's not first time something like this has happened, which makes Brooke wonder if maybe they need to like --
BALDWIN: Why --
SANCHEZ: Right.
BALDWIN: -- make a barrier, instead of just a flimsy fence?
SANCHEZ: Exactly.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Put a barricade up, so it doesn't happen again.
BALDWIN: OK.
SANCHEZ: I'm so glad you're here.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: A robbery caught on camera in Missouri. Two men stormed a convenience store, conducted a rather careless heist, spilled money and then fled. A friend of one of the customers was actually brave enough to chase after them in his car, until they shot at him.
BALDWIN: Whoops.
SANCHEZ: Hello.
Let the police do their work, guy. Well, the good news is that no one was hurt, thank goodness.
All right, now bullet points, scary scene. You are about to watch a plane crash from the pilot's perspective.
BALDWIN: Oh, wow.
SANCHEZ: This is crazy. The camera's mounted right there on the tail of the airplane. You see that? This is an air race practice event that's taking place in Australia.
And you will see the plane stall, and then it hits the water while the crowd is watching. The plane breaks into pieces, and then it flips over. You don't know if the pilot is alive or dead at this point. Rescuers are on it within seconds.
Amazingly, we now know that --
BALDWIN: Whew.
SANCHEZ: -- the pilot is fine. You know all he had? Whiplash.
BALDWIN: Whiplash?
SANCHEZ: That's it.
BALDWIN: A little waterlogged.
SANCHEZ: Yes. It's pretty cool. Watch. Watch this again. Let's watch it together.
BALDWIN: That's amazing video.
SANCHEZ: Isn't that something? Watch just as he makes impact.
Boom, and then back up, and then wham.
BALDWIN: Guess he was a pretty good swimmer. Whiplash, that's not bad.
SANCHEZ: Whiplash.
That is "Fotos."
Grounded by ash, snow or lightning. We get -- no, ash. Richard Quest knows all about world travel and thought that he'd seen it all until this. Richard Quest, that diminutive man, will join me in just a little bit. I'm kidding.
Also, from the Roethlisberger list -- and it's a long one -- the bad news doesn't end there for Big Ben. Now a police officer takes a hit for his involvement in the alleged sexual assault investigation.
That's next in "The Brooke Block."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: My lists include the good, the bad and the ugly. I have a Twitter list, I have a relevant list, I have a not so relevant list. And then after all of this, or during all of this, there's Brooke's list.
It's time for "The Brooke Block." Brooke Baldwin is joining us now.
What have you got?
BALDWIN: I have a list. But the big number one on my list is Mr. Roethlisberger. You, you know, broke the -- told the story earlier in the week about how he will -- no charges will be filed against him from that alleged rape at a Georgia nightclub early in March.
Now, take a look with me. See all this? This is one-fourth of a 572-page Georgia Bureau of Investigation report. I want to get into some of these new details into what exactly happened that night.
So, detail number one, read with me. Let me throw this full screen up and I'll tell you that the alleged victim, in her own writing -- here it is -- she said this: "He had sex with me and, meanwhile, his bodyguards told my friends they couldn't pass them to get to me."
So, of course Roethlisberger is rolling with some bodyguards. The bodyguard apparently took her by the arm, led her down this hallway, and placed her on top of a stool. So we also have a map for you. So, sort of on the bottom of the screen is the VIP area where they were hanging out.
On the left side is where this hallway is. So they're walking down the hallway. The bodyguard leaves.
Roethlisberger approaches, exposes himself. According to this police report, she says, "Hey, that's not OK." She went down the hallway and into a bathroom.
By the way, we looked at -- I know it's really small and you can't read this. The bathroom is just nine feet by five feet. Roethlisberger, according to the report, followed her in there and said this -- or rather she said, "I still said no, this is not OK. And he then had sex with me. He said it was OK. He then left without saying anything."
SANCHEZ: Now, that was in the document that the police have filed?
BALDWIN: That was in part of the documents. Also in the document, one other detail, that this alleged victim was wearing this sexually explicit nametag. I can't get into all the details, but I can tell you that it had an acronym.
SANCHEZ: It was suggestive.
BALDWIN: It was suggestive, and it's known essentially to mean that the person is interested in having sex. This is what the alleged victim was wearing that night.
SANCHEZ: Right. That's a problem.
Let me ask you something. First of all, what you just described -- and I know police have made the decision that it wasn't rape, but, boy, I'll tell you, when someone's being held in an area and someone's at the door guarding against anybody else getting into that area, I know from my experience as a cop beat reporter in the past that there have been charges brought about. It's called false imprisonment, where you can't keep someone in an area against their own will. But let's go beyond that, because there's other parts to the story.
Remember that police officer who had his picture taken with him?
BALDWIN: Yes, Sergeant Blash (ph).
SANCHEZ: And then was the very first officer on the scene? What's happened to that guy?
BALDWIN: Do we have those picture?
I think we have those pictures. Let's throw those pictures up. Here we go. Take a look.
This was that night. This was Milledgeville Police Sergeant Jerry Blash (ph). There he is on the left.
He was a patrol supervisor that night. He also conducted the interview of this alleged rape with Roethlisberger. He has now resigned. The police chief in Milledgeville, Georgia, says it was a "personnel issue." He can't discuss it any further, but in these reports --
SANCHEZ: He compromised himself, it looks like.
BALDWIN: He compromised himself. And there is profanity-laced pieces of this report from this officer in describing the alleged victim.
SANCHEZ: Really?
BALDWIN: Really.
SANCHEZ: So he was defending Ben while he was investigating Ben?
BALDWIN: According to some of the details in this report. We just found that.
SANCHEZ: Well, that ain't right.
BALDWIN: That ain't right.
SANCHEZ: But let me ask you something. Basically, he has not yet been punished, if you don't consider the fact that all this publicity he's been getting is punishment enough. But, officially, the NFL -- or the Pittsburgh Steelers have not come out yet and said what they're going to do about this.
Where is this?
BALDWIN: We haven't heard from the commissioner. We have not heard from Roger Goodell. But, you know, it's draft time, or about to be draft time.
So they were saying a couple weeks after the draft, that is when we should expect some kind of disciplinary action toward Roethlisberger. The Steeler president essentially saying the team is ready to take action.
Here's Art Rooney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ART ROONEY, PRESIDENT, PITTSBURGH STEELERS: I've made it clear to Ben that his conduct in this incident did not live up to our standards. We've made it very clear to Ben that there will be consequences for his action. And Ben has indicated to us that he's willing to accept those consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The team will be taking disciplinary action in coordination with the league. He has rejoined the Steelers. Apparently, according to Rooney, he's working hard. But he's got to straighten up, because you've got to win the fans, you have to win Pittsburgh back.
SANCHEZ: I was just talking to one of our colleagues here who's in Pittsburgh now. And he was telling me that he's not a very respected person in Pittsburgh right now. He might be fined, he might be suspended. We'll wait and see.
What else you got?
BALDWIN: Topic number two, if we can, take a look at this tweet with me.
This is from president of the United States. This is from President Obama, saying, "Expanding hospital visitation rights, same- sex partners and others should not be barred from a loved one's bedside in a time of need."
What does this mean? Well, the president today ordered his health secretary to issue new rules aimed at granting hospital visiting rights to same-sex partners. So this affects any hospital that participates in Medicare, Medicaid, and also, not just same-sex partners but also helping widows, widowers. They said that it will take a little while to look at the rules, to put them into effect, obviously. Gay rights activists are saying this is a huge, huge advance for them.
SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Thanks so much.
BALDWIN: There you go.
SANCHEZ: Good list. That's your list.
BALDWIN: Yes, it is.
SANCHEZ: Here's some more of mine.
Making the political list. Will Durst is going to be joining me in just a little bit. And the guy is filled with things that you would never hear anywhere else. And that's why we're going to join him in just a little bit. Look at him smiling there. This is one smart man. Also, you know that story we did last hour with Don Lemon about education, teachers cheating to improve their students' test scores? One of our regular tweets has a good sense of humor about that.
You know it's called tweets, right?
BALDWIN: Of course.
SANCHEZ: Tweets.
BALDWIN: You're so hip.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BALDWIN: You try.
SANCHEZ: Sure. Don Lemon's report is part of the special that is airing this weekend. It's called "Fixing America's Schools." Tune in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: It is Friday, time to take a look at the lighter side of politics. And back with us to do just that on RICK'S LIST is syndicated columnist Will Durst. He's the author of the book "The All-American Sport of Bipartisan Bashing."
You've got to love that. What a great cover.
All right. How are you, Will?
WILL DURST, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: How you doing, Sanchez? What's up?
SANCHEZ: I'm doing fine there, Durst. I'm doing good, baby.
DURST: Happy weekend.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Well, I'm excited.
Hey, you know what? The president hosted the nuclear summit in D.C. this last week. What did you make of that?
DURST: And he got 47 presidents and kings and queens and pawns. I mean, different countries to show up, which is pretty good.
The only problem is, you know, the problem kids, Iran and North Korea, they didn't show up. So it's kind of like hosting a steroids conference without Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire.
SANCHEZ: You going to throw Sammy into the mix or are you going to give him a break?
DURST: Yes, isn't it funny? It's B.B., Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, M.M., and Sammy Sosa. So, anybody with the same initials, both first and last name, is now going to be suspect. SANCHEZ: Did you get -- I mean, a lot of people were watching this summit and they were wondering whether it really determined who we needed to really keep an eye on, who we need to be worried about.
DURST: Well, there's a lot of -- I mean, Russia, of course, because they're the number one progenitor of loose nukes. They're leakier than a tinfoil sieve that's been three days on the target range of a .50 millimeter range. I mean, they've been dropping them left and right.
And, of course, China, but all China's really interested in is their economy. So all you've got to do is convince them that an irradiated consumer is not a repeat consumer.
SANCHEZ: Last time you were here, you and I were talking about the Tea Party. And there was a lot of Tea Party activity this week. These are people who are determined that -- they're worried about their taxes and they're worried about that situation.
What were your thoughts on some of the activities that were taking place this week?
DURST: Well, it was tax week. So that's when the Tea Partiers crawl out of the woodwork. And I don't know if you saw this, but "The New York Times" did a demographic study on who makes up the Tea Partiers, and it's a shocker.
It's old, rich, white guys. I mean, who knew? What next? Are they going to do an investigative scoop on fire is hot?
SANCHEZ: Well, let me leave that one alone.
By the way, you get yours done? Your taxes good?
DURST: I sent mine in. Everybody has the same feeling about taxes. We all have to pay them. The only difference is I pay too much and you don't pay enough.
SANCHEZ: Yes. That's kind of like -- you know what the difference is between a boat and a yacht?
DURST: No.
SANCHEZ: If you can afford it, it's a boat. If you can't, it's a yacht.
DURST: I can't even afford a dinghy.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I'll send you one.
Will, you're good. Thanks so much. I appreciate being able to talk about the news and not being able to have a stern face while I'm doing it. Let's have some fun.
DURST: You never got a stern face.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it, man. We'll get you back.
All right. The bombing in Oklahoma City, the extreme results of anti-government rage. Former President Clinton worried that today's harsh political tone is nearly as dangerous. Let me read you that again.
The former president of the United States is worried that the political atmosphere that we're in right now, the atmospherics -- I just broke my pen -- is similar to what was going on just prior to what happened in Oklahoma City. President Clinton said that.
Wolf Blitzer talked with the president, and that is coming up next.
Also, Monday, I should let you know it marks 15 years since that bombing. And we're going to be drilling down on all cases of homegrown terror in the United States.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is RICK'S LIST.
Monday is going to mark 15 years since the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people. And Bill Clinton was the president then. We remember all the memorials that took place and the president's speeches.
Well, former President Clinton has told our Wolf Blitzer that he actually sees parallels in the mood of the country then, just before that attack, and now.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've had enough threats against the president, enough threats against the Congress, that we should be sensitive to it. The 15th anniversary of Oklahoma City -- I'm not trying to draw a total parallel, I'm just saying that we should be aware of this.
This is a vast echo chamber, this Internet. And there's lots of folks listening. And as I say, some are serious, some are delirious, some are connected, some are unhinged. And all of us who have any responsibility have to exercise that responsibility so that we're intellectually honest about our political positions, but we're also intellectually honest about what certain words might do to people who are less stable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's a powerful message. I mean, he said some are serious, some are delirious, some are connected, some are unhinged.
A hell of a statement, Wolf, from a former president.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, he's really worried about what's going on right now. And as he explains in interview, even though there were a lot of people who hated Bill Clinton when he was president of the United States, there are two major differences now. The Internet, over these past 15 years, has exploded, these Web sites where hate can be certainly circulated a lot more quickly, and people who are unhinged, in his words, or delirious, they can be inspired to do bad things.
The other major difference is that we have an African-American president of the United States right now. And that's a difference that he fully appreciates.
He wants everyone to calm down. He wants a debate. He wants a lot of political discourse, passionate discourse, passionate disagreements on politics and on policy, but he doesn't want anyone to encourage violence. He's worried about that.
SANCHEZ: Yes, but he -- the fact that he's making the comparison to the mood just before the Oklahoma City bombing is what I believe -- I mean, as a news guy, and you're a news guy, we look at these things -- that's what makes this sound bite, as we call it, not just noteworthy, but newsworthy, right?
BLITZER: And he goes into pretty extensive detail.
We go back. We talk about what was happening in Oklahoma City. I covered the Oklahoma City bombing. I remember it. It's etched in my mind as well.
And I remember when he came out and delivered that memorial service speech, which really, really, I think, changed a lot of people's attitudes toward him, it was a turning point for him during that first term as president, for a lot of Americans when they saw domestic terrorism could cause this kind of devastation. He explains in pretty precise detail what his fears are right now and what he would like to see happen.
It's a pretty remarkable interview, I should say.
SANCHEZ: I'm looking forward to it. And we'll be seeing it during "THE SITUATION ROOM."
BLITZER: Right. We're going to run some excerpts in the 5:00 hour, the next hour. And then we're going to run the whole interview right at the top, 6:00 p.m. Eastern. I think our viewers will be interested.
SANCHEZ: No, I know they will be. And I'm going to have to have my wife DVR it once again, because I'm probably not going to be home by then.
Thanks, Wolf. BLITZER: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate your time. Look forward to it.
BLITZER: All right, good.
SANCHEZ: All right. Back to the big story on our list, the no- fly zone over much of Europe because of ash from Iceland's volcanic eruption.
Have you been watching this?
Also, did you hear about Goldman Sachs? They're actually being charged with fraud.
And look who is joining us -- Richard Quest.
But, you know, it's a civil action, probably should be a criminal action. I don't know.
Richard Quest may disagree. You know Richard. He has a tendency to see things a little differently from time to time.
Richard, I just want you to know, I'm looking forward to having a conversation with you.
And you?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I will be with you to put you right on this serious issue of what it means for Goldman after the break.
SANCHEZ: You'll put me right. OK.
Stay right there. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Richard Quest is joining us now. He is in New York. And he and I are good colleagues, dear friends, and we only get to see each other once in a while.
Are you stuck here because you can't get on a plane to go back across the pond?
QUEST: No. No such luck. I was actually here filming here.
And I meant to go home on Monday. Who knows whether or not the planes will arrive so they'll take me, my chariot will take me back to the other side of the pond? Who knows?
SANCHEZ: This is pretty goofy, though, isn't it? Have you ever seen -- I mean, look, we've seen volcanoes in the past.
QUEST: Right.
SANCHEZ: But this one really is, like, shutting down air travel all over Europe.
QUEST: Yes. The thing to remember -- and I keep banging away at this -- the fact is you don't want to be on a plane that flies through this. And even though that cloud you're now looking on the screen there, what happens, of course, is it dissipates.
It goes bigger and bigger and bigger, and further and further. But as it dissipates, there's still lots of volcanic ash there. And you just don't want to be on an aircraft.
Now, where I think we have to seriously look at ourselves as a society is we seem to accept or we seem to believe that there should be an answer for everything. These days, people are just unacceptable to simply say, this has happened and you can't plan for every eventuality.
Can I tell you now when planes will be flying across the Atlantic? Absolutely not. It's simply not possible.
SANCHEZ: Yes, they're saying it could be several days, maybe even a week.
All right. Now let me help you with some of the fog that sometimes develops around your thinking because those --
QUEST: Oh!
SANCHEZ: -- of us who are convinced after speaking with expert after expert that say these guys like Goldman Sachs, for example, actually did know that some of these tax default swaps schemes were something that was not just questionable, but unethical, and maybe very possibly criminal, should they now not be punished? Because what they were essentially doing, Richard, and you know this, they were, like, selling cars that they knew were uncertified.
QUEST: No. No. No. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
You have just taken -- you nearly had me with you for one second there, Rick. But, oh, no, you had to go and jump the gun, didn't you? You had to go say they knew.
SANCHEZ: Tell me how. Tell me how!
QUEST: "They knew." The allegation is they may have known.
The allegation is perhaps they did know, but that's not proven yet. And I'm not going to sit there and defend one side or the other. What it looks like, what the allegation is -- and let's stick to the allegation -- is that a barrel of apples that Goldman Sachs were trying to sell as good apples, when Goldman knew there were rotten apples at the bottom of the barrel, and that somebody had put those apples in there, are betting against the whole lot going against it.
Now, you do not know at this point, Rick, whether that is a true or false allegation, correct?
SANCHEZ: Well, I do know they're being sued for it and they're being charged with fraud in that lawsuit by the federal government.
QUEST: And I would strongly suggest that until one side or the other wins, we best sit on the fence.
SANCHEZ: But look, man, we have seen these guys do this with AAA ratings. And when you think about it, it's almost like it's unfair to say that you can profit off of something which was getting a rating of a AAA or a AAAA, or whatever the experts do in the economy with these kinds of thing. But you know damn well that it wasn't worth that, so that, in and of itself, just stinks to holy hell.
QUEST: And public lynching went out with the ark and with the Victorian era as well. I am no put in a particularly difficult position. I'm defending something that looks smelly. But I've often discovered that when something looks smelly, you better get to the bottom of the fridge and discover what it is, rather than just crying, as you are, from the sidelines.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Ouch! Good lord, this guy.
You come over here and you treat us like this.
Richard, I enjoyed it. Always do. Thanks so much. Take good care of yourself, my friend.
Here now, Wolf Blitzer, and it's time for your "SITUATION ROOM."
