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Rick's List

Tea Party vs. NAACP; Capping the Oil Leak; Debt Commission Report Stressing Long Term Problems; Bristol Palin And Levi Johnston Getting Back Together; Federal Reserve Pessimistic About U.S. Jobs Growth In The Near Future

Aired July 14, 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: The oil leak still not plugged, but there's news.

Scroll it, Dan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My family died that day!

SANCHEZ: Tempers flare over plans to build a mosque at ground zero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A monument to terrorism.

SANCHEZ: Why the vehement opposition?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's called Islamophobia.

SANCHEZ: We will give you the facts, and you decide.

A Tea Party group's billboard compares the U.S. president to Stalin and Hitler. The NAACP fires back with a historic vote.

Who is saying that some students have bigger brains than others?

Then, three, two, one, bye-bye.

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.

At the very top of the LIST, out in the Gulf right now, we are well into the pre-testing stage of this new containment cap that we have been telling you about. But we have not moved on to the big test, the actual integrity test you have been hearing so much about. That one's been delayed.

All right, let's start by looking at some of the pictures before we bring in Chad Myers to deliver as he does every day about this time. All right, you see something somewhere, happened along the way and the government team had some concerns. So, yesterday around this time while we were all waiting for BP to begin the testing of the new cap, the integrity test was somehow delayed.

The government and BP decided that they needed an additional 24 hours before the integrity testing would actually begin. This is because they are concerned about knowing exactly where the pressure is being relieved during the testing.

Think about that. If you're going to test the integrity of something, you want to know, well, if there's less pressure here, that could mean there's more pressure over there. Well, where is that over there, right? One of the things that they need to avoid, a possible scenario where the backside of the well could actually be blown out, and then that could potentially cause an even bigger disaster.

Joining me now is Chad Myers to take us through this.

That's the preliminary explanation. I would like for you, sir, to take us deeper into this. Pardon the pun.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, true.

SANCHEZ: Deeper well.

MYERS: Yes. The longer we wait, they wait, the closer the relief valve is -- the relief well is to getting to the bottom.

SANCHEZ: Right.

MYERS: Right? So, if something goes very, very wrong and we lose the entire integrity of the well, at least if we waited a couple of more days, the relief well would be right there to be able to fix the problem, at least at its bottom source.

SANCHEZ: Got it.

MYERS: If the bottom of the well where the casing is, where the casement is down there, explodes because it can't handle 8,000 PSI, then we have a real problem.

SANCHEZ: In other words, it's no good to put a blowout preventer here and then have a blowout somewhere else?

MYERS: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: Go show it to us.

MYERS: Right out the bottom. If you can imagine a blowout preventer or the casing exploding 15,000 feet under the seabed, then all of a sudden that oil is going to leak forever. There may be nothing you could ever do to stop that if they get it wrong. (CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Let's look at the picture that we're looking at now. This is one of the 12 potential shots that we're going to be able to take you through on this day as we watch this. This is where the actual cap has been put on. Is that right?

MYERS: Correct.

SANCHEZ: Yes. That's the...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: And it's still coming out of the top of the cap. We expected that. They have not turned off the cap.

SANCHEZ: Yesterday, you and I said -- well, actually it wasn't even you and I. It was a professor at the University of Houston who's an expert on petroleum and geology.

And he said, he was confident this thing could be done over the next 24 hours. Well, here we are 24 hours later and it hasn't been done. Essentially, it's because they're just being very careful, right?

MYERS: Sure.

This whole well system took an unimaginable blow when this thing exploded. They really don't have any idea how strong the blowout preventer is or how strong or how non-good -- the integrity may be very bad of that casing down below the well.

You have to think about, this is not just a well that they took a big bit and drilled down through the rock and that's all there is. There's a casing on the outside. Every time they went a few feet, they put more on the outside. Between the rock and where the oil was going to come out, there is a casing in a well, like any well, like any well that you might drill to make water at your farm.

There's probably a casing on the outside of that between the dirt and where the water would be coming out. And the farther you get lower and lower and lower in the well, the thinner that casing is, the more fragile that casing is.

The casing up on top is pretty strong. It's just -- they just put it up there. They ram it in the ground. The farther you get into the ground, the thinner it gets, the more fragile it gets. And maybe it can't hold 8,000 PSI.

SANCHEZ: So, we will just have to wait and then maybe we will be able to put the stop on the top hopefully within the next 24 hours and then eventually a stop somewhere in the bottom as well with the relief well.

MYERS: And the admiral did say that. He said, you know what? If we decide that we're not going to put 8,000 PSI in this well, all we're going to do is we're going to hook that pipe back up to the top and we're going to suck it out the top again, just like we were.

It's the safest thing to do, but it's not the most permanent thing to do.

SANCHEZ: OK. Let's look at the picture one more time before I let you go. Go to that shot. I think it's number eight. Yes. You got it, that one right there. You're going to watch that for us over the next couple of hours. And you think you will have a pretty good idea if you start to see some variations in flow?

MYERS: Yes. And BP and Admiral Allen will have a presser coming up here. We expected it already, and it hasn't happened.

SANCHEZ: I think they are pushing it back. I think they're now looking at closer to between 4:30 and 5:00.

MYERS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: So, there you go. And you follow it for us in the meantime.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Chad.

Take a look at this billboard. Here's a story that is getting a lot of attention today all over the country. And the timing couldn't be more interesting as well, comparing the president of the United States to the likes of Hitler and Lenin. Now, think about that. It's not Hitler. It's not Lenin. It's Hitler and Lenin.

And guess who paid for it? Now the NAACP is taking a historic vote on this, and, oh, there's a new poll out. I will share all of that with you in just a little bit. That's ahead.

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All you people here are yelling at me don't even know. And maybe, if a mosque were built, then you guys would know what Islam was about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The fury -- and I mean the fury -- over plans for a mosque near ground zero, that is next. Wait until you hear the arguments on both sides.

The LIST is coming right back at you right after this break. This is your national conversation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Rick. This is Carol (ph) from Philadelphia.

I just have a comment to make about the mosque they want to build near ground zero. Absolutely not. That is a slap in the people of the United States' faces. No, no, no, no. Put it somewhere else.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is your national conversation. This is RICK'S LIST.

This is the story that so many of you are so engaged in. So many of you are sending me tweets about this. What we have come to call ground zero, that place where every single American was so focused on for days and days in 2001, is making our LIST today. Why? Because it's the location of a raw and very bitter debate.

Some Americans are outraged at the prospect of a mosque being built near that site. They say that the mosque could be a monument to terrorism and it would dishonor the memory of the victims killed in the 9/11 attacks. And, in fact, a conservative political action committee that calls itself the National Republican Trust has launched this controversial ad against the project. Here's just a little bit of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, NATIONAL REPUBLICAN TRUST AD)

NARRATOR: A mosque at ground zero must not stand. The political class says nothing. The politicians are doing nothing to stop it. But we Americans will be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, some who have seen that ad are appalled. They're arguing, saying that all Muslims are terrorists is like arguing that all Christians are like Timothy McVeigh. Should we not have churches near the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, they ask?

OK. Those are some of the arguments, both sides of the equation, right? Last night, tempers flared and tears literally flowed as people were screaming at each other. This is a town hall meeting that was held by the Landmark Preservation Commission. Its job is to decide if an old building should be torn down to make way for this mosque.

I want you to listen now to what some of the people were saying on both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have we forgotten what happened at 9/11?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All you people here yelling at me don't even know. And maybe if a mosque were built, then you guys would know what Islam was about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a travesty to permit this building to be removed. It would be like removing the sunken ship from Pearl Harbor to erect a memorial to the Japanese kamikazes killed in the attack.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of the rhetoric that you're hearing about not here, not at ground zero, anywhere else, it's the same thing that's happening in Staten Island, it's the same thing that's happening in Brooklyn, and everybody is saying no. It's called Islamophobia, pure and simple. And do not allow...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, please let him speak.

Conclude.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, you see, if this is the voice of reason, then we have got a lot to contend with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To deprive this building of landmark status is to allow for a citadel of Islamic supremacy to be erected in its place.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing could be more negative, and nothing could be more insensitive, and nothing could be more damaging to the American spirit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Who's right in this argument? Is it possible they both have important points to make, or is one of them dead wrong?

Well, I should tell you this, as I move on. The Landmark Preservation Commission is expected to announce its ruling sometime next month. Between now and then, Americans will be having a lot to say about this. In fact, just while I was doing that segment, we were getting tweets since our show began, with lots of people weighing in on this.

And, you know, maybe this is a good time to share some of those. Let's do that. Let's get at least three or four right at the top here. Here's the first.

"No mosque near ground zero. They had their worship time. It was on 9/11, period, dot, end."

Put up the next one. "Not build it. That's a slap in the face to all who had loved ones who died on 9/11."

The third one. Jorge in Phoenix says, "I know that we live in a country filled with liberties and he who has the most money can do anything, but this is so wrong."

And, finally, let's get one more in. We got time? Yes, let's do it. Here. "Muslims do not allow other religions to freely worship in their countries. Why is it OK to let them have their way?"

There you go. Continue -- continue tweeting me on this. I would like to see what many of you have to say. If there's a consensus, we will say so. We will be transparent about it.

I know it's nonscientific, it's Twitter. Nonetheless, we share these conversations every day, and I'm glad we do.

Take a look at this. Bristol Palin agrees to marry centerfold star Levi Johnston. Centerfold star. Mom Sarah Palin reportedly didn't even know about this. How is that playing in Alaska? That's ahead.

Also, all that stimulus money may not be doing anything for you and me, but China's making out pretty darn well. First-time homebuyers have got to fill those houses with something, right? We will have that for you in just a little bit.

And then you hear what Joe Biden said about your job prospects today? We're all over this one. Stay with us. We're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I think there's something that all of us as Americans talk about and think about every single day. And that's the economy. It's almost like we want a perspective on what's happening out there. We know what's going on in our little corner of the world. We know whether we have got a good job, a bad job or something in between.

But what's the big picture, because the big picture has a tendency to tell us what's coming down the line, right? We think about this. Well, here's a list that we're going to be concentrating on and trying to bring you on a regular basis here on RICK'S LIST as we move forward at 3:00, 4:00 and 8:00.

This is a point/counterpoint of what's happening today in our country. I want to start off with this, the White House and a report that it's showing off today, this from the president's economic advisers. And it says that the stimulus has created or saved about three million jobs so far. That's from the White House, three million jobs, they say.

And it's on track to hit 3.5 million by the end of the year. You're smiling, right? Well, that compares to more than eight million jobs lost, some forever, during the recession. Now you're not smiling.

President -- Vice President Biden, I should say, he had a new twist to the stimulus message today. I want you to hear how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love my Republican friends and our -- and those who think we're going the wrong way by saying this is big-government spending, that the government is directing the economy, the government is -- is -- look, folks, this all came from seed money and the vision of a president that sparked the imagination of the private sector, the true engineers of our economic future. Barack and I had no illusions. The only way back is through the free enterprise system and the private sector.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He's talking about stuff like tax credits and loan guarantees that attract an estimated $3 for every stimulus dollar, most of it from private businesses. It sounds like a solid partnership, until you look at this letter that we found in our grasp today, a letter to the president from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

It accuses Mr. Obama and Congress of taking their eyes off the ball, neglecting job creation, and causing uncertainty, as they say, over future regulations that keep businesses from spending money in the United States. Businesses are hoarding almost $2 trillion in cash, they find. Now, think about that, hoarding $2 trillion in cash, afraid to spend it, because they're afraid of the economy.

And a survey measuring how small businesses feel about the future is down more than three points. Now, that means -- this is important -- that means small businesses, the so-called engines of our economy that create about 60 percent of the jobs, are becoming less optimistic that the recovery can last.

The overall just 1 percent of small businesses plan to create new jobs over the next three months. And get this. While Vice President Biden is touting all the American jobs created by the stimulus, guess who else is profiting? China, in a big way. A cargo tracking firm says that homebuyers who used the stimulus tax credit to buy homes bought the stuff they put in their homes from China, Chinese furniture imports up 18 percent in May.

It just seems like everything we do helps them often more than it helps us. Imported blankets, sheets, towels up almost a third over last year.

Dan Lothian's at the White House now. He's been following some of these trends and talking to some of the politicos there about what happens in our economy.

Dan, good to see you, as usual.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: The administration is in the midst of a big push, I understand, touting the success of its policies in creating jobs. But polls are showing Americans aren't truly buying it, right? As a matter of fact, they're not buying it at all.

LOTHIAN: That's right. The polling that has been coming out this week shows that Americans really don't have a whole lot of confidence in the president's handling of the economy. And this will continue because, while Wall Street has been showing great improvement, out on Main Street, there are a lot of people who are still suffering. They're still out of work or they're losing their jobs. There are others who are having a hard time making their mortgage payments. And so it's difficult for them to really say, yes, we really support what the president is doing, when they don't feel very good about their own financial situation.

SANCHEZ: What about the lack of optimism? I mention this. I was stunned when I read this report from the Chamber of Commerce, the fact that a lot of these businesses are doing OK, but they're hoarding the money and not spending it in future investments because they're afraid that they're going to end up with egg on their face if they do, that things aren't going to be as good as some might expect.

LOTHIAN: You're right.

And you pointed out, I think the key word is uncertainty. You hear that from business leaders, both small business leaders and those big bankers as well. They don't know which way the economy is going.

Yes, as the president has pointed out, it's been brought back from the brink of another Great Depression. But there's also the concern that there perhaps could be a double-dip recession.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

LOTHIAN: And so that's the big concern. And that leads to a lot of uncertainty.

So, you can see why some of these business leaders are saying, listen, we're going to wait and figure out how this is all going to shake out before we start throwing a lot of money into this economy when it could tank again.

SANCHEZ: Hey, Dan, you look good. What are you doing, working out or something?

(CROSSTALK)

LOTHIAN: I am working out, yes, yes, trying to stay fit, you know?

(LAUGHTER)

LOTHIAN: Listen, I should point one other thing out. And I don't have a camera here, like you normally do in the studio to read from any transcripts or anything.

SANCHEZ: Go ahead, though.

LOTHIAN: But you brought up the Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce...

SANCHEZ: Yes. Got it right here.

LOTHIAN: ... and the criticism of the White House.

Well, the White House now, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and also Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, also have now sent a letter to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And essentially they detail everything that this administration has been doing to try to inject new capital into the economy to turn things around.

But in addition to that, listen to this. Here's what they say -- quote -- "The stakes are far too high for us to be working against one another. That is why we were surprised and disappointed at the rhetoric we have heard from some in the business community, rhetoric that fails to acknowledge the important steps this administration has taken every single day to meet our shared objectives."

And then they close this letter out by saying -- quote -- "We know that the Chamber of Commerce may have a different approach to some of these issues. But we also have different responsibilities. Your responsibility is to your constituent organizations. And ours is to look after the health and safety of the American people and the national interests. Sometimes, that leads to disagreements, but it should never prevent an open, respectful and healthy dialogue."

Clearly, the White House trying to smooth things over here, because they need the business community on their side, especially heading into the midterm elections.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: But let me say something. And, look, you can correct me if I'm wrong. Would it not be fair to say that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is much further to the right than this administration, so that they're coming at this with a certain ideological bent?

LOTHIAN: Well, some would certainly argue that. But this argument...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Just to be fair. I'm not saying there's anything -- I'm not judging it. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. I'm just saying they're not coming at it from the same place.

(CROSSTALK)

LOTHIAN: Right. Some would say that. But the White House is saying, listen, the bottom line here is that this is a president who is friendly to business. And while there's been a lot of talk about why they're engaging with former President Bill Clinton while he's involved not only in helping in these -- to campaign for the upcoming midterm elections, but also helping to give guidance on job creation as well.

And the thought that is out there is that perhaps they need a friendlier face to sort of negotiate with some of these business leaders. The White House saying, though, that the president has the confidence of the business community, no matter what you hear out there.

SANCHEZ: All right, stay with those abdominals and keep bringing us all the newest information you get out of there, Dan.

(LAUGHTER)

LOTHIAN: Lots of sit-ups and bench presses.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Good to see you. We will talk to you soon.

LOTHIAN: OK.

SANCHEZ: It's been nearly two decades since the greedy, scheming, oil man J.R. Ewing hung up his hat on the TV series "Dallas." I'm so old, I remember him from "I Dream of Jeannie." But, hey, I digress.

He's now back in the news with a message and a mantra that would have the show's Cattleman Club in an uproar. That's right. A couple guys here shaking their heads. They're old, too.

First, though, Vladimir, Adolf, and Barack. Is the Tea Party suggesting that President Obama be lumped in with two of history's most infamous tyrants? Now, if you know a little bit about history and geopolitics, what is it about that picture that is so bizarre?

We will talk about that next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I welcome you back to RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez. And this is your national conversation.

In case you hadn't noticed, we in the media have a love affair with compelling images. Love to talk about it, analyze it, boil it down to its essence. People ask all the time, why all that coverage of the Tea Party movement?

Well, to some extent, the answer is images. What do the images say? What's the message that's being conveyed? What does it tell us about people that are driving the movement? Look, as a whole, the Tea Party movement is an impressive phenomenon. It's rooted in many of the ideals that spurred our ancestors, on principles like government control and taxes.

But then there's a Tea Party group in Iowa that maybe needs a little bit of a history lesson. Shall we help them? The group erected a billboard that shows Barack Obama between two of the world's most notorious dictators. OK, but look what they are -- Adolf Hitler way to the right, Vladimir Lenin way to the left.

Look, it's a compelling image, all right. And here's what it says to me -- some of these people behind this particular ad, if they truly believe what they're saying with the billboard, they're not real bright. Now comes word that the group, as we were preparing this segment for you, the ones that paid for the sign, they've taken it down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we're silent in these times when people call for violence and call for hate, what we know happens is violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The NAACP and the Tea Party movement's war of words has begun. We've got more reaction on this. That's coming up in just a little bit.

Also making our list of things that will make you stop and say, "hmmm." We often use bridges to cross a river, right? But it's not often that you see a bridge floating down the river. What segment do you think that's going to be on? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. Explosions, as you know, always make for great video, especially if no one gets hurt. Let's do "Fotos."

Boom! Crash! Splash! Two-hundred pounds of explosives set 1,200 feet of steel, an old Pennsylvania turnpike bridge, plummeting into the Allegheny River Tuesday. It was part of a bridge replacement project.

Meanwhile, in New York State, you want bridges, we've got bridges. Bridges go over the water, right, over the water. It's not every day you see one in the water. This one is 65 feet high, 350 feet long and weighs 2,400 tons. And it took 400 wheels to roll it into the Hudson River.

It will replace the centuries old Willis Bridge joining Manhattan and, yes, Michael Hurd, the Bronx. He's producing this show and he tells you every five minutes he's from the Bronx.

Our iReporter Adrian Lazarus (ph) caught this footage of New York's first-ever skateboarding race. Dozens of competitors turned out for the event and dozens more watched the lively competition. We thought you'd like it. It's part of "Fotos," something you can catch every day at my blog at CNN.com/RickSanchez.

How do you make "The list you don't want to be on"? People ask me this every day I walk down the street, and people say, Rick, what about that list you don't want to be on? Well, you say something really stupid. That will work. We'll be back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This debt is like a cancer. It is truly going to destroy the country from within.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All the problems facing the president, things like oil disaster, wars, rampant unemployment -- a new financial fiasco could move to the top of the list. What is he doing to fight this, quote, "cancer"? That's next right here. Spending coming your way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Earlier this hour we talked about one of the biggest issues, if not the biggest issue, for most Americans -- jobs. But there's another pocketbook issue a lot of you are concerned with.

I want you to look at this. This is a $13 trillion financial hole this country is in, a hole that keeps growing year after year after year. Remember the cancer quote that I shared with you this week? It's from Erskine Bowles, a Democrat who co-chairs the debt commission appointed by the president of the United States.

Here it is from Bowles talking to the National Governors Association meeting. This is Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOWLES: This debt is like a cancer. It is truly going to destroy the country from within.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Comparing the debt to a cancer that will destroy the country from within if we don't get it under control. Sobering stuff, and Bowles says there is no way that we can grow our way out of it. So what can Congress do? Cut spending? Increase taxes? Reduce taxes? Leave it alone? Does Congress have the political will to do whatever it needs to do in this case?

I'm going to be taking a really good, hard look at that tomorrow with two men responsible for tackling the problem. Why? These two fellows are members of the president's debt commission. These are Democrats, Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.

Both of them are on our show specifically addressing this. Write it down, get your DVR ready, tell your friends and neighbors.

Levi Johnston is back in the news. He's been called a liar, and now Sarah Palin's future son-in-law? How did that happen? That's next on "The List." Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: If there's a list for "say what," this story tops that list. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol announced on a magazine cover -- on a magazine cover -- that she's engaged to the baby pa of Sarah Palin's only grandchild.

Here's the "say what" part. "Us Weekly" put the couple's announcement on its cover. But the couple didn't tell their mother, or mother-in-law, in his case, Sarah Palin, that they're even engaged.

Palin apparently now knows. And why might this couple not have told Ms. Palin? Well, Levi Johnston did go that media tour dissing ma and pa Palin after he and Bristol broke up. And there was the nearly naked Levi on the cover of "Playgirl" magazine. Guy's got to earn a living, right?

Sarah Palin's been referring to Levi as "Ricky Hollywood" for a while now, so you can understand why Bristol might worry her mom could get a little riled that her daughter is now marrying this guy all over again who she badmouthed.

Here's a quote from Bristol Palin in this article in "Us Weekly," quote, "It is intimidating and scary just to think about what her reaction is going to be. Hopefully, she will jump on board."

I want you to listen to this question that Oprah Winfrey put to Sarah Palin about Levi. This was last November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, DAYTIME TV HOST: One final question about Levi. Will he be invited to Thanksgiving dinner?

SARAH PALIN, (R) FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: You know, that's a great question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Less than a year later, the real question may be, will Sarah Palin be invited to the wedding? So let's ask Ericka Souter of "Us Weekly" who wrote the story. Hello, Erica, how are you?

ERICKA SOUTER, STAFF WRITER, "US WEEKLY": Hi, good to be here.

SANCHEZ: Sarah Palin really did not know anything about this until you wrote about it? She didn't know about the interview or the spread?

SOUTER: No, she did not know that her daughter was engaged. In fact, she wasn't really sure how serious the relationship between Bristol and Levi had even gotten. They decided they wanted to come out to the world. They came to us and they wanted to share this secret with the world and their parents at the same time.

SANCHEZ: Did you ask them about why they used that route?

SOUTER: Well, they were afraid. They were nervous, as you can see from Bristol's comments. She was very scared about what her parents' reaction would be. Levi was scared whether they had forgiven him or would accept him back into the family. His main goal is being there for Bristol and the baby and getting back into the good graces of the Palin family.

SANCHEZ: Is there any question that they're going through with this and this isn't some kind of, hey, let's get our pictures out there in the newspaper, that this is not as somewhat call it a publicity stunt of some sort?

SOUTER: No, this is not a publicity stunt. They really want to be together. They love each other. They were high school sweethearts. They've known each other since they were children. All those things got in the way of their relationship, the media frenzy, the publicity, and the stress of being new parents. It all broke them apart.

Now that they're a little more mature and more calmed down, they want to get back together. So of course we wanted to share that information with the world.

SANCHEZ: Apparently Levi Johnston went back to the Palins and did some kind of mea culpa over his behavior in the last year and a half or so. Do you have any insight into how that meeting went or what he said?

SOUTER: Yes, he actually met with both Sarah and Todd at their house. And he basically started off with a heartfelt apology. Sarah looked at him and said, look, before you get back with my daughter, I want to make sure you can provide for my grandson and my daughter, and I want you to get your career underway, get an education and we'll see whether or not we'll approve of you being with her.

SANCHEZ: How do you get an interview like this with these two? Some people in the media pay for interviews like this. Did "Us Weekly" pay them for this interview?

SOUTER: Well, I'll start with your first question. They came to us. Bristol wanted to share the story with the world, and she thought that "Us" was a great medium to do that in. As for whether we pay for stories, we don't comment on how we go about getting stories. But what I will say that we did pay for the photo shoot expenses.

SANCHEZ: You paid them for the photo shoot expenses?

SOUTER: No. We paid for the photo shoot expenses.

SANCHEZ: Expenses, right, yes.

SOUTER: We set up the photo shoot. Those beautiful shots of them together with Tripp, those are the first time anyone's seen them together as a family. We did provide the photo shoot.

SANCHEZ: But to be clear, you won't reveal whether or not you paid them directly for the interview?

SOUTER: Well, what we always say no matter what story it is, we do not comment on the process by which we complete our stories, get our stories, get our sources. But we did provide the photo shoot to take these wonderful pictures.

And they're the first time really seeing Bristol Palin and Levi together and happy since they were on that stage during the election period. This is really them growing up, coming forward, trying to be grownups and be there for their child. They were children when they got pregnant and they started this family. They didn't know what they were getting into. They didn't expect this media frenzy. And now everything is calming down. Bristol works at a dermatologist's office. Levi is trying to get his footing and get a job again. And they really want to be normal Alaskan residents.

SANCHEZ: But the real celebrity here and some could argue the person who casts them in quasi-celebrity light was Sarah Palin. In fairness to you and in fairness to the media, it was Sarah Palin who introduced them and had them out at campaign event after campaign event, including the National Republican Convention.

SOUTER: Right.

SANCHEZ: So let's be fair about that. No one -- she did not -- they did not become famous with her kicking and screaming.

But she has come out with a statement now, saying that she's hoping whatever comes of this, it will, quote, "keep the family together." What do you make -- what does the magazine make of that message from Sarah Palin regarding your interview with them?

SOUTER: There's no question that she's a little surprised that Bristol is taking Levi back. But she also wants her daughter to be happy and she wants them to be a family. She believes in family values, and there's nothing of more value than a mother and father together taking care of their children.

SANCHEZ: Good for her. All right, Ericka Souter, good interview. We do a lot of social media on this show, and we like to look at this stuff in our trending topics, things people are talking about in the media, and sometimes they're not the most, you know, the big newsy stories. But this is one that certainly many Americans are talking about on this day, so kudos to you.

SOUTER: Oh, yes.

SANCHEZ: Congratulations.

SOUTER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We'll talk to you again.

Making the crime list today, a Facebook hero to thousands of fans, the teen called the "barefoot bandit" has arrived back in the United States. He is accused of stealing planes, breaking into houses, practically a one-man crime wave that everybody has compared to Leonardo DiCaprio's movie called, ready, "Catch me if you Can." Thank you very much, Angie Massey. You are so good like that.

And we'll reveal today's most intriguing person as well, next right here on the list.

By the way, as we go to break, you want to join me here in studio, as they say? All you got to do is call this number. 877- 4CNN-tour, and I'll get you covered. We'll be right back.

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SANCHEZ: All right, take a look at this live picture. We've been following this for you for some time. For some of you just getting home from work, there is movement on this story. BP is telling us that they'd have the oil well capped by now, but obviously they've encountered a situation.

I don't think it would be fair to call it a problem because it sounds like they're just being more cautious than they originally thought they'd need to. We'll explain why. Chad will be coming back and we'll be talking about that in a little bit.

Also, the White House says its stimulus program has saved or created millions of jobs. So then why do the numbers show more Americans are worried about the economy and aren't buying that? Find out why. We've got that on our list. Stay right there. Your national conversation is coming right back. This is "RICK'S LIST," and I'm Rick Sanchez.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. The White House is out front again calling attention to the number of jobs it says have been created or saved by that huge stimulus that Congress passed last year. While president Obama's economic advisers say it's about three million or so, and is on track to go even higher by the end of this year.

But the country has still lost eight million jobs since the start of the recession, which the Obama administration blames on the Bush administration, and on and on we go.

Alison Kosik is joining us from New York and the stock exchange and is here to tell us about the stories growing and popping there. What is the take on Wall Street over the overall job outlook for the rest of the year?

ALISON KOSIK, CNNMONEY.COM: Very pessimistic, Rick. We think about what the feds said today. We got the minutes from the Fed's latest meeting, and it lowered its outlook for the jobs market. It sees this persistent high unemployment sticking around above the eight percent level next year, and even in 2012 unemployment sticking around between 7.1 percent and 7.5 percent.

Obviously we're going to be in the thick of it for many years to come, Rick.

SANCHEZ: What's interesting, the Federal Reserve doesn't sound real optimistic as well. They even talk about the possibility of another stimulus. Are they serious? Because I wonder if the American public, the body politic, would have the stomach for that.

KOSIK: That's a really good question. The traders I talked to after we heard that news didn't like it. They say listen, what is the stimulus doing now? They don't see how much the $862 billion stimulus package is helping the economy right now.

The Fed was really just floating this idea that if things get considerably worse the central bank would need to maybe consider pushing a stimulus at some point when it would become appropriate. It's not something written in stone, but it is something they're floating around right now, and that's a little concerning at least for the traders I talked with.

I'm hearing the closing bell. We're ending mixed today, actually the Dow and NASDAQ up slightly. The S&P 500 down only a little bit. We've recovered from the lows of the session, which is good news, Rick.