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Rick's List
Major Flooding in Tennessee; Oil Impacting Gulf Coast; New Arizona Immigration Law Draws Criticism of Promoting Racial Profiling; Times Square Car Bomb Investigation
Aired May 03, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Ali.
Here's what's developing right now. Number one on my list: have you seen what is going on right now in Nashville? This is quite a situation that's developing there. It's nothing less than terrible. Part of the city is under water.
The Cumberland River is expected to rise more than 11 feet above flood stage this afternoon. And video of rescues are taking place as we speak. We are going to be all over this story for you.
Number two on this list: police want to talk to that man. You see him right there? He was spotted changing his shirt on Times Square Saturday night, just moments after a truck was found loaded with bomb ingredients.
Now, who is this guy? Why is he changing his shirt? Questions authorities want to ask, questions we want answered.
I've got an NYPD bomb squad guy. He's going to be joining me out here.
Number three: The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is just getting worse and worse. Wait until you see the latest pictures. The CEO of B.P. is now being asked to come up with some answers by the feds. And we're expecting an update from the Coast Guard.
That's going to happen any minute, folks. And as soon as it does, you'll see it right here on RICK'S LIST.
I want to start with this. Do you see this? These are the pictures that the world has seen coming out of Iran.
This is a country that has seemingly lost its people. The people in Iran, they want to modernize, right? Look, they say enough of this religious rule. Well, in large measure, the mullahs and this man are keeping him down.
Roger, give me a shot of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Give me a shot of this guy today.
There he is. He was speaking at the United Nations. He continues to use the nuclear issue against the west. And watch what happens. You know what you're looking at there? Those are U.S. diplomats who are walking out while he's talking. They're walking out.
I mean, there's Ahmadinejad. He's trying to give his speech. He's up there claiming we're breaking the nuclear treaty, and the rest of the world, including the French and the other countries in Europe, they're saying he's the one who's violating it.
Hit that sound, Rog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): There are reportedly more than 20,000 nuclear warheads worldwide. Half of which belong to the United States. And the other competing groups continue to develop nuclear weapons under the pretext of deterrents. Both trends constitute invitation of obligations under the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty or NPT.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. Do you want drama? You want to see how this thing is going to play out?
Hold on to your hats, folks. Guess who's about to answer Ahmadinejad. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is about to go to the podium, and she is going to say what the U.S.'s response is to what Ahmadinejad has to say.
All right. These are live pictures. As soon as the Secretary of State Clinton goes to the podium and starts speaking, we're going to be monitoring it for you. And obviously, once she gets to the meaty part of her speech -- once she, you know, directs her attention, our attention to what's going on in Iran, you will see it here live.
In the meantime, there's something else I want to bring you up to date on. This is a breaking story that we have been following all day, and it doesn't seem to go going down, the situation now in Tennessee. That's the flooding we have been talking about.
We've got two on it. We got Brooke Baldwin standing here.
Brooke, good to see you.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.
SANCHEZ: Chad is stand big, as well. And Chad is going to be picking up some of the pictures.
What -- you know, the sense that we get is that nobody expected this to be as bad as it is, but with every passing minute, it seems to get worse and worse.
Chad, why don't you start us off? What's the situation around Nashville right now? CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The forecast was for eight inches of rain, OK? That's a lot of rain. Eight.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: But look at the numbers that they got -- 17, 16, 14, 13. So, almost double of what the forecast was with the computer models.
Now, you've got to think, hey, eight inches would have caused the flood anyway, and some of these spots around Nashville have already picked up. There is 17 in Williamson County and out here in Benton County, 17.73 inches of rainfall. And that was just over the weekend.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
CHAD: They literally -- they got three months worth of rainfall in 24 hours.
SANCHEZ: All right. You got the numbers, you quantify it -- as well as anybody in the business.
Brooke is standing by. Put a picture to what 17 inches looks like for us.
BALDWIN: It's a whole lot of rain and a whole lot of water. And I think one big piece of the story, Chad Myers, is that the Cumberland River which you have essentially meandering along downtown Nashville. And from my latest check, and this is a fast-moving story --
SANCHEZ: Why are we looking at tables? They're under water.
BALDWIN: Because this is the Opryland Hotel, I bet -- 1,500 guests at this hotel were evacuated. They had to be put up in a middle school or rather a high school overnight because the water is so bad.
Take a look. Take a look -- this is just part -- this is really the scene throughout Nashville. We're talking about Davidson County and a huge issue in downtown Nashville, you have -- you know, this is music city. You have all kinds of restaurants --
SANCHEZ: Wow.
BALDWIN: -- bars, musical equipment. These basements from the phone calls I've been making -- we're talking six, seven, you know, eight feet of water. And so, a lot of these businesses have had to shut down.
SANCHEZ: Look at these numbers, Brooke, Chad. Sixteen dead, 150 roads closed. A hundred and fifty roads closed?
MYERS: Yes, almost 200 semis stuck on the interstates, not able to go either way because the water is up on both sides of them.
SANCHEZ: This is like their Katrina, man. I mean, I'm not saying it's as bad as Katrina, because, obviously, so many people died.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: But if you're in the middle of this today, you're saying, when am I going to get out of this, right?
BALDWIN: A thousand plus water rescues is what we're hearing.
SANCHEZ: And they're going on right now?
BALDWIN: They're going on right now. And, in fact, coming up a little later in my block, I'm getting a guy on the phone. He's going to talk about -- he's in the thick of things in downtown Nashville, helping rescue some of these people.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Chad, I guess, you know, when you do a story like this, the obvious question is: well, where do we go from here? Is this thing going to settle quickly, or -- this is flash flooding, right?
MYERS: When it goes up quickly, it goes down quickly. When it goes up slowly, it goes down slowly.
So, this went up in hours. It will be back down 10 feet in the next 48 hours. That will relief most of the flooding over most of the city.
SANCHEZ: Oh, boy. I'll tell you, you guys are all over this. Thanks so much. Brooke, Chad, we'll be getting to you in just a minute. I know we got a lot more to talk about.
Let me tell you what else we're going to be talking about in just a little bit.
Roger, show them this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you the question. Are you under an investigation right now by the Senate Ethics Committee and/or the Justice Department?
SEN. JOHN ENSIGN (R), NEVADA: Well, you know, we -- I'll let those folks speak for themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That was John Ensign not answering my question. And there were a bevy of them. Will he now be asked the same questions -- in essence, grilled, by his own colleagues, other senators? Something that hasn't happened since the Keating Five, and that was more than a decade ago.
Also, it's called a blowout preventer -- that would have prevented that. What you're looking at right there. The problem is: it didn't work when the leak occurred. Still hasn't worked. It's stuck. They're trying to un-stick it.
And wait until you see the pictures that Chad has found to show you exactly what a blowout preventer is and what it does.
This is your national conversation. This is your list. We've got some new digs. This is RICK'S LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Before we do anything else, I want to bring you some live pictures. This is what's going on right now outside Times Square.
Have you seen the situation with the folks on Saturday who had to scurry about because of a potential car bomb explosion? Potential because it never actually detonated, but it certainly looked like it was about to. This is a story we're continuing to follow here.
New York police, obviously, on alert. So are the feds. Expect us to have new details, possibly brand-new pictures -- and as soon as they come in, you'll see them first, right here on RICK'S LIST.
All right. The number-two story today on our list: the ecological disaster that is the Gulf of Mexico. Have you seen these pictures? The oil slick from that stricken rig is just miles off the coast of Louisiana. The feds have banned fishing for at least 10 days now.
How would you like to be a fisherman? How would you like to be trying to feed your family and that's your job? You go fishing, and you're told, "Sorry, you can't go fishing anymore"?
Already, you can call this as a result, an economic catastrophe. States of emergency all the way across the Gulf, through parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and, of course, Florida. And take a look at this -- more dead wildlife washing ashore in Mississippi, twice as many dead turtles as scientists say is normal. But they also point out that it's been stormy, and it may be a month where we just typically see more of these turtles washing up on the beaches.
I want to bring Chad Myers into this now. I want to talk about something that seems unstoppable at this point, and the reason it seems unstoppable is -- there's this apparatus, folks. It's called a blowout preventer. When it works, it makes the leak immediately stop. That's the reason it's put there.
I mean, here's the -- here's the thing that goes to the bottom of the ocean, right? Well, down there, there's a blowout preventer.
MYERS: Right.
SANCHEZ: And guess what? They can't get this cotton-picking blowout preventer to work.
MYERS: No.
SANCHEZ: And they're trying to un-stick it. Take us through it.
MYERS: Yes. Well, it's been in marine environment for a long time. You know, when they're on land, they're tested all of the time. Hard to test to them when they're 5,000 feet down. SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: Plus, this is what's called kind of a slice operator. So, this blowout preventer, when the oil begins to blow out, or they know that there is a lack of oil pressure. Or, at some point, somebody pushes the button, all of a sudden, whack, this thing closes and the oil doesn't come out anymore.
SANCHEZ: There it is.
MYERS: That's it.
Now, let's go to my graphics.
SANCHEZ: The thing at the bottom, right?
MYERS: Yes, way down -- 5,000 feet down. Six hundred and fifty tons. So it's heavy and it's big.
SANCHEZ: And it's not working.
MYERS: And it's not working. It's supposed to shut the water -- the oil off.
Here's what one looks like on YouTube. You found this one. This is gigantic. Obviously, you talked about it. It's dark down there, 5,000 feet down. There is no oil. There's no -- there's no light down there.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: You can't see it. This one --
SANCHEZ: So, they're trying to fix this thing, and it's 5,000 -- oh, what is that?
MYERS: Yes. There is a marlin stuck in this one.
SANCHEZ: No!
MYERS: That's why they're down there in the first place. Four and a half minutes later, they can pull this marlin out, and it swims away.
SANCHEZ: Oh, my God!
MYERS: This is not B.P.'s blowout preventer, but that's how big these things are.
SANCHEZ: That's actually a marlin stuck in this thing.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Obviously, this has nothing to do with the one that we're following now that's stuck.
MYERS: Correct. No. SANCHEZ: This is just some video that you found.
MYERS: This is one that's under water. I have a graphic that we can show you, what it looks like that's up on land. And when you see it up on land, it doesn't look so imposing. But then they have to build things around it, to, you know, to keep danger -- things from going in there, like the marlin. You don't want to endanger these species by getting down there.
SANCHEZ: And, Chad, just let me stop you real quick to make sure we understand it. What this thing does is, as soon as the blowout happens --
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- the leak, in essence, right, it stops the leak from continuing.
MYERS: Correct.
SANCHEZ: How does it do that? Does it plug the hole?
MYERS: Well, you think of a valve like a bathtub. You turn the knob and it eventually -- the water stops.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: This is much more significant. This is -- this is big-time cut the well off with these giant plates of metal that squeeze the pipe.
SANCHEZ: Like clippers, almost.
MYERS: Like clippers. They don't want to clip it all the way --
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: -- because if you clip it all the way, then the pipe can fall down in the well and it's never usable again. But this thing didn't close at all. Or it could be closed halfway. It could be closed 90 percent of the way, we don't know. But it's not closed 100 percent of the way, or else the oil wouldn't be still coming out of the ground.
SANCHEZ: I'm just going to ask you one more question, and then I'm going to let you do your thing, because I think folks at home are thinking about this.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: How long do you think it could take them to eventually get this thing to work or find another process that might do the job?
MYERS: You know what? I'm going to do this. We're going to go off the radar.
SANCHEZ: Go. MYERS: We're going to kind of ad lib this thing on our own.
SANCHEZ: All right.
MYERS: I don't know if the lights are on over here, but hey, it's a new set. We'll do our thing.
Blowout preventer right there -- that's what it looks like. Up on land, not wet, not dirty, and not -- doesn't have a fish stuck in it, either. Here's the clamp -- here's the clamp right here that would clamp together, and it would cut off the oil, cut off the pipe itself.
Now this, Rick, that's what they're building. They're building these giant boxes to put over the entire rig, and then pump the oil out of that. They're going to try to catch it, under water while it's there. And then said, hey, you know what, go ahead and leak, we don't care. Go ahead and leak, we're not even -- we're not going to worry about it. It's going to leak into the box, the box is going to catch it, and then they're going to pump the oil out of the box.
SANCHEZ: Because the blowout preventer isn't working, they're going to plan B, and plan B is that thing over there.
MYERS: Yes. Plan B was putting down dispersant and rounding up the oil.
SANCHEZ: Maybe we're like a Plan Z.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Good explanation, as usual, Chad. Appreciate it. We'll see you in just a little bit.
All right. Which 10 states have the most illegal immigrants living in them? Does your state make the list? Look, we're all about lists. So 10 through six is coming up. Stay right there to learn.
First, is John Ensign about to be put through an embarrassing public grilling after an embarrassing sex scandal? Jessica Yellin has her ear to the ground in Washington, D.C. She joins us in just a little bit. Her list is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. How do you like our new digs? I know. A lot of you are tweeting me right now and you're saying, hey, congrats on the new studio, I like it a lot.
Somebody else says, this set looks great, Rick, very high-tech. Not sure it fits you. Huh? You're kidding, right?
Also, I need to take you back now to my interview with Senator John Ensign. Let me bring you up-to-date on this. All right. He tried to tell me that it wasn't his problem that his former mistress's husband was now a lobbyist. Wasn't his problem that the husband had served on Ensign's Senate staff? Wasn't Ensign's problem that there are laws against stuff like this?
You remember the interview, right? Here -- let me remind you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: There is a law that says that someone who is an aide for a senator like yourself has to wait one year before they start lobbying. There is reason to believe, Senator -- in fact, there's a lot of reason to believe here that Doug Hampton, who was your aide, was lobbying within that one year. If that's the case, sir, that's an illegality, and something that you owe an explanation to your constituents about if you had any involvement in either that lobbying or helping him get those lobbying gigs.
ENSIGN: Right, Rick. First of all, that's his problem, that's not my problem. But at the same time, I'm not going to answer any other questions because I'm focused on doing my job right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I'm not going to answer any of the questions. I'm not going to answer any of the questions. I'm not going to answer any of the questions -- that's essentially what he said, time after time after time. And he says it wasn't his problem.
Well, it's his problem now. First quarter fundraising totaled 50 bucks for him, which is kind of like unheard.
And now, there's a new round of rumblings among his Senate colleagues. They're thinking about doing to him what I did to him -- which I did it because I'm a journalist and it's my job to ask tough questions.
They haven't done something like this, I understand -- at least according to the "Politico" story that I read today since the Keating Five. I think that was back like in the early 1990s. They were going to call him in, and make him answer tough questions, asked by them. They're thinking about doing that to John Ensign.
Jessica Yellin is going to help me sort through this now.
Are they serious, Jessica, about literally putting him up against the wall, so to speak, in firing these kind of questions at him? Which has got to be highly embarrassing, if it gets to that.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: If it gets to that, yes. It's a serious possibility, Rick. But I've, you know, spoken to people in the Senate Ethics Committee who work with them, and they have explained the way that this happens is -- as you know, there's a Senate ethics probe into Ensign's activities that's ongoing. If that reaches a certain point where the kind of punishment they're thinking about is severe enough, then that committee would have a vote, and decide maybe they should go to a full public hearing in the U.S. Senate.
As you say, it hasn't happened since the Keating Five. It would be a huge deal. They're not there yet. It would be mega.
SANCHEZ: Oh, it would be huge. I mean, wall-to-wall coverage on --
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- MSNBC, FOX, and CNN, and maybe even the other three.
What about the possibility that this is as political as anything else? After all, he's from Nevada, Harry Reid is from Nevada. The midterms are coming up. Now, what would be better for the Dems than to embarrass somebody like this with, you know, albeit a problem that he started himself, but still, here, they got an opportunity to put him front and center and say, "Look what he did"?
YELLIN: Yes. Well, first, this wouldn't happen if it did happen, until it's possible not until next year, Rick. So, after the midterm elections.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
YELLIN: So, it would actually in some ways be helpful, I guess, if you're thinking next year will be a run-up to the presidential election.
SANCHEZ: Right.
YELLIN: So the timing wouldn't necessarily help for this year's midterm. It does tar, obviously, the Republican Party to some extent if one of their, you know, most prominent senators is embroiled in something so icky as a sex scandal that involves payoffs, et cetera. You've got to imagine they'd pressure him to resign before it came to anything like that. You never know, though. People like to dig in and hold on.
SANCHEZ: You'd never --
YELLIN: And Reid -- Reid has not come out against him. You should take note. His fellow senator, Reid, has a nonaggression pact and has not criticized him.
SANCHEZ: So, fellow senator from Nevada.
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Well, you never know.
YELLIN: You never know. Well, Rick --
SANCHEZ: To quote -- to quote the great Jessica Yellin. Yes, go ahead.
YELLIN: I want to give you a shoot-out because I was at the correspondents' dinner this weekend. Congratulations. I think it means you're you've arrived. When you're in the president's crosshairs, you've arrived.
SANCHEZ: I can't believe that the president of the United States was making fun of me.
YELLIN: You know, little old Rick Sanchez. Who knew? Keep watching.
SANCHEZ: It's whole Hawaii thing. He's very sensitive about Hawaii. And I guess I get that. I'm sensitive about Hialeah.
All right. Look, I'll look for you a little bit later. Thanks, Jessica.
YELLIN: OK. See you.
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been down here 40 years. I never saw it like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The river that runs through Nashville expected to hit 11 feet above flood stage. Residents are paying the price. I mean, this is horrible for the people of Tennessee. I mean, look at some of this video -- these folks just trying to make it through -- make it through today, if nothing else.
You know, we feel for them. We're praying for them. We're covering their story. We'll do everything we can to bring you the very latest off that situation.
Also, is the mayor of Phoenix -- now, think about this: Phoenix is one of the biggest cities in the country, right? Certainly the biggest city in Arizona. So, is mayor of that town for or against the new immigration law for his city and state?
I'm about to find out for myself. You're about to find out for yourself.
This guy who has a lot to say is joining me here. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: I'm looking at the tweets that you're sending about this new set. I'm glad you like it. One guy wants to know where he can buy the chair, and if he can get it in blue.
Somebody else is saying, "Great studio. Looks like you're 50 years in the future. You should start doing the shows in a space suit."
You guys are -- you guys are funny.
All right. Let's do this. Close calls, industrial snafus. That is what is making today's list of some of the best videos. And you know the best videos -- what do we call it? "Fotos del Dia."
(MUSIC)
SANCHEZ: All right. Now, take a look at this one. This round was on everyone! It was a close call that almost became a permanent last call for these bar patrons.
Before you cringe, here's the good news -- car into bar. No one was seriously injured in this crash. But talk about a close call.
Numero dos! Ever have a pipe burst in your house? Imagine that headache on a grander scale, and you get this. This blowout happened Saturday, 265 million gallons of water gushing during the breach. About 2 million people affected. They now have to boil their water.
We're told repairs could take a day or two. That's a best case scenario.
Numero tres! To Texas, we go, or shall I say, Tejas. A lesson in how not to move heavy equipment. A worker hauling a massive truck hoe slams into the support of a bridge. Look at that.
Witnesses say the track hoe wasn't fully retracted. I guess this is the industrial version of forgetting to lower your antenna in a car wash.
By the way, all of our videos can be seen on my blog, which is at CNN.com/RickSanchez. That is "Fotos del Dia."
(MUSIC)
SANCHEZ: What led to the chaos and the violence in this town? It caught everybody by surprise, a full-blown disturbance. No, this is not a foreign story. This is right here in America.
Also, what does 11 feet above flood stage look like? Have you seen what's going on around Nashville, Tennessee? Folks, the word "disaster" is being used and there's a good reason for it. We're going to take you there. We're going to talk to the people.
Brooke Baldwin has been all over this story all day long. And she's going to come up here and tell us about it.
Good to see you, Brooke.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Brooke Baldwin brings us trending stories every day, and she likes to sink her teeth into the one story that everybody seems to be following, which today is, without a doubt --
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nashville, Tennessee. The governor earlier today saying this is an unprecedented rain event, and we're talking 13 inches of rain, just in Nashville alone. It's worse in other parts of Tennessee.
SANCHEZ: Your heart just goes out to these people.
BALDWIN: Look at this picture. Look at these cars piled up. This is their reality -- 14,000 people without power. I heard from mayor today saying 1,000 plus water rescues. It's a tough situation, and part of what makes it so tough is you have the Cumberland River downtown, way above flood stage, 51.5 feet, cresting now.
I've got a guy on the phone who is going to walk us through this, Tad Agoglia with the first response team, a not for profit. And Tad, I know you're down from New York, and you some great folks with your organization respond very quickly to disasters like this. Do me a favor. Paint the picture, exactly where you are and what you're seeing.
TAD AGOGLIA, FIRST RESPONSE TEAM OF AMERICA: Well, right now, we are in downtown Nashville. It's a little odd to see such a large metropolis, such a big city, underwater like this. And actually, from where I'm standing, you can see the water actually creep up across the asphalt towards you.
I think we're going to see about eight more inches here over this afternoon. And it's just amazing to see this huge system over Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky.
BALDWIN: Yes, Tad --
AGOGLIA: There are 21 deaths at this point.
BALDWIN: Yes, and I heard six specifically in Nashville. We're looking at some of your pictures. You were good enough to take these pictures. This is downtown, people walking through the water.
And I know in parts of downtown, specifically Broadway, First, Second Avenues, a lot of those businesses completely, obviously, closed today because the water, and correct me if I am wrong, but the water, you told me, is still rising, because not only is the water an issue coming out of the Cumberland River, but these businesses are pumping water out of their businesses into the streets.
AGOGLIA: Yes. It's -- with the rain that happened yesterday, it actually is also coming in, and the water is pushing through the neighborhoods. And it's threatening the historic district of Music City. And to be quite honest with you, I don't think we're out of the danger zone yet here.
BALDWIN: Unreal, unreal. Tad Agoglia, we thank you for calling in. Good luck to you, and continuing on the rescues, thank you.
SANCHEZ: That was number one. Your number two takes us to California?
AGOGLIA: California, Santa Cruz. You know, May Day, May first, Saturday, international Labor Day. But really these rallies turned almost violent over the weekend, a riot. I want to take you to some pictures out of Santa Cruz. As I said, 200 protesters stormed the city's main drag, Pacific Avenue. And take a look at the video posted up to YouTube. And you can see these are different shards of glass, smashed windows, spray painted graffiti up and down the road.
It started after protesters at the rally marched around 10:30 Saturday night. At least 15 businesses were vandalized. Police officers totally out numbered. They got some help, of course, from other agencies. There is some of the graffiti there. Total damage, Rick Sanchez, $100,000.
SANCHEZ: It's a May Day parade. I mean, we see the big -- you know, the Soviets have always been big on the old May Day parade parades. We don't usually see that kind of thing in this country.
BALDWIN: We were hoping to see positive rallies throughout the nation, you know, pro labor, but unfortunately, it turned rather riot.
SANCHEZ: When you're breaking stuff --
BALDWIN: It's not a good thing.
SANCHEZ: What do you think of the new digs, are you comfortable?
BALDWIN: I'm loving it.
SANCHEZ: You should see the tweets I'm reading. A lot of people are saying space age.
BALDWIN: They say we look skinnier and younger.
SANCHEZ: Younger! Thank you, Brooke!
BALDWIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got to go. Everyone, wrap your food up. Let's go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes. What is it like to be there? This is actual footage, folks, of what it's like Saturday night in a very expensive Times Square hotel when police just moved in and started kicking people out. Well, they had to, right?
Also, this is interesting. From New York -- let's go back to Arizona. Is the mayor of phoenix for or against the new immigration law in his city and state? I'm about to find out for myself. You're about to find out for yourselves. There he is.
This is a guy who has got a lot to say, and he's not afraid to say it, so stick around. He's going to be joining me in two minutes. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Rick, Lucy in Arizona. Just with regard to the boycott, do these people realize that by boycotting Arizona and causing an economic problem here, that they are not helping the people that they purport to be helping?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I have a list I want to take you through, because we've gotten a lot of correspondence here about the situation in Arizona. And we've had a lot of conversation about all the illegal immigrants living inside the United States.
And we've also wondered where do they live? Which are the top ten states with the most illegal immigrants living in them? So we found what has been compiled by statemaster.com, and we want to share it with you. Are you ready?
Number ten, Colorado -- 144,000. Number nine, North Carolina -- 206,000. Number eight, New Jersey -- 221,000 illegal immigrants. Number seven, Georgia -- 228,000 living there. And number six, surprise, surprise, Arizona is not in the top five. It comes in number six with 283,000.
Who made the top five? You're about to find out. I'm going to reveal the top five on the list coming up in our next hour.
Speaking of Arizona, the governor ignited a fire bomb when she signed the toughest immigration law in the country, and politicians on the way to Washington are now feeling the heat because of what she has done or what Arizonans have done.
A lot has happened the last couple days. I want to take you through this. The Arizona legislature made changes to the law to try to calm some of the fears that would lead to racial profiling. They changed a word. They included the word "stop" where it said "act."
Also at rallies across the country, protesters called on President Obama to follow through on his promise to reform national immigration laws. So now the politicians are getting it from both sides.
And in the Arizona desert a sheriff's deputy was shot during a firefight with drug smugglers, and 17 people suspected of being illegal immigrants were rounded up in search for the gunman. So far no one has been charged for shooting the deputy.
But Friday's shootout has intensified even more the calls for the federal government to jump in and secure the border, to do what they should have done a long time ago. Almost everybody agrees with that. But I want to bring in Phil Gordon, the mayor of Phoenix. He deals with this every single day. And today he's in Washington where he's meeting with Harry Reid, and he's meeting with Nancy Pelosi. Mr. Mayor, thanks for being with us, sir.
MAYOR PHIL GORDON, PHOENIX: Thank you, very much.
SANCHEZ: I was taken aback by what you wrote. You wrote an editorial in the "Washington Post," and I want to share this editorial with our -- with our viewers. I mean, here you are. You're the guy in Arizona, biggest, one of the biggest cities in the country that you're in charge of.
"As an immigration bill that nationally embarrasses Arizona becomes bad law," you wrote, you go on to say that you hope the rest of America doesn't require police officers to profile people based on stereotypes and bad information.
I mean, as I go through some of the information often here -- let me go back to this thing. Here's the actual letter you wrote in the "Washington Post." I'm going to read it for the folks at home.
"But I do recognize those responsible for this humiliating moment, they are bitter, small-minded, and full of hate, and they in no way speak for Arizona." You're saying this about the folks in your own state, Mr. Mayor. Explain.
GORDON: Well, again, first of all, the vast majority of Arizonans and the country are frustrated about the inaction of the federal government to do what they were charged to do when this country was founded, which is to have an immigration law that works and secures our borders.
I have been testifying for four years, secure the borders with more ATF agents, DEA agents, border patrol, continue to work with the Phoenix police, and to have an immigration policy that doesn't reward the smugglers and the syndicates but allows legal migration to come to this country.
A system that requires 15, 20 years is broken, and we're only helping those that are creating harm for our country in terms of this illegal immigration.
Secondly, this law does nothing, nothing to secure the borders to go after the criminals. In fact, what it does is takes officers away from going after criminals, legally here or not legally here, and instead makes them now taking care of going after checking papers in restaurants --
SANCHEZ: You know, it's funny you say that, because I have talked to a lot of police officers in your state from Tucson through Phoenix, and beyond, and many are saying the very same thing you're saying. They're not crazy about this law. They're not comfortable with it. They think it's not going to make their job any easier.
But then you have Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County where you are who says just the opposite, who has told me here on the air that it is the job of local officials to do the job that used to be mandated to just the feds. Whether do you say to him?
GORDON: First of all, Mr. Arpaio, who is being investigated criminally now not only for civil rights violations but for other criminal activity says there is no racial profiling and yet says he can recognize illegal immigrants by the type of clothes they wear.
SANCHEZ: He said that to me.
GORDON: Right. So this is the individual that assures us that his agency under his instructions aren't racially profiling. In fact, that's no longer profiling, it's discrimination.
Secondly, with respect to officers, officers were trained to go after criminals. They don't want to spend six hours taking individuals to Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail, which he runs, to pay him $200 a day to keep them, because it's a misdemeanor, and instead go after the criminals.
By the way, the other thing, Rick, if I could get in, now you have all these individuals legally and not legally here that won't testify and point out where the criminals are because they'll be arrested, they'll be put in jail, or their loved ones will.
SANCHEZ: No, that's a good point. A lot of police officers have told me that. In fact, what they fear is that the community that they used to be able to work with in an open and honest way will now shun them, because they are afraid to even come near them because they think they themselves will have some kind of reprisal against them.
That obviously is not something any police officer would want. Police officers don't want to be the bad guys. They want to be the good guys.
But let me ask you this, and this is a very important question. I watch this story unfold on Friday night. I was covering it while it happened, the shooting of a sheriff's deputy. OK, if we want the feds to patrol the border better, what happens if these bad guys get beyond the border? If your guys, if the state guys can't deal with them and ask them questions about their legal status, then who will?
GORDON: Well, first of all, they can. There's a big difference. Number one, the law that passed would have nothing to have done and helped and prevent this. In fact, that's a 10-square mile of open desert outside. It was still in a desert area, that all the helicopters and the black hawks can't even find these individuals yet.
They were obviously -- they're human smugglers or drug smugglers armed with AK-47s. That's why on both sides of the border, more individuals that should be guarding the border, intelligence, and by the way, having the National Guard --
SANCHEZ: The feds.
GORDON: The feds. SANCHEZ: In other words, even if it's right smack in the middle of your state, nowhere near the border, still you can use the feds there. That's what you're saying?
GORDON: No, no, no. That's on the border. This law, which is designed for the cities, designates the urban police. Not -- that was a rural area. That was a desert area, not a town to do it.
SANCHEZ: But it wasn't on the border, Mr. Mayor. That incident that happened Friday was not on the border. It was -- it was in the state of Arizona proper, well into the state of Arizona proper.
GORDON: Well, Rick, anyone that understands Arizona knows that between the border and the urban center of Phoenix and Tucson is 120 miles of desert. It's the border.
Number two, our officers as well as federal should be going after those individuals. We just broke up the largest with DPS, the state police and the feds, largest smuggling operation in the history of the United States with 50.
But we're talking about officers that are now in cities being required and then being able to be sued individually by anyone.
SANCHEZ: No, listen, I understand your concern. You know, look, we have been studying this thing since it first came out a couple Fridays ago, and we had it here on the air. We questioned some of the governor's -- the governor's law.
And I see that just in the last couple days, they have changed some of the wording in the law to make it less likely that police officers can just stop anybody. Now it has to be someone who is in the commission of a crime.
Yes or no, by the way, because we're out of time, are you pleased that at least they changed that?
GORDON: They did, but then they make inspectors now go after undocumented. So it is just -- it's just economically a disaster, and public safety a disaster. And she is doing it, and so is Russell Pearce and Arpaio to keep their office.
SANCHEZ: You say it's political. That's interesting.
GORDON: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Mayor Phil Gordon of the great city of Phoenix.
GORDON: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: My thanks to you, sir. Good luck, and hopefully we'll get you on again.
GORDON: Any time.
SANCHEZ: All right, we've got a breaking story taking place now. I told you at the beginning of this newscast that one of the things that we had set out to do was watch to see how Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, would respond to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he criticized the United States of America.
I understand from my producers she has just done that. Do we have that cued up, Angie? Are we ready to go with it? Let's do it. Roger, let's hear the secretary of state now. This is just moments ago at the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: As you all heard this morning, Iran will do whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade accountability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. There you have it. It's a direct response from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. We're still monitoring what else she else she has said, by the way, and from time to time we'll dip in when necessary.
The very latest what's going on right now in Tennessee and also that situation in the Gulf. It just ain't getting any better. You stay right there. We're going to come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Who is on the "Most Wanted" list on this day? Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is "RICK'S LIST," your list, your national conversation.
The person who left a car bomb in the heart of Times Square over the weekend, that's who. This is a crude simple device, a lot of gasoline, cheap propane, firecrackers, some fertilizer packed into an old SUV with some wires -- crude but could still work and do a lot of damage.
Police say it would have packed enough punch to hurt some people and it shut down Times Square for ten hours. Remember, it's Times Square, too. We're not talking a parking lot somewhere.
We're waiting for police to release a second surveillance video now, one that shows a person running from the scene. They have already talked to the registered owner of the SUV that was wired to explode, the registered owner, by the way. Not the person who was in it when it exploded. They say he's not a suspect.
They also say that this guy's not a suspect. See that guy right there? They really want to talk to him, so that makes him a person of interest, possibly a target, but not a prospect. Looks to be in about his 40s, captured on camera taking off one of his shirts and then looking back at the SUV.
Kevin Barry is a former lead investigator with the New York police department's bomb squad so he knows about this kind of stuff. And by the way, just the bomb itself, or the potential bomb, or whatever we're calling it, how dangerous might this thing have been if it had actually detonated, sir?
KEVIN BARRY, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BOMB TECHNICIANS AND INVESTIGATORS: If it would have functioned as it was designed to, we would have had a massive explosion. New York City sidestepped a big bullet the other night.
SANCHEZ: I want to show you this surveillance video and see if we can drill down on this thing. There's this guy. There's a lot of hay made about it because he's right next to the vehicle. Hey, it's Times Square. People do weird things on Times Square. So the fact he's taking his shirt off, maybe to some watching around the country, they'd say that's weird. Really to some it's not weird, right?
BARRY: Not in Times Square. We've seen people take a lot more off than just the sweaters.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I had a feeling you might go there. Is there any reason to believe this guy might be either a target or suspect at this, and if so, why?
BARRY: At this point, the behavior might indicate that he is a possible suspect. If it's not, he'll be cleared shortly once they identify him. Investigators don't want to get tunnel vision on this. They want to keep their eyes wide open for all of the clues and follow every video that they can get.
SANCHEZ: I learned when I went -- speaking of Phoenix -- I went out to Phoenix to ATF bomb school, and I learned that many of you guys who are experts at this can look at what a bomb is made of.
You guys are so good you can look at even little details of how a wire is twisted or bent or what agents they used to bond it, et cetera, and you can tell from that who may have had something to do with building it. You can say, well, that looks like an Al Qaeda signature, or this signature, or that signature.
Judging from what you know about what we've told you about this bomb, or what you've learned, do you see any signatures in it that may lead to you believe you've got an idea of where this might have come from?
BARRY: At this point with only one device, we don't have a signature. You have to have a pattern or series of them to create a signature. But there's enough forensics left here. The only thing this individual didn't leave at the scene was his wallet.
SANCHEZ: You think there's going to be enough information that we're going to be able to grab this guy, and soon then?
BARRY: There's going to be prints. There's going to be DNA. There's going to be hair and fibers. The VIN number's on the vehicle, even if removed, they're going to recover the hidden VIN numbers. And I would expect an arrest rather rapidly in this.
SANCHEZ: That's excellent. I'm glad to be able to hear from someone who has as much experience as you have, who's able to nail something like this down and say this guy is probably going to be known to us and pretty soon.
My thanks to you, sir, for taking us through this. We'll see you next time.
BARRY: Rick, I'm going to leave this in the New York office for you.
SANCHEZ: What it?
BARRY: You have your own personal item of protection.
SANCHEZ: OK. I appreciate it. What is it?
BARRY: It's just a small rubber grenade.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: My thanks. And by the way, thanks for reminding us about the kind of thing we can see from time to time on Times Square.
BARRY: Good being with you.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it.
All right, he went to prison. Now he wants to run for office again. This is a guy who doesn't have to be in Times Square to stand out. He said today he wants to abolish the IRS. Oh, did I mention the bad toupee? What list do you think he's making today? That's ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's got to be done. It's the right thing for me to do. Sometimes you've got to stand up for what you believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: He is a Tucson police officer and he spills his guts on the Arizona immigration law to our own Thelma Gutierrez. This is an interesting story, one of those that kind of cuts against the grain. That's why I think you're going to like it.
This is your national conversation, your list, "RICK'S LIST."
