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Rick's List
Financial Reform Passes Senate; Oil Spill Blame Game; South Korea Claims Proof North Korea Sank Ship; Journalist Once Held in North Korea Interviewed; Rand Paul Speaks About Gulf Oil Spill; Texas School Board Continues With Controversial Textbook Reform
Aired May 21, 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: You know, just as we have another provocation between North Korea -- well, actually, as a result of North Korea -- on South Korea, Laura Ling comes back to RICK'S LIST. Remember, she was detained over there. Her view of this, that's coming up, with this:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's on your LIST today:
RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: A major news network yesterday, they were reporting that I was for repealing the Civil Rights Act. That is an out-and-out lie.
SANCHEZ: Another apparent gem from Rand Paul. He's criticizing President Obama for criticizing BP. From Paul on the spill -- quote -- "Sometimes, accidents happen."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bill as amended is passed.
SANCHEZ: That was quick. Financial reform passes in the Senate overnight.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: So, it's a strong day for America.
SANCHEZ: Unlike health care, reconciliation should be easy, or will it be?
Some reporters who covered Richard Blumenthal say he's getting a bum rap.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I keep finding myself stumbling over (INAUDIBLE) people that make the false claims.
SANCHEZ: This decorated and real Vietnam combat veteran will respond live.
The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's landed on the list you don't want to be on? 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 hello, again, everybody. Happy Friday.
Topping the list right now, some anger and some frustration gushing almost as hard and as fast as the oil that seems to be spewing from that leaking pipe in the Gulf of Mexico from everyone but Rand Paul, that is. But I digress.
Nobody knows yet just how much oil is being pumped into the water. Now, I want you to focus on this picture. Why? Because this is a streaming video that we are following from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico that finally BP has agreed to release. It's happening, folks, as you are watching it.
You see that? Now, Washington has put together a brain trust of scientists to try and figure this out. Today, BP says the amount of oil it is sucking up through that tube that they stuck inside the leaking pipe is less than it was previously.
The company's getting ready to try and stop the leak by pumping heavy mud into the pipe. And, if that works, well, then they will try and seal that with cement. Now, think of that. As you look at this picture, right there, and those orange and yellow pipes in front of it, or I guess bright yellow, almost like a lime green in front of it, you try and figure out, what exactly is going on there, and why has it taken so long?
If that doesn't work, then they plan to try what's called the junk shot, literally just shooting golf balls, shredded tires and other things right into the well.
The public beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana, let me take you there. All right, you see that right there? That's the public beach in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Well, it's not public today. It's just been closed because oil is washing up ashore.
And crude isn't the only hazard being pumped into the Gulf of Mexico right now. Look at that. The government's decided the stuff BP's been spraying to break up the oil just may be too toxic.
All right, what are we talking about? The company's been ordered to find a dispersant that's not as hazardous as the one that's being used right now, as we look at those pictures off the island, as Chad has been telling us about for the last 24 to 48 hours.
This is off the -- well, this is the Mississippi Delta. That's the way Chad describes it. It turns out that BP has been sitting on tons of a dispersant that wouldn't be quite as toxic as the one they are using. Why didn't they use it? Well, is anyone even allowed to ask?
Watch this report. I'm going to bring Chad in, in just a moment.
But, first, watch this report from Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of containers are just sitting here in the Houston sun. To some, it's just another example of the mismanagement of the oil spill. The containers are full of a chemical dispersant calls Sea Brat 4. Why is it sitting here, and not in the ocean instead? No one really knows, especially since BP's on record as saying it would use the stuff.
DOUG SUTTLES, COO, GLOBAL EXPLORATION, BP: We also have a second product now identified to use called Sea Brat 4, which we will begin introducing into the -- the process as well.
LAVANDERA (on camera): That's what BP said almost a week ago. But we found the Sea Brat 4 just sitting here in an industrial park outside of Houston, Texas. You're looking at it, almost 100,000 gallons of the less toxic dispersant. Guess who ordered it? BP did, on May 4, almost three weeks ago.
JOHN SHEFFIELD, PRESIDENT, ALABASTER CORPORATION: This is Sea Brat. It's in totes ready for delivery.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): John Sheffield is president of the company that makes Sea Brat 4.
(on camera): Do you think it's weird that stuff's just sitting here in the Houston area?
SHEFFIELD: It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. You know, I think something's intentionally trying to stop us from getting our product in the water.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): EPA and Coast Guard officials say there's nothing stopping BP from using Sea Brat 4. Sheffield says that, by now, he could be making 50,000 to 100,000 gallons of dispersant a day.
But a BP spokesman will only say the company had to use what was readily available and stockpiled, and it has been asked to find alternatives to the current dispersant, Corexit, and that's what they're in the process of doing.
Getting a direct answer is even hard for Congress to get, as they grilled Lamar McKay this week about the issue.
REP. JERROLD NADLER (D), NEW YORK: Who decided which dispersant to use? BP?
LAMAR MCKAY, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN, BP AMERICA, INC.: I don't know the --
NADLER: You don't know?
MCKAY: I don't know the individual who decided which --
NADLER: I didn't ask the individual.
MCKAY: I don't --
NADLER: Was it the -- BP who decided, or was it the national -- the government who decided, or the national incident command?
(CROSSTALK)
MCKAY: I don't know. I don't know.
NADLER: You don't know. Could you find out for us, please?
MCKAY: Yes.
LAVANDERA: Easier said than done. There's still no word on who's making that call, while 100,000 gallons of potential help sits hundreds of miles away.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: All right, and, as you look at that, one of the big questions today obviously is the dispersants.
Chad Myers is joining us now.
Apparently, they used -- this was a conversation you and I had about two weeks ago.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
SANCHEZ: They are using something that makes the oil go down, and eventually maybe it gets blended or mixed into the ocean or the Gulf waters.
MYERS: It's Corexit 9500.
SANCHEZ: Say it again.
MYERS: Corexit -- Corexit -- Corexit 9500.
SANCHEZ: Well, do they need to use this stuff or could they have used something else? Should they have been asked questions? Give me what you know.
MYERS: They used this product, from their words -- from their mouths to my mouth back to you, they used it because it was readily available in the quantities that that they needed. So, that's why they used this product originally.
The price -- the price points are all over the place. It will -- I don't think that really matters. What -- what the EPA said is that this is an approved product, one of 18 approved products for this type of spill.
SANCHEZ: Right. MYERS: So, they said, if it's approved, we will use it. Well, now they're saying, is there anything better? And, yes, in fact, there seem to be maybe better things that could be less toxic to the flora and the fauna there.
What I'm worried about is, there are -- there are lots of these organisms, bacteria and all these things that live below the surface of the ocean.
SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.
MYERS: They live and they eat oil naturally. Did you know that 20 million gallons of oil leaks from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico every year? Not pipes, not leaking anything.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Right.
MYERS: It just leaks out of the ground. That's how they knew that there was oil in the Gulf of Mexico in the first place. Hey, where are these tar balls coming from? Hey, let's go drill, see where they're coming from.
And they found oil. So -- but there are these things down there that naturally eat it. They don't get sunshine. They don't have any energy from the sun. They don't have chlorophyll. They eat the hydrocarbons. That's where they get their energy from.
SANCHEZ: Interesting.
MYERS: If we kill the real ones down there by trying to pump poisons or dispersants into the oil --
SANCHEZ: That's fascinating.
MYERS: -- then all of a sudden what's going to eat it -- what's going to eat next year's crop? What's going to eat next year's crop? What's going to eat next -- so, my concern is, let's not make these things that could kill those original bacteria organisms down there.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: It's almost like introducing the wrong species into an environment, and it ends up doing the opposite.
MYERS: You got it.
SANCHEZ: All right. Exactly.
MYERS: Look at the zebra mussels in Lake Erie. Look at the other things that can go wrong.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: I'm going to slide over here.
SANCHEZ: Go ahead. MYERS: How many wells -- how many wells do you think are in the Gulf of Mexico?
SANCHEZ: I would say, right off the top of my head, 250.
MYERS: Wrong -- 4,000.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Whoa.
MYERS: Four thousand active wells in the Gulf of Mexico from Texas all the way over to where the oil (AUDIO GAP) Panama City or Pensacola. All those yellow dots are all active platforms that are out there in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sean (ph), flip the map here. You asked, where are all those pipes? What are all those things down there?
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: Well, depending on the way the wells and the -- and these things are set up, there are many lines to the ocean floor. There are lines that are the outside of the shaft of the well. They're outside -- inside their -- inside those shafts. Inside the outside is the drill bit itself, all the way down.
So, there are cables and wires all over the place. What we're seeing down there could be any number of things, Rick.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: It literally could be any number of things down there, especially -- there's not just one pipe that goes from the Horizon all the way to the surface.
SANCHEZ: Well, let me tell you what I'm talking about. I'm going to just stop you for just a moment.
Hey, Dan, if you could, show the streaming video from the bottom of the ocean right now, so our viewers can see that. Put that back up.
All right, you see that right there?
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Dan, one more thing. Can you get rid of the banners? Just get rid of the banners altogether. Thank you.
All right, you see that -- you see that one pipe in front of it? It looks like it's almost a lime green pipe and it has a stop to it?
MYERS: Yes. Sure.
SANCHEZ: Do you have any idea what that could be? MYERS: It was one of the pipes outside the outer casing that went down to the ocean floor down to the blowout preventer.
SANCHEZ: I see.
MYERS: And it could have been a communications line. It could have been anything. It could have been something that was in communication with the blowout preventer, but it was before -- that pipe was there before they put in the insertion tube.
SANCHEZ: Ah. OK. All right.
MYERS: So, I know it has nothing to do with the insertion tube itself. It's just part of the debris that's now on the ocean floor.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Does your wife wake you up at 3:00 in the morning and say, stop looking at -- stop staring at that thing? I mean, you're like -- you have been watching this since before they put the insertion tube in?
MYERS: I really wanted to know whether it was working. And, so, I went back through hours of video to see how much -- remember when the scientists said there's 75,000, not 5,000 barrels?
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: I wanted to see what was he looking at. What was the volume he was looking at and now what's the volume now? That came out like a fire hose originally.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing.
MYERS: It's like a big old eight-, 10-inch -- 10-inch hose of oil.
SANCHEZ: It's down. They're not picking up as much as they were before.
MYERS: But I think they're getting more nat gas and not as much oil.
SANCHEZ: Exactly.
MYERS: But does it matter? At least it stopped a lot of it, some of it.
SANCHEZ: Exactly. All right, thanks for being so -- taking such copious notes. We appreciate that.
MYERS: Two hundred and fifty wells. Where you been?
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I don't know. They don't pay me to know that stuff. Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: All right.
SANCHEZ: We will catch up with you in just a little bit.
MYERS: All right, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: I thought I was supposed to get a honeymoon. When does my hone honeymoon start, you know, after my victory?
Let's have a party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Fresh off his election win, Rand Paul wants a honeymoon, but his words get in the way. We Are going to play his latest controversial comment. This one is about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. That is ahead.
And your tweets are next as well. Stay with us. We are going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: You're getting into this conversation big time, as would be expected, and it's all about the oil, at least right now.
I want to read you some of the comments that you have been sharing with us. Let's go to the board, if we possibly can. This is your day. It's Friday.
"Hey, Rick, what is that counter at the bottom? Has it been 30 days since the spill?"
Yes, it has. And we're keeping watch for you.
Also, number two: "Watching Rick Sanchez CNN at RICK'S LIST. Sometimes, I am happy we have a TV at work."
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Thank you very much.
Also, "You know, I like the oil spill as much as anybody, but this criticizing of BP like they're a 'Captain Planet' villain is dumb."
That's one perspective.
Now, look at the last one: "Regarding oil spill, been watching how oil affecting wetlands and wildlife, and it's a tragedy. BP needs to be held accountable."
Two different perspectives, same story.
All right. Take a look at this. See if you remember this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: You're there. You have been there for several months. You have been looking at what's actually going on in the country.
LAURA LING, JOURNALIST: It's a very serious situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That was Laura Ling's last interview on this show before she was detained in North Korea. It was the last interview she did, period, before she was detained, not just on this show. Well, now, North Korea is accused of destroying a Korean ship. What insight can she provide? That is ahead.
And then Rand Paul suggests that -- pulling back on criticizing BP for the oil spill because -- quote -- "Sometimes, accidents happen" -- stop quote. That's next on the LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Rick, this is Bill from Kentucky.
And in regard to the Rand Paul question, I think it probably will not create a problem at all for Mr. Paul in Kentucky. All you have to do is look at the results that President Obama had in his races with Hillary Clinton and with John McCain in Kentucky, and you will see that what Mr. Paul has said probably is going to play well with the voters in Kentucky. I hate to say that, but that's what I think.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
He hates to say that, but that's what he thinks. Well, let's talk about this. Rand Paul's trial by fire isn't getting any easier. We know that he said -- what he said about the Civil Rights Act. Well, today, he was asked about the Fair Housing Act, which also bans discrimination as well and which Paul has also criticized.
Check out Paul's reaction to a question this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: When does my honeymoon period start? I had a big victory. I thought I got a honeymoon period from you guys in the media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, it almost sounds like a guy who has never run for office before.
Paul, by the way, has not run for office before. Now, here's his answer to the oil spill and whether he would push for getting rid of the EPA, another federal agency that he has also criticized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: What I don't like from the president's administration is this sort of, you know, I will put my boot heel on the throat of BP.
I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business. I have heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill. And I think it's part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it's always got to be someone's fault, instead of the fact that maybe, sometimes, accidents happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: "Sometimes, accidents happen." It's comments like those that have made this one of the most interesting days that I have ever had here at work in a long time. "Why?" you ask. Well, let me tell you why.
No one seems to want to come on the air and talk to me and appear on RICK'S LIST if the topic is Rand Paul. We called the Kentucky GOP, the chairman's office. No, wouldn't want to come on and talk about this. We called all the different politicians we can think of that are national Republicans at that level, not to mention the national Republicans representing the state of Kentucky. We didn't get a buy. Nobody wanted to come in and talk about this.
So, then, we said, OK, well, let's call somebody with the Libertarian Party. They may be able to defend his point of view or be able to discuss it cogently, so people will understand what he's trying to say. They said no.
Obviously, we called the candidate. He said no. And then we even called the Cato Institute, thinking, well, they understand this and would be able to explain it to us. They said no. The Cato Institute said, no, we don't want to come on and talk about what he said, period.
What are they possibly running from, I'm thinking out loud. All right, now, listen to this. This is an apparent dodge from Republican Minority Leader John Boehner, asked about Rand Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: -- agree with Rand Paul's claim that private businesses should be able to discriminate?
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I'm not sure what the -- what the question is. QUESTION: Do you agree with that claim?
BOEHNER: I don't -- what claim did he make?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Rand who?
Jessica Yellin's joining us now. She's back in Washington today for Yellin's list.
What question? Who? Who's Rand Paul? I have no idea what you're talking about. What are his --
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I'm just -- I'm having fun with John Boehner. I have a lot of respect for him, but it just -- it just seems funny how all of a sudden the guy goes from being rock star to, who? What?
What are you learning? What are his fellow Republicans saying to you about Rand Paul? Are they glad to have him on board?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, it's no secret that he was not the pick of the establishment. They, in fact, aggressively backed his opponent, so there are a lot of raised eyebrows and concerned looks among Washington Republicans right now.
But, you know, that does not necessarily hurt Rand Paul at home, because, if he's disliked by the so-called professional politicians --
SANCHEZ: Oh, yes.
YELLIN: -- that almost burnishes his bona fides at the outsider who is going to upset the apple cart. And I'll tell you something else, Rick. I just got off the phone --
SANCHEZ: By the way, just on what you just said, absolutely. I mean, that's the whole -- that's the game for him.
YELLIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: Go on. I'm sorry. I interrupted you.
YELLIN: That's his game.
No. Yes, I just got off the phone with someone from his campaign who that they're -- and I really didn't feel like they were spinning. This is their true belief, that they don't feel that these latest media stories have been hurtful to him, because, A, in their view, that's what the -- quote -- in their terms -- "rabid left media" would do, OK? So, that already feeds on the story that he's a truth-speaker who is being attacked by the media. And on the BP story, they don't think it will hurt them -- a coal state, where they have had environmentalists there, and they are not always popular, the environmental activists. So, they're not convinced that any of this has really been hurtful for him.
SANCHEZ: And they're right.
YELLIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: And a lot of things may not be hurtful that most people would see from one perspective or another.
If the working theory from him and others is government can't tell people what to do, if I own a liquor store and I want to sell a bottle of booze to a 5-year-old, I should be allowed to do so.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: And to hell with what happens after she drinks it or gives it to her friends. If I want to discriminate against Hispanics or blacks or gays or whoever I want to, I should be allowed to do so, and I should decide for myself whether that is bad business or bad practice. And who are we to tell the oil company that they have got to pick up the pace and clean that mess up that they made in the Gulf of Mexico?
You know what? In theory, that stuff sounds great. And so does Marxism and Communism and the Communist Manifesto. The problem is, how's it work in practice?
YELLIN: Well, I will tell you two things.
One is, when you talk to Rand Paul -- and I had the opportunity to interview him about three times when I was there for just a day- and-a-half. He's very accessible to the media, as you can see.
He does offer nuance when you press it him. So, he will say, yes, he opposes the IRS, for example, but he knows you can't wind it down, so let's not raise taxes and let's find other ways to control it. So, he does support federal anti-discrimination laws, but he wants to look at the way they are applied on a state level.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
YELLIN: So, you can never really pin him down to say that he's a total absolutist. That's one thing.
The other is, these purists are what voters are responding to, because there's a sense that at least they believe something and they're going to stand up for it and they're going to shake things up.
SANCHEZ: The problem, though --
(CROSSTALK) YELLIN: And it's a reflection of how frustrated people are.
SANCHEZ: But isn't it the problem, though, it's easy to support things that sound really good in principle?
YELLIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: .But when you try to apply them, that's when you get the nuance, that's when you get the difficult situations?
I can go into my neighborhood right now and start a campaign to get someone to get a group of people to hate someone. I guarantee you I could do it.
YELLIN: Right. Right.
SANCHEZ: Just like right now, I could go to Arizona and be the most famous guy in the world by talking about you know what, I mean, but it's going beyond just making these declarations.
And I guess that's what I -- maybe that's what we're supposed to do. What Jessica Yellin and Rick Sanchez are supposed to do, with shows like this is, OK, that's fine, because you know what? He's not a racist. There's nothing in what Rand Paul has said that sounds to me like he's either a racist or a bigot or anything.
But he does have a point of view that's, as you say, very much in line with what a lot of Americans are thinking right now.
YELLIN: Which is, rethink the way we're doing things. It's almost just let's try something different because this isn't working.
And it's -- there's a sense that, you know, if he gets elected, he's going to run into a brick wall here because who's he going to work with?
SANCHEZ: Yes.
YELLIN: Where is the common ground? There's not a lot of desire to work together and find compromise. So, that's going to be the big problem. Gridlock in Washington, if people like keep getting -- do get elected, I think gridlock could get much worse, rather than better. But it resonates with people's frustration right now. And that's what fascinating when I go out there -- frustrated.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to have Erick Erickson on. He's going to join me at the top of the 4:00.
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And this discussion that we were just having, because, you know, it's complex. It's a little sensitive. It's important, though. I think Americans should talk about these things.
So, I'm going to have this discussion with him at the top of the 4:00 as well.
Wish me luck, will you?
YELLIN: Good luck. I will watch.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Jessica, I appreciate it. Have a good weekend, OK?
YELLIN: OK. You, too.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's been very effective. If I put this up your -- your butt, you will find out how effective it is, if we put a round up your -- you know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- have guns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but that's why you want to get them out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I -- you mean like derriere, Mr. Mayor? Is that what you're saying. Put a round up your what? Chicago Mayor Richard Daley tells a reporter where he can put a banned gun. And, as you saw, it's caught on camera. You are going to hear it for yourself in just a little bit.
Also, are Texas schools trying to whiteout history from a conservative point of view? Well, that's what the most intriguing person in the news says is happening. He's next right here on the LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is your list, RICK'S LIST. And it is now time to check the list of the most intriguing people in the news today.
This guy's a lawyer, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, who's rarely seen without his trademark cowboy hat. He's taking a personal interest in the effort to revise school history books to reflect fewer progressive views and emphasize prominent Republicans.
His name is Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas chapter of the NAACP. And here's the personal part, he's a descendent of Julia Bledsoe, the opera star that made famous the song "Old Man River." Gary Bledsoe because of his descendents fighting to keep references of his famous relatives in Texas school books in a campaign called "Don't Whiteout our History." We'll see if it works.
The Texas state school board votes on the proposed changes today. Gary Bledsoe today, one of the most intriguing people in the news.
Before she was captured and detained in North Korea, I was the last person to interview her. It happened right here on this show. Laura Ling is live with me again today to talk about North Korea in light of what happened recently with South Korea.
And on it goes. It goes like this. Are you ready? "I went to a fight at a city council meeting broke out." You get it? You'll see it. RICK'S LIST continues after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: It is time for our video list. I know it's one of your favorites. Stick around. Here comes the music and everything else. Get ready to dance, it's Friday. Let's do "Fotos."
South Florida, where alligators seem to be everywhere. But cold blood and colder climates don't mix too well, so north Georgia residents were all but freaking out when they saw this wayward gator near a neighborhood pool.
Hey, fellow, members only. You are way out of your neck of the woods, or should I say swamp? Animal control finally captured the alligator, taped it, and shipped it back down to south Georgia around the Okefenokee swamp where it belongs. How did it go there? We still don't know.
A fight at a Bridgeport, Connecticut council meeting, and it's all caught on camera. Community activist Cecil Young was complaining about a raw sewage problem. Young is known for going over the five- minute speaking limit from time to time. He did it this time and that's when he and the councilwoman got into a shouting and shoving match. Young has filed a complaint now with police.
And this -- looks like a slow work day for this red -- or pardon me, this food shop in Russia. But look closely. Is that a stray baseball? No. Someone tossed an explosive into the store. When all of a sudden business goes booming!
That's right, amazingly -- did we see the explosion? Did I miss it? Is it coming? Was I not looking? Should -- there you go. There you go. Sorry. I may have missed it. I was looking down at my papers. Amazingly, no one was killed.
You can see all of our "fotos" every day by just going to my blog, and my blog is CNN.com/RickSanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish I could have been a better example.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The GOP now says that they have come up with a plan to avoid embarrassing themselves with future sex scandals like that one. That's ahead.
Also, Chicago mayor Richard Daley was caught on camera. He was telling a reporter where to put a banned gun. A bit of a crude joke, but a joke nonetheless, and we will play it for you next on "The List."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Seems like we get a lot of these lately. Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is the list of politicians who say things that maybe they wish they hadn't said. That could be very long, that list, by the way, every single day.
But here's today is Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. He's holding a gun, a rifle. He's talking to a reporter, and he makes reference to a place where the sun doesn't shine all that often. Got your attention? It got mine. Dan, roll the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RICHARD DALEY, (D) NEW YORK: Well, it's very effective. If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is, if we put a round up your --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But they still have guns.
DALEY: But, yes, that's why you want to get them out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What did he just say -- put what, where? Dan, let's try and make sense of this one, huh? Let's play it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DALEY: Well, it's been very effective. If I put this up your -- your butt, you'll find out how effective it is, if we put a round up your --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But they still have guns.
DALEY: But, yes, that's why you want to get them out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I'd say effective, yes, absolutely.
OK, here's the deal, Mayor Daley was holding a news conference on Chicago's controversial gun ban and showing some weapons that were confiscated by police. The reporter asked if the ban had been effective thus far, and that's the answer that Mayor Daley gave. And Mayor Daley was laughing when he said it, obviously Mayor Daley said today he regrets his choice of words and he hopes the incident will make people talk about gun control. That's weird.
By the way, that reporter, he wrote in his newspaper that the mayor, quote, "grabbed a rifle and threatened to shoot me." Really? Is that the way you heard that? Some might say that's maybe a dramatic reaction to the joke that just fell flat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Did the president of the United States, did the White House, approach you and offer you the secretary of the Navy position?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's Congressman Joe Sestak on the hot seat as I grilled him about allegations that the White House tried to offer him a job to keep him against running against his opponent. Well, it's part of our best moments of the week, making "The List," our top plays. We count them down for you. That's ahead.
Also, Laura Ling is with me live. Remember her last interview before being detained in North Korea? Well, it was right here. Do you remember that, Laura?
LAURA LING, AUTHOR, "SOMEWHERE INSIDE": I do, Rick. I spoke with you just a few days before I was captured.
SANCHEZ: I'll look forward to talking to you again, and I can't wait to get your insight on the latest situation involving North Korea and South Korea. She's next, Laura Ling. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think it is important to send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences. We cannot allow this attack on South Korea to go unanswered by the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So, "provocative actions have consequences." We'll see.
And I'll remind you, we have 28,000-plus United States troops stationed in South Korea, and on the other side of that border North Korea's believed to have 1 million-plus troops. These are not good numbers for us. And we're already fighting two wars. We'll watch where this things ends up.
Speaking of stories, we have brought you -- do you remember this? That's me talking to journalist Laura Ling in March of 2009. Laura Ling was in a hotel room in Seoul, South Korea, and on the very next day, little did she know, little did I know, the very next day she was captured in North Korea, later tried and convicted of illegal entry, sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, and then released through the assistance of former President Bill Clinton and her sister Lisa.
Does she have a story to tell? Well, she's out with her new book, "Somewhere Inside, one sister's captivity in North Korea and the other's fight to bring her home." Laura Ling, here she is once again, great to see you.
I understand that you are now speaking for two, is that right? And it's not your sister.
LING: I am, Rick. I am very pregnant right now.
SANCHEZ: Congratulations.
LING: Thank you so much. A lot has happened in the last year, you can say.
SANCHEZ: Would you say very pregnant -- does that mean, like, even in the middle of this interview you could have to, like, run and leave?
(LAUGHTER)
LING: You never know. I'm due in June, but you never know.
SANCHEZ: Congratulations, that's wonderful.
LING: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: I never had a chance to ask you this, and I thought long and hard, and I said some prayers when I heard of your predicament. When you were captured, what were those nights like? Where were you? Tell me what you can, without divulging the Normandy invasion plans, if you could.
LING: Well, I mean, obviously, I was being held in the most isolated, secretive country in the world. It was extremely frightening. I did feel very grateful to be -- I was held at a compound. I had a room with a bed and adjoining room where there were a couple of guards watching over me at all times.
I didn't know if I would ever see my family again. And I was -- you know, I did fear for my future and my life. But I also thought about the millions of North Koreans who themselves are being imprisoned in their own country, and that helped to give me strength to endure.
SANCHEZ: Are you still scared? Do you ever have -- I imagine that must have been a pretty traumatic experience, especially at the beginning when especially you did not know how this thing would end up. Are there moments when you think back to it and wake up in the middle of the night and say, oh, my goodness?
LING: Rick, I feel incredibly blessed. There are so many people in the world who are going through so much worse, and there are other journalists being held in captivity against their will.
SANCHEZ: I need to ask you about this new situation. There seems to be mounting evidence that the North Koreans have provocated the South Koreans and possibly the United States by using one of their submarines to shoot a ship out of the water, killing many South Koreans. When you see the scenario, what do you make of it?
LING: Well, it's actually quite eerie, because it brings me back to the time when I was in captivity. This is when relations on the peninsula, the Korean peninsula and between the United States were probably at its worst. North Korea was conducting a nuclear test for only the second time in its history.
And so now about a year later we have this. North Korea is a country that has a history of being duplicitous, and, as you said, being provocative.
SANCHEZ: Did they take Laura Ling saying we get ourselves in the paper and them paying attention to us. Now we blow up the ship and they are not going to have to talk to us on our terms. It seems like that's the cat and mouse game they play. Do you believe that to be true?
LING: I really don't know. My situation is so different. While I was on the frozen river filming the documentary for Current TV, we followed a guide who led us across the river, but it was my decision. Ultimately at the end of the day, I made that decision, I had to suffer the consequences, and I have deep regret for what I did.
SANCHEZ: Laura Ling, you're tough. I am so glad that I am talking to you now and you are not stuck in the hell hole.
LING: Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: And good luck with the baby. Is it a boy or girl?
LING: It's going to be a little girl.
SANCHEZ: I promise when she is born we will make her the most intriguing person in the news on that day.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Laura, appreciate it.
LING: Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Is that guy for real. You can't make this stuff up.
What? What? What?
(END VIDEO CLIP) (LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: What was that all about? What could possibly get me fired up? It's the plays of the week. That's right. We are listing them for you, and this is one heck of a list we have coming your way.
Also, the history taught in your kids' classroom could change because of what is going on in Texas. I will explain that next.
And if you want to come and join us on the show, we just fill the studio up every Monday with people like yourselves, and that helps us get through it. All you have to do is call the number, 877-4CNN-tour.
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SANCHEZ: I want to show you a tweet from David Vitter, but Dan, before you do that, give me the shot, if you would, of the underwater shot where the leak continues. That's literally the oil a month later literally pouring out of the Gulf of Mexico. That's about a mile below the surface. As you can see, it's still gushing.
Now, squeeze that over to one side if you could, Dan. As you do that, we'll see what David Vitter has to say. Today, David Vitter from Louisiana certainly is important to the news cycle given what we are looking at there.
Look at this tweet he sent 30 minutes ago. "Sent letter to President Obama urging him to expedite core's approval of an emergency barrier island dredging to protect marshes from oil spill." He's suggesting creating some barrier island to keep the oil from coming ashore.
Now, that's an interesting theory. Obviously wouldn't be as easy to do as the 24 characters in the tweet is.
Here is something else we want you to take a look at.
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RAND PAUL, (R) SENATE CANDIDATE, KENTUCKY: For several hours on a major news network yesterday they reported repeatedly that I was for repealing the civil rights act. That is not only not true, never been my position, but is an out and out lie, and they repeated it all day long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, I don't know what network that was. It certainly was not on this show. But regardless, here is what Rand Paul is saying about something else today.
Now he's talking about BP. And remember, he is always for business over government regulations. Quote, regarding BP and the oil spill I just showed you, "Sometimes accidents happen." You will hear it for yourself. That's ahead here on "The List." But first we will check on the markets with Stephanie Elam to see what's going on there. And if it's like what the rest of the week has been and the markets here and all over the world, probably not so good. We'll be right back.
