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Rick's List
Journalism in America; Storm Threatens Gulf
Aired July 22, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Here's what's making your LIST tonight.
ANDREW BREITBART, PUBLISHER, BREITBART.COM: This was not about Shirley Sherrod.
SANCHEZ: Who is Andrew Breitbart? And how did he snooker so many people?
(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): This is not the first time he's bent the truth. Tonight, the facts, why they matter and why FOX News says, hey, we didn't get it wrong.
State of emergency in Louisiana. The storm now heading for the Gulf.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're driven and motivated by hate.
SANCHEZ: This is who he's talking about. Is this controversial Border Patrol activist a Nazi sympathizer?
(on camera): I am Hispanic. You think I should leave this country, do you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: An interview that may make you cringe.
And the cop vs. the security guard. Guess who wins? We have the tape.
Ahh, one with nature. Isn't that amazing? Run for the hills.
That's our "Fotos" LIST.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Good evening, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. And welcome to RICK'S LIST prime time. We are going to do some things a little bit different. But before we do anything else, we're devoted to bringing you the very latest news and there's breaking news coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. Just a short time ago, Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency in Louisiana.
Chad Myers, come on over here. Bring us up to date on a couple of things, first of all, why the state of emergency? And what is the status of this storm right now?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The storm is up to 40 miles per hour. That's the threshold past 39 that gets you to Tropical Storm Bonnie. We have a name now, not just a number. It's into the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow, probably moving over Florida late tonight, even squalls moving into South Florida right now. I will show you the radar in 20 minutes
But story is, there's warm water in the Gulf of Mexico. There's hot water in the Gulf of Mexico. This could get a lot bigger. That's not the forecast officially, but there's a lot of potential there.
SANCHEZ: We will look forward to seeing what you have to say. You're going to come to us in about 10 minutes. And obviously if you learn anything else, let us know. All right?
All right. As you heard, the president spoke by phone today to Shirley Sherrod and expressed regret for what happened to her. Now he has talked to ABC News about Sherrod's forced resignation. And he even described for the first time one of the reasons behind it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles. And I have told my team and I have told my agencies that we have to make sure that we're focusing on doing the right thing, instead of what looks to be politically necessary at that very moment. We have to take our time and think these issues through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, now even the president is weighing in on how this story got so out of hand. The question that hadn't been answered, not to the satisfaction of many Americans, is why this administration forced Sherrod out at the Agriculture Department based on information from a dubious source, Andrew Breitbart and questions from FOX News.
First, Breitbart and now the notorious video. Breitbart insists he did not selectively edit Sherrod's speech to make her appear to be appear to be racist. He says he received the excerpt that he posted from a source that he won't name. Even now, he denies that he was, in fact, trying to depict Sherrod as a racist.
But at the same time, he's telling CBS today that she -- quote -- "sees things through a racial prism." That's a direct quote -- "sees things through a racial prism." Now, here's something that you need to know. You need to know that Andrew Breitbart is no stranger to selective editing. This is important. He promoted the undercover video shot by a man and a woman posing as a pimp and a prostitute as they appeared to get advice from workers with the community organizing group ACORN on how to run a prostitution ring.
OK. The edited video, though, shows the man in full pimp regalia, when, in fact, he went several of those ACORN offices, we have learned, dressed normally. Breitbart claims, well, he didn't know that. And he says, by the way, that's irrelevant.
It's not. Let me show you something else now. This was posted to Breitbart's Web site last September. This is a purported revelation about some health care reform supporters. This is really something. You have to see this. This is how it looks and sounds now. And then I'm going to show you what it looked like before.
Go ahead. Hit it, Rog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there an opposition here? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?
AUDIENCE: Here our cry, oh God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: OK. What you heard there is a traditional Christian prayer most of you are familiar with. The respondents in church, they stand up and they say, deliver us, oh, God. Hear our cry, oh, God.
Here are the captions that Breitbart has since removed from his Web site. These are screen grabs we put up for you. "Deliver us, Obama. Hear our cry, Obama."
In fact, his headline read, "Shock Discovery: Community Organizers Pray to President Obama." They were not. That's a taste of Andrew Breitbart, conservative blogger, Tea Party supporter, and occasional pipeline to FOX News.
Now, it's important to note that FOX News pounced on Breitbart's Shirley Sherrod scoop hours after he posted it Monday. By the way -- and this is part of the story, too -- at CNN, we knew as soon as FOX did that the Shirley Sherrod video was out there. We watched and we decided not to run it because there were just too many unanswered questions at the time.
After FOX aired it, we did our due journalistic diligence and we're the ones, frankly, who fairly quickly debunked the FOX Breitbart story and undid the damage to an innocent woman's reputation.
So, fine. Look, that's what we're paid to do. That's the way things work here.
Here now comes Bill O'Reilly of FOX News Monday just hours before the White House forced the resignation of Shirley Sherrod.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR")
BILL O'REILLY, HOST, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR": Shirley Sherrod was caught on tape saying something very disturbing.
Well, that's simply unacceptable and Ms. Sherrod must resign immediately. The federal government cannot have skin color deciding any assistance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That was Bill O'Reilly of FOX News. When we had the timeline finally figured out, here's how I explained it on my show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Think about it. O'Reilly is asking for her resignation. Some of the other shows that came on after Bill O'Reilly do have some cover. They were reacting to the decision made by the Obama administration. They were reacting to the Department of Agriculture's discipline charges against her and the fact that they had removed her from -- or asked her to step down from her position.
But, prior to that, it was O'Reilly and it appears O'Reilly alone who actually asked for the resignation. Some would wonder whether Bill O'Reilly needs to apologize to her for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I asked that question moments after I had learned what the timeline was. So, did Bill O'Reilly apologize? Well, here he is last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR")
O'REILLY: So, I owe Ms. Sherrod an apology for not doing my homework, for not putting her remarks into the proper context.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. Fine.
But, by the way, you may not believe this, but FOX News is saying now, hey, we didn't contribute at all to Shirley Sherrod's getting fired.
Let me take you through this once again. Let's go back to this timeline thing that we have been looking at. FOX says, no FOX show or Web site shoveled out the Andrew Breitbart half-doctored videotape before she got the word that she was gone.
But that's only part of the story. And I want to make sure you have the full story. You see, there are really two FOX Newses -- maybe three FOX Newses. We're not really sure. And they each play by different rules of fairness and accuracy. Here's how we understand it. FOX News says that a memo went out to the -- quote, unquote -- "news staff" Monday afternoon from the senior V.P. of news. "Let's take our time, it said. Let's get the facts straight on this story. Can we get confirmation and comments from Sherrod before going on air? Let's make sure we do this right" -- stop quote -- from FOX News executives.
But the way things work at FOX News -- and you need to know this -- that guidance doesn't carry any weight at the programs that make the biggest noise and get the biggest ratings, "Beck," "O'Reilly," "Hannity," "FOX & Friends."
You see, that V.P. of news, he doesn't oversee those shows. So minutes before Shirley Sherrod was being told that she was losing her job, Bill O'Reilly was actually taping his show for that night, showing that tape, despite the guidance not to from the V.P. And he called for her to resign, despite the guidance from the V.P.
It's as if "The O'Reilly Factor" wasn't even part of FOX News. And then FOXNews.com ran a story early evening sometime, before the USDA announced their decision. And that story was based solely on the Breitbart video. We know that because the story reads like a Breitbart press release.
So, bottom line, when you go to FOX News, when you go to FOX News, know this. It operates by different journalistic standards, depending on -- well, depending on what time it is.
Confused? Even FOX News anchor Shep Smith, who, to his credit, decided not to go with the tape on Monday afternoon, as we did, said this on FOX: "We did not and do not trust the source." He's talking about Breitbart.
"The video taken completely out of context ran all over the Internet and on television," he went on to say" -- these are Shep Smith's words -- "including this network." He's talking about the network where he works.
FOX News management says prime-time is opinion programming, not news, even though those shows report news that the FOX News chief says is not yet reliable.
Somehow, FOX News thinks that's OK. Fair? Balanced? Accurate? Reliable? You decide.
We turn to a man now who's had his hand in every type of media these days. He's a former colleague of mine as well, Dan Abrams, former MSNBC host, former MSNBC general manager, now a web entrepreneur, a somewhat courageous act that he undertook not long ago, doing well. His media news Web site, Mediaite, just celebrated its one-year anniversary. And he's good enough to join us.
Your Web site has been all over this story, right, Dan? Did I get it wrong?
DAN ABRAMS, MEDIAITE: Absolutely. No, you -- well, look, I think you're wrong about one thing.
I think you're right that O'Reilly made a mistake. One of my writers, Colby Hall, wrote a story saying that he owed an apology before he apologized. On the other hand, I don't know why you're so shocked that there's a different standard in prime time and during the day and suggesting that somehow people are not able to distinguish between opinion-based programming at night and straight news during the day.
I mean, regardless of whether you agree that's what FOX News does, as a broad principal, it doesn't seem to me that that is so farfetched or a even bad thing.
SANCHEZ: Actually, I think there are many in the country today who would disagree with you.
(CROSSTALK)
ABRAMS: I'm sure there are.
SANCHEZ: Oh, I just talked to one this afternoon, Dan, who told me that ideologically-driven newscasts are hurting America. And here's why.
When you decide who you're -- let me ask you the question this way, in fact. Let me do this. What is similar about FOX News' extensive coverage of some of the stories that most in the other media didn't give much attention to? And I will take them to you right now.
I will spell them out for you, Dan, Van Jones, the New Black Panther story, ACORN, Shirley Sherrod. What's similar about those stories, Dan?
ABRAMS: Well, look, Rick, you can make an argument, and you're making a case. You're doing an opinion-based program right here, which I think is great.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: No, well, hold on. I'm asking you a legitimate -- I have a...
(CROSSTALK)
ABRAMS: I'm not saying you're ideological.
SANCHEZ: Well, I'm not.
ABRAMS: Yes. I'm not saying you're ideological.
I'm just saying -- yes, I'm not saying you are.
SANCHEZ: OK.
ABRAMS: I'm just saying that you're making a case. You're taking a position. And I think that's terrific. And your position is that FOX has been unfair throughout the coverage in particular of this story.
There's an argument to be made that FOX was one of the first on it, although one of my other reporters, Steve Krakauer, points out that the story broke at 8:00 a.m. FOX didn't mention it until O'Reilly's show. They could have been doing it all day. That's not a defense of FOX News, but it is to say they didn't totally blow it out all day during the day.
Did they take the same tack that CNN took? I think CNN did a great job with this story. I think that the fact that you guys had Shirley Sherrod on during the coverage is one of the great moments of television news that we have seen. The fact that you had the source on while Gibbs was holding his press conference was...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But that's the difference between journalism and ideologically-based...
ABRAMS: That's a good booking, Rick. That's a good booking. I mean, come on, let's be honest. That's a good booking.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: No, it's not a good booking. And here's the difference, Dan. There's a difference between someone being handed a story, as I was and many of us here at CNN were -- and Shep Smith, to his credit, was at FOX News -- and they said, no, I don't think this is reliable. There's too many unanswered questions, and somebody else saying, no, I like the story, and we're going with it. And they reported it nonetheless.
What is the reason that they reported that? Because I will tell you what the key question is. And this is not ideologically-driven. And this is not Rick Sanchez's opinion. This may be what Rick Sanchez learned in journalism school, that there's a difference between reporting and distorting.
ABRAMS: OK. Look, Rick, there's no question that Bill O'Reilly made a mistake on his program. For whatever reason, O'Reilly owed her an apology.
And, to be honest with you, I don't think that his apology was good enough. I think that he apologized and then he went on to criticize her. I think, if you are going to apologize for a mistake, you apologize clean.
I would even say, if he wants to criticize her, do it in a separate segment in the show. Just give her the apology, accept the fact that you got it wrong, and don't then just throw in what a bad person you think she is.
SANCHEZ: I get it.
ABRAMS: So, there's no question that this story, meaning this edited-together tape, is an enormous embarrassment for anyone who went with it at face value.
It's an enormous embarrassment for this government for taking action or encouraging action on her part. It's an enormous embarrassment for the NAACP for taking it at face value. There are a lot of people here who should have extremely huge pieces of egg on their face. And they do.
And I think that it's not fair, to be honest with you, to single out FOX News as the only one who has got egg in connection with this story.
SANCHEZ: We didn't say they were. It just so happens that they are a journalistic enterprise and they made all the decisions that journalistic enterprises aren't supposed to make.
ABRAMS: But is this not one of their worst decisions that they have...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Dan, we can't hide from reporting the facts even if it involves people who may be our friends and colleagues who work at a competitor.
The fact is, if they made mistakes, it's our job at CNN, your job as well on your blog, perhaps, to point those out and go through the timeline and explain how those mistakes were made. And that's all we have attempted to do here.
And it has nothing at all to do with either opinion or ideology. I will give you now the last word.
(CROSSTALK)
ABRAMS: Right.
Here's the reason it's opinion, is because, again, my reporter, Steve Krakauer, went through the timeline and came to a slightly different conclusion than did you about how guilty FOX News is on this particular story.
That's the only reason I'm saying that it's an opinion. There's no opinion that people got it wrong. There's no opinion that this was a huge mistake and a huge embarrassment and that apologies were owed. The question is how much blame to allocate.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We will leave it at that. We certainly stick by our sources and we stick by our story on this.
(CROSSTALK)
ABRAMS: CNN did a very good job on this story.
SANCHEZ: Look, and if there's anything that we got wrong, I guarantee you, being as imperfect as we are, we will be the very first to report it.
Dan, good to see you. Thanks for coming on, on the debut night.
ABRAMS: Rick, good to be with you.
SANCHEZ: Likewise.
All right, here's what we're going to be following for you in just a little bit, the very latest on what else is going on, and this. Take a look at this sound bit. I think it may make you cringe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Are you a neo-Nazi?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't call myself a neo-Nazi. I classify myself as a national socialist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, he said that. But he says he's in Arizona to protect the border. Wait until you hear what he says about Jews and about blacks and about Hispanics and about me. His shocking comments are cringe-worthy indeed, and that's just ahead.
Also, speaking of Nazis, one Arizona police officer says he will feel like one when the new immigration law goes into effect -- the new fears tonight that have folks packing up and leaving the state, the fascinating reports along over border next on Rick's prime time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Here's what else I want to bring you tonight on our LIST today: the ticking clock in Arizona with that controversial immigration law set to go into effect next week.
I want you to take a look at this video of protesters taking to the streets of Phoenix today to condemn the law. The Obama administration, of course, is battling to stop it. Justice Department lawyers were in court today before a federal judge. That same judge is hearing another challenge to the law filed by more than 100 civilians and civil rights groups.
The law requires police to question a suspect's immigration status if there's any reason to believe that they're in the country illegally. While many Americans support the law, still others say it is a recipe for disaster.
And as lawyers battle it out in court, some Arizona residents are bracing for the worst.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez spoke to one middle-class couple that is actually -- well, she caught them in the middle of preparing to flee the state. Carlos is a legal resident. His wife, Samantha, is not, and they are packing up to leave before the law takes effect.
You hear them and you really understand the emotional toll of this entire -- in fact, here, take a listen to what they say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You love the state?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arizona, yes.
GUTIERREZ: And now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little by little, they're pushing us out.
GUTIERREZ: They would say you're leaving because you want to go. You don't have to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have to go? I do, for my family's sake.
GUTIERREZ: Your wife is undocumented?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GUTIERREZ: What do those boxes represent to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): So much of my memories.
GUTIERREZ: You don't want to go?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): After 18 years of being here, we have to start all over again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, how is this being taken by some in the law enforcement community, for example? Well, some Arizona police officers are finding themselves somewhat torn up about this.
One Phoenix cop who's been on the force for 20 years recorded his concerns in a video for the social justice group the Brave New Foundation. The group posted it on Facebook. And now we talked to officer Paul Dobson and he told us that, even though the video was edited, what was posted online adequately reflects his views.
We were careful to make that phone call and get that from him. He says he just can't bear to enforce the new law.
Here, listen for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL DOBSON, PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT: This law will make me feel like a Nazi out there. I'm a police officer in Arizona. I work for the largest jurisdiction, the city of Phoenix. How I feel about SB1070 is that I have a great deal of contempt for it. I'm very emotional about it. This law is, pure and simple, a racist law. It is focused on Latinos. It's horrifying. I mean, it violates our calling to serve and protect. It violates, under the Constitution, equal protection under the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. Did you hear that? He said he would feel like a Nazi.
Now, we have been leaving messages for the Phoenix Police Department's Public Affairs Office all afternoon on this one. And when we called the main number, they told us that someone would call us back. No one has so far. But a police department spokesperson told one local TV station that he understands that employees have diverse opinions.
But department policy states they must get permission before making any media appearance. Now, it's important to note that many decent Americans have gone to the border because of their concerns about illegal immigration.
But some who are going to the border may have ulterior motives. Today, I discovered that some of these people are actual self- described Nazis, or, as they call themselves, national socialists.
Harry Hughes is one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Are you an American National Socialist?
HARRY HUGHES, ACTIVIST: 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: 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 homogeneous population. Why can't we? Why, all of a sudden -- why is it so bad to have a white country?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I think I received over 1,000 tweets like within five minutes of that conversation.
Let me tell you what we do in this newscast. We check in on social media, Twitter specifically, and we share your comments on the air as the news comes in and the comments of people who are relative to the news that we are discussing at any given time. Oftentimes, we break news during Twitter.
That's what we call RICK'S LIST. To the Twitter board, we go, in fact, just to show you. This is very representative of the types of comments that we got today after this interview aired.
"Harry Hughes, a Nazi. He did everything but 'Springtime for Hitler' during Rick's interview."
My thanks to the thousands of you who have been sending us these comments.
"This is the same racist attitude my parents and grandparents had to face when they came to this country. It is 80 years later."
And on and on it goes. We will continue showing you how we do this throughout the course of this newscast. But now take a Look at this. There's a brand-new take on the MTV show "Jackass." Not only did this flying donkey make kids cry, but it could get someone in a whole lot of trouble. That is just ahead
Plus, there is breaking news in the Gulf of Mexico. In case you didn't hear, just as we were beginning this newscast, we got information that Louisiana state of emergency has been now in effect. Folks there are watching the weather and waiting for trouble and Chad Myers is going to be checking back with us to let us know what the latest advisories are saying and why Louisiana has taken this step of declaring a state of emergency for the entire state.
That's next right here. We call this the national conversation. We will be here every night at 8:00. This is your list, RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Yes, indeed, breaking news. There's a state of emergency declared for Louisiana because of this tropical storm that we've been telling you about. In fact, now it's officially, by the way, a tropical storm. Chad Myers walking into the set as we speak. Thanks for hustling over here. Fill us in on what has changed over the last three or four hours.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They went from 35 to 40 miles an hour. That's a tropical storm number.
SANCHEZ: OK.
MYERS: To be over 39, you get to be a "ts." You get to have a name.
SANCHEZ: Why the state of emergency in Louisiana? Why did they make this call?
MYERS: Because if a 50-mile-per-hour or 60-mile-per-hour wind is going right over that area where all these ships and all these ROV ships and all these skimmers are in the way, they're going to have to get them out of there. There's going to be nothing left to save that well if something goes wrong.
SANCHEZ: Can you go to the map and show us what this thing might do if it goes enough to the left or enough to the right or vice versa?
MYERS: If it goes enough to the left, it could hit Mexico and that would be good.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: But for Mexico --
SANCHEZ: Oh, no. Right.
MYERS: You know, I mean, in general --
SANCHEZ: I know what you mean. You're referring to the situation in the gulf, with the oil.
MYERS: It would stay far enough away from the oil areas that the winds wouldn't be as great, the waves wouldn't be as great. So, hey, here we go.
Here's the system. It's not that good. There's no why? There's nothing. OK. And it looks kind of torn up and it is torn up because there's something called sheer. Sheer is wind. And there's for sheer during the day. You're outside, Rick. Answer me this question.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: You go outside during the day.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: You go outside at 2:00 in the morning. Where is there more wind?
SANCHEZ: Usually there's going to be more wind in the afternoon.
MYERS: During the day.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: That wind is kind of sheer, so during the day there's more wind around and the storm kind of tears itself up. At night, it's called dyno (ph) fluctuation. At night, it gets bigger. Tonight, I expect it to get much bigger again and become and stay that "ts" but still, only a 50 mile per hour storm as it gets into this oil area. The problem is, this is the bad side. This would be the better side. It's going to have wind blowing that way taking whatever oil is left and pushing it right back in.
SANCHEZ: Right now, if you do all the models, it looks like it's going to New Orleans. You can only got 10 seconds to answer that.
MYERS: New Orleans and left, Grand Isle and left.
SANCHEZ: OK. Thanks, Chad. Appreciate it. Let us know if anything changes.
By the way, President Obama is getting hammered today by liberals. That's right. Liberals. I'm going to tell you why. That's next on the list. And then later, "The List You Don't Want 2 Be On." Who's on it? This is new to many of you and by the way, this is probably best described as "a mother of a story." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. This is RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Your national conversation. No wonder they call it the loneliest job in the world. Now, even liberals are attacking the president of the United States. Liberals at a convention in Las Vegas, liberal bloggers say the Shirley Sherrod episode shows that President Obama is placating conservatives. And he needs to stop. That sentiment from the left came from none other than MSNBC's Keith Olbermann with this appeal to the president last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH OLBERMANN, MSNBC: 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: Jessica Yellin is at the Netroots conference in Las Vegas. She's been hearing that sentiment throughout. So what's up with these liberals/progressive bloggers and how big is this backlash against the White House from them?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Rick, they're incredibly frustrated and they say that unlike the old school liberals of the past, this progressive movement is organized, ready to use the Internet polling data and technology to mobilize people with their same views to press their points of view and even go after the president and Democrats if necessary to get their message across.
I spoke to Markos Moulitsas whose one of the leaders in this movement, runs the "Daily Kos" Web site and he was very critical of the administration's response to Shirley Sherrod incident saying it's indicative, exactly as you said, that they're too sensitive to criticism from the right. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARKOS MOULITSAS, FOUNDER DAILY KOS: And, of course, the Obama administration again, trying to make nice with the right wing, overreacted and shot from the hip instead of, once again, getting the facts. I mean, any time -- to me it's a little ironic because any time progressives are pushed 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 this 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: Plenty of blame to go around from him but, Rick, the bottom line from it then is, they see that the Republicans have struck President Obama but they think he needs to fight them more. That's the message here.
SANCHEZ: I'm wondering, anybody else that they're taking on? Because I can't imagine it's just the president, right?
YELLIN: Yes. No. There are other people on their list. I'll give you two names that will surprise you. First one, Bill Clinton. When Bill Clinton's name came up in a panel this morning, a few people in the audience hissed because he came out against Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas. Remember there was a race between a real progressive candidate and moderate Blanche Lincoln. Former President Clinton went out for Blanche Lincoln and got the progressives defeated. They thought that was a total capitulation. And also, he wrote a letter urging Democrats not to get behind necessarily a public option during the health care fight but to back whatever will win. And they thought that was giving up the fight before it even happened. And they're also angry as Chris Dodd, senator currently in Congress over the Wall Street reform bill for other reasons. They're even running ads against him online.
SANCHEZ: All right.
YELLIN: So Democrats aren't spared here, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Shall we talk about Colorado? I want to talk about Colorado. And there's a news item out there that has caught our attention. It's a fight between a Republican Senate candidate, Jane Norton, and a fellow named Ken Buck. So Norton who's facing Buck in this primary has released an ad saying he's not man enough to stand up to her. This gets strange. Take a look. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE NORTON (R), COLORADO SENATE CANDIDATE: Seeing those TV ads attacking me, they're paid for by a shady interest group doing the bidding of Ken Buck. You'd think Ken would be man enough to do it himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: OK. Here's where this gets as some would say, even more interesting than at a campaign event last week. Buck shot back and here. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN BUCK (R), COLORADO SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why should we vote for you?
BUCK: Why should you vote for me? Because I do not wear high heels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Did he really just say that, Jessica?
YELLIN: He really said that. I didn't think he expected to be on national TV, maybe.
It's a footwear fight. Who knew footwear plays in politics. This is really about -- at this point, the woman in this race who was the establishment frontrunner had fallen behind in the polls. This is her way of trying to inject gender back into it to get the women's vote. We'll see if it works.
SANCHEZ: Jessica Yellin will be with us here on RICK'S LIST night after night. Expect to see her here. Thank you, Jessica.
YELLIN: Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Mel Gibson under fire accused of abusing his ex- girlfriend but now, there's something else. She's the one police are investigating. She's the one police are investigating. Plus, wait until you hear what Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said about Mr. Mel. That's just ahead.
And also, watch out. Better hold on to that camera. A beast is charging. See what happened. That's next, right here on RICK'S LIST.
Yes, that's a buffalo. And they're about to get buffaloed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: If you want to pull off the PR stunt from hell, take a bunch of advertising guys, add a parachute and one freaked-out donkey, and then ask yourself this question. Who's the real jack ass here?
This is something that you're going to get to like. We call this our "best videos." It's "fotos del dia."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.
SANCHEZ: Here we go. This all went down in Russia where some businessman sent a donkey parasailing over the Azov Sea. You see the poor little guy right there. In fact, kids on the beach heard him braying in terror. They started crying.
Just a mess. It was all supposed to promote parasailing. Instead, it's now the focus of a criminal investigation. Now a story about getting buffaloed when you're too close to a bison in Yellow Stone National Park. I'll tell you one thing then you're just too darn close. If you throw something at that bison, well, you're no genius. So when that bison attacks, you, baby, asked for it.
Let's take a look at that again. Luckily the woman behind the camera only suffered a few bruises.
All right. Moving from stupid human tricks to some very coordinated children, 7,203 of them all drumbling (ph) in unison over in Gaza. That's right. They are dribbling. Not drumbling (ph), Mr. Sanchez.
The U.N is calling it an official world record. By the way, I want to let you know as we watch this dribbling, that you can see all of our "fotos," all the "fotos del dia" on our blog. It is CNN.com/ricksanchez.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.
SANCHEZ: You heard the expression how an apple doesn't fall far from the tree? That's the case when it comes to the barefoot bandit. I'm going to introduce you to something that we call "The List You Don't Want 2 Be On." And also, what's the most popular conversation you're having? One clue. Does BP stand for bogus photos?
I want to now introduce you to someone who's also going to be a part of our show night in and night out.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you?
SANCHEZ: Brooke Baldwin joins me on set. She has trending topic and she is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: This is a social media-driven show, so we check on Twitter. We check on all the other social media sites. We also check Google. We check to see what is trending on any given day. We make lists of the things that are then trending. The person who does that part of the show for us is Brooke Baldwin. Let me bring her in and ask her what's she's starting the trends with today.
BALDWIN: Well, I liked how you said that earlier, bogus photos. Right? So we're talking BP. And you know how BP is always talking about being transparent. You be the judge here. I'm not talking once, not talking twice, three times, BP photoshopped these images. There were on their Web site from its oil spill response. Really? Yes, really.
BP admitted to it after a tipster actually contacted two different Web sites. So I want to invite you to take a look and you be the judge. Let's walk through two of these pictures here.
First, the picture is Houston Command Center. Now on the left side of your screen, that's the before, after is the doctored photo. If you look really closely, you have 10 different screens on the left. Three of them are blank. On the right, they've added images. Necessary? Maybe not.
Second picture, let's move on. It's the Sim's (ph) operation center. Kind of explained to me like the air traffic control of this whole operation. Right? You've got a bunch of guys around the table on the left. On the right, this massive projection on the wall is even bigger.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BALDWIN: Colors are enhanced. So you're thinking, all right, changes are kind of minor. Embarrassment major. Even the White House cracking jokes today. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think it's genuinely on the stupidity part of the transparency scale. I mean, if you want to show a picture of what the room looks like, just take a picture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So BP real quickly, they took the images off the Web site. They're basically saying mea culpa but they are definitely throwing the photographer under the bus, but they've also thrown the before, the after on the Flicker Web site. Just for you to see. You be the judge.
SANCHEZ: What's BP saying?
BALDWIN: Let me read for you. I have a statement from BP.
They're saying, "Although BP is a private company, we have instructed the photographer who created the images to refrain from cutting and pasting in the future and to adhere to standard photo journalistic best practices." Again, it's this whole image versus reality. What's more important?
SANCHEZ: By the way, what's going on with Mel Gibson?
BALDWIN: OK.
SANCHEZ: Because it seems like the whole country wants -- first it was him and what he said. Now, apparently she's under investigation?
BALDWIN: It's a whole big thing going on in L.A. Right? And right now, it's this big custody battle over Mel Gibson and his ex- girlfriend's 8-month-old daughter. Today, there was this closed-door meeting. It was just the lawyers that were there. But this whole salacious story, you mentioned these audio recordings, we've heard them, triggering some of these arguments. Now CNN is yet to verify the voices. But here is one voice you will certainly recognize. Let me play for you. A little joke, if you will, from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: The news is that BP has contained the oil leak. The bad news is that no one has figured out how to contain Mel Gibson. Mel Gibson, no one knows how to contain. So this is why I want to ask all of you to just please, turn off your cell phones because we're expecting a call from him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, you know, some people kind of joking. We are hearing from the famous director, Oliver Stone saying, look, he's this huge mega hero in Hollywood. The guy has nothing to worry about.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. Good stuff.
BALDWIN: Thank you. SANCHEZ: And there you have it. Ladies and gentlemen, Brooke Baldwin with trending topics for this day.
BALDWIN: Thanks, Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: See you again tomorrow?
BALDWIN: Deal.
SANCHEZ: It's a date. All right.
We understand that there may be some new information coming up in just a little bit that we're going to be sharing with you, and you'll find out what it is as we put it together for you. We're two minutes away. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Oh, my goodness, look who's standing by? My dear old friend Ovaltine (ph) is joining us now. His name is Larry King, and he's here to tell us what's coming up on his illustrious hour. Take it away, Mr. King.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Ovaltine presents "captain midnight." You don't remember that.
SANCHEZ: I do, actually.
KING: Ovaltine sponsored that.
SANCHEZ: That's right.
KING: Rick, you know, we got Hugh Hefner tonight. You know, he's a trailblazer in many ways especially when it comes to civil rights. A lot of people don't know he was speaking out, taking action when it wasn't popular, too. We'll get his take on the state of race in America in light of the situation with Shirley Sherrod. By the way, I'll give you a quest, Rick. You like quests?
SANCHEZ: I love quests, especially coming from you.
KING: OK. Find a show today that did not have Shirley Sherrod on.
SANCHEZ: Really? A show today that didn't have -- you're right. There's no way in the world I could come up with one because she was on all the shows.
KING: That's correct.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Larry. Look forward to seeing you as usual.
KING: Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Let's do it again tomorrow. Take care. All right. In order to understand a person, no matter what he or she has done, you need to understand their past. What's led them to the point that they are in. And in this case, there's a 19-year-old teenager. He's facing years behind bars accused of stealing cars and boats and even planes. You've heard of him. Authorities call him "the barefoot bandit." And there's a person in his life, and I want to tell you about this. The central figure of his past, his life, who finds herself now, today, on this thing we do called "The List You Don't Want 2 Be On."
It is a fascinating story. Here are the facts that you need to know.
Police say that Colton Harris-Moore spent two years on the run. The Feds couldn't catch him. Police officers say he toyed with them leaving footprints and messages at the scene of his crimes in at least eight different states. The game of hide-and-seek continued until authorities in the Bahamas arrested him a couple of weeks ago. And today, on the day that Harris-Moore appeared before a judge, CNN has obtained court documents revealing new details about his troubled childhood.
The documents show how he spent his childhood running from, quote, "demons" and a home situation marred by instability, loss and alcohol abuse. So what made this happen? He once told a psychologist that it was his mother's screams at night. And that she breaks his toys when he's being punished. Protective services responded to incidents at their home 12 different times. Neighbors reportedly say the boy used to break into their houses to steal frozen pizzas and cookies because he was hungry.
Now, think about all of that and then listen to how the accused bandit's mother reacted last year to news that her son was accused of stealing planes now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF: PAMELA KOHLER, MOTHER OF ALLEGED "BANDIT": If he did it, I'm quite proud because I was going to get him flying lessons. And if he taught himself how to fly a plane, I'm very proud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Maybe the part she didn't get was "stole planes." Psychologists paint her son as a lost child who spent years alone and hungry. He then escaped from a halfway house for juveniles to begin his life on the lamb. In no way does this new information excuse the crimes, obviously, that he's accused of.
His mother, Pamela Kohler, has not responded to CNN's calls or e- mails asking for some kind of comment on these allegations against her. We'll keep trying. But today, his mother, nonetheless, is facing a lot of serious questions about how she brought up her boy and the environment in which she raised the child who's become one of the most notorious fugitives of this decade. And that's why she's landed herself on this night on this thing that we do called "The List You Don't Want 2 Be On."
Ahead, all news and no fun makes Rick a dull man. In RICK'S LIST, we roll out a brand new segment. It's called "The Laugh List." Why not? The three best jokes from late night coming your way.
This is the national conversation. Can't wait to get you back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right, here we go. It's time for a new segment that we call "The Laugh List." We give you the three funniest jokes in late-night comedy. Number one --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": What's being called the wedding of the year? Chelsea Clinton getting married on July 31st. The good news, Hillary is planning the wedding. The bad news? Bill planning the bachelor party. Yes. I don't know what that means.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Lindsay Lohan is in the cooler. She's in the hole. She's in the old gray bar hotel. Still, no word yet on Osama bin Laden. But she went into prison yesterday out there in California and today, bartenders all over the state of California turned off their blenders for a moment of silence. Touching. Very --
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": British Prime Minister David Cameron is visiting the U.S. and yesterday, he and President Obama gave each other pieces of art. That really wasn't necessary, Britain. You've already given us a huge oil painting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Did you know Larry King could have written that material? He's that funny.
Speaking of, here's "LARRY KING LIVE" starts now.
