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Rick's List
911 Tapes in Connecticut Shootings Released; Deadly Bus Accident in Missouri; Bob Inglis Not Conservative Enough: Casualty of Tea Party Movement; Woman Kicked Off Plane After Reporting Alcohol on Pilot's Breath; Whoopi Goldberg vs. Michaele Salahi; 911 Calls and Hartford's Response
Aired August 05, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I will tell you, the chilling call that this Connecticut killer made to police, we have got it. We're going to be sharing it with you.
In fact, here's a taste on the LIST.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Here's what's making the LIST in prime time.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: State Police.
OMAR THORNTON, GUNMAN: Is this 911?
911 OPERATOR: Yes. Yes, I help you?
THORNTON: This is Omar Thornton, the shooter over in Manchester.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, he is. And you will hear what he tells police with his last words before his massacre of eight co-workers. Beyond chilling.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am hiding in the dark.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Hide in the dark. Get down.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And that is one of his victims who got away. You will hear her story.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The N-word a really lot, calling him, you know, (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
SANCHEZ: And that is his girlfriend, charging racism. You will hear the company's response.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't thinking too much, just getting the hell out of the plane.
SANCHEZ: The brakes on a plane catch fire as it lands in Chicago and its 178 passengers evacuate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some people fell off the slide.
SANCHEZ: A baseball milestone is reached. Does anyone care? The shame that is Major League Baseball and how they skewed up the national pastime.
An officer has a carjacker right where he wants him. Or does he? Whoa. Didn't see that coming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. I'm so glad that so many of you are joining us on this night.
We are getting closer to the heart of this horrible mass murder in Connecticut. Last night, I brought you the frantic call to police that was placed by one of Omar Thornton victims. Tonight, a second one I'm going to share with you. This one is placed by Thornton himself.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: State police.
THORNTON: Is this 911?
911 OPERATOR: Yes. Can I help you?
THORNTON: This is Omar Thornton, the -- the shooter over in Manchester.
911 OPERATOR: Yes. Where are you, sir?
THORNTON: I'm in the building. You probably want to know the reason why I shot this place up. This place right here is a racist place.
911 OPERATOR: Yes, I understand that.
THORNTON: They're treating me bad over here and treat all other black employees bad over here, too. So I took it to my own hands and handled the problem. I wish I could have got more of the people.
911 OPERATOR: Yes. Are you armed, sir? Do you have a weapon with you?
THORNTON: Oh, yes, I'm armed.
911 OPERATOR: How many guns do have with you?
THORNTON: I got one now. There's one out, one out in the -- in the factory there.
911 OPERATOR: Yes. OK, sir.
THORNTON: I'm not going to kill nobody else, though.
911 OPERATOR: Yes. We're going to have to have you surrender yourself somehow here and not make the situation any worse. You know what I mean?
THORNTON: These cops are going to kill me.
911 OPERATOR: No, they're not. We're just going to have to get you to relax...
THORNTON: I'm relaxed. I'm calmed down.
911 OPERATOR: ... to have you, you know, turn yourself over.
THORNTON: (INAUDIBLE) I hear the cops are already in there. Make sure you say the right thing. Hey, the SWAT team just rolled by in army gear. They don't know where I'm at. But I don't know, maybe you can trace this from this phone call.
But, yes, these people here are crazy. And they treat me bad from when I started here, a racist company. Treat me bad. I'm the only black driver they got here. They treat me bad over here, treat me bad all the time.
(CROSSTALK)
911 OPERATOR: It's a horrible situation. I understand that.
THORNTON: Hey, don't try to calm me down. I'm already calmed down.
911 OPERATOR: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
THORNTON: I'm not going to kill nobody else. I just want to tell my story, so you can play it back anyway.
911 OPERATOR: OK. You're going to help me get you out of the building, OK?
THORNTON: All right. . I'm good. Don't worry about -- I got that taken care of. I don't need anyone to talk me into getting out of the building.
911 OPERATOR: Where in the building are you, Omar?
THORNTON: I'm not going to tell you that. When they find me, that's when everything will be over.
911 OPERATOR: yes. Just, where are you located? Are you up in the offices?
THORNTON: When they find me, everything will be all right. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Manchester itself is a racist place. 911 OPERATOR: Yes. Now, what time did you get there today?
THORNTON: It was about 7:00.
911 OPERATOR: Yes?
THORNTON: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: This morning?
THORNTON: Yes, about 7:00 a.m., yes.
911 OPERATOR: Yes.
THORNTON: They told me to come early today.
911 OPERATOR: What kind of weapon do you have?
THORNTON: I got a Ruger SR9.
911 OPERATOR: A Ruger? SR9?
THORNTON: Yes. Automatic, yes.
911 OPERATOR: Is it a rifle?
THORNTON: Nah, it's a pistol. (INAUDIBLE) my favorites.
911 OPERATOR: Now, you're going to make the troopers and the people come in and, catch you? You're not going to surrender yourself?
THORNTON: Well, I guess maybe I will surrender. Nah. They're coming to get me. (INAUDIBLE) come get me.
911 OPERATOR: Yes, we wouldn't want to do it like that, Omar. You know, it's already been a bad enough scene here this morning. We want you to relax.
THORNTON: I'm relaxed. I'm calmed down.
911 OPERATOR: We don't want any more -- any more people, you know, to lose their life there.
THORNTON: I'm not going to kill nobody else.
911 OPERATOR: Yes. OK.
THORNTON: I'm not coming out of where I'm at. I'm not coming out. They have to find me, probably (INAUDIBLE) some dogs or whatever. I don't know what they do. Anyway...
911 OPERATOR: How much ammunition do you have with you?
THORNTON: I got -- I got a lot of shots left. Uh-oh.
911 OPERATOR: What's that? THORNTON: It's alright. I guess this (INAUDIBLE) I have to take care of business.
Tell my people I love them, and I got to go now.
911 OPERATOR: Omar?
THORNTON: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: I really want you to help me stop this situation, OK?
THORNTON: OK.
911 OPERATOR: If you work with me we'll get this to stop, OK? Omar.
Omar. Omar.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: On the phone tonight from Santa Barbara, California, former FBI special agent in charge Don Clark, also joining us, criminal profiler Pat Brown. She's in Washington.
Don, I'm going to begin with you.
It's the first time that you have heard that, so I will ask you straight out, what strikes you about what just heard?
DON CLARK, FORMER FBI INVESTIGATOR: Well, Rick, what really strikes me is that this person is really intent on carrying out this particular mass murder.
There may be other charges and other thoughts in his mind. And I will let Pat speak to that, because I Know she's an expert profiler, but I tell you what. From my working around criminals and people who are intent on doing these types of things, it certainly seems to me that he is as cool as he can be.
That's what really gets me, is that it seems like to me that ice is going through his veins. So, whatever has caused this has gotten him to this point that he feels, in my opinion, totally relaxed and going ahead with doing with whatever he's going to do and what we ultimately saw.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: What do you make of all the comments that he makes about racism, seeming to have internalized this sense that he was being put upon by apparently everyone else?
(CROSSTALK)
CLARK: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off.
SANCHEZ: No, no. CLARK: But what I make of it is, is that my experience has been that usually people who get themselves into these type of situations, they have to come up with a cause, whether it's legitimate cause or not.
They seem to come up with a cause. And that's what this person has seemed to have come up with, is that I have got a mission and this is the reason I'm doing it because what I see that's going on here from a racist nature.
SANCHEZ: Pat, let me bring you in.
You listened to the tape. What is it that struck you most about what you heard?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I have to agree with Don. We're talking about is a guy making up a justification for the act he wants to commit, which is his huge psychopathic fantasy.
He wants to get back at people he feels disrespected by. It is not a hate crime, any more than Hasan shooting those people at Fort Hood was something because he -- everybody was anti-Muslim there. It's just that he decided to put that name on it, so it would justify what he does.
So, this guy got to point in his life. Usually, it's a midlife crisis, although he's a little bit younger than midlife, but it's usually at a point where you think you're a total loser. You're losing your job or you're losing a girlfriend or everything has started going bad around you and you want to blame everybody else.
So you develop this incredible fantasy which you want to be sure to enact out the way you want. And he doesn't want to be caught by the police at the end. That's why he says, oh, no, I'm not going that way, because then you will get the last laugh.
What I'm going to do is, take all these people out. Be sure you get my name. It's Omar Thornton. You have got to remember that, because I'm going to be popular. I'm going to go down being remembered. It's his moment in the sun. He loves it.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this, because, look, I'm going to ask you the questions now that I have been receiving. Over the last couple of days, I have received thousands upon thousands of tweets and comments from Americans on this story.
I'm hearing two comments in general on Twitter, for example. The guy was a thief who got caught, and that's all there is to it, and he's a killer, but I can understand what he says about discrimination.
Is it possible, is it possible that we can have these two stories that are not necessarily mutually exclusive?
BROWN: Well, I would say this.
Can people experience discrimination? Of course they can. And then they do something that is legal about it if they feel that way. But my experience is, when you have a psychopath involved, the reason people don't like him or are having problems with him, because he's a psychopath, and he doesn't treat other people well.
He's obnoxious. He lies a lot. He manipulates people. They're fed up with him. So, what he tells his girlfriend is going on at the job is probably a pile of bunk.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BROWN: It's just that he's causing the problem and he wants to say he's not. He's always right and everybody else is always wrong, so they have got to be that -- they have got to be racists, then.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, and since you said that, we should probably add to the mix that the CEO of the company came out today and mentioned that this is in no way true what he was alleging.
We also have information that he was actually caught on tape and was followed for several weeks and was recorded stealing.
So, let me bring you, Don, back into this conversation. And this is what most of us watching this story don't understand. If he was that put upon, is it reasonable to assume that nobody he worked with heard of these allegations or these charges that he makes?
CLARK: Well, you know, Rick, this is his excuse. This is his reason for doing whatever it is that he ultimately wanted to do.
And it appears to me that the guy had really some bad, serious issues going on in his life. The company has said it. No one else had come up and said, yes, this is really bad and so on and so forth. So, my experience has been that people who get themselves involved in this type of activity, they have got to find a reason for it. And this guy has found his reason to be, it's the company, it's everybody else's fault, except mine.
SANCHEZ: We're so appreciative of having both of you here, two experts that were able to listen to this for the first time and react to it the way you did.
Pat Brown, Don Clark, thanks for joining us tonight.
Once again, and I need put a punctuation on this, the CEO of the company has come out today and addressed the cameras and said that those racist allegations are unfounded. In fact, you are going to hear how exactly he explains it in his own words, along with the words of other victims who have called 911. And we have those recordings. So, stand by.
There's more to this particular story.
But, first, the United States is the only country to drop the atomic bomb, and tonight, for the very first time, we are there with a delegation in Hiroshima to apologize? To apologize? That's what the son of the man who dropped the bomb says. He is not happy about it. And he's going join me live here on RICK'S LIST next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Next on the LIST: Hiroshima, the atomic bomb, and the event that changed the world forever, and now, 65 years later, controversy. Let me tell you why.
Paul Tibbets Jr. was the colonel who dropped the bomb over Hiroshima that killed 140,000 people. A few days later, Japan surrenders, bringing an end to the World War II and possibly saving the lives -- and this is important -- saving the lives of thousands and thousands of American G.I.s.
Here's why suddenly it's news once again, folks. This is the annual memorial ceremony you're watching here in Hiroshima. And this year, the United States is represented. It's the first time ever that the nation that dropped the bomb sends a delegation led by Ambassador John Roos.
Should we be there? Here's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This president, President Obama, is very committed to working toward a world without nuclear weapons.
The Obama administration and President Obama himself believed that it would be appropriate for us to recognize this anniversary, and so has proceeded to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Remember when I told you about Paul Tibbets just a little while ago? Well, guess who is on the phone with us? Guess who has called in? His son, Gene Tibbets, is calling into RICK'S LIST from Georgiana, Alabama.
Gene, thank you so much for being with us, sir.
Do you think that we should have sent a delegation there?
GENE TIBBETS, SON OF PAUL TIBBETS: Well, like you said, it's never been done before. And I really can't say why that they sent one this time. I know what Mrs. Clinton said, and I just don't believe it should have been done at all.
SANCHEZ: Well, let me -- I should tell you this, just to be fair. It's not the first time the United States of America has done something similar. This is U.S. President Ronald Reagan, in a very controversial move, went to Germany in 1985. He visited the graves of German soldiers, including dozens of S.S. troops, Nazis.
TIBBETS: Right. I remember that well. I certainly do. SANCHEZ: Do you think that was wrong as well?
TIBBETS: I don't think it was quite right. Just put it that way.
SANCHEZ: What did your father tell you about that day?
TIBBETS: Well, first thing that most people ask about that day is the number of people. They say they killed 140,000 people.
He said, "I don't think of the ones that I killed, Gene." He said, "I think of the ones we saved."
SANCHEZ: You're referring to all the G.I.s whose lives were saved by making the war end that much faster.
You know, do you feel, sir, like this was an apology on the part of the United States? Because they're saying that it wasn't an apology. It was just an honoring.
TIBBETS: Well, it may be an unspoken type apology is what I would say. But you really don't know.
SANCHEZ: I get the sense that you're not happy with this act, this delegation that was sent there, that, if it was up to you, they would not have gone. Am I reading you wrong?
TIBBETS: No, you're correct.
SANCHEZ: I'm wondering -- one final question -- as you look at this, are you still convinced, with everything that your father told you, that we, in dropping that atomic bomb, as a nation, did the right thing?
TIBBETS: Yes, we definitely did the right thing, because you mentioned all the American lives that would have been saved. Well, you got count the Japanese lives that would have been saved about.
SANCHEZ: Mr. Tibbets, you're very kind, sir, to take your time to call us in and share this unique perspective that you, unlike most other Americans, have with this situation. You're a good guest and good guy. And thanks again for calling.
TIBBETS: Well, thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BOB INGLIS (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Way too many of these hot microphones on TV and radio are telling us that, no, our -- the best days are behind us. It's all going to pot. We're done for. And way too many people are believing that stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Who is he talking about with those hot microphones? Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, FOX News? How a hard-core conservative says that he was chased out of the Republican Party and the U.S. Congress, and he wants it to stop. His story, his words, he will share it with you.
And a deadly bus accident involving children. I want you to look at those two school buses and I will take you through it in just a little bit.
You're watching RICK'S LIST. This is our national conversation, and I'm going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the LIST.
And here's the list now of the stories that we have rounded up for you.
First of all, Elena Kagan confirmed today as the newest Supreme Court justice. At 50, she will be the court's youngest member and the fourth woman to serve.
Number two, how in the world did these two school buses end up on top of each other traveling in the same direction near Saint Louis? The buses were filled with kids going to Six Flags. Two people were killed. Forty others were sent to the hospital.
Number three, BP today says it's finished pumping cement into the ruptured Gulf oil well, one of the first steps in sealing it for good. Friday, we will know for sure if it worked.
A woman is kicked off of a plane for saying the pilot smelled of alcohol. Is that right? Should she have been kicked off? Brooke has got it on her list. She's coming up here in just a little bit.
Also, the man that you're about to meet is a proud conservative, Republican, in the image of Ronald Reagan, he says. But he says he's been chased out of the Republican Party by the crazies. His story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
We have got so much information, we're trying to get it all in for you.
My next guest, I want you to meet him. He is no weak-kneed liberal, OK? Quite the contrary. Congressman Bob Inglis is as conservative as they come. This guy's maintained a 93 percent conservative voting record. The guy is a rock-ribbed Republican. But one day he wakes up to find that he's just not conservative enough for the South Carolina district he served for 12 years.
Voters threw him out in a recent primary. Actually, he was crushed 29 percent to 71 percent. Inglis recently gave his story to the liberal magazine "Mother Jones." Listen to what he said that he heard from his own constituents -- quote -- "Bob, what don't you get? Barack Obama is a socialist, communist, Marxist, who wants to destroy the American economy so that he can take over as dictator. Health care is just part of that, and he wants to open up the Mexican border and turn the U.S. into a Muslim nation."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Who was telling you that?
INGLIS: That was several -- several 80-year-old couples that were expressing their views. And, you know, what I should have said was over my dead body that's going to happen. I can guarantee you it's not going to happen. That would have been the better answer, wouldn't it, rather than the one I gave, which is it's not quite that bad. Let's keep it within the realm of facts.
SANCHEZ: Well, here's another quote. This is you hearing from what your former supporters are telling you. I think we have that one up as well.
"I sat down, and they said on the back of your Social Security card there is a number. That number indicates the bank that bought you when you were born based on a projection of your life's earnings." I'm going to try and not laugh here."And you are collateral. We are all collateral for the banks."
And then you write "I have this look -- what the heck are you talking about? I'm trying to hide that look and look clueless. I figured clueless was better than argumentative. So they said, "you don't know this? You're a member of congress, and you don't know this?"
You know, I'm reading this story and I'm thinking of Robert Frost's famous poem and you're like the guy in Robert frost's poem. I mean, you came to a fork in the road. What made you take the road least traveled?
INGLIS: Well, you know, I think that a colleague put it well to me last week. She said a father used to tell her leaders can either lead or mislead. And you know if you're going to lead, you need to lead with facts and you need to help people see realities that we face.
What we've got to break through is this scapegoating that's keeping us from the solutions. We have got to get on to the solutions.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: What do you mean scapegoating?
INGLIS: Way too many of these hot microphones on TV and radio are telling us that, no, our -- the best days are behind us. It's all going to pot. We're done for. And way too many people are believing that stuff.
SANCHEZ: Here is another quote. This is you on outside influences in the Republican Party. It's what you were just getting at. You say, "It's hard for Republicans in Congress to summon the courage to say no to Beck, Limbaugh and the Tea Party wing."
Amplify that thought process, if you would, for us, sir.
INGLIS: Well, it's very important that we basically say to these hot microphones, put down those flame-throwers. Stop running people, forcing people to this cliff that you want us to go over like lemmings.
What we need to do to is say to them, stop. America's best days are not behind us.
But what we're -- what we're wasting time with is scapegoats.
SANCHEZ: It almost makes -- it almost -- it almost you sound like saying that honorable people in the Republican Party are allowing themselves to be led, rather than leading.
INGLIS: Well, I think there's -- there's a big fear of these people with the hot microphones, because they have got powerful flame- throwers, ad they throw that flame at you, and they say, get moving, and they get the crowd moving.
And, meanwhile...
SANCHEZ: You're talking about Beck and Limbaugh and people like that?
INGLIS: ... you stop -- the people that make millions by selling soap and by selling books...
SANCHEZ: FOX News?
INGLIS: ... and by selling fear.
SANCHEZ: FOX News?
INGLIS: Yes, well, they're -- they are the competitor for you. But -- but the idea is for...
SANCHEZ: Well, no. Look, I don't care. I -- I'm asking. I mean, you're -- I don't know what it's like to be a Republican congressman getting so much heat from what I believed was my side of the aisle, that it makes me start to wonder if people are pushing me in a direction I don't want to go to.
You're in a unique position to tell this story to Americans, so I -- you know, I'm not putting words in your mouth. I -- I just know who are the people who drive that message. And I know that it's Beck and I know that it's Limbaugh and I know that in many ways you could argue it's FOX News.
Is it -- do you feel it's that way?
INGLIS: Well, I think that there are a lot of people that are making a lot of money off of selling fear at this point. And there are networks that do that. There are individual talk show hosts that do that. And the sad thing is that an awful lot of Americans are running in fear in front of those folks. And especially politicians are running in fear in front of those folks. But really if you're going to lead, you need to face those hot microphones and you need to say put down the flame throwers, we're going to talk facts.
The fact is the president was born in America. The fact is he is not a socialist. Now, let's get rid of those nonsensical kind of commentaries and get to the real issues, which are how do you cope with social security, Medicare and Medicaid? How do you put those on solid footing? That's what we're looking for.
SANCHEZ: Take a look at this now. Look at what happens when immaturity and police chases come together. You know this is going to end badly. Also, why did Whoopi Goldberg come out of a dressing room to, quote, "hit the White House gate crasher in the middle of 'The View'." This is wild. But is the accusation true at all?
Look, it's trending, it's what everyone's talking about. So we're going to share it with you. And by the way, we've got some of your tweets coming up here in just a little bit and I'm going to share those with you, as well.
Stay right there. RICK'S LIST coming right back at you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We showed that tape of what this mass killer said at the beginning. I'm bringing Brooke Baldwin into this mix now where.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's chilling.
SANCHEZ: It is chilling. But you know what I want to share with you? How interesting it is how different people react to the very same thing. I've gotten thousands of tweets from people reacting to what they saw and they're commenting on the entire segment, what our guest said. A criminal profiler, a former CIA person. Watch.
Rick Sanchez, "That was a horrible segment on the Manchester shooting.
BALDWIN: Wow.
SANCHEZ: "Two biased experts prone to view the shooter as a psycho." Next. "Good analysis. Thoughtful guests. Good show." OK.
BALDWIN: Go figure.
SANCHEZ: Brooke Baldwin joining us now to do the trending. And is this the Whoopi Goldberg scene?
BALDWIN: This is the Whoopi Goldberg scene. Before that, this is the Delta.
SANCHEZ: Oh, oh.
I was on the plane and -- SANCHEZ: The woman who said she smelled alcohol on the breath of the pilot and was thrown off a plane.
BALDWIN: I got her on the phone in California today. Here's the story. And it kind of got me thinking, you know, what would you do if you thought you smelled alcohol on the airline pilots as you're boarding on a plane? What would you do?
Well, it recently happened to a 51-year-old from Cynthia Angel from California. Here's what she told me on the phone tonight. She was boarding this plane in Atlanta, headed to LAX. The pilot she says passed her by on the jet way. In fact, it wasn't her. It was some lady behind her said, wow, did you smell that? She said three other people commented including herself. She said she quietly approached the flight attendant, said hey, what's the proper protocol if I think I smelled alcohol in the pilot? She said she eventually was seated after being taken in the cockpit to talk to over.
A couple conversations later, she says she was asked to leave the plane. In fact the Delta manager told her later in the office, look, we take this matter very seriously. The pilot tested negative for alcohol. Said that the pilot and crew essentially said look, we don't want you on our plane. We'll get you out of Atlanta, but we will take care of you. She was booked on a flight the next morning which she was definitely not happy about.
So we did our due diligence. We reached out to Delta. They said absolutely we followed policy. We did test the pilot. The pilot tested negative for alcohol. Cleared for duty, cleared for flying. But, quote, "Because the passenger continued to express concern even after the pilot was cleared, that it would be best to reaccommodate her on another flight."
SANCHEZ: Well, there might be some truth to that.
BALDWIN: Sure. Of course, there is. Of course, there is.
SANCHEZ: Yes. You know, if she starts (INAUDIBLE) and getting everybody on the plane all upset --
BALDWIN: Which she said she didn't.
SANCHEZ: OK.
BALDWIN: He said/she said.
SANCHEZ: Well, but you can understand where Delta, you know, we don't want to take that risk.
BALDWIN: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
BALDWIN: Bottom line, she told me, look, she has this lawyer sent this letter to Delta and wants Delta to simply be aware, she would say, of the behavior of this crew. SANCHEZ: By the way, the pilot is in charge of that plane. He can -- I mean, he's like the captain of the ship.
BALDWIN: He was the captain of the plane.
SANCHEZ: And he could say -- he can come up to somebody and say I don't like your face, you're out of here. He could.
BALDWIN: Everything --
SANCHEZ: I'm not saying that it's reasonable. I'm just saying he is the ultimate authority on a plane.
BALDWIN: Just got me and a whole lot of people tweeting about this tonight.
Now on to your favorite trending story of the day. It's so funny. People are tweeting saying are you on Team Whoopi, Team Salahi. Here's the deal.
We're talking about "The View" on TV, right? One of the co-hosts, Whoopi Goldberg, started the show today, opened the whole show defending herself from these allegations that she treated Michaele Salahi poorly yesterday.
I want you to be the judge. I'm going to play the incident for you in question. It happens quickly. Pay close attention to the right side of your screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've been abusing me. You're a woman abusing me.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) to abuse other --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to go forward.
MICHAELE SALAHI: I felt someone touch me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was Whoopi Goldberg. She doesn't come out unless she's passionate about something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That was Whoopi Goldberg. She doesn't come out unless she's passionate about something. Now here's a look at the wider shot. You can fully see Whoopi coming out. Almost like she's tapping Michaele Salahi, the one in the red dress right on the arm. And she is saying -- I can play the sound up loud -- she's saying move on, talk about the White House.
Now, this went on. After the show, Salahi was in tears apparently back stage telling the producer of the show she was very upset. One thing led to another. A little bit of a fight between Whoopi and Michaele Salahi ensued. So today, Whoopi justified on the show why she came out on stage saying she does tend to do that from time to time. She also explained what happened back stage and why. She says she's not sorry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, HOST, "THE VIEW": I make no, you know, apology for my choice words. But then her husband got in my face, had his BlackBerry out and started taking pictures of me. And needless to say, I really went off then. And there was even more choice of words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: More choice of words. A lot of she said/she said. We thought it was kind of funny. I love Whoopi Goldberg.
SANCHEZ: You know, the Salahis, there are people who get their 15 minutes of fame and then there are people who get their 15 minutes and then want another 15 and another 15 and another 15.
BALDWIN: Fifteen minutes and 15 minutes.
SANCHEZ: By the way, Whoopi did not hit her as she said she did. It was not a hit.
BALDWIN: Looks like a tap-tap.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Exactly. All right, thank you.
BALDWIN: Thanks.
SANCHEZ: By the way, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Are you still in the room?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm in the building.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Are you in the back hiding? Can you lock the door?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to get up. Do you have him?
911 OPERATOR: We do not have him yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Oh, my goodness. Have you heard that? This is a brand new 911 tape.
It's a terrified woman. She's calling police while hiding in a closet from that mass killer that we've been telling you about. You're going to hear this.
Also, how Major League Baseball screwed up what should have been a great night last night for America. I'm going to tell you how, exactly how. We'll be right back. This is RICK'S LIST. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: You hear politicians being criticized to just simply throwing money at problems all the time. Well, here's a case where it really kind of comes to fruition. Go. Time for "Fotos."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.
SANCHEZ: Some rappers apparently call this making it rain. New York State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. throwing crumbled bills at a crowd of enraged protesters in Albany, New York. The crowd was chanting, hey, hey, ho, ho, Espada has to go. You know it, right? It was this branch (ph) lawmaker. Espada is under fire for having a bloated payroll consisting of 40 staffers and spending more than 36,000 a week, according to the "New York Post." Literally, throwing away more money probably won't help his case.
Silver Springs, Maryland, now. Three teens jacked this SUV and when they were stopped by a Maryland police officer, they actually tried to escape by backing up over a police officer. That's right. The stolen SUV flipped over and they were all arrested obviously at the scene. The officer inside the squished squad car, here's the good news. He's fine, he's unharmed. He walked away, no problems. Thank goodness.
Also, tough time on the tarmac at Chicago's O'Hare airport. Check out this cell phone video of the evacuation of United Airlines Flight 949 from London.
The plane had just touched down when the landing gear caught fire sending up plumes of smoke. A United spokesperson says nearly 200 people were on board. The emergency slide were deployed to get people off quickly. Three people treated for minor injuries.
Those are "Fotos Del Dia." You can see them for yourself on CNN.com/ricksanchez.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.
SANCHEZ: We're going to be right back with the very latest on what's going on in Major League Baseball. This is a story that has many Americans for the better part of a decade now outraged. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. Every night it seems we get more and more friends here, and more people on the social media joining us, as well. And those of who you watch all the time know that there are certain things that I get real passionate about. And I apologize sometimes for maybe getting a little more passionate than I should be. But you know, I'll give you an example.
Something really big happened last night and I could give a damn about it. In fact, the silence is deafening on this one. It's also kind of heartbreaking.
When I was a little boy, just like many of you, I'd wake up so excited to read the baseball box scores in the newspapers. I knew the batting averages. I remember when I used the statistics of my favorite players. And oh, my God, if one of these players was about to reach a milestone or break a baseball record, I'd go to sleep with the transistor radio stuck to my ear so my mom wouldn't know that I had a radio and I was still awake. I mean, that was my field of dreams. Maybe yours. Gone. No, shattered. Why?
Well, it's shattered by agreed and shattered in many ways by stupidity. Here's "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
Here's what happened last night that we should be celebrating. Alex Rodriguez, a Hispanic kid like me, who grew up in my hometown, a Miami guy, he hit home run number 600. Youngest guy ever to do this. Here, watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw last night -- the 2-0. High drive. Center field. Deep. Going back. Look up. See you. There it is. Number 600. Alex Rodriguez.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: There it is, number 600. And you know what, I should care, but I don't. And neither do most of you. And that's a damn shame, America. You know why? You know why we don't care? One word. Steroids. Let me say again. Steroids. Baseball is more than any other sport a numbers game. But when the league slept for more than a decade while players juiced and all the numbers got inflated, they no longer mean anything. That's right, the numbers.
So A-Rod hit 600 or maybe it was 601, or maybe it was 559, when maybe 40 of those are tainted or is it 30 that were tainted? Or was it just one?
Who knows? That's the point. That's not the way it used to be.
Here, let me play a little game with you. Are you ready? I know a lot of you guys are sitting there watching. Here, go ahead, turn up the volume. It's a little quiz that most guys my age would know. Babe Ruth, 714. Hank Aaron, 755. Roger Maris, 61. It's in there. It's like locked in. It's automatic. We know those numbers.
Now, ready? Barry Bonds. Who knows? Who cares? Mark McGwire. Who knows? Who cares? Is it Rodriguez's fault?
Look, he may have juiced because they dangled a multimillion-dollar contract in his face and if he didn't, he'd be on the Greyhound bus to Poughkeepsie playing in the nobody knows who the hell I am or where I am league. Baseball let that happen because the steroid era meant more home runs. More home runs meant more butts in the seats and that meant a lot more money.
Yes, they're cleaning it up now. They've come clean. They say we're changing things. Why do you think it took A-Rod so long to get to 600? But the national pastime has been forever tainted.
Last night should have been special for us, for guys like me who remember being kids for America. Last night should have been a big story. Not a yawner. It should have been the kind of night that reminded us of our boyhoods. It's not. So thank you, Major League Baseball. You tonight are at the very top of "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hiding in the dark.
911 OPERATOR: OK, hide in the dark. Get down. Is the door locked?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
911 OPERATOR: And the door to the warehouse inside the building, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes.
911 OPERATOR: Are you hiding?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: Stay down where you are and hold on one second.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: These are the tapes that haven't been heard yet. 911 calls while people are being massacred. A killer who says a racist workplace drove him to do it and today the company responds to this nightmare. We've got all of it. It's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: I want you to hear now more of the sound that everyone has been commenting on on Twitter. This is Omar Thornton, the mass Manchester mass murderer. Here is this interesting exchange that he's having with police. Let's take a listen. Go ahead, Gil (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to have to have you surrender yourself here, not make the situation any worse, you know what I mean? OMAR THORNTON, GUNMAN: These cops are going to kill me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they're not. We're just going to have to get you to relax.
THORNTON: I'm relaxed. I'm calmed down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you, you know, turn yourself over.
THORNTON: I'm not going to kill. I'm going to tell my story to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
THORNTON: (INAUDIBLE) anyway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then you're going to help me get you out of the building, OK?
THORNTON: All right. I've got that taken care of. Anyway, I'm talking to you to get me out of the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where in the building are you, Omar?
THORNTON: I'm not going to tell you that. When they find me, that's when it will be over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You know, where are you located? Are you up in the offices?
THORNTON: When they find me, everything will be all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to make the troopers and the people come in and get you? You're not going to surrender yourself?
THORNTON: Well, I guess maybe I'll surrender. No, they'll come to get me. They'll come to get me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wouldn't want to do it like that. You know, it's already been a bad enough scene here this morning. We want you to relax.
THORNTON: I'm relaxed. I'm calmed down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We don't want anymore, you know, people to lose their life here.
THORNTON: I'm not going to kill nobody else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Isn't that something? In that recording, Thornton also echoes what some of his loved ones have been saying since the tragedy Tuesday, namely that he was harassed racially on the job of this beer distributorship.
OK. I want to show you something now. This is his girlfriend who came out today and spoke for the first time with a CNN affiliate about this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's start with the drawings, showing what?
KRISTIN HANNAH, OMAR THORNTON'S GIRLFRIEND: Like the game hang man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
HANNAH: It was a stick figure with a noose around its neck and it said kill "n" word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you saw this, you say you saw it. You saw it how?
HANNAH: On a picture of his cell phone because I'm the one that told him to take pictures because he had told me that they were doing these things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So she's corroborating, right? I mean, is that what I heard? She's corroborating this.
Now, did Omar Thornton launch this heinous reign of terror because he was racially harassed, or because he'd just been fired and caught red- handed stealing from his own company, cases of beer?
All right. The company's founder was asked about this today. And he came out and addressed this specifically to his credit. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSS HOLLANDER, CEO, HARTFORD DISTRIBUTORS: As an employee of Hartford Distributors, Omar Thornton was embraced as a member of our team and judged purely on the merits of his work. Based on credible third party information, we conducted a fair and thorough investigation which provided conclusive evidence that Omar was systemically stealing beer from the company and selling it to third parties. It was this conduct that led to the disciplinary proceeding on Tuesday morning. There was no indication in Omar's background or two-year history with the company that he posed any safety threat to himself, his co-workers or the community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So that's the boss. Finally an employee hiding in a closet. Listen to her story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hiding in the dark.
OPERATOR 911: OK, hide in the dark. Get down. Is the door looked?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. OPERATOR 911: And the doors to the warehouse inside the building, ma'm?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, yes.
OPERATOR 911: Are you hiding?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
OPERATOR 911: Stay down where you are and hold on one second. Are you still in the room?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm in the building.
OPERATOR 911: OK. Are you in the back hiding? Can you lock the door?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to get up. Do you have him?
OPERATOR 911: We do not have him yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me 10 ambulances to Hartford Distributors. We need a few ambulances here.
OPERATOR 911: We have 10 on their way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help me, please, help me.
OPERATOR 911: Ma'am, we are on the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What a story. We'll stay on it. Tomorrow, I'll be at Florida International University in South Florida. I'd love to see any of you there if you come by.
Meanwhile, here now filling in for Larry King, Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, take it away.
