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Rick's List
State of Journalism in America?; Severe Weather Threat for Gulf
Aired July 22, 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: Breaking news on BP, we're just now getting it. And we're going to share that with you in just a moment.
But, first, here is what else is on the LIST.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Here is what is making the LIST today.
ANDREW BREITBART, PUBLISHER, BREITBART.COM: This was not about Shirley Sherrod.
SANCHEZ: Who is Andrew Breitbart? And why did the White House believe him?
I suggested on air that Bill O'Reilly may need to apologize.
(on camera): Some would wonder whether Bill O'Reilly needs to apologize to her for that. And we will just have to wait and see.
(voice-over): Did he? And what's the state of journalism in America?
Look at what is heading for the Gulf. I am going to tell you why a left turn could be real bad news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're driven and motivated by hate.
SANCHEZ: This is who he's talking about. This controversial Border Patrol activist has links to others in neo-Nazi groups. What does he believe? I will ask him in a must-see interview.
And: Ha.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there's a buffalo.
SANCHEZ: One with nature. Isn't that amazing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
SANCHEZ: Run for the hills in the "Fotos" list.
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: Hi, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. And this is your national conversation.
Well, it's happened. The president of the United States has apparently called Shirley Sherrod. And we understand that we have got some tape of that coming in, in just a little bit. We're going to be sharing that with you.
As a matter of fact, Brooke Baldwin is going to be coming into the studio any moment now to share that story with us. And we she does, we're going to turn that around.
But before we do anything else, there's a very important story that I need to share with you. Tropical depression number three is now headed for the Florida Keys. Now, let's take a look at this thing. See it right there? Yes, it could have an impact on the cleanup and recovery efforts that are going on in the Gulf of Mexico.
Thad Allen, Admiral Thad Allen, said today that this could disrupt operations for up to 14 days. BP is saying that's because of the threat and they are going to have to put on hold maybe some of the casing process of that relief well that they have been drilling for quite some time. A plug has been placed in the area of the well where the casing is located.
Meanwhile, in Washington, workers on the Deepwater Horizon say they are concerned about safety practices, but feared reporting their mistakes. Hold that thought for just a moment, because there may be some breaking news coming in on that in just a moment.
Before we get to that, I just want to bring -- I want to bring Chad Myers into the conversation.
Look, this is pretty simple. We have got a storm that is heading potentially for the Gulf.
MYERS: Correct.
SANCHEZ: If it goes in one direction, it could be a real problem, if it goes in the other direction, not so much of a problem. Illustrate this for us and show us what we don't want it to do.
MYERS: You know what? It's already a problem. It's 500 and 700 miles away and they stopped drilling the relief well.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: That's bad. We wanted to get it all the way done before this happened. OK. We're this close. We're 100 feet away.
SANCHEZ: But a left-hand turn is worse than a right-hand turn. Show us why. MYERS: Unless it keeps going left.
SANCHEZ: OK.
MYERS: It could keep going left and hit Mexico.
SANCHEZ: Take us through it.
MYERS: Exactly. This is what could possibly happen.
All day yesterday, models were doing this, all the way up across Florida, across Tampa, making some type of landfall across mainland Florida from Miami back up to Melbourne. That does not appear to be what is the forecast is today, as the computer models have turned and changed their attitude, maybe over Key West, somewhere in the Keys, Monroe County, whatever, maybe even missing the Keys altogether and to the straits.
But that means it's up into the Gulf of Mexico. And, Rick, we talked about this yesterday. Why does that matter? Because if it gets into the straits or stays in the straits and stays in the Gulf of Mexico the entire time, look at the distance it has over water.
Here's the best case. This isn't going to happen, I don't think. You have got five hours over water. It can't get stronger really here before it goes over Panama City. Plus, the wind is in this direction if the hurricane is here. Guess which way the wind direction is? This way.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: And because of course they go counterclockwise, it's basically pushing the -- we don't want -- we want this stuff pushed that way, right? We don't want it pushed that way.
MYERS: Well, the wind is going to be going this way no matter what.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: So, it doesn't go that way.
SANCHEZ: I'm going to have to stop you for just a minute.
But I want you to stay with me, because I need you on this. We have just gotten a report. I don't know. Can we get this shot? We got a shot coming in. This is a plane that's bound for Hartsfield Airport. And we understand that -- is it in the monitor? Are we going to try to put this thing in the monitor?
Oh, here it is. All right, let's walk over here. We have been monitoring this plane coming in for quite some time. Anginette (ph), tell me what we're looking at here, because I'm a little confused.
MYERS: That's Hartsfield-Jackson. SANCHEZ: Beautiful. This is the tower cam at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, one of the busiest airports in the entire world. And here's the good news.
We have been monitoring this to make sure that we were able to share the information with you after it happened and we didn't want to be too alarmist with this. That's a Delta plane that we're looking at right there. And as we understand it, that plane had landing gear issues. But it was able to land safely on the ground. Everything is OK. So, for those of you who are following that story, we're here to report that everything is A-OK at this point.
Let's go back to Chad Myers.
MYERS: It took off from Portland, Oregon, about three hours ago. They realized they lost a tire. OK. There are so many tires on an airplane. This was not breaking news, really.
So, we followed it. We knew that it was going to come down. There's a potential that you could overload one or the other landing gear because of the one wheel popped. But one tire popping on an airplane, that's why there are so many tires on an airplane to start with.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: They're usually pretty good about making those landings, anyway. Back to the storm.
MYERS: Yes. Exactly. It came out, went all over to Memphis, came back, and now it's landed in Atlanta. And it's exactly as we expected it, uneventful.
SANCHEZ: Look at you, all ready and prepared to go with either story.
MYERS: Dude, I'm here, man.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I want to thank you for this.
MYERS: This is Rick and Chad's list today.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Back to the original story. If this story goes in this direction, it's worse than if it goes in this direction.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Of course. Of course, because of the wind direction that it's going to have. You look at the spin. Look at the spin of these guys right here. We don't want the wind to spin this way, although did you just hear Mr. Suttles from BP? He said that they only got 56,000 barrels of oil off the surface of the ocean in the Gulf yesterday because there's no oil left. They got it all. I went, what? Did you really just say that? And I went back and I re-listened to it. He said the first day they were skimming, they got 25,000 barrels. Almost -- that's a million gallons basically. Yesterday they got 50 barrels of oil. The rest is all gone. It's dispersed. So, maybe it won't be so bad if the wind blows this way.
SANCHEZ: All right, something else I want to share with you.
I understand Allan Chernoff is standing by now in New York. He's ready to report that we're having some breaking news coming in about the actual rig collapse. When the oil started going into the Gulf of Mexico, there may have been some negligence involved on the part of the company involved in making and operating the rig, because they should have known what might happen.
And this goes to testing and the testimony of some of the people who were there working the rig.
To Allan Chernoff we go.
Allan, clear this up for us. What's going on?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: OK.
Rick, what we have got here is a confidential report that was actually done for Transocean. Remember, they were the operator of the rig. And this report actually was a survey of the employees on that actual rig. The survey was done a month before the explosion that you're looking at right now.
And this survey showed a culture of fear on board the rig, fear of actually reporting to superiors that mistakes had occurred. Check this out. Less than half of those surveyed felt if their actions led to a potentially risky situation, like forgetting to do something, dropping equipment from height, damaging equipment, they could report it without any fear of reprisal.
People were afraid to reveal mistakes, what was going on. Now, this was done by a consulting firm. As I said, the survey was done a month before the explosion. But Transocean didn't actually get the results of this until May 11, after the tragedy. One other really interesting thing, Rick, check this out, the report concluded overall, though, that the Deepwater Horizon actually had strong safety management.
That's what the report concluded overall.
SANCHEZ: But the big hit here, the newsmaker, so to speak, as you're telling us, is that there was an atmosphere of fear among the people who were working the rig itself, that they were afraid to approach their supervisors and tell them -- as we often say in this business, they were afraid to speak truth to power? CHERNOFF: Exactly. They were afraid that word was going to get back to Houston, where the company had its operations based for drilling in the Gulf. And they were afraid that they would get a reprimand for admitting any mistake. And just imagine what that could lead to -- maybe it did -- we don't know for sure -- but what it could lead to on board an oil rig in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.
SANCHEZ: One final thing. I just -- I didn't catch at the very beg who we're attributing this report to. Where is this coming from, just to be clear, and so our audience knows?
CHERNOFF: Right. Well, we have obtained a copy of the executive summary of this report.
The report was done by the Lloyd's Register Group. They're a consulting firm. They consult on safety issues. And actually Transocean did hire them to do similar surveys at 20 other rigs.
The company is saying, hey look, this shows that we care about safety. And a company spokesman also tells me -- quote -- well, the rig actually did go for seven years without an accident. He says -- quote -- "This rig was exhibit A for a well-run rig."
SANCHEZ: OK. We will take it at that. Allan Chernoff, my thanks for that illuminating report.
Chad Myers, stand by, because I'm going to be checking. When's the next advisory from the folks down there in Coral Cables or in South Florida in (INAUDIBLE) wherever they are?
MYERS: Before the end of your show, before the 4:00, end of 4:00 show.
SANCHEZ: So they're the ones who put the advisories out. So, we will get the next one.
MYERS: And there's a plane in it right now, hurricane hunter aircraft in it right now. So if it becomes a tropical storm, if they find tropical-storm-force winds, it could go at any time. They will send me an e-mail and I will be right here for you.
SANCHEZ: OK. By the way, speaking of that, let's go to the Twitter board, if we possibly can, because I understand that we got a tweet coming in on the hurricane hunter. And that's that plane that you're referring to. That's that NOAA plane, right?
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: It says, "Hurricane hunters will continue flying what is now a tropical depression."
MYERS: Correct.
SANCHEZ: As we get information -- that's the 403rd Wing. I have flown with those guys. They do great work. As we get information from them, as we get information from the National Hurricane Center...
MYERS: How do we do that? I say something and it's on the Twitter board.
SANCHEZ: They must have been monitoring your...
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: My goodness gracious. You have a list. Man, you have a good list.
SANCHEZ: Let us know what is going on, OK?
MYERS: You got it.
SANCHEZ: We will be checking with you every 20 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're driven and motivated by hate. He's not depending his home. He's not defending his person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: As the government challenges Arizona's immigration law in a federal court, consider this. This border activist, the one that we just showed you, allegedly has ties to a Nazi group. That's the one that we're going to be talking to. I'm going to ask that question live.
And just for clarity's sake, you heard someone there referring to him, not him.
Also, what happens when the president texts you? Shirley Sherrod now knows exactly what that feels like. Brooke Baldwin is going to be bringing up to date on that story. We have got the tape. We have got the moment. I wonder if we have got the text.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We got it -- not the text.
SANCHEZ: Oh.
BALDWIN: I'm not that good. I'm not that good.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We're going to be right back with your national conversation right here on RICK'S LIST.
BALDWIN: Maybe tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We just talked about the fact that you and I are going to be bringing more on this story, Brooke Baldwin joining us once again. This is her LIST. She follows what is trending.
BALDWIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: And usually what's trending what corresponds with what people are talking about on Twitter, right?
BALDWIN: Well, Shirley Sherrod has been trending, by the way, on Twitter.
SANCHEZ: To the Twitter board, we go.
BALDWIN: We go.
SANCHEZ: And there it is.
"I wonder how many people lost their jobs this week" -- this is Star Jones tweeting -- "other than Shirley Sherrod? That's the number the president of the United States needs to be focused on."
And I think we have got another one now. What we got, Donna Brazile? Donna Brazile is also tweeting to us. She says: "Ms. Sherrod has heard from the president. Now it's time to focus on lessons learned from all both sides. Can this become a teachable moment?" -- that from Donna Brazile, who is probably watching this show as we speak and listening in her car radio, as she always tells me.
All right, to you now.
BALDWIN: OK.
SANCHEZ: I understand that the moment happened that she wanted. She wanted to get -- and this is an amazing woman. She's been on the record explaining exactly what she thinks needs to be done in this case from the very beginning, in fact, for more than 48 hours now.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: She said, I think I deserve to get a call from the president of the United States.
Did she get the call?
BALDWIN: She got the call.
And it's funny, because I sat with her yesterday and I asked her specifically about that. And she said absolutely it would make a difference to have President Barack Obama calling her. And here is what funny. Sitting with her, her phone did not stop ringing. And that was the problem, because, as a result, her mailbox got full. That happens to all of us.
But unfortunately when the president is trying to call, not a good thing. So, finally today, she gets this text message. And CNN, we were all over it. We were sitting with her in the car as she was on the phone with the president. We didn't roll on that conversation, but we did get her right after she put the phone down.
Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER USDA OFFICIAL: It was great. You know, he's the president of the United States of America. And I respect him as that. I appreciate him as that.
And -- but it felt like talking to just someone else sitting in the front of the car here. You know, he was easy to talk to. As you saw, heard there at the end, I have invited him to South Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: We will have to see if he will be making a trip down here. But she did also tell our producer who was sitting there with her the president certainly expressed his regret for this whole misunderstanding, hoping she will continue her work.
As I said, I talked to her yesterday about the president calling. She said she respects him, she's done a whole heck of a lot of work to support him and said this call would make a difference. But the question is, will she take that job?
Remember, we had Vilsack's press conference end of the show yesterday. He is offering her not the same job, a different job. So, the president did convey also in that phone call that Vilsack was very apologetic and sincere in his apology. But another question we're asking is, did the president make that call to her today to help lobby to get her working with the Ag Department again? And we have that answer next hour.
SANCHEZ: Oh, you're going to continue to tease us this way, huh?
BALDWIN: I'm going to tease you.
SANCHEZ: Well, this is interesting.
And we should mention as well that it's really not just about her reaction to the story. This really is a national conversation that's now taking place.
BALDWIN: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Questions about why the Obama administration appeared to have taken the word of a controversial blogger the first place. And who else was involved moving this story forward? And those are things that we're going to be drilling down on, not just today at 3:00 and 4:00, but we're going to be drilling down on this tonight in our prime-time show at 8:00.
BALDWIN: I'm excited. Are you?
SANCHEZ: You're going to be a part of the prime-time show.
BALDWIN: Yes. Thanks for having me on.
SANCHEZ: You wouldn't think I would be doing that without you?
BALDWIN: Thanks, Sanchez. I feel the love. Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I appreciate it.
BALDWIN: See you next hour.
SANCHEZ: The clock is ticking. Arizona's immigration law will soon go into effect. And immigrants, some legal, some not, are racing to leave the state. What are they afraid of? Wait until you see this very interesting report coming in from Phoenix. Talk about a story about getting into a character's soul. We will share it with you.
And then many political bloggers are angry at the president of the United States. This is the left I'm talking about. It's the left that's blaming the president of the United States. They think he was snookered by the right-wing blogs. And they also believe that he kowtows to the right wing. That's what they're saying. Jessica Yellin is at a convention in Las Vegas where they're saying just that. The left criticizing the president, we're on it.
Stay right there. Your national conversation continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is RICK'S LIST.
Liberals -- liberals -- are now attacking the president of the United States. Yes, you heard that right. Liberals -- at a convention in Las Vegas, a group of progressive bloggers are saying that the Shirley Sherrod episode shows that President Obama kowtows to conservatives and that he needs to stop.
That sentiment from the left was driven home last night on MSNBC by host Keith Olbermann with this direct appeal to President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH OLBERMANN, HOST, "COUNTDOWN": Now, some idiot at FOX News barks and your people throw an honorable public servant under the nearest bus just for the sake of decisive action and the correct way to respond in this atmosphere.
Mr. President, please, stop trying to act every minute like some noble, neutral figure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So there's a backlash, as you see, as you hear, coming from the left.
Jessica Yellin joins us now from this gathering of bloggers in Vegas who seems to be trying to press this point home.
Jessica, how big is this backlash from the left?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, there's an enormous sense of frustration here at Netroots Nation, which is this progressive bloggers gathering and progressive groups gathering, frustration with the Obama White House and frustration with what they call the mainstream media for in their view jumping on and pursing conservative criticism and conservative attacks and in their view largely ignoring what the progressive movement comes up with.
Listen here for a moment to Markos Moulitsas. As you might know, he is one of the leading bloggers in this community, and founded the Daily Kos Web site. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARKOS MOULITSAS, FOUNDER, DAILYKOS.COM: And, of course, the Obama administration trying to make nice with the right wing overreacted and shot from the hip, instead of once again getting the facts. Any time -- to me, it's a little ironic, because any time progressives sort of push back against the administration, we're ignored, right? But the right wing pushes back against them, and it's immediate capitulation.
And they do this time and time again. And I think a lot of it is because the traditional media is really happy and content to pick up and run with whatever the right wing throws at them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So, in his analysis, Rick, it's the White House acting because they expect that we will act too quickly and so it becomes this snowball effect. And he hopes that everyone has learned their lesson for this.
SANCHEZ: Jessica, hold on just a moment. I want to come to back to you. In fact, I might even get your reaction on this.
But you know we follow tweets on this newscast because oftentimes it's the best way of getting news. And to the Twitter board, we go. This is what we just learned from our own Ed Henry. Ed, our White House correspondent, is tweeting: "The White House has just announced that the president is taking the first family to Florida's Gulf Coast for the weekend of August 14. Interesting timing," writes Ed Henry.
Back to Jessica Yellin, who's followed this as well. By the way, let's go back. There's another page on this? "The trip comes after the president of the United States received criticism for suggesting others vacation in the Gulf, but not doing so himself."
Yes, back to Jessica Yellin now, after we read that.
Here's the president apparently trying to put his best foot forward in trying to help the folks in the Gulf of Mexico. I was just there recently. You've been reporting on it. We all have. Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are empty. And it's not because there's any oil on those beaches. It's simply because of the perception that there might be, that it might be on the way.
And here's the president of the United States saying, I will go there and be the first up to step on those white beaches and show everyone that they're perfectly fine.
Politically, what do you make of that, Jessica?
YELLIN: You know what, Rick? This is one of those cases where you can't win as president.
When Bill Clinton poll-tested his vacation spots, everyone criticized him for being excessively sensitive to political needs. When Barack Obama went to Maine last weekend or two weekends ago, everybody was in a tizzy over his neglect of the Gulf Coast.
There are arguments both for and against. When the president goes to the Gulf Coast, they have to shut things down. They have to close down stores for security. So, there are pluses and minuses, but he's obviously doing this to bring attention there. And bravo to him.
SANCHEZ: Well, if it's true what they say about so many hotel rooms empty, he won't to have a tough time looking for one, for a hotel with a vacancy sign, I imagine. It can't do anything but help down there.
YELLIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: Jessica Yellin, my thanks to you. We will be getting back to you shortly.
Meanwhile, here's a question that many Americans are asking and that we're going to try to answer for you. Who is this man? Who is Andrew Breitbart? And why was he able to hoodwink -- as some have accused at that Las Vegas gathering that Jessica was just telling us about, why was he able to hoodwink the Obama administration about Shirley Sherrod?
By the way, yesterday on this show, I asked whether Bill O'Reilly should apologize to Shirley Sherrod. You probably heard that. Find out how the FOX host responded and what he accused Sherrod of doing. That's coming up in just a little bit.
Also, what's going on right now in Phoenix that may help explain why so many immigrants are racing against the clock and fleeing that state? That report is right here. You need to see this one. It's next on the LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Here we are with RICK'S LIST, which we're doing today at 3:00 and 4: 00. And we really look forward to seeing you tonight at 8:00 as well for our prime-time debut. Arizona's controversial new immigration law goes into effect next week, and it's facing a lot of legal challenges, as has been reported right here on RICK'S LIST.
One comes from the Obama administration. And a federal judge is holding a hearing on this just this afternoon. And we have got correspondents following that for you.
But, as that plays out in court, many families are saying they're just not going to take any chances. So, they're packing up and they're leaving Arizona.
As -- as you watch this report, it's an interesting piece, because it captures pretty much the spirit or what's in the heart of some of these characters that are involved in this real-life drama that are involved in this real life drama in Arizona, whether you're on one side of the issue or the other.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a middle-class suburb near mesa, Arizona, a family is packing it up, preparing to flee the state. They asked us to call them Carlos and Samantha.
CARLOS, LEAVING ARIZONA: This is the living room. This is my boy's room.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): They're all empty.
CARLOS: Everything we worked for.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): They say they were living the American dream -- a house, two kids, a small jewelry business that catered to Latinos. But when his customers, many of whom were immigrants, started losing their jobs and leaving the state, his business collapsed. Now, he says, he, too, wants to get out before SB-1070 goes into effect.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): You love the state?
CARLOS: Arizona, yes.
GUTIERREZ: And now?
CARLOS: Little by little, they're pushing us out.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): They would say you're leaving because you want to go. You don't have to go.
CARLOS: I don't have to go? I do, for my family's sake.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Your wife is undocumented?
CARLOS: Yes.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Carlos is a legal resident. Their children are American. But he says they can't run the risk that his wife could be arrested and deported.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): You're one family who's leaving. Do you think there are others?
CARLOS: There's many, there are a lot of people who have left since this started.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Todd Landfried agrees.
TODD LANDFRIED, ARIZONA EMPLOYERS FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM: This was just another strip mall in the Latino neighborhood of Mesa.
GUTIERREZ: Lanfried represents a group called Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform. He drove us through Mesa, Arizona, and pointed out what he says is the fallout in the state's immigration laws and a bad economy.
LANDFRIED: Anytime you start running people out of a state, you make it harder for the businesses that provide services to those people whether they're here legally or not. They're not going to be able to fill their strip malls. They're not going to be able to fill their apartment complexes.
RUSSELL PEARCE, ARIZONA STATE SENATE: If it comes with that invasion of illegal aliens, it's an obstruction to the rule of law and a damage to the taxpayer. There's a cost to that.
GUTIERREZ: Russell Pearce is a state senator and the author of SB-1070. He also lives in Mesa, Arizona.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Do you believe there's any correlation between those empty businesses and Russell Pearce's law?
PEARCE: I think there's a correlation, probably. I think there's a correlation to the war. I think there's a correlation to the tough economy. I don't think I'd take credit for all of that.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Credit, he says, for forcing people like Carlos and Samantha to self-deport.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): What do those boxes represent to you?
SAMANTHA: So much of my memories.
GUTIERREZ: You don't want to go?
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Carlos says he will remember Arizona as the state that allowed him to achieve his American dream and as the state that took it away.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Mesa, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're driven and motivated by hate. He's not defending his home or his person.
SANCHEZ: That's a police officer who's talking about a controversial activist allegedly tied to a Nazi group, and that person is patrolling the border. Now, he's on the show, that person who has been accused of being a neo-Nazi, and he's going to answer some very direct questions from me. That's coming up in just a little bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back, back, back!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Oh, no, that does not look good now does it? If you're that close to a wild animal, really, you need wings. Or maybe just don't get so close to it to begin with. We're going to be right back
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. There's a reason why wild animals are often called "wild animals." And there's usually a reason why they are over there and we are over here. Let's do "Fotos."
National parks have signs that say "Don't get too close to wild animals." Mr. Buffalo Whisperer here is about to find out. I love being out in nature. Look at the beautiful buffalo -- what?
Can we get a little of that sound in this? Oh, gosh. Well, here let me make the sounds for you. "Oh, my gosh, he's charging us. Back, back, wait, no!"
Before you think this animal just went nuts, did you see that? Somebody apparently threw somebody at the bison. Watch again. It kind of makes it hard to feel sad for those people.
Number two in "Fotos," let's move on, there is this. OK, the coolest gizmo you'll see all week. A Hong Kong toy company made this. You direct it with your iphone.
And then in Belleview, Nebraska, police are chasing a stolen car faster than 100 miles an hour. The drivers are two boys aged 15 and 13. The boys lost control, wiped out, and now they have dates to keep in juvenile court. How's that song go? "Bad boys, bad boy, what you going to do?"
Well, you can see all of our photos on my blog. It's CNN.com/RickSanchez.
A court hearing involving actor Mel Gibson and the restraining order that his ex-girlfriend filed against him. But she is now being investigated herself, the girlfriend. Why? We'll have a live report on this coming up from Los Angeles.
All this and more, including an interview with a man who says he is not a neo-Nazi. That's coming your way in just a couple of minutes. Stay right there. This is your national conversation. I'm Rick Sanchez and we'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: Before we do anything else, let's go to the twitter board, because after watching that report we brought you from Thelma Gutierrez from Arizona, many of you immediately started sending tweets.
And this is kind of a consensus we see around the country. The nation looks that the story and they debate it. Let's go to the twitter board. "How are they being forced to leave? They shouldn't be here. I'm all for people wanting a better life, but do it legally. Please."
The next one says, "Arizona will get what they deserve. Prejudice, meet business and economic realty. Our immigrants contribute more than they take."
Next, "Rick, I wonder how much Arizona is losing with people and businesses leaving the state due to the new immigration law."
And finally, "Rick, go to Arizona and spend. It's not the legal citizens' fault that a controversial law is causing an uproar."
Speaking of that controversial law, when we come back, I'm going to introduce you to a man, there he is right now. He has been linked to Nazi groups, but he wants to make it clear that he's not a neo- Nazi. So I'm going to give him a chance to respond to those accusations here on this show live. Stand by for that.
And then there's Bill O'Reilly. Bill O'Reilly apologized last night. I suggested that maybe he should apologize last night. Well, he did. We're going to take you through all of this. The controversy continues. This is your national conversation.
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SANCHEZ: In recent days the focus on immigration has focused to some of the people who are patrolling the border.
Here's what brings this issue back to "The List." An article in the "Arizona Republic" warns white supremacists are increasingly moving to Arizona. In fact, according to a new report, "Arizona is attractive" -- this is a quote, "Arizona is attractive to quite supremacists because as a border state, it is seen as a place where hate messages could be masked as anti-immigration rhetoric."
Now, remember, this is written back in 2003, before many of these issues began in this national debate about immigration was really going. Today, Arizona's borders is sometimes patrolled by armed civilians who say look, we're doing what the federal government won't do.
They're right. Many of them have real concerns about protecting our nation's border. But some of those people, some of those people are being accused of having ulterior motives. And one of those being accused is civilian Harry Hughes.
We've been checking into Mr. Hughes' past. This is his Facebook page. His Facebook picture shows him in army green with a pistol. And this is one of his websites. It's called "Just another day." It tracks the border, fighting illegal immigration.
It's all very military, very police looking, which has made some people concerned. You need to remember, he's a civilian. Some are accusing him of acting like a vigilante. Mr. Hughes is good enough to join us now from Phoenix, Arizona. Thanks for being with us, sir.
HARRY HUGHES, "ACTIVIST": You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Are you a neo-Nazi?
HUGHES: I don't call myself a neo-Nazi. I classify myself a National Socialist.
SANCHEZ: Can I tell you what a National Socialist is?
HUGHES: You can go ahead. I know what I'm going to say.
SANCHEZ: I don't know that much about it, but I have a computer and I Googled it and I'll share that with you. National Socialism, according to Wikipedia, when contracted, is Nazism -- Nationalism, Socialism together means Nazism. So are you a Nazi?
HUGHES: No, I don't consider myself a Nazi. I believe the term Nazi in today's context is really overused. People like to call Barack Obama a Nazi. People call Republicans Nazi.
SANCHEZ: But hold on, but here's the difference, sir. With all due respect, Republicans -- neither Republicans nor Barack Obama go around saying that they're National Socialists. Now, you say you're -- are you an American National Socialist?
HUGHES: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Well, then let me read to you from the 25 points that are put out by National Socialisms in this country. "We demand the union of all whites into a greater America on the basis of the right of self-determination. Only members of this nation may be citizens of our state. Only those of pure white blood, whatever their creed, may be members of this nation.
Noncitizens may live in America, only as guests and must be subject to laws for aliens. Accordingly, no Jew or homosexual may be a member of the nation." I'm reading that directly from the blog on American National Socialism.
HUGHES: That is absolutely correct. Is that point four, if I'm not mistaken?
SANCHEZ: That's point four, you're absolutely right. You believe in that?
HUGHES: Yes. Yes, I do.
SANCHEZ: Let me continue. You believe "All nonwhite immigrants must be prevented in the United States. "And we demand that all nonwhites currently residing in America be required to leave the nation forth with and return to their land of origin." You believe that?
HUGHES: Yes.
SANCHEZ: You also believe that people like myself, journalists like myself, have no business in this country, because as I read here, point 23, subsetting A and C, "Editors of and contributors to newspapers appearing in the English language must be members of the nation. C, nonwhites shall be prohibited by the law from participating financially in or influencing American newspapers."
You're saying if you don't look like you, you can't be a journalist in this country. You're not allowed to express an opinion then, are you?
HUGHES: I believe that journalists have way too much power. They control what people think, what people do, who people vote for. And the country, you know, 60 percent of this country think this country is headed in the wrong direction. And a lot of that has to do with what the media tells people.
SANCHEZ: So just to be clear, I wasn't born in this country and my skin is probably a little browner than yours, and my last name is Sanchez, and, yes, I am Hispanic. You think I should leave this country, do you?
HUGHES: Yes.
SANCHEZ: You think that people like myself should leave as well? Jews? Blacks also?
HUGHES: How come so many other countries have their own homeland? Jews have their own homeland, Japanese have their own homeland. Why don't the white people don't have their own homeland? This country was started of, by, and for white people. Mostly angry white people with guns started the United States.
SANCHEZ: So you, Mr. Hughes, want to -- go on. What about North Korea?
HUGHES: North Korea is a country of North Koreans. They have their own homeland. South Korea, Japan, all these countries have their own homeland with their own homogenous population. Why can't we? Why is it so bad to have a white country?
SANCHEZ: So you're saying that you believe we should model ourselves after North Korea, do you?
HUGHES: No, I did not say that. I said that other countries have a homogenous population. For example, Japan is full of Japanese. They are actually national socialists, by the way, in the way they run their government, and no one calls them Nazi, even though they were allied with the Nazis in World War II. The term "Nazi" seems to apply to white people.
SANCHEZ: By the way, let me just ask you, because sometimes I get confused and trying to figure out exactly who is white and who is black and who is Hispanic and who has Asian blood in it. Which committee would be the one that decides which person is white or white enough? Would you be the head of that committee, or would it be someone else?
HUGHES: Well, there would have to be some sort of agreement on that. Back in the 1930s in Germany it was six generations being of all white ancestry, but in today's world that would be really hard to do because it's really hard to tell who some people are.
But that would have to be determined at a later date when, you know, when we finally get our own homeland, our own country. That would be really hard for me to decide right now. There would have to be some sort of committee or process where that would have to be decided.
SANCHEZ: Can you understand why some people who are listening to you right now are concerned about your being on the border allegedly to keep our borders secure and that they think perhaps that perhaps you may have an ulterior motive here?
HUGHES: Oh, absolutely. There's a lot of people that want those drugs to come into this country. Lots of people want that cheap labor coming across that border so they can put the rest of us down. There's a lot of businessmen out there, multi-billionaires that don't want that to happen. They want that border open.
SANCHEZ: But we've had police officers on the record saying they are uncomfortable with the fact that you are there. Do you understand why they are uncomfortable after hearing what you have said on this newscast?
HUGHES: Oh, absolutely. They would be concerned. Everybody should be concerned. We're nothing more than a neighborhood watch group that has gotten bigger. The reason we --
SANCHEZ: One more point though, now that you say that, that they should be concerned. I'm reading in here that you actually are for the right to begin a war against people who aren't like you. If you're espousing those views that I've read from this list which you have agreed to, then wouldn't it be safe to say that it might be a little dangerous to have someone like you on the border?
HUGHES: It's dangerous signature at home.
SANCHEZ: All right. We'll leave it at that. My thanks to you. Mr. Hughes, you've been very kind, sir, to come here and field some of my questions. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
HUGHES: You're very welcome.
SANCHEZ: We'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: By the way, we're getting new tweets certainly getting a lot of tweets on the interview I did just moments ago. Glad many of you are sharing your opinions with me, and I'm very carefully reading through them while we were in that commercial. You've got a lot to say, and I'll be sharing some that have in just a little bit as we're able to coalesce it.
First of all, speaking of tweets. This is regarding Mel Gibson, and it's Joan Rivers tweeting, Joan Rivers -- "Mel Gibson doing role- play therapy where he's supposed to live as a black Jewish person. Walk in your enemy's shoes, I suppose." That's an appropriate tweet coming after the interview we did just moments ago.
We'll be discussing that and sharing your thoughts on it, and, yes, we'll be talking about Mel Gibson. In fact, the tables have turned on Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend this. Thing gets ugly. Police in California now say she's also under investigation. We're going to tell you why.
In fact, brand new developments are coming in. Kareen Wynter is standing by and she's going to join us live in L.A. when we come back. Stay right there.
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SANCHEZ: All right. Welcome back. Mel Gibson is back on our follow-up list. It seems like he's been there a lot lately. His battle with his ex-girlfriend back in court today.
This is them in better times, but love turned bad in a bitter, bitter thing, and this has been a bitter, bitter thing/battle. Today's court hearing focuses on a restraining order that the ex took out on Gibson, claiming Gibson hit her in the face.
Kareen Wynter is covering today's proceedings for us and is joining us now to get us all caught up on this. What's going on with this thing? It just never seems to end, Kareen?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Never ending, Rick. And in a town full of so many beautiful people with high-profile breakups, Rick, this has some of the ugliest allegations.
As you mentioned, attorneys for Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend Oksana Gregorieva, either side was there, only their attorneys, and this involved a restraining order issued last month against Gibson. Gregorieva alleges Gibson struck her in the face and fears for her safety.
As we've been reported, several explosive audio recordings have been released online in recent weeks. Gibson say allegedly caught on tape berating and threatening his former girlfriend while hurling racial remarks, even using the "n" word. CNN has not been able to independently authenticate the tapes and reps for Gibson have declined to comment here, but authorities in California have opened an investigation earlier this month into an alleged domestic violence incident between Gibson and his ex, who are by the way locked in a bitter custody dispute involving their baby girl who is eight months.
L.A. county sheriff spokesman Steve Whitmore said last week these recordings will be part of the investigation into the alleged domestic violence.
SANCHEZ: That's interesting. Down to about 30 seconds left to the end of this newscast, but I understand that even Governor Schwarzenegger weighed in today. What did he say?
WYNTER: Oh, boy. He is actually weighing in. He spoke, addressed an audience in Sacramento last night. You just have to listen at the jab he took at Mel Gibson.
SANCHEZ: Let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) CALIFORNIA: You get up in the morning and the first news you hear is good news and there's always bad news. But the good news is that bp has contained the oil leak. The bad news is that no one has figured out how to contain Mel Gibson.
(LAUGHTER)
Mel Gibson, no one knows how to contain. So this is why I want to ask all of you to just mean turn off your cell phones because we're expecting a call from him.
