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Rick's List
Hundreds of D.C. Teachers Fired; Tropical Storm Bonnie Targets Gulf
Aired July 23, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: So, now that we have gotten through that quantification, Steve, to you.
You heard what Mr. Parker had to say. What's your response?
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: I say that it sounds like someone who is blaming the -- the basketball rim for being too high and that -- as the reason why they didn't make the shot.
The instrument is something that is used across the country. And what's happening is that the teachers are being held accountable. At what point does the teachers union step from behind their dogma and say some teachers actually deserve to be fired, not that they have to -- that the children have to be forced to take these teachers simply because they have taught for 25 years?
I don't know what that means. It doesn't mean that anyone has been successful for 25 years. It just means they kept their job for 25 years.
SANCHEZ: Well, let me stop you, because I want to bring...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Steve, hold on a minute.
I want to bring in Mr. Parker's point, because he is saying -- and I take him at face value -- he is a man who has got experience in this field. He says that's fine, if you're doing a fair evaluation.
What is -- describe for us, as our -- as our education expert, what's a fair evaluation for a teacher?
GEORGE PARKER, PRESIDENT, WASHINGTON TEACHERS UNION: Well, apparently, there doesn't ever seem to be anything that's fair to the union, because every single time there is an instrument that is used, they say that it's unfair. What's fair is when you sit and you take a look at what you just said, Rick, when you take a look at the student performance. When we hire someone to teach a child Spanish, the expectation is the child will learn Spanish.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
PERRY: That's what you pay the person for. And if the child...
SANCHEZ: Or math or anything else.
PERRY: ... does not know Spanish at the end -- whatever the subject is. If the child doesn't know the subject by the end of the year, it is the responsibility of the instructor to ensure that is the case.
The -- the administrator has the responsibility to make sure that the children are moving forward, based upon the data, meaning the tests that the children take. Whatever the tests are, whatever those tests are, that's what they use to determine whether or not the child is performing, the same way I did today when I had my staff meeting.
We're in school right now. I'm a principal. And when my -- we had a long meeting today about the data. And I -- the teachers understand under no uncertain terms, if the children do not perform well in your class, that's your behind.
SANCHEZ: Well, let me stop you real quick and just welcome all our viewers who are joining us now. We're into the second hour of "RICK'S LIST" and we're reporting on this developing story that we have been learning from the Washington school district.
As I understand it -- and this is a story that might be somewhat fluid -- the numbers right now stand at 737 additional employees, including 562 teachers who have been given notices that they will -- they were rated as minimally effective under a new rating system called IMPACT. Again, that's 737 employees. Those, by the way, are put on notice at this point.
Let me give you the number that has actually been fired, or at least dismissed, although they can appeal -- 241 teachers and 61 staff members in the D.C. public school system have in fact been removed. Another 737 employees could be fired next year if their performance does not improve.
Now, those are the preliminary numbers that we got. Obviously, there might be some change in those numbers, but they seem extremely significant.
Mr. Parker, back to you. You are with the union. You represent many of these teachers. We were just talking about the evaluation system. You know, Mr. Perry said it's pretty simple. If your students are doing well, you're a good teacher. If your students are doing lousy, you're not a good teacher. And, in some cases, if that continues, then you need to be fired. You need to lose their job.
How do you disagree with that?
PARKER: Well, first of all, let me say this. I follow Steve's work.
And, first of all, Steve, I respect what it is that you do.
What I have a problem with is this, is that there is this blanket coating that, in some kind of way, unions are preventing the system from getting rid of teachers. Listen, D.C. public schools has had total control of the teacher evaluation process for the last 15 years.
The union doesn't even have the right to bargain and negotiate the teacher evaluation process. One of the things that is very clear here, and that is it is under the new contract that we are attempting to improve the quality of education. But we also have to recognize that a teacher's evaluation instrument, the evaluation is no more effective than the quality of the instrument that is used.
I don't like to be painted with a broad brush that simply is a union representing bad teachers. Listen, over 80 percent of our teachers are effective or highly effective. We also represent those teachers.
What I am saying here is that the reality is, with this particular instrument -- and not every instrument, Steve, that we have had in the district I consider a poor evaluation instrument -- but when there are problems...
SANCHEZ: Yes
PARKER: ... with an instrument being implemented that's as complicated as this, very few school districts in this country use value-added as a part of a teacher's evaluation.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: All right. Now you're going back into jargon that really most of our viewers don't understand.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We're not teachers and we don't know what you mean by value-added.
But I will let Mr. Perry have a word now, and he will finish this discussion on a story that we at CNN are committed to following and we will probably have more tonight at 8:00 p.m.
But go ahead, Mr. Perry. Could you finish this off for us?
PERRY: I can.
What Mr. Parker is talking about in terms of value-added is showing that, in fact, they have made improvement, that the child came in at a particular place and that they have become better.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
PERRY: That is actually what teaching is.
SANCHEZ: Yes, duh.
PERRY: If you're going to teach somebody how to do something, they actually have to be better at it than they were when they came there.
(CROSSTALK)
PERRY: And what unions...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We're not saying...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We're not -- we -- I don't think anybody, any fair- minded viewer of our show is sitting there looking and saying, well, if you have a student who is remedial, we want you to turn him into a Rhodes Scholar within one year.
I think what people are saying is, if he is here, make sure he goes a little here. If he's all the way down here, bring him to here. But if he stays there or even goes down, then it has to be the responsibility of the teacher. It just seems to make sense, doesn't it?
PERRY: It does. And that's where we are.
We are -- we are moving teachers into the same economy as everyone else. Millions of people lost their jobs last year, and I guarantee many of them thought that they were unfairly evaluated, but they lost their jobs.
We are saying to teachers -- and teachers and unions have to come on board with this. Mr. Parker is right. They don't just represent the ones who are doing poorly. They also represent the ones who are doing well.
SANCHEZ: Uh-huh. That's true.
PERRY: However, too often, they spend too much time focusing on the ones who are doing poorly, so we tend to think that those are the ones that they care the most about.
SANCHEZ: All right.
PERRY: This is just 200-and-something teachers and there are over 4,000 employees in the district. This is a fraction of the individuals who are employed by the district.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: One quick question, and then we have to wrap.
Chad Myers is standing by. There's news on what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico.
Have you ever seen so many teachers either -- either dismissed or put on this type of disciplinary path that may lead to their dismissal? Have you ever seen such large numbers -- large numbers with one quick swoop, Steve?
PERRY: No. No, I haven't. However, this is not a small town. This is Washington, D.C.
SANCHEZ: Well, we get it.
PERRY: So...
SANCHEZ: We -- we get it. But just from...
PERRY: So, this is -- so...
SANCHEZ: From a national perspective, it seems like a whole lot of teachers.
PERRY: No. This is the largest -- this is the largest number that I have ever seen, but it doesn't surprise me. Michelle Rhee is someone who is working very hard to put children's needs first.
SANCHEZ: OK.
PERRY: So, I'm sure Mr. Parker is willing to work with -- with her and the others who are trying to make sure that children's needs are put first.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: OK. Just one quick -- one quick programming note. Michelle Rhee will be joining John King on "JOHN KING, USA" tonight at 7:00 p.m. So, Michelle Rhee, the chancellor who made this huge decision, is going to be joining John King on "JOHN KING, USA" in just a little bit.
By the way, Chad Myers is standing. He's going to be bringing in -- bringing -- bringing us up to date on what's going on in the Gulf right now.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Mm-hmm.
SANCHEZ: Let's do this. Let's take a quick break.
MYERS: OK.
SANCHEZ: When we come back, you tell us if this thing is breaking up, getting stronger, where it's going, and what the effect might be on that mess -- that oil mess -- in the Gulf of Mexico. Stay right there.
This is your national conversation. This is RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez. And we're going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right, we -- before -- before we do anything else, we have got a tweet coming in now that's making news. If -- if you happen to live in Mississippi in particular, you need to listen to this. Apparently, a state of emergency has now been declared for the folks living along the Gulf Coast and the state of Mississippi.
Here we go. "State of emergency declared for the Gulf Coast. National Guard called to aid emergency response." You see that at the bottom there, MSEMA? Mississippi Emergency Management has sent us that note.
We told you yesterday about Louisiana. Now Mississippi is joining this.
Chad Myers is here to tell us why they are making those decisions. And Chad Myers may actually be able to tell us why that decision may not mean at some point -- I better be careful how I say this...
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: ... this thing could break up and not be as impactful as some of the officials thought.
MYERS: If you want a -- if you want a gummy chocolate candy at a movie theater, you would buy a Milk...
SANCHEZ: Dud.
MYERS: Bonnie is a...
SANCHEZ: Dud.
MYERS: I think.
SANCHEZ: Really?
MYERS: Really.
SANCHEZ: Show us.
MYERS: I will.
SANCHEZ: Show us, Chad.
MYERS: I will show you why thing just...
SANCHEZ: This is good news. MYERS: It didn't make it over Florida. This couldn't make it over flat land that has water on it.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: Rick, we're -- we're seeing -- we saw this thing come onshore, Cutler Bay here. There's Miami, Miami-Dade. It's now going to move back into the Gulf of Mexico.
But look what has happened over the past couple hours, fairly impressive as it made its way on to South Florida, but we have -- we have lost all of the reds, we have lost all of the purple. We have lost the -- we have lost everything that is spinning around.
Why? Hard to see on this map, but over here, there is shear. That shear is part of something, an upper-level system that is way west of the hurricane -- the tropical storm itself. This upper-level system is going to move away, but not in time. These winds are tearing this thing apart.
There's winds from this low in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. For this thing to get bigger, this should have been a high in the Gulf -- middle of the Gulf of Mexico, not a low. Low makes winds. The low winds are going to make shear. And the shear tears it all apart.
Let me tell -- show you. I am going to grab this. And I want you to notice what's up here. See this?
SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.
MYERS: That's all cloud cover. That cloud cover shouldn't be there. If you want this thing to be strong, a big system, this should be all in one spot with no tearing of the edges. This thing has been tearing apart -- all the tops of these clouds have been tearing apart all day long. It's not going to get any bigger.
It may, by 5:00, 8:00, 11:00 tonight, be Tropical Depression Bonnie. It have -- it will have a name, even though tropical depressions don't have a name. Once they get a name, they keep the name, even though as they're downgraded.
SANCHEZ: Yes, but, you know, just a -- I would have to ask you, because I think a lot of people are thinking, what's all this we have heard in the past about, look, when it gets in those warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, this thing is going to reform, reenergize, and become a tight-spinning top that could create all kinds of havoc?
In this case, everything else going on around it is not going to let that happen? That's what you're saying?
MYERS: Yes. Right. This -- this low that was out there in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, Rick...
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: ... has winds of 60 miles per hour in the upper atmosphere. That's just chopped...
SANCHEZ: Too much.
MYERS: ... the top off. You want to put -- you want to make one big thunderstorm with a tornado, you do that, you put that in the middle of Oklahoma, Texas, you have got a tornado on the ground.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: But tornadoes and hurricanes are un -- they're very dissimilar. One grows with shear. One gets much smaller with shear. And this is getting smaller.
SANCHEZ: Well, you know what? There are some people along the Gulf Coast who are happy to hear you report that.
MYERS: Heck yes.
SANCHEZ: And I'm glad you're on it.
Appreciate it, man. We will get back to you in a little bit.
By the way, Milk Duds, my favorites at the movies.
MYERS: I figured.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: And a hot dog, of course.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this, folks. You want a nail-biter? Watch. Yes. I got your nail-biter right there. What happens when the rescuers become the rescued? We are going to play out this incredible video for you in just a little bit.
Also, this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMPUTER VOICE: The mail box belonging to...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheryl Cook.
COMPUTER VOICE: ... is full. To disconnect, press one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: I bet it is. That's my colleague Ed Henry on the hunt for the mysterious Cheryl Cook. She allegedly called Shirley Sherrod three times, demanding her resignation. So, who is she? And why is she suddenly so hard to track down? That's what we're trying to do for you here at CNN. That's our job.
We will come right back with "RICK'S LIST" for you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Now it's time for our political list.
She was portrayed as a racist by a conservative blogger who posted misleading video of her speaking at a NAACP banquet. But, today, Shirley Sherrod was welcomed with open arms by the white farmer that she was accused of racially discriminating.
I want you to watch this and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER USDA OFFICIAL: Hey. Oh.
ROGER SPOONER, FARMER HELPED BY SHIRLEY SHERROD: I want -- I want the first hug.
(LAUGHTER)
SPOONER: This means a lot to us.
SHERROD: It means so much to me.
SPOONER: This means a lot to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: There were lots of hugs and kisses to go around between Sherrod and Roger and Eloise Spooner.
Sherrod helped save the family's farm in the mid-'80s. The Spooners quickly came to Shirley's defense here on this newscast when she was accused by others of not doing her best to help them. Sherrod and the Spooners lost track of one another over the years.
But Sherrod's saga this week has brought them back together again. What a story.
Still, Shirley Sherrod's story can't be completely told without answering one question. Who is -- who is Cheryl Cook? It's the name we kept hearing. Cook is the USDA official who apparently told Sherrod, according to Sherrod, to stop her car and submit her resignation via BlackBerry.
Sherrod alleges that Cook told her that the White House wanted her to step down. The White House and the USDA insist that the firing came directly from secretary of the Agriculture Department and nothing to do with the White House.
But senior White House correspondent Ed Henry still wanted to track down the one woman who Sherrod mentioned, Ms. Cheryl Cook, who could maybe clear this up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): In the saga of Shirley Sherrod, there's only one mystery left to be solved: Where is Cheryl Cook?
(on camera): Cheryl Cook works here at the Agriculture Department as a top aide to Secretary Tom Vilsack. And search is in the middle of this story because Shirley Sherrod alleges that, on Monday, when the story first exploded, Cheryl Cook called her three times and demanded that she resign, and that Cheryl Cook said it was at the urging of the White House.
Now, White House officials and Secretary Vilsack have denied that. But Cheryl Cook has not come forward to answer one single question on this matter.
So, we spent the day trying to track her down from here at the Agriculture Department a few blocks away over at White House.
(voice-over): In the afternoon, my colleague Dan Lothian pressed Robert Gibbs on whether the White House would make Cook available.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I would point you over to USDA on that. I don't know if you talked to USDA.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right, but she's the person who supposedly said that the White House wanted her to step down...
GIBBS: Dan, if you want to reach the undersecretary or the deputy secretary, I -- again, call the Department of Agriculture.
HENRY (on camera): You can hear on the overhead intercom that Robert Gibbs is doing his daily briefing. He just told Dan Lothian that, if you want to reach Cheryl Cook at the Agriculture Department, you should call the press office. So, we're going to try to track her down.
Hey there. It's Ed Henry at CNN. We're working on a story about Cheryl Cook. And I just wanted to see if we can get an interview with her, because Robert Gibbs just said in the briefing, for the second day in a row, that, if any reporters want to talk to her, we should call over to the press office. Can you talk to us?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me see. I can -- let me take your information down.
HENRY (voice-over): Later in the afternoon, I got another call back from another press person, who left me a voice-mail shedding no new light on Cook's contact with the White House.
CHRIS MATHER, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, USDA: And I think we have been pretty clear about what the involvement was and wasn't. Obviously, we informed them of what was going on, because that's what we do on a daily basis. And in terms of their request or anything else, they -- this was our decision here at USDA.
HENRY: Then, suddenly, a possible breakthrough.
(on camera): My producer, Shawna Shepherd, has just gotten what we believe to be the direct line at the Agriculture Department for Cheryl Cook as well as her cell numbers.
(AUTOMATED VOICE): Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system.
The mail box belonging to...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheryl Cook.
(AUTOMATED VOICE): ... is full. To disconnect, press one.
HENRY: She's getting a lot of calls. She's not returning calls.
(voice-over): So we headed to agriculture headquarters to see if we could find Cheryl Cook there.
(on camera): Have you seen her? Have you seen this woman anywhere?
(voice-over): We tried to talk to Secretary Vilsack, but his driver spotted our camera. And the car was brought to a different entrance, and the secretary left.
But just as we were about to leave, the secretary's car came back to the office, and we confronted him.
(on camera): Secretary, Ed Henry with CNN. Would Cheryl Cook be made available for any questions? There's been an allegation that, you know, she said that the White House wanted Shirley to resign. Will she be made available to answer questions? Why not?
TOM VILSACK, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: I addressed that yesterday.
HENRY (voice-over): Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Good work, huh? You just saw one of my colleagues, Dan Lothian, as well there asking White House Secretary Robert Gibbs about Cheryl Cook and why did she -- why she's not talking and nowhere to be found.
Well, he has some insight into this story and he's going to be joining me here next to take us through this.
This is your national conversation. I'm Rick Sanchez. Look forward to seeing you on the other side of this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey. Welcome back. We're drilling down once again on the Shirley Sherrod story on the political list since the truth came out that she did not make decisions based on race. In fact, it was just the opposite. She seemed to have been smeared.
She has received an apology from FOX News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, the USDA secretary, the White House press secretary. She even got a phone call from the president, who talked about the incident with ABC News just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WORLD NEWS")
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right.
Joining me now to discuss the latest on the Shirley Sherrod saga is White House correspondent Dan Lothian.
Dan, I want to start with this Ms. -- Ms. Cook.
LOTHIAN: Right.
SANCHEZ: When this story first broke, all we heard is, this Cheryl Cook woman had called Shirley and said, the White House thinks that you're going to be on "Glenn Beck" tonight, and we have got to move fast. Pull over. E-mail me your resignation, or something to that effect, that seemed to be the impression Shirley Sherrod got.
Since then, we have hardly heard a whimper from Cheryl Cook. What's going on here?
LOTHIAN: That's right. A whimper -- we haven't heard anything at all from Cheryl Cook.
And that's why you saw my colleague Ed Henry really trying to find out where she was, so you could -- so we could really hear her story. And, in fact, I was pressing Robert Gibbs about that -- you saw that as well -- just to find out, you know, what exactly was said.
Ms. Sherrod had -- had always held to that story, but what's interesting is in that conversation that she had on the phone with the president yesterday, that wasn't brought up at all.
So, we really don't know. We have not had a chance to speak with Cheryl Cook. It would be interesting to find out exactly what it is that she said.
SANCHEZ: Well, what -- I mean, you know, I -- I'm just sitting here thinking that, sometimes, you know, as Shirley Sherrod has certainly found out, the truth shall and will set you free.
If this...
LOTHIAN: Right.
SANCHEZ: ... Ms. Cook really picked up the phone and said something even akin to what Shirley Sherrod, who, by all indications, is a very honest and forthright person, who we now have come to believe in her credibility...
LOTHIAN: Right.
SANCHEZ: ... then someone is not telling the truth here. And, look, it's OK.
LOTHIAN: Well, I mean...
SANCHEZ: Shirley may have misunderstood her, but she didn't make it up.
LOTHIAN: Right. Right.
And, you know, put yourself, I guess, in their position. Would you want Cheryl Cook to come out and even say anything more about this...
SANCHEZ: Yes.
LOTHIAN: ... when really this administration is trying to get beyond this story?
As you know, it's been a big distraction this week. The president wanted to talk about the economy.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
LOTHIAN: He wanted to highlight some of the great accomplishments, what they see, of this administration, and instead they spent all this time talking about this controversy. So, why else would you want to put someone...
SANCHEZ: But you know -- but you know -- but -- but wait. Dan, you know and I know, I mean, our jobs -- and you're right -- look, if I was them, I would be trying to say, oh, you know what? It never really happened. They misunderstood each other. They didn't really say that, blah, blah, blah.
LOTHIAN: Right.
SANCHEZ: The fact of the matter, if that was said, or if anything akin or close to that was said, it tells us a hell of a lot about this administration and it fears -- and its fears and the way it responds to certain members of the media, does it not?
LOTHIAN: Well, it does.
And I -- and I think the best way to clear all this up would be to, you know, find out exactly what was said. There could have been some release that was put out and said, listen, she did make some comments.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
LOTHIAN: She said something that was not what she meant to say, but that's the way it was understood. And so they could have done that to clear it up.
But we simply don't know, because Cheryl Cook has not been out there to explain her side of the story.
SANCHEZ: And, by the way, just to be real transparent, I mentioned that she said that, you are going to be on "Glenn Beck." It turns out "Glenn Beck' didn't even do the story, by the way, just so we don't...
LOTHIAN: Right. That's right.
SANCHEZ: ... cast aspersions on Mr. Beck's program in this case, to be totally transparent and fair.
Dan, always good to talk to you.
LOTHIAN: Always good, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're taking our money and you're paying each other, and you think we're not going to be mad about it? You're out of your minds!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: A small California town is in outrage over the huge salaries that the city manager, his assistant, and the police chief were taking home. You're not going to believe the numbers when we share this with you.
And then we now have found out what their pensions were. That, in and of itself, will likely blow you away. We are going to have the story for you in just a little bit.
Also, it looks like someone gave in to the dark side. But wait a minute. That's no lightsaber.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Can you guess what list that one is going to be on?
We will be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
We have a rule that we have for this next segment. We don't show any video obviously where anyone has been killed or gravely injured. After all, there's music under it, right?
That usually means showing no helicopter crashes. Not today.
Here's "Fotos."
This is amazing video, a helicopter crash in Nevada that is caught on camera. I'm just going to let you watch for a little while so you can see it for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes. This was a rescue chopper for stranded mountain climbers. So they perform rescues, but they ended up needing to be rescued.
It's a great ending though. And that's why we're showing you this. Most of them only suffered minor injuries. All are fine, essentially.
Now this. Darth Vader showed up at a bank. He made a withdrawal by force. Real life instead of fiction, by the way, and a real gun instead of a light saber.
What do you expect? He's from the dark side. Maybe we should call him Darth-in-Vader. Get it?
Now, falling on your rear is embarrassing, especially if it's caught on camera, but this bowler's blunder turned into a blessing. Watch the ball with me.
You ready? I know, it's just sitting there. But keep watching. Something magical is going to happen here after this guy makes a total fool of himself.
Yes, get out of the way. We want to see what -- no! No! No! No!
Oh, my goodness! It's a strike. A strike! And he fell on his fanny.
Those are "Fotos del Dia," and you can see them for yourself -- ouch -- on my blog, CNN.com/ricksanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you answer some questions really quickly?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Sharron Angle invites the media and then leaves without answering their questions. That's ahead.
Alvin Greene like you've never seen him before. Brooke Baldwin is going to join me in a little bit. Boy, has she got a treat for you.
Folks, I'm telling you, don't believe. This is good.
And before we go to break, let me bring Chad Myers in. In fact, let me just tease him. He has got some paperwork there. That paperwork contains news.
He will share that news when we come back on the other side of the break.
Had to do that because we're running out of time and we've got to get to commercial.
All right. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Brooke Baldwin is joining us now. She joins us with trending topics. And --
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't have data.
SANCHEZ: But you've got music and songs.
BALDWIN: I do.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BALDWIN: Man, oh man. We'll get to that in a minute.
SANCHEZ: All right. Tell us where you're starting now.
BALDWIN: Let's start with -- I've never actually seen you where jeans, Sanchez. You wear jeans?
SANCHEZ: My wife always tries to get me to wear them, but I'm like an old hooter. I won't do it.
BALDWIN: An old hooter?
SANCHEZ: Yes. You know, like an old man. My kids are always laughing at me because I won't do any young stuff.
BALDWIN: OK.
Anyhow, so here's the story. You go shopping -- let's say I'm using jeans as an example. You go buy a pair of jeans, and jeans have all kinds of tags. Right? You have the price, size, security sensor.
But now, starting next month, if you're buying your jeans at Walmart, there will likely be another tag that some groups are calling controversial. Here it is. It's this chip. The purpose of the thing, with one click of those handheld scanners, a Walmart employee can scan -- it's actually called an RFID tag. And by doing that, it's a real quick and easy way for them to check the store's inventory.
But privacy advocates are worried. They say you could buy a pair of jeans, take them home, chuck the chip in the trash, but it isn't turned off. So, theoretically, they're worried that someone could go through your trash, see what you've been buying.
OF course, they're saying that's invasion of your privacy, but, again, Walmart reiterating it is just to check inventory only. But this story has been all over the Internet today.
SANCHEZ: Yes. It's got that big brother feel to it.
BALDWIN: Exactly. That's exactly what they're saying.
SANCHEZ: It's always scaring people.
All right. Now, musica, musica, musica.
BALDWIN: Here we go.
The Alvin Greene rap that we have all been having fun with today. And I wish you were around CNN about two hours ago when Rick Sanchez was shaking it.
It was on video, but I can't show you. Maybe we'll get it on Twitter.
Anyway, so Alvin Greene, he's that South Carolina Senate candidate that might have the political jam of the summer.
SANCHEZ: This is good!
BALDWIN: Watch and listen.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALVIN GREENE (D), SOUTH CAROLINA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE (singing): When I say "Alvin," you say "Greene," Alvin Greene Alvin Greene. When I say "Alvin," you say "Greene," Alvin Greene for senator
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: OK. Glad you didn't see us dancing.
So this is this video mash-up of Greene's TV appearances. It even takes a shot of his GOP opponent, Jim DeMint. And also, if you watch the whole thing, there are actually random shots of LeBron James.
SANCHEZ: Which is a total non sequitur. BALDWIN: Total non sequitur, but it's fun. It's fun.
SANCHEZ: We'll just put LeBron in here.
BALDWIN: Yes. Why not?
So there's a credit when you watch it. The whole thing -- at the very end there, there's actually credits that roll. And at the end of the video, it says, "Directed and produced by Alvin Greene."
So, CNN here, we did our due diligence. We checked with the Greene camp. They say no way, we did not make this.
But they also said apparently Greene did the rap.
SANCHEZ: Yes, it's good.
BALDWIN: It is kind of catchy.
SANCHEZ: It is good.
BALDWIN: You were doing the Super Bowl shuffle earlier, circa 1985.
SANCHEZ (singing): When I say "Alvin," you say "Greene." There you go.
BALDWIN: Oh my word.
SANCHEZ: Sorry.
BALDWIN: Anyway, I'm being told I need to tell you that the song was actually written back San Francisco producer Jay Friedman (ph).
SANCHEZ: That was good stuff. I like it.
BALDWIN: It's kind of catchy.
SANCHEZ: I think it's very, very catchy.
BALDWIN: People at home are like, "Oh, lordy."
SANCHEZ: "These two are out of control."
Thank you.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: See you tonight at 8:00?
BALDWIN: Deal.
SANCHEZ: You going to be here?
BALDWIN: Oh, thanks for reminding me.
Do we have two seconds?
SANCHEZ: Yes. Go ahead.
BALDWIN: Oh, no, no, no. It's not up on the Twitter board. I just wanted to remind everyone --
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
BALDWIN: -- that we're trying everyone to bring us their pitches for the trending topic at 8:00.
SANCHEZ: Oh, yes. Yes.
BALDWIN: So if you have an idea -- and I've been getting a ton since 4:00 --
SANCHEZ: Help Brooke produce her show and do her job.
BALDWIN: You know, I'm tired of working, Sanchez. Anyway --
SANCHEZ: We'll see you in a little.
BALDWIN: -- but if you have ideas, we're all about listening to them.
SANCHEZ: We'll see you in just a little bit.
All right. Take a look this, folks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're taking our money and you're paying each other? And you think we're not going to be mad about it? You're out of your mind!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Wow. Backlash over big bucks. Several leaders of a small town in California are really feeling the heat after some unbelievable revelations about their salaries. And if you think the salaries are crazy, wait until you hear about their pensions.
They're on THE LIST, and that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: I'm about to tell you about a story that's probably going to make you a bit angry. It's a story about citizens holding their leaders accountable, or trying to.
CNN first reported this story a week ago, but the fallout today, putting three leaders of a small city -- a suburb, really in California -- on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
Let me set this up for you by reminding you that California is out of money. Many of its cities, like the rest of the country, are struggling through some very difficult economic times.
That includes the city of Bell, 14 miles south of Los Angeles, fewer than 40,000 people. That's small. Records show the median yearly income there is $35,000 a year.
Now, here we go. Are you ready for this? You're about to see what three city officials make each year there in Bell. And keep in mind their salaries are paid by taxpayers.
Here are the numbers. Robert Rizzo, the city manager, he's making more than $787,000 a year. That's nearly twice what the president of the United States makes.
Take a look at what he will reportedly make each year in pension payments. Yes, pension payments.
Also, the city's police chief makes nearly $460,000 a year. That's twice what the police chief of Los Angeles makes.
The assistant city manager makes more than $370,000 a year. An assistant city manager. And get this -- the city manager reportedly lives in Huntington Beach, dozens of miles away from the city that he runs.
We're told he also owns a horse ranch in Washington State. According to property records, that place is valued at a cool $1 million.
The officials have not responded to our calls and e-mails asking for comment, but listen to how the city's mayor is justifying these salaries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR OSCAR HERNANDEZ, BELL, CALIFORNIA: If you want good service, I think you deserve to get good money. Don't you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have a lot of money coming into this city. When you compare what you have coming in to Los Angeles, that city manager doesn't make close to that much money.
How do you justify $800,000 in a city this small and this poor?
HERNANDEZ: The only thing I say, this community, they're receiving a good service. They deserve to have the best service.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can get the best service for a lot less than $800,000 a year.
HERNANDEZ: But you have to have good employees to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: When the salaries were made public last week residents pounced. They protested. They yelled. And watch as they screamed as well. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're taking our money and you're paying each other? And you think we're not going to be mad about it? You're out of your minds!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Another resident calls the officials predators.
Yesterday, the state attorney general ordered an investigation, calling the salaries beyond belief. And then last night, the city council called an emergency meeting. After several hours, council members announced that the officials under fire will resign. We are told the crowd cheered.
This story is far from over.
Did city manager Robert Rizzo commit a crime? And will he and others still get these stunning pension payments? There are some very serious new questions still without answers, and that's why the man at the center of it all, Robert Rizzo, has landed himself on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
Representative Charlie Rangel is also in a bit of a difficult situation, apologizing now for his berating words to MSNBC's Luke Russert, frequent viewer of this newscast.
So what set Rangel off? You will see what's going on with the congressman as THE LIST continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
We have told you about Sharron Angle. She's the Nevada Republican who's running against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. But you've got to watch this video I'm going to show you right now.
This was billed as a rare Sharron Angle news conference. See the man right there at the podium? Sharron Angle is right behind his right shoulder.
You see her there? You can barely kind of see her.
There you go. OK.
The man steps away and those reporters are now ready to ask Sharron Angle questions. Hopefully good questions.
But wait. Sharron Angle is leaving. She is heading for the exit. She's out of there.
We've pointed out to you that Angle has talked in the past, but mostly to Fox News and conservative, friendly talk radio hosts. But she seems to be not willing to talk to the rest of the media. Now, transpose that with this next piece of video which is eerily similar in many ways. Charlie Rangel said today he's got the opposite problem.
Rangel told reporters that after all these years in Congress, he still can't say "No comment."
Which is not entirely true, Mr. Rangel.
We've heard him say it. Either way, here he is yesterday asked by reporter Luke Russert -- Luke Russert is the son of Tim Russert, by the way -- whether his ethics quagmire could end up claiming his job. And look what this congressman does. Look how he answers him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: What are you talking about? You're just trying to make copy? Basically, you know it's a dumb question and I'm not going to answer it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Rangel will you address --
(CROSSTALK)
RANGEL: It's a dumb question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are allegations --
LUKE RUSSERT, MSNBC CORRESPONDENT: Sir, you have not filed taxes on properties in the Dominican Republic, allegedly. If that comes to be true, is that not a problem?
RANGEL: It doesn't really sound like NBC asking these dumb questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANGEL: And I called this morning and had a very good conversation with Luke Russert, and apologized to him for the way I treated him on television. But it's awkward when you can't give answers to questions, and sometimes reporters feel compelled to go beyond what I can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. Here's a guy that has spent most of his life doing the type of thing that Luke Russert was trying to do.
I want to bring Wolf Blitzer into this.
I bet you, you watched -- I know you've watched this, and you probably have got some thoughts on it.
I mean, here you have a reporter, albeit a young reporter, trying to cut his teeth, do an interview, ask what seemed to me as a reporter a legitimate question. And he seemed to get browbeaten by this congressman.
Who's wrong here, Wolf?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Charlie Rangel knows he was wrong, and that's why he called Luke Russert and apologized. Luke Russert was doing his job as you would do, as I would do, any serious reporter would do.
The announcement came forward that there is going to be, in effect, a trial involving these ethics allegations against Congressman Rangel, and reporters started asking about some of the specific charges. And Charlie Rangel, who didn't want to discuss them for obviously good reasons -- he's got lawyers, he's got a deal with this, he didn't want to get into it -- instead of simply saying, look, we're going to have a hearing next week, I'll go through all the charges, I have got a case to make, I can't explain it right now because that would be inappropriate, so ask me questions I can answer, I can't answer those.
But instead he --
SANCHEZ: He berates him.
BLITZER: He railed against Luke Russert, who as you point out, is a young reporter. And that was inappropriate. And Charlie Rangel did the right thing by calling him up today and saying, you know what? I shouldn't have reacted the way I did.
SANCHEZ: Boy, I'll tell you, you put it in perfect perspective. Perfect perspective.
Thanks so much, Wolf.
BLITZER: I will say one thing. Sharron Angle should have stayed if it was billed as a news conference. She, on the other hand, she made a statement that she sort of disappeared. That's not a news conference, that's just a speech. If she bills a news conference, she should take reporters' questions.
SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly. Point being made. If you're going to make a promise, you have got to deliver. That's what we learn in this business, and that's what we keep to ourselves.
Wolf Blitzer, always a pleasure. Look forward to seeing you in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Here we go. There's one more political list that we've got to tell you about.
Just how close are the Tea Party movements and the Republican Party becoming these days? That's next. And importantly, as THE LIST scrolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: And here we go. You all ready to be on TV? Hope you behave. Ready to go?
Let's show some of the folks whoa re visiting with us today.
Wave to the camera. Thanks for being with us. And on and on we go.
This next story is about a marriage made in conservative heaven. Or is it?
We've been talking to you for a year and a half about the Tea Party movement, which was meant to be a fragmented group of grassroots activists until this week, when it moved into the hallowed halls of Congress with a very official name, because it's now the Tea Party Caucus.
The very first meeting of this group was Wednesday. Forty-two members have signed on as members so far. All of them are Republicans.
Take a look at this list. Some of these names you might recognize. Others you may not.
These are all names that jumped out at us -- Pete Sessions, who heads the NRCC, the Republican Party's elections arm for the House; Mike Pence, Republican Conference chairman. Both very high ranking members of the GOP.
Joe Wilson, you remember him of course. He's the one who yelled "You lie!" at the president of the United States during the State of the Union.
Here is Joe Barton, who apologized to BP's CEO, Tony Hayward, last month. That's why he was in the news.
And here's Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, who is now joining me, one of the founding members of the Tea Party Caucus and who, I should also note, is running for the governor there in Michigan.
Thanks for being with us, sir.
REP. PETER HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: Hey. Good to be with you. Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Hey, did you have any hesitations about thinking about this alignment between the Republicans and the Tea Party Caucus because some people would say, well, then you're kind of co-opting the bad about the Tea Party as well and that stuff has been in the news an awful lot?
HOEKSTRA: Well, I think what you're going to see here is that out of the Tea Party Caucus, you're going to see the development of an agenda that gets to be much more policy-specific than sometimes the party gets into. You know, the Tea Party will have the decision ultimately as to how much they're going to coordinate, how much they're going to work with the Tea Party Caucus. They may decide that they're just going to stay totally independent and maybe have some -- you know, some communication with it, but very, very little. That's a decision that the Tea Party folks will make.
We decided that we would form a caucus because we think that a number of policies that we need to move forward in Congress will reflect their values.
SANCHEZ: Do you worry that the Republican Party, if in co-opting the Tea Party, will have a tough time breaking through demographically with sectors of the American public who are opposed to the Tea Party -- Hispanics, African-Americans, for example -- at least at this juncture? That doesn't mean that in the future they might not be attracted to the Tea Party, but at this point that's pretty much the way it is, isn't it?
HOEKSTRA: Well, I think politics in America has always been about bringing together coalitions of groups. I mean, you take a look at it, just because there's a Tea Party Caucus, you know, there are a number of Republicans who are noticeably absent from being part of that caucus.
You know, there are some of us that feel comfortable working on those issues. There are others that feel less comfortable. I don't think --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But does it have to do with your particular -- because I just had one of my assistants look up your district, for example, and your district is very, very white Anglo Saxon, for example. So, I mean, you know, let's be straight with each other here. It's easier for you to do this than it would be for a Republican who has more of a mixed district in terms of the demographics, right?
HOEKSTRA: Well, you could make that argument, but take a look at my district. I'm a person also been endorsed by the Teamsters. You might say, wow, that's out of character, that's hard for someone on the left side of the state. There's not a lot of union presence in Pete's district.
SANCHEZ: That's a good point. That's a good point.
Hey, you know what? Congressman, we're out of time. We're going to have to leave it here.
Enjoyable discussion. Let's continue this.
Is that OK with you?
HOEKSTRA: I'd love to do it. Yes. I'd love to do it. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Let's do it.
I don't want Wolf mad at me if I eat into too much of his time.
So here now, without further ado, is "THE SITUATION ROOM."
I'll see you at 8:00 tonight.
Here's Wolf Blitzer.
