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Rick's List

Interview With Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe; Military Leaders Speak Out on McChrystal Departure; Oil Reaches Pensacola Beach; Obama Administration to Appeal Judge's Ruling Against Deepwater Drilling Moratorium; Lawrence Taylor charged With Statutory Rape and Assault

Aired June 24, 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: It's incredible to hear what these men have to say. These are men -- the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretary of defense, these are men who love their country and love the military and for the first time -- because we heard from the president yesterday -- for the first time, we're going to hear what they have to say about the removal of General McChrystal. It's amazing stuff.

Also, this:

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making the LIST today. Is it time to deal with the Taliban or risk this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we had the stomach to stay there for 20, 25, 30 years.

SANCHEZ: Say it ain't so. The oil spill, worse. Who blew it? What happened?

ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: We had an incident earlier today. The problem was a remotely operated vehicle.

SANCHEZ: And now what does it mean for Florida's beaches?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tar balls are horrible. This is the worst I have seen yet.

SANCHEZ: We will take you there. The Obama administration caused the oil spill on purpose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a possibility that there was some sort of collusion.

SANCHEZ: That's what this man says.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe they wanted it to leak. Is there a cover-up going on?

SANCHEZ: Oh, by the way, he just won a GOP primary for Congress in North Carolina.

And which FOX News host says President Obama's job is only as tough as hers?

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. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is RICK'S LIST.

Obviously, a lot stuff going on right now in Toronto, and we're going to take you there. Jeanne Meserve is going to bring us the very latest on what is developing with the G20 coming up this weekend and this latest report of this man, also the latest on the Gulf.

But the big story that we're following today is still on Stanley McChrystal, because we heard from the president yesterday, but I'm about to let you hear from two men, Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who have been deeply affected by this.

And for the first time, we hear the personal side of this. I'm going to take you through a series of sound bites, all right? The very first one you're going to hear is Mike Mullen. Now, what he responds to is a question, an interesting question at that, that comes from a reporter who says, why did you let McChrystal go?

After all, when you think about it, in that "Rolling Stone" article, a lot of the stuff wasn't really said by him. It was said by some other people who are, for the most part, anonymous.

So, why did you decide -- and he asks that question of both Gates, the secretary of defense, and Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He asks both of them, why did you pull the plug? Why did you let McChrystal go? Listen to this answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL MICHAEL MULLEN, JOINTS CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: When I first read it, I was nearly sick. It made me -- I -- literally, physically, I couldn't believe it. So I was stunned.

Secondly, General McChrystal is responsible for his people. And he has every bit as much responsibility for what was in that and what his people said as the individuals who said it. And the accountability that goes along with that, and General McChrystal understands that completely, reflected by the fact that he offered his resignation.

So it was -- and then -- and then in the, obviously, essence of it, it was clear that it challenged civilian -- that there was -- in its -- in its totality, it challenged civilian control, which is a fundamental principle for us that is not challengeable. It wasn't, it isn't, and it won't be in the future, and that's why the action was taken. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I want you to listen to what Secretary of Defense Gates says now. This is interesting. He's asked about what the biggest effect, what the biggest concern was for him. And, interestingly enough, it was not so much the president or himself or McChrystal. It was something else. Here's Gates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I believe that, had it not been for this article and -- and this serious lapse in judgment, General McChrystal would still be there and executing the strategy and the campaign plan that -- the strategy the president decided on and the campaign plan that McChrystal developed to implement it.

So I think that -- that this -- this unfortunate circumstance this week has virtually nothing to do with the conduct of the campaign in Afghanistan on General McChrystal's part, but rather exactly the reasons that the president articulated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I don't know if you can tell just from those sound bites that we just shared with you, but, as you watch these two men talk about General McChrystal, it's obvious that they very much respected and liked him.

It's also obvious that they are extremely disappointed with his conduct. They discussed other parts of this. It was like a glimpse inside what must have been going on inside the Situation Room as they discussed this, obviously, not as real, but it was surprising to hear these men talk from the heart, no script, no prepared information, no teleprompter.

Here in this next clip, what you hear is the question of whether McChrystal knew that he had screwed up when he talked to these guys. Listen to their response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MULLEN: I have certainly spoken with General McChrystal many times since that article hit the street.

But the -- it -- it really is in the category of someone who knows he made a grave mistake. There's nobody that feels worse and understands the gravity and the responsibility and the accountability better than Stan McChrystal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: You know who else feels responsible in some way, and he said as such? Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Interestingly enough, he makes the point that he was the one who recommended Stanley McChrystal. It's almost like you recommend someone for a job, and you expect that they're going to do well because whatever it is that they do is in many ways representing you.

Well, Mullen makes that mention. He says, I'm the one who recommended this guy.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MULLEN: I recommended -- I strongly recommended General McChrystal to the secretary of defense and the president to assume this job, and so certainly, from my vantage point, I feel some responsibility here.

That said, General McChrystal has been given guidance from here, from CENTCOM, and certainly from the president that's been very clear, and I have an expectation that a commander -- certainly someone with four stars and this kind of responsibility -- follow that guidance.

As I said in my statement -- and I think as has been evident in the last few days -- he really committed a significant error in judgment, and -- and the president, rightfully so, relieved him for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And then Secretary Gates talks about just what a systematic problem this could possibly be with McChrystal. And he denies that. He says, no, this has not been a systematic problem. This is a one-time deal. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GATES: We had seen this kind of problem. There were concerns about General McChrystal's comments in a Q&A session in London last fall; that was discussed with him at the time. So I think that, from my standpoint, this -- this is an anomaly, not a systemic problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So, there you have it, two men with a lot to say about Stanley McChrystal.

That's just the beginning of some of the -- some of the sound that we have gathered for you. Throughout this newscast, we're going to be taking you through other bits of sound so you can hear for yourself what it is that they're now saying.

And, as you saw just about an hour ago, the president of the United States came forward as well and gave his description of this situation while he was meeting with the Russian leader.

We are going to be discussing this at length, but let me tell you what else we're going to be talking about during this newscast. U.S. CEOs have gotten together and they have drawn up a conclusion on the outlook for the U.S. economy. What does it mean to you? I'm going to say -- I'm going to tell you what they're saying about the next six months. This is good news, and it may surprise you.

Also, is it time to talk to the Taliban? That's right, to actually negotiate with our enemy, negotiate with the Taliban to end what some are calling the quagmire in Afghanistan. I'm going to ask this of Republican Senator James Inhofe. That's next right here on the LIST. Your national conversation continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

I want to bring in now, right away, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma. He's in the Senate Armed Services Committee. So, this story over the last couple of days has certainly taken its toll on him and his peers. And it's something that he's been thinking about an awful lot.

And he's good enough to join us now, after meeting with General Petraeus earlier in the day. He's joining us by phone.

Senator, thanks for being there, sir.

SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: Nice to be with you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Likewise. Likewise.

Listen, I'm -- you know what -- first of all, I'm interested in your take when you first read this "Rolling Stone" article. And did you hear what -- did you hear what earlier today the admiral said about this?

INHOFE: No, I didn't hear what the admiral said, or I may have heard. I don't recall that. But my first impression when I read this thing is -- was one of disbelief.

I have known McChrystal for a long period of time. I was a strong supporter of him. And he has, of course, the right background for that job. But when I heard that he had taken some reporter -- and I don't care, Rick, if it's a conservative or a liberal or who it is.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

INHOFE: You don't take someone in for hours and hours in informal settings and assume that they're not going to say everything they hear.

SANCHEZ: It was like a month. I like to think that I'm a pretty upright guy. I mean, I do my best. I screw up, like -- just like the next guy. But if somebody followed me around for a month, they would probably find a couple of things that would embarrass me. INHOFE: Well, not just you, but ones who are close to you, and they're less -- they're more reluctant -- or less reluctant to just spew everything that they have. And, so, I just -- that -- it was one of disbelief.

SANCHEZ: Listen to what Admiral Mullen said. This is interesting, because he was asked this question. He basically was asked, do you think you guys jumped the gun? After all, the article doesn't really quote him. It quotes a lot of his other officers, and maybe you guys may have been a little tough on him by letting him go so soon.

Here's how Mullen responded to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MULLEN: When I first read it, I was nearly sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "When I first read it, I was nearly sick."

He goes on to say -- and this is interesting, because he tells this to the reporters who were asking him questions today -- he says, look, it doesn't matter whether he said it or not. As a military commander, he's in control of the people around him, and if he doesn't have control of the people around him, then we can't trust him.

Now, that's interesting, isn't it? Do you agree?

INHOFE: Well, I don't agree you can't trust him. He's one of the most trustworthy person I ever known, but you can't -- here's the problem I have, Rick.

When I was in the Army, many years probably before you were born, if a top general had done something where I saw a conflict between him and a commander in chief, whether you liked the commander in chief or not, that comes all the way through the ranks. That would have affected me as a PFC.

And I think that is the main problem that we had here. I think that -- quite frankly, that the president did the right thing, and I don't think he could have done anything else.

SANCHEZ: That's interesting, you, as one of the most conservative Republicans, to come out and say, look, the president, this Democratic president, did what he had to do.

Let me ask you a question, because I have been hearing a lot of palaver lately about what's going on in Afghanistan. And given this situation that we have now, is it possible that Afghanistan -- look, it's nine years now. It's one of the longest wars in the history of the United States. The general himself says in this "Rolling Stone," McChrystal says in this "Rolling Stone" interview that we still don't have the initiative over the Taliban in Afghanistan. I have heard some smart people coming out recently and saying, Senator, that maybe it's time for a new tactic. Maybe what we need to do is actually sit down, whether we do it through an intermediary and actually negotiate with the Taliban and try and come up with some kind of deal where we get them off our backs, or else this thing could go on for another 20 to 30 years.

INHOFE: Well --

SANCHEZ: What would you say to people who are recommending that on this day?

INHOFE: It's wrong. You know, if you're dealing with -- you know, with Russia, you have Medvedev or, with Uganda, you would have Museveni. There's a person who represents a group.

In the case of a -- the Taliban, you're talking about a terrorist group, one that doesn't really belong to any state. And I think you can't negotiate and you can't try to pacify terrorists. And, so, I would disagree with that.

I would say -- let me just say this, though, because I did talk to Petraeus at some length this morning.

SANCHEZ: Good.

INHOFE: And while he didn't -- I don't want to attribute anything that he said -- I wouldn't do that -- but I got the impression that, when you change a command, you look and you evaluate and see what seems to work, what doesn't. There may be some changes that you see, but I think -- I can't think of anyone better than David Petraeus to take the helm at this particular time.

SANCHEZ: By the way, one more thing. Do you -- and I'm just sitting here thinking as I'm listening to you. You have always been the kind of guy who is -- you say what you think, and you're very -- very direct in what you believe as an American.

These other people who have remained anonymous, who made these comments in this "Rolling Stone" article, should they be disciplined as well?

INHOFE: Oh, I think -- as far as discipline, I don't really call what happened to McChrystal as discipline. I think all these circumstances came where McChrystal and the president and the rest of the people realized that he would have to go.

The rest of them, yes, I think it should, because, if they were responsible for saying things that were inappropriate, then I think that we should -- that should go in the record.

SANCHEZ: They should be dressed down as well?

INHOFE: I think they should, yes.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Hey, Senator, thanks for hustling out and taking time to join us. We asked you to come on and you were able to do so. And we appreciate that.

(CROSSTALK)

INHOFE: Yes. We're actually voting right now. OK, Rick, thank you.

SANCHEZ: All right, get back in there.

Meanwhile, breaking news coming out of Toronto. The very latest is that they have found a man with many assorted weapons on the eve of the G20 to be held in Toronto. Police are concerned. There's reason to be concerned. We have got a correspondent there. We have got a picture. We will show you exactly what was found. I will take you through this right after the break. Stay right there. This is your national conversation,. This is RICK'S LIST and I'm Rick Sanchez.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Suspicious stuff has been found in a car in Toronto, and here's why this is important. You might say, well, suspicious stuff can be found on any given day. This is important because the G20's going to be taking place there on the 26th and the 27th. Yes, that's this Saturday and Sunday.

Leaders from all over the world are going to be meeting there and suddenly police find a suspicious vehicle that a man had with gas cans, a crossbow, saws, a hatchet, a winch, and other weapons with cans that were filled with some kind of unknown substances.

This is -- is this the live signal that we're looking at? That's the live signal, right, guys? Yes. OK. Now, let's take the tape. Now, you can squeeze this, Rog, if you want, whatever you want to do with it, but I want -- I think we have got some -- we have got actual video of the weapons and the stuff that we were just describing it.

There it is. Look at this. This is one -- official said the man also had pellet guns, chemical products, gas tanks in the car. Man, this is starting to sound an awful lot like that situation that we were talking about in Times Square not long ago.

So, let's do this. Let's bring -- as we look at these pictures, as we look at these pictures, let's bring in Jeanne Meserve. She's following the story. She's in Toronto getting ready to cover the G20 for us.

Jeanne, what's going on? What are you learning? What is this?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, a police spokesman just said to me that there were not any hazardous materials in those big tanks that they took out of this car. There were three that were red. Those were full of gasoline. There were a couple that were blue. The hazmat teams have done a test on that material and determined that it is not hazardous. They are not telling us what it is, but they say it does not pose a danger.

It's really unclear what we're dealing with here. As you mentioned, we could see arrayed on the sidewalk the crossbow and arrows and a chain saw and a sledgehammer and all sorts of very dangerous-looking things, but we also see suitcases. We also see bags of possessions. We also see what appears to be a very heavy blanket in the trunk of this car.

The man who was inside, 53, could not provide police with answers to their questions right on the spot, so they did take him into custody. They are questioning him now to try and figure out exactly what he was doing here and whether he did, in fact, pose any sort of threat to either the upcoming summit meeting or any of the demonstrations.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

MESERVE: There happens to be a demonstration by some hotel employees going on about half-a-block away from where he was pulled over.

SANCHEZ: All right. And I guess there's the possibility that he just happens to be a woodsman, an outdoorsman who's traveling through town. I see -- what is that, a boat on top of his car or something?

(CROSSTALK)

MESERVE: Yes, it has this big, wooden, makeshift car carrier on the top that's just lashed on with ropes. And that's one reason police pulled it over.

Also, I'm told the car was so heavily laden, it was basically dragging on the ground. But the police here say it's possible -- they don't know yet, but it's possible that this was a woodsman or this was someone who did some work in construction.

But, ordinarily, people who are carrying around the tools of their trade have them in some kind of cases. He didn't. Some of it was easily visible as police stopped the car and looked inside.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

MESERVE: The rest they found as they did a search. And, as you know, security here is just at a fever, fever pitch. They are on the lookout for anything suspicious. And, of course, this was suspicious indeed.

SANCHEZ: Right, right, odd, suspicious, but not necessarily nefarious. And we will let them interview him and find out what they do and then I'm sure you will find out for us and you will let us know.

MESERVE: You bet. SANCHEZ: Jeanne -- Jeanne, thanks so much for being there and jumping on this story for us. We certainly appreciate it.

Meanwhile, take a look at this. Remember when President Bush was blamed by some for the destruction of the Twin Towers? You remember that, right? Basically nuts, right?

Well, now there are some who say that President Obama created the oil spill in the Gulf on purpose, pretty much the same as the people who were complaining about President Bush. Well, they're back. This time it's President Obama. They say he did it on purpose. Who is that who's saying that, by the way? You're going to be surprised who one of those persons is. That's ahead.

Also, should we keep deepwater drilling in the Gulf? The president says hold off until we find out whether it's safe or not. But now a judge is saying for the second time, no, just drill, baby, drill. That's next right here on the LIST.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: OK. A couple of things to get to on everything going on in the Gulf of Mexico.

Yesterday, about this time, when I left you, Chad and I were having a conversation about, well, just when you thought things couldn't get any worse in the Gulf of Mexico, they did. That's after one of those contraptions, those underwater mobile -- what do you call those things? The little robotic --

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes, the rover, ROV.

SANCHEZ: The rover?

MYERS: Yes, yes, yes.

SANCHEZ: Well, the rover accidentally hit part of the pipe, which caused another problem where they were concerned that too many hydrates would collect, so they had to take the cap off.

I guess the good news is -- well, the bad news obviously is a lot more oil went into the Gulf.

MYERS: It did. For hours and hours, it poured into the Gulf at 500 gallons per minute.

SANCHEZ: The good news is, I guess they were finally able to cap it?

MYERS: They capped it last night. And they did a very good job capping it.

I have been watching this cap. It's significantly less of a plume today than it was the entire time that this cap was on before. So, whether they jiggled it on right or they rotated it a little bit, I don't know. SANCHEZ: Yes.

MYERS: Hit it with a hammer -- I don't care how they did it, but there's a lot less oil coming out now than yesterday, of course, when it was unabated, and a lot less oil coming out than what we were seeing for the past couple of days.

This is what -- I know there's still oil coming out. What I want you to look at are those little triangles on the right side of the screen. Those are the little fins that we couldn't see before because there was more oil coming out, spilling out, oozing out, almost gushing out, covering those fins. It's just a small victory, OK?

SANCHEZ: What are you talking about? What -- what fins?

MYERS: Here.

SANCHEZ: Show me.

MYERS: The little triangles -- see it right there above the word "Oil Disaster 66," two little triangles? Those fins helped this thing get down on to the blowout preventer, a little bit of a guide. You couldn't see those on the pictures that we had last week. They were completely engulfed in the oil plume, the oil that's still coming out.

Underneath the oil plume, there's another pipe. There's the cap, that cap is sucking up as much oil as it can. That cap wasn't on yesterday, as we talked. It was coming out at 500 gallons a minute at times. Thousands and thousands of gallons came out before they got this thing back on.

But there's another view that just got turned off from the other side. And I wish I could show it to you, because there's no oil at all, no oil at all coming from the other side. The other side of this thing is completely stopped. I can see the cap. I can see the dome not letting any oil out. It's doing OK.

SANCHEZ: One quick question. I want to bring Jeffrey Toobin, because there's another legal part of this story today. But Florida, I'm hearing reports now they're starting to see more tar balls there than they had before. What's the really skinny on this, Chad?

MYERS: It's worst than tar balls, it's goo, it's mayonnaise. Pensacola Beach. They're doing what they can to keep the beaches open, they don't want tourists to not coming. But I don't want your kids to run around in that.

SANCHEZ: That's Pensacola?

MYERS: That's all these beaches. That was yesterday, Pensacola Beach, Florida. But east to west, it depends literally on how the wind blows, and the wind blew the wrong way yesterday for Pensacola Beach. They're getting it, picking it up. There are still plenty, plenty of square feet and square miles of clean ocean and clean beach that you can still visit. But I don't want you in that stuff.

SANCHEZ: The worst may be yet to come.

MYERS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Unfortunately.

All right, let's turn to different part of the story. Let me bring in Jeffrey Toobin. He's our legal eagle.

The president of the United States has been saying, look, since we don't know exactly how this thing happened in the Gulf of Mexico, before we start deepwater drilling again, that's more than 500 feet, in this case, it was 5,000 feet, we really need to check and make sure after a commission comes back before we decide to drill. So he put a moratorium, essentially, stop the drilling.

Well, a judge has decided, guess what, no, you can't do that, Mr. President. So the president went back to that same judge and said, look, can you at least consider not allowing them to drill while I take this to another court or something? And the judge came back today and said, no, I'm not even going to do that.

This is an interesting conflictive situation between this judge, I think in New Orleans, Jeffrey will clear that up for us, and the president of the United States. What say you, Jeffrey?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this is really an extraordinary confrontation. It is clear that Judge Feldman, the federal judge in New Orleans, has the right to stop this drilling -- I mean, to stop the moratorium, to allow drilling to go forward.

But it's very unusual for a judge to say, as this judge did, the action of the president and his commission is arbitrary and capricious. They had no justification, according to Judge Feldman's reading of the evidence, to order this moratorium.

When you consider this is the biggest environmental disaster in the history of the country, when you consider that we still don't know how it happened and how we could prevent it from happening in other wells, I think it's a pretty extraordinary conclusion by the judge.

Frankly, I think there is a good chance it will be overturned on appeal, but it is now the law of the land. And as of right at this moment, drilling could resume. I don't know if it has, but the oil companies have the legal right to resume now.

SANCHEZ: Where does this go now? Who is this judge? What's his standing? And what are the judges above him that could appeal his decision?

TOOBIN: Well, he is a judge in good standing, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. He's been a federal judge for 27 years. A very respected judge, conservative politically.

You know, he is associated with supporting oil companies, has had some interest in oil companies. But I'm not trying to suggest any corruption on his part. A lot of the federal judges down there are upper middle class, Republican lawyers who get appointed to the federal bench. Those kinds of people in that part of the world tend to have connections to the oil business. That's just the ways of the world.

SANCHEZ: Where does this go now, though? Who can overturn him?

TOOBIN: There are a couple different routes. The most direct route is the fifth circuit court of appeals. That's where the administration is clearly going to go first. It will be dealt with, probably, very expeditiously, maybe even this week, by a three-judge panel of the court of appeals.

They may issue a stay. They may say, well, while we deal with this, we will put the moratorium in place. They have a lot of different options. That's one route, the direct appeal route.

The other route is that Secretary of the Interior Salazar has said they are going to re-work the moratorium order. They are going to rewrite it. They may, instead of issuing a blanket moratorium, they may direct a moratorium to each of the 33 wells involved. That may satisfy the judge, that it's not arbitrary and capricious.

So the administration has said it's moving in two directions. One is to simply get it overturned and the other is to rework the order so it will get approved.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Jeff, appreciate it.

Take a look at this. NFL hall of famer Lawrence Taylor has now been charged with rape and solicitation of a prostitute. That's trending. So Brooke's going to be all over that for us. Everybody's talking about it. What an unbelievable situation that is.

And then what are all these people doing in the middle of Times Square? Aren't there supposed to be car there? We'll be right back. That's next on "RICK'S LIST."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: So many of you have said that because of the breaking news in the last couple of days, you haven't gotten your fix. Are you ready? You're about to get your fix. Road trips can be great fun, if the roads hold up. Here's "Fotos."

Northern India, the road is paved, well, not much. Not in this spot, anyway. Looks precarious, doesn't it? You know what's about to happen? Yes, it's going to happen. Wait, wait, wait -- no! Down goes Frazier.

It's a landslide. It hit the location, the truck hit the road, the road hit the hills, crumbling down 300-foot ravine. Good news, though, the driver and the passenger, they got out. All they could do was watch this thing roll down. It's just a piece of metal. Nobody got hurt.

Meanwhile, take a look at this. Goose stepping, all right? Can you believe this? This is a rooster that goose steps. No, I'm serious. Nobody told this guy this is video gone viral of a riled up rooster. He is not going to take it from anyone. He is going to goose step.

It's -- by the way, why did the chicken cross the road? Don't answer that? We thought this was one of the most fascinating videos we've seen in a long -- that's how he actually walks. He goose steps. Wow.

Now take a look at this. A neon buzz and the city of streets of New York aren't exactly what comes to mind when you think of spirituality, but thousands of yoga practitioners might beg to differ. Have you tried yoga? Guys, Craig, have you tried it? Good stuff.

They brought the calm of nirvana to the urban crush of Times Square Monday -- 5,000 of them crowded into the crossroads for a moment of stillness in the bustling big apple. And they are now all in oneness with the university. "Fotos del Dia" on CNN.com/RickSanchez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY FAULKNER, ATTEMPTED TO HUNT DOWN BIN LADEN: You can say I'm a religious freak. You can say I'm a Rambo or a samurai or whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Rambo, samurai, or whatever? His name is Gary Faulkner, that's who he is. He's a rogue bin Laden-hunting kind of guy, caught in Pakistan with a sword, a pistol, and night vision goggle. He is back in the United States. What else does he say? Wait until you see the interview that we have coming up with him.

And then which FOX News host likens her job to that of the president of the United States? You got to hear it for yourself. That's ahead. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: OK, I want to share some important information with you, because Chad and I with were just having a little conversation a little while ago, I just said his name and he started to look up. We were talking about Pensacola Beach and the situation in Pensacola and, you know, fact of the matter is, folks, as sad as it is and I hate to report it, it's my home state, that they're just starting to see more than just tar balls now along Pensacola Beach. Who knows what's going to happen?

But we did just get this tweet a moment ago and I wanted to share it with you because it's got some good news in it. This is from one of the folks who watches our show regularly. He says, "Rick, about Pensacola Beach, the fourth of July fireworks display on the beach is a go for now." So if you're going to be in Pensacola, fireworks display is on.

And there's a link if you want more information. Anything we can do those folks to help, just glad to do it.

By the way, did you see the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretary of defense today talking about General McChrystal? This is solid stuff. We'll replay that for you. It's coming up during the next hour, so stay here. I want you to see how these guys talked from the heart about how difficult it was for them to pull the plug and make this decision to remove the general.

Also this -- did Iranian police grab three American hikers in Iraq and then arrest them? That story is coming up.

And this shocker -- I mean, NFL hall of famer Lawrence Taylor has now been charged officially with rape and soliciting a prostitute. And you know what, that's just the beginning. It's actually worse than that.

Brooke Baldwin's been looking into this story. It's got all my football buddies and all my New York friends kind of shocked.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, sorry.

SANCHEZ: And upset.

BALDWIN: I've got all the charges.

SANCHEZ: You do?

BALDWIN: I do.

SANCHEZ: It is what it is and it's ugly, right?

BALDWIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We'll be right back. Stay right there.

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SANCHEZ: The Lawrence Taylor story is trending today, because there's information now about what he officially will be charged with. And keep in mind, folks, as we look into this, as I recall, the girl was 16 years old that they found him in this hotel room, allegedly, right?

BALDWIN: Right. She was 16. He has officially been indicted. You know, a lot of Giants fans, not news they're looking for. We're talking about NFL hall of famer Lawrence Taylor, ten-time linebacker for the New York Giants, fan favorite "Dancing with the Stars," remember, last year, indicted on six charges by the suburban New York grand jury.

I have a list in my hand, but the two biggies, rape in the third degree and patronizing, soliciting a prostitute.

Now, Taylor was arrested back in May, May 6th, at this hotel, just outside of Manhattan. Rick, as you mentioned, a 16-year-old girl. In fact, she told police that Taylor had paid her 300 bucks to have sex with her.

The DA in New York and Rockland County said the teen told authorities Taylor threatened her verbally and assaulted her physically, said, in fact, it was her pimp who took her to the hotel. She then left, came back, brought the police back. Taylor was still there, that's when he was arrested.

Taylor, meantime, denies the charges. I want to get his side of the story in there. He did post bond, $75,000. Not yet asked to enter a plea.

But here's what he is, on behalf of his attorney, is saying, saying that they're fighting the charges, saying no violence, no force, no threat, no weapons were used in the case. So we'll have to wait and see. He gets arraigned July 13th, I believe it is.

And he was trying to make his comeback. He has a bit of a storied past.

SANCHEZ: But there's no such thing as consensual sex with a minor when you're a man his age, is there?

BALDWIN: Not at all. When it comes to potentially sex crimes, fans are not supporting.

SANCHEZ: Sex crimes with a 16-year-old girl. I guess, that's the --

BALDWIN: Bad news.

SANCHEZ: The loaded dice here.

BALDWIN: The next hour, Wimbledon, longest match ever. I'll be back.

SANCHEZ: Look forward to it. Thanks.

Day 66 of the oil disaster. A man running for Congress is saying the president colluded with BP to cause this. That's right. Remember the whackos who were saying that George Bush deliberately destroyed the twin towers? Well, now there are people saying that Barack Obama deliberately tried to destroy the Gulf of Mexico. Yes. We'll tell you.

Also, by the way, want to be on our show? Just call this number 1-877-4CNN-tour. You're watching your national conversation. This is "RICK'S LIST." I'm Rick Sanchez, and we'll be right back.

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SANCHEZ: We said he would be back, and bin-Laden-hunter Gary Faulkner is topping our follow-up list. Faulkner is out of Pakistan and back in the United States.

CNN caught up with him last night and got an exclusive. This is the guy who headed off to Pakistan to hunt the world's most wanted terrorist. Pakistan says he had a pistol and a sword and night vision goggles and some Christian literature he was going to use to get Osama bin Laden.

A lot of people have called him crazy, not all that serious. Now, listen to what he says.

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FAULKNER: I'm a person that said, you know what, I'm going to get off my (expletive) and do something, and I'll be darn federal I'm going to sit back and let anybody out there say oh, this or that when they weren't there.

I'm on dialysis. I put my life on the line. My life was on the line, not because of them. Not because of Pakis or Al Qaeda or anyone else, because I chose it because of my belief. Now, when you're able to stand up and put your life on the line, then we'll sit down and talk. Until then, you shut your mouth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "Shut your mouth." If you recall this story, Faulkner was captured last week in Pakistan. He told Pakistani officials that he was on a mission to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, his own mission.

He also says he's been to the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan several times now pursuing the elusive terrorist. I want you to listen and watch closely now as a CNN reporter tries to ask Faulkner if he ever got close to bin Laden.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you ever got close?

FAULKNER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How close?

FAULKNER: Well, let me put it to you this way. If I had a rifle, I could shoot him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, have you seen him?

FAULKNER: I haven't seen him personally, but he's very close, we'll just put it to you that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "We'll just put it to you that way." Faulkner told CNN he wasn't jailed or detained. He says it was more like protective custody. He says it was for his own protection. As for his mission, Faulkner says he has no regrets. He tells CNN he was directed by god.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does one go about trying to find Osama bin Laden?

FAULKNER: You don't. You let the spirit guide you. And unless you have the spirit of god, not as in Mother Mary or Muhammad or something like that -- god almighty has to put his hand upon you. I've been protected. I am here right now. I was protected this time, every time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Asked if he would try to go after Osama bin Laden again, Faulkner has one word -- "absolutely."

All right, what are some of the country's CEOs saying about the economic outlook of our country? Well, this is kind of good news for Americans. Poppy's got that for us coming up in her Money List. There she is. What did you think of Mr. Faulkner, Poppy? Wasn't he an interesting guy?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: First of all, I knew you were going to ask me that. And I'm not going to answer that question. Look, you know what, at least he got up and did something. I'll say that. I'll leave it there.

SANCHEZ: Good for him. And you're a smart lady, I'll tell you that. We'll be right back.

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