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Rick's List

U.S. Economic Recovery Slowed?; New Details in Alaska Plane Crash Investigation; Convicted Murderer and Fiancee/Cousin Still on the Loose; Congressman Maxine Waters Claims Race Factor in Ethics Committee Investigations; Scientists Report Test That May Predict Alzheimer's Disease

Aired August 11, 2010 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. Let's get ready to go with RICK'S LIST.

I have got a bunch of things that I want to take you through, all having to do with the economy. Before we do anything else, look, let's just cut to the chase, shall we? Here's the situation in the United States.

The economy has gone from bad to worse to a little better, and now possibly headed down once again. The Federal Reserve is forecasting that the economic recovery is slowing down. That's not good news. The president is about to speak to this in just a moment. He's going to speak specifically to manufacturing jobs.

As a matter of fact, have we got that shot? There it is. The president is going to be coming on in just a little bit. He's going to a signing ceremony. He's going to share some words on this.

Let me tell you why this is particularly important. No, better yet, I'm not going to tell you. I'm going to show you why this is important. Here's why this is important. Take a look at these pictures that we got today. This is from East Point, Georgia. These people are all lining up for a chance to be able to get Section 8 housing. Can you believe this?

Just look at this. These are all people -- 400 Section 8 vouchers apparently are available. People heard about that. They all lined up. They have been there for hours. Tensions got so high, police had to be called in.

Look at the lines. This is all in East Point, Georgia. This is video we got just a little while ago as a matter of fact. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tried to take my paper application, and I really need this. It means a lot. If I can just pray over this here and get it processed and stay focused, do the right thing, maybe God will bless me.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: God bless her.

I mean, look, it's a difficult situation for a lot of these people in the United States right now. They're doing the best they can. Obviously, the economy is not as good as we would like it to be. And now we're getting signs that things aren't going to get any better.

And this is important. I want to read something to you, if I can find my reading glasses once again. I'm always putting those things somewhere. Here we go. Listen to this. This is from CNNMoney.com.

The figures suggest that the U.S. cannot rely on a boost -- now, this is what a lot of people had thought for a long time. Maybe, you know what, sure, things are bad. But eventually you know why things are going to be good? Because there's so much demand out there for products that can be consumed in Brazil, in China. The rest of the world is looking like, you know what, there's a lot of promise there. Who better to serve that promise than the United States?

For decades and decades, we have been the country that can supply that hunger, that need around the world. Why don't we do it now again? And this is what a lot of economists have been saying. Eventually, we're going to get out of this because there are so many things that we can manufacture.

Well, why aren't we manufacturing? Listen to this. Figures suggest the U.S. economy cannot rely on a boost from overseas demand -- stay with me here -- to offset the current weakness of the domestic economy. That's Paul Dales, U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

Let me bring another economist in now, Ali Velshi.

As we wait for the president to come out and speak, and the president is going to be addressing this, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

SANCHEZ: He's going to be talking about manufacturing jobs specifically. Why -- it would make so much sense to me. Who better than us to feed the hunger worldwide for all the products, electronic products, computer products, automobile products, appliance products? Who better than us to serve this, to make these?

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Who better than us is someone who can make it cheaper, which is how it goes.

Remember, when we first started outsourcing and you would have to call someone to get your Internet fixed, and it would be somebody overseas and you complained about it. Well, we don't complain that much anymore, because things are cheaper than they used to be.

And that is because so much of the stuff that we used to manufacture here are done is now in factories in part of the world that may not be air-conditioned, where those workers don't have the same benefits. They don't certainly don't earn as much on an hourly basis.

But it's way cheaper to buy a T-shirt manufactured in China or a desk or a bicycle or electronics. And that's part of why we have lost some competitiveness. Now, 1979 was the peak of manufacturing in America. About 20 million people were employed in manufacturing. We have 12 million employed in manufacturing now. And it's been on a steady decline ever since.

Some of that is technology, because you don't need as many people to make something as you did in 1979. Machines make more of it. Some of it is that there are places like China that make them cheaper. And that's the issue right now. That's why we can't get those jobs back. So, what are we going to --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Well, let me get to that in just a moment, because that doesn't hold out a lot of promise, but let me show you what the reaction is so far, at least today. I know this is a small window we're looking at.

Let's go. Give them a shot if you would, Dee (ph), of the Dow. Let's look at what the market is doing right now. Look, you don't have to be Ali Velshi to figure out this is not a good day. What is the market saying?

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: The market is saying that there's enough of a fear growing that things are not improving and as the Federal Reserve said yesterday might even get worse, in other words, the threat of a double-dip recession. Why? Because consumers are not yet spending.

You talked about pent-up demand, but we're not spending. Businesses aren't investing, because if there's another recession -- do you remember what happened in 2008 and 2009, that credit crisis? Nobody could get credit. So, if you're a big business and you have got $200 million sitting in the bank, you might hold on to that, because if it gets worse and you need to go borrow that money, no one will lend it to you.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: No one will lend you money to buy a car or a house if it gets like it did in 2009. So, everybody's holding their money in their pocket to their banks. Nobody's spending and we're waiting for something to happen.

SANCHEZ: But if we have become the type of economy that doesn't make anything anymore, as you hear a lot of folks say, then what are we going to be looking to the future as an economy?

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: You're a very good example. This is why I like this show because this is where we can set things straight.

People who say we don't make anything are talking out of their elbow -- 12 million people in this country are employed in manufacturing. But other countries are making more stuff and we're buying that manufactured stuff from them because it's cheaper.

SANCHEZ: I see.

VELSHI: We are voting with our wallets -- 80 percent of the goods that you buy at Wal-Mart are made somewhere else. And guess what? It's cheap. Things are cheaper. You want to buy a T-shirt or a desk or a dozen flowers, they're cheaper today than they were 10 years ago.

SANCHEZ: Have we hamstrung ourselves in how we produce things by making it so expensive? And by that, yes, I'm asking if part of the blame belongs to unions, for example, that make you pay for workers' health care, et cetera, et cetera?

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: But we like that workers have health care. We like that workers don't die on the job. We like that people can work in factories where there's air conditioning. We like that they get health benefits.

Look, we have been backed into a corner here, but sometimes the best creativity comes from being backed into a corner. The question that is not answered is, what is the thing that will lead us out of this? It was technology once. It was manufacturing once. What is the thing? A lot of people think it's alternative energy. What is the thing that we're going to be great out that we're going to sell the world?

SANCHEZ: Let me stop you real quick. Let's you and I watch the president. Here he comes now. He's being introduced. He's talking about just this, manufacturing in America.

Let's dip in.

(APPLAUSE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Please have a seat.

Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the White House.

From the day I took office, my administration's highest priority has been to rescue our economy from crisis, rebuild it on a new foundation for lasting growth, and do everything we can, every single day, to help the American people whose lives have been upended by a brutal recession.

Now, we knew from the beginning that reversing the damage done by the worst financial crisis and the deepest recession in generations would take some time -- more time than anyone would like. And we knew that it would require an ongoing effort across all fronts.

Now, the challenges we face have been confirmed not just by the economic data that we've seen since last spring, when events in Europe roiled the markets and created headwinds for our economic recovery. They're also confirmed every day in the conversations that I have with folks around the country, and in the letters that I read at night -- stories of Americans who are still looking for work, and the men and women who are still struggling to grow their businesses and hire in these challenging times.

So while we have fought back from the worst of this recession, we've still got a lot of work to do. We've still got a long way to go. And I'm more determined than ever to do every single thing we can to hasten our economic recovery and get our people back to work. So that's why I'm pleased today to sign into law a bill that will strengthen American manufacturing and American jobs. And as I do, I'm joined by two members of my economic team -- Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, who's been a tireless advocate for America's manufacturers; and Ambassador Ron Kirk, who's been doing a great job and putting in a lot of miles as our U.S. Trade Representative.

Few areas of our economy have been as hard-hit as manufacturing -- not just in recent years, but in recent decades. Throughout the 20th century, manufacturing was the ticket to a better life for generations of American workers. It was the furnace that forged our middle class. But over time, the jobs dried up. Companies learned to do more with less, and outsourced whatever they could. Other nations didn't always live up to trade agreements and we didn't always enforce them. And over the last decade, the manufacturing work force shrank by 33 percent, leaving millions of skilled, hardworking Americans sitting as idle as the plants that they once worked in. This was before the recent recession left them and millions more struggling in ways they never imagined.

Now, some suggest this decline is inevitable, that the only way for America to get ahead is to leave manufacturing communities and their workers behind. I do not see it that way. The answer isn't to stop building things, to stop making things; the answer is to build things better, make things better, right here in the United States. We will rebuild this economy stronger than before and at its heart will be three powerful words: Made in America.

For too long, we've been buying too much from the rest of the world, when we should be selling more to the rest of the world. That's why, in my State of the Union address, I set an ambitious goal for this country. Over the next five years, we are going to double our exports of goods and services, an increase that will grow our economy and support millions of American jobs. We've got a lot of work to do to reach this goal. Our economy has fallen into the habit of buying from overseas and not selling the way it needs to. But it is vitally important that we reverse that trend. After all, 95 percent of the world's customers and the world's fastest-growing markets are beyond our borders. And when the playing field is even, American workers can compete with anybody. And we're going to compete aggressively for every job, for every industry, and every market out there. That's why we fought for and passed tax breaks for companies that are investing here in the United States rather than companies that are keeping profits offshore. That's why we closed loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas. That's why we're enforcing our trade laws -- in some cases, for the very first time. That's why we told America's automakers that if they made the tough decisions required to compete in the future, that America would stand by them. And that's why we're investing in a clean energy industry and the jobs that come with it -- jobs that pay well and carry America to a cleaner, more secure and more energy-independent future.

Now, already we're beginning to see some of these investments pay off. I have seen it myself in factories where American workers are now manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels, components for the advanced batteries of tomorrow.

I have seen it in retooled auto plants where American workers are building high-quality, fuel-efficient cars and trucks that can go toe to toe with any in the world. In fact, for the first time in more than five years, the Big Three are operating at a profit, and the auto industry has added 76,000 jobs since last June -- that's the strongest period of job growth in more than 10 years.

So overall, the manufacturing sector has actually added 183,000 jobs so far this year. That's the strongest seven months of manufacturing job growth in more than a decade. Instead of plants leaving America to set up shop overseas, we've actually begun to see the opposite -- a growing number of firms setting up shop and hiring here at home.

So we're not yet where we need to be, but there are some good trends out there. And we can't let up. We've got to keep moving forward. That's why today, I'm signing a bill into law that will make it cheaper and easier for American manufacturers and American workers to do what they do best: build great products and sell them around the world.

The Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010 will create jobs, help American companies compete, and strengthen manufacturing as a key driver of our economic recovery. And here's how it works. To make their products, manufacturers -- some of whom are represented here today -- often have to import certain materials from other countries and pay tariffs on those materials. This legislation will reduce or eliminate some of those tariffs, which will significantly lower costs for American companies across the manufacturing landscape -- from cars to chemicals; medical devices to sporting goods. And that will boost output, support good jobs here at home, and lower prices for American consumers.

This bill passed both houses of Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, and I want to thank Democrats and Republicans for coming together on behalf of America's businesses and workers. And before I sign it into law, I want to take this opportunity to encourage that same kind of bipartisan spirit on another step that will create jobs and move America forward. The extraordinary growth we've seen in the clean energy sector is due first and foremost to the entrepreneurial drive of our businesses and our workers. But it's also due to the fact that we invested in them. One of these investments came in the form of clean energy manufacturing tax credits. What we said to clean energy firms was, if you're willing to put up 70 percent of the capital for a worthy endeavor, we'll put up the other 30 percent. That means that for every dollar we invest, we leverage more than two private sector dollars.

The only problem we have is, these credits worked so well, there weren't enough to go around. More than 180 clean energy projects in over 40 states received $2.3 billion in tax credits, but the program was such a success that we received 500 qualified applications for $8 billion in tax credits.

I believe that if an American company wants to innovate, grow, and create jobs right here in the United States, we should give them the support they need to do it. That's why I'm urging Congress, once again, to invest $5 billion in these clean energy manufacturing tax credits. It's an investment that will generate $12 billion or more in private sector investment and tens of thousands of new jobs.

And as I have said before, the nation that wins the race for the clean energy economy will lead the 21st century economy. Other nations know this. they have been investing heavily in that future. They want those jobs. But the United States of America doesn't play for second place. We compete to win. And we will win this if we move forward free of politics, focused on just what it takes to get the job done.

This is an idea that already has bipartisan support, but it's been delayed for months. So my simple message is, don't let politics get in the way of doing what's right for our economy and for our future. And don't bet against the American worker or lose faith in American industry. This is a nation that has always been proud of what it builds, and it is that spirit that's going to lead our recovery forward.

We've been through tough times before, and it is precisely in those times that we rebuilt, we retooled, we recaptured the ingenuity and resilience that makes this nation so great. That's how our predecessors built the first American century. That's how we'll build the next. And it's in that spirit that I will now sign this bill into law. Thank you very much, everybody.

(APPLAUSE)

SANCHEZ: You kind of like the piano music in the background, don't you? I don't know when was the last time we saw a signing certainly that that was accompanied by the sounds of Liberace in the background. But this is an important event for the president of the United States.

You heard that conversation I was having moments ago with Ali Velshi. For those of you who may have missed it, this is something that -- you can see this for yourself on CNNMoney.com, by the way. This is an important quote. This is an important quote, because there's a lot of talk out there about how the United States economy may possibly go into a double dip.

But the thing that could keep us from going into a double dip is the fact that there's so much need out there. There's such a hunger for product around the world in these emerging markets like Brazil and China, et cetera.

So, how do we create in the United States the kind of marketplace that will manufacture, provide those products that they will be able to use all over the world, not to mention that we will be able to use here? And, unfortunately, the news today, at least according to what's being seen on Wall Street, for example, is not good.

The market's down some 200 points so far. We have got another -- oh, we have got another 45 to 50 minutes left in the trading day. But look at where this is right now, down 268.

And let me read you this quote. The figures suggest the U.S. economy cannot rely -- key word here is cannot rely -- on a boost from overseas demand to offset the current weakness of the domestic economy. That's Congress to Paul Dales, U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

That's the shoot and caboodle here. That's what this is all about. That's what the president was trying to address. That's why he's trying to create these manufacturing initiatives. And that is why he signed that legislation.

Here now, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK WASHBURN, STEPFATHER OF PRISON ESCAPEE: I know what you guys are doing. You think you're Bonnie and Clyde. You're not -- no comparison. You're scum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "You are scum," scum with a capital S, he seems to be saying there, huh? We're just getting word now about a possible break in the case of this escaped convict and his alleged accomplice, the so-called Bonnie and Clyde couple, which is apparently how they see themselves.

They have just been spotted again. Wait until you hear where they were and what they were doing, brand-new information just coming in to us. I'm going to share that with you.

Also, we now know what went down after that deadly plane crash in Alaska. Trust me, what I'm going to tell you will give you chills. Wait until you hear how long the survivors waited besides the bodies of some of their friends and relatives. We will have that for you.

Stay right there. You're not going to miss this. When we come back, it's RICK'S LIST once again coming your way, as we scroll on. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Bear with me here. I mean, you can't make this stuff up, folks. Dee in the control room, hold on. Don't show anything until I ask you to, OK? Let me set this story up.

You know that couple that they have been looking for that's broken out of prison, the so-called Bonnie and Clyde? Well, police are telling us now that they have been spotted in Arkansas. Here is where this story gets just too delicious.

Police are saying they broke into a cosmetics store, a beauty supply store, where they sell hair and makeup and that kind of stuff. Yes, that's the area that we're talking about where police went into. Now, what do you think they bought when they went to this beauty supply store? Stuff so they can make themselves look different, right?

All right, Dee, if you have it, show the couple before the beauty store holdup. That's what they looked like, right? This is the story that we have been telling you all along. John McCluskey, he breaks out. That's what he looks like. That's his fiancee/first cousin, Cassie Welch, who is hanging around with them, suspected of already killing one couple.

These two are armed, dangerous and federal marshals are looking all over for them. This is what they think they now look like. Ready? New pics. Look at that. She now has blonde hair. He now has a full beard and mustache. His hair is obviously much darker. He's grown it out. And marshals want you to see that picture, because they want you to be on the lookout for these two. And if you spot them, please call your local police department immediately. They think they're very, very dangerous. We will stay on this story for you. Unbelievable.

All right, now, unbelievable can also be used to describe the stories that are surfacing from the crash that killed a former U.S. senator. This is revealing now a frantic night of terrible weather that made it excruciating for the survivors and almost an impossible ordeal for the rescuers as well.

This is a picture now that we have got of the crash site. See it there? It gives you a sense of just how remote this area really is and how dense the brush is. Crews returning from the site tell the story of a brutal terrain, of lousy weather, where the survivors had to hunker down through a long, cold night.

"The Anchorage Daily News" reports a 13-year-old boy survived, but his father died just a few feet away from him. And he was there by himself waiting for medical workers who were airlifted in. They spent the night tending to broken bones while a huge slick of the plane's fuel spread along the mountainside, the smell of gas filling the air.

I want you to listen now to a pilot who helped in this rescue as he describes what the crews found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTOPHER ABEL, ALASKA AIR NATIONAL GUARD: The fuselage itself was presently intact, and that's where all but one of the survivors and everybody else were located.

QUESTION: And what was it like inside the aircraft? How would you describe that scene?

ABEL: Well, it's a jumbled mess. And it's wet and, as like I just said, fuel mess. The volunteers who got in there, spent the night there were frazzled. They were dirty and wet and tired themselves. They had been treating these guys overnight. But, as I said, it was relatively intact, and they were able to ride out the weather there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We still don't know, by the way, how many more could have survived or even if perhaps former Senator Ted Stevens might have survived had it not been for the fact that they had to wait so long, so many hours for rescuers to be able to get to them.

OK. The area that we're talking about, see it there? It's about 17 miles north of Dillingham, Alaska. And investigators there today are trying to figure out why this DHC-Z3T Otter crashed. Here's what the head of the NTSB has told us here at CNN about their investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH HERSMAN, CHAIRWOMAN, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: What we're trying to figure out is exactly what happened leading up to the accident, what time they left, what time the accident occurred, when they realized that they were missing and how the search-and-rescue operations worked.

And so, we're certainly looking at weather. But everything's on the table right now and we haven't ruled anything out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The crash site, by the way, is in a very popular fishing area. And that's what Stevens and other passengers had set off to do.

Now, let me tell you about them. Nine people were on board this plane. Five, as you probably know by now, did not survive, including former Senator Ted Stevens.

Three teenagers were among the passengers. Two survived. A 16- year-old girl and her mother did not. Among the survivors, former NASA Chief, Sean O'Keefe and his son Kevin. Right now, the survivors are recovering. Eventually, they will be able to tell their stories of how they made it through what must have been a nightmare of a night.

What we're hearing now comes secondhand from some of the rescuers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN DAVIS, ALASKA AIR NATIONAL GUARD: One of the younger survivors, I believe he was able to get out of the plane himself, and he spent the night underneath the wing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Private pilots, by the way, in the area first spotted the plane. They're the ones who actually called authorities and told them about it, no beacon sounds.

Here's what one of those pilots actually said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC SHADE, FOUND CRASHED PLANE: It was pretty smashed. The wings were laying beside the fuselage on each side. And I couldn't see the floats. I didn't think it was survivable. It looked pretty -- it -- from where he hit to where the airplane came to rest was probably just 100 feet, 150 feet maybe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Did not think it was survivable when he first saw it.

Another pilot -- yet four people survived, remember. Another pilot tells the Associated Press of ferrying in a doctor and two EMTs, emergency medical technicians. That pilot describes how they covered the plane with a TARP to try and keep the rain and the wind off of the injured. They brought blankets as temperatures dipped below 50 degrees.

Alaska is one of those places that's very difficult to comprehend. It is so big, so remote, the mountain ranges so rugged, so tall. There aren't just one of two of them, by the way. There are so many, it's hard to find your way around. Mountains taller than most of the mountains we have in the Lower 48 are strewn across Alaska from one end to the other. It's a vast place. And the brush that grows there is thick and in many cases impossible to navigate your way through.

Conditions at the scene were so hazardous Monday night that helicopters just couldn't land, couldn't get there. Rescuers had to be lowered in by ground. But just getting to that point is a whole other story in itself.

One of the first Alaska Guardsmen to reach the site tells the story of slogging for hours and hours through the rain, the fog and the wind just to be able to reach the site. One of the helicopters had to leave another crash site, fly for four hours, and then had to be refueled midair just to be able to make it to this location only to get to the crash site and find the conditions so treacherous, it couldn't land.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Are you going to lose your job?

STEVEN SLATER, JETBLUE FLIGHT ATTENDANT: More than likely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The infamous JetBlue flight attendant is out of jail and talking about his crazy exit strategy. Have you heard this? I'll tell you how he responded to questions about whether he is a hero or not. That's ahead.

And they're like storm chasers. One guy started a group but now travels around the country when there is a disaster. His latest stop -- the Gulf. And he says it's one of the weirdest, most difficult things that he's ever had to deal with. Take a look at the pics. We'll be right back. Stay with us. This is your national conversation, RICK'S LIST. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

It is hard to believe that it's been nearly five years since hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. CNN is marking this anniversary, which is later this month, with a special that we call "CNN Heroes -- Coming back from Katrina."

We've been catching up with some of the people who have been working to rebuild New Orleans. Among them the 2008 hero, Tad Agoglia. Now, he first went to the Crescent City to try to help clean up after the storm, and now he's back, clearing away oil from the disaster in the Gulf. Out of the frying pan into the fire, huh? Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAD AGOGLIA, CNN HERO: Right now, we are in the marshlands of southern Louisiana. The Barrier Islands is right on the Gulf coast. This is where commerce takes place for people to fish, and we have to try to protect it.

This is a different kind of disaster. When a hurricane comes in, it can be cleaned up. Oil is not that easily cleaned up. Oil could stay around for decades.

When Katrina hit, I was a contractor that was hired to come in and clean up cities. When I came two or three months later and saw the destruction that remained, I realized that I was going to respond immediately and help people that were in need.

I founded a nonprofit called First Response Team of America. We respond to natural disasters all over this country. This is where we stage every morning. Every day the tides are bringing in more and more oil, fresh oil. We brought in equipment that is able to suck up large amounts of oil very quickly.

I didn't realize how emotional it would be to see the wildlife affected, the water affected. This is tough. And we've got oil right in the middle of hurricane season.

We're really proud to be here. And I think that everybody has a contribution to make in this life. Everybody has something to give. We're determined to find the solutions, to help each other, and to begin again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: By the way, you can learn more about the story and other CNN heroes working to rebuild and clean up the Gulf coast this weekend. Anderson Cooper is going to be hosting the show "CNN Heroes -- Coming back from Katrina." That's Saturday and Sunday nights beginning at 7:30 eastern.

I want to ask you something. If you could find out whether you're going to suffer from Alzheimer's down the road, would you want to know? Would you want to know if there's a possibility you could end up with Alzheimer's?

The reason I ask is because scientists now say that they can find a way to tell you in advance. This would be a huge breakthrough, wouldn't it? Is it? That's just ahead. Stay right there. This is important.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. It's time to do trending.

And many of you are wondering, Rick, where's Brooke? She's usually standing right there and she comes in and lights this place up with her beaming smile bringing us the latest on what people are talking about. But there she is today, so far away. Why did you leave me?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If only people had heard you singing to me in the commercial break, they would know the love is there through the distance.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: You're in Washington, right?

BALDWIN: I am in Washington. Got a little story to report on tomorrow --

SANCHEZ: You're hanging out with Wolf Blitzer, aren't you? You want to be hanging how with the big guy?

BALDWIN: He did give me a really nice welcoming hug earlier. Got some love from the Wolfman.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: If you were Shakira, it would have lasted longer.

Listen, I told our viewer just a little while ago about this situation with this McCluskey guy with his fiancee/cousin going around the country. And U.S. marshals can't find him. They're desperately looking for them.

And no apparently -- we told you they were up around Yellowstone national park. Now they're apparently in Arkansas, is that right?

BALDWIN: I talked to marshals. Could be in Arkansas. They also told me they're honing in on western Montana and Canada.

But let me back up and set this thing up. When you're talking about McCluskey, this is the last of those three escapees still on the run with his alleged -- I like how you say that -- accomplice/fiancee/cousin. Yes, that's all one person.

They could be in Arkansas. Authorities are investigating this beauty school robbery in the town of Gentry in Arkansas, where the two of them are believed to be involved. They ran out of there, perhaps, but perhaps got in some hair dye.

U.S. marshals releasing these pictures. Take a good long look. The first one is of McCluskey, they have reason to believe -- there's the before, there's the after. They have reason to believe he dyed his hair darker and has that darker beard.

Also, Casslyn Mae Welch may be blonde or blonder. And they're also perhaps a tad thinner. McCluskey, let's remember, escaped with those two other men from that prison, this is back on July 30th in Arizona. All of them convicted of murder, other charges.

And if you're wondering how Welch figures into this whole thing, according to the department of corrections, she actually helped them escape. She tossed cutting tools over that prison fence. They cut through the fence and were able to walk over there.

The other two men have been caught. I want to back up and I want you to look at this map. This is the overarching look, sort of the path they've paved. The U.S. border patrol and Interpol got involved after McCluskey and Welch were spotted hiding out in Yellowstone National Park last week.

Today, U.S. marshals told me in addition to Arkansas they're also looking really closely at western Montana, Canada. A final note -- they're offering up $40,000 for information leading to McCluskey's arrest. Armed and dangerous, like you said.

SANCHEZ: I know they are armed and dangerous, but you can't help but almost want to chuckle when you look at these get-ups that they're in. The lady with that wig looks like she's -- it looks like me in a mullet. (LAUGHTER)

It's like the amateur hour here. I certainly hope that -- it would almost seem to me the more they try to disguise themselves, the more attention they're going to bring to themselves. And I'm sure there are some marshals listening to us, like Lieutenant Gonzalez we talked to the other day, who said I hope so, because we want to catch these guys and get them off the streets.

By the way, you've got something on Fantasia? "Fantasia" was a Mickey Mouse cartoon I used to watch as a child. What is that?

BALDWIN: We're doing Fantasia Burrito coming up in the next hour. If you're hip with the whole "American Idol" bit -- Rick Sanchez, if you're kind of with it -- we're talking Fantasia from season three. She won the whole thing. She's making news big-time.

Next hour we're hearing possibly from her manager there was an overdose. And she's come out and admitted to being involved with a married man. It's a tough story to tell, but a lot of people are talking about it. We'll dig deeper on that story next hour.

SANCHEZ: There are a lot of people know a lot of about the people who have been on "American Idol." I thought it was about a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Goes to show what I know.

BALDWIN: No, no, no.

SANCHEZ: Hey, great to see you. You're coming back at 4:00 and at 8:00, right?

BALDWIN: You got it.

SANCHEZ: See you then.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can show Washington it's time to get to work.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Sure sounds like every other victory speech. But there's a crazy story behind that guy. President Obama supported him, but former president Bill Clinton did not. So are there feelings hurt again today?

And why is the tea party movement also smiling on this day? Who are the winners? Who are the losers? Why?

And then, have you seen Congressman Maxine Waters' statements? She says race is involved in the ethics charges against her and Congressman Charlie Rangel. We've been looking into this explosive claim, and we're drilling down on some of the numbers. We'll add it up for you. Stay right there if you want to know what the real deal is.

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SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. At the very top of our follow-up list today the Maxine Waters investigation. Waters is under investigation by the OCE, the Office of Congressional Ethics.

She talked to our own Roland Martin on the radio yesterday. And we were flabbergasted by some of what she said. Roland asked her some very direct questions, if African-American leaders are being investigated more than others.

Not only did she answer that, she lays the blame for her investigation on someone from the previous administration, the Bush administration. I want to play some of this for you. This is part of the interview where she talks about Karl Rove's team. Roll it, Dee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MAXINE WATERS, (D) CALIFORNIA: If you take a look at that, we do know at the time I went to the meeting, this was the Bush White House. And I do know that there was someone in the meeting that I'm being told about, Jeb Mason, who is a mentor of Karl Rove. I think he's the one that started all this, maybe.

And then as of course as we went to the OCE, that's the initial body that hears this stuff, we find that there are two Democrats and there are two Republicans. One of the Republican who was kind of in the leadership on the Republican side is a representative called Conoway out of Texas who was the, I think, CFO of Bush, Sr.'s oil company.

And so he just really dislikes me. He just glared the whole time. It's just one of those really, really conservative guys who can't stand this liberal kind of woman from California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "One of those really, really conservative guys that can't stand this liberal kind of woman from California." That's an interesting quote. Here's Roland Martin, the guy who got the scoop on that story for us. Always great to see you, Roland.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Glad to be here.

SANCHEZ: I want to share with you what we found out. This mentee of Karl Rove, a guy named Jeb Mason, that was who she was referring to. He's now with a policy oriented firm called Cypress Group. My team made several phone calls to Mr. Mason's office over the last couple of days.

His office was finally able to locate him today, and he says he has no comment to us about Waters' allegations. We also reached out to Representative Mike Conaway. His press secretary told us that Conoway doesn't remember saying anything that would make Waters think that.

So where are we here? Where are you surprised when she made the accusations about the previous administration?

MARTIN: Well, first of all, to set this whole thing up, obviously she was formally charged by the Ethics Committee with three violations on Monday. That was -- this was her first response to those particular charges.

And so we began to ask her in terms of, what is the basis of it in terms of where did this actually go forward in terms of the allegations being made that she used her office to benefit a Boston bank where her husband used to sit on the board of directors when he also held stock. So that is the whole basis of this ethics complaint.

SANCHEZ: I'm just wondering -- she could make the argument, guys do this all the time. Why are they going after us?

And she makes the comment -- I think she makes the comment that they're more apt to go after an African-American than they are a non- African-American. Do we have that sound bite? Go ahead and roll that, Dee, if you got it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATERS: What we do know is we don't know where it's coming from, and we do know of all the information claimed, or accusations brought to them, it seems that African-Americans are the only ones who they move further with investigation on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Well, we did -- go ahead, Roland.

MARTIN: Here is the basis for that. The Congressional Black Caucus has been highly critical of the OCE, an office actually created by Democrats when Nancy Pelosi became speaker based upon the corruption in the previous Congress in 2006 largely by Republicans.

And so the names are leaked out there, and of those folks under investigation, there have been eight or nine African-American members of congress. "Politico" and other news organizations have done stories about this and about the CBC's complaint.

Their problem is that anybody can make any allegation that kick starts an investigation and you never know really where the allegation actually came from.

And so the CBC has been highly critical of this saying, wait a minute. How is it that eight or nine of our members, their names get leaked out there. They're revealed when this is supposed to be a private situation, and you're not supposed to be leaking any information. That's the basis of it. SANCHEZ: We did a little digging ourselves. Here we go. Here is what we found out. Office of Congressional Ethics -- we checked into disclosures all the way back to January of '09. We got John Murtha, Pete Stark, Nathan Deal, Norm Dix, CW Bill Young, Jim Moran, Marcy Kaptur, Pete Visclosky, and Todd Tiahart. These are all non- African-Americans, nine.

And here are the ones who are African-Americans since that same time. One, two, three, four, five, six -- Rangel, Waters, Thompson, Kilpatrick, Payne, and Donna Christenson. So it's nine non-African- Americans, six African-Americans. When you throw in the fact that there are so many more non-African-Americans than African-Americans in Congress, that does seem like a little bit of a disparity, does it not?

MARTIN: What she also said was she also made the point in terms of taking it this far. You have Rangel's case that has gone this far. You have her case that has gone this far.

The Justice Department asked this committee to hold off their investigation of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. for the allegations raised in Illinois. And so I think that's really what her point is. Did any of those other cases go to this extent to where charters were filed and you have actual trial coming up?

And so that's the complaint with the Congressional Black Caucus, they've actually made. Barbara League is the chairwoman and they've had some tough words as it relates to the OCE.

SANCHEZ: Roland Martin, as usual, digging up good interviews, asking good questions. My colleague, I appreciate that. We appreciate you doing that.

MARTIN: Thanks much.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff. We look forward to seeing you next time.

Scientists say they are now able to tell whether you're going to suffer from Alzheimer's in the future. So would you want to know? Also, what about other diseases? Could this new development mean that we're going to find out about those, too?

I mean, this is important stuff for all of us. We should as we say in baseball when I was a kid, we should get our ears up on this one. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

I've been telling you about this story for the last 15 minutes. I couldn't wait to get to it. I think this is very important for all of us. I want you to listen to this. This could be a big development for millions of Americans who have loved and cared for someone who has Alzheimer's disease. Have you ever talked to someone who has had to deal with someone who had Alzheimer's? This is -- some of the saddest stories I've ever heard in my life have to do with people who have not just had Alzheimer's but have dealt with someone they've loved their entire lives and suddenly they walk into a room and that person doesn't even know who they are, doesn't even know who they are, talks to them like they're strangers.

It's a discovery of a test that might predict who will get Alzheimer's in the future. So I can find out possibly if I'm going to have it or my wife or my mom or children are going to have it.

Elizabeth Cohen is our senior medical correspondent and she's joining us now to take us through this. What is the deal with this? It sounds like something everyone would want, right?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, not necessarily.

Let me first tell you what it is. First of all, this is a huge advance in medical science, no question about it, because up until this time there's really been no way to predict who would get Alzheimer's disease.

So what these doctors did is they gave spinal taps to people, stuck a needle in their spine, pulled out some cerebral spinal fluid. And what they found is that when they looked for certain proteins, folks who had lots of these proteins were much more likely to get Alzheimer's later in life. And it was the numbers were really quite consistent. If you had a lot of these proteins, you were much more likely to get it later in life.

SANCHEZ: Let's turn the table a little bit. I want to talk about something I know you are very proud of, and I know this is very meaningful and personal to you. This is a book called "The Empowered Patient." My wife can't wait to get it. She asked if I would bring it home.

COHEN: There it is.

SANCHEZ: Do you mind if I take this home to Suzanne?

COHEN: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: She has been reading my book lately, but I think she's getting bored. I'll have her read yours.

(LAUGHTER)

Tell me about this.

COHEN: Actually, in a way this Alzheimer's story is related to this. As medical science advances, we are all going to have to learn how to be empowered patients. Do you want to know if you're going to get Alzheimer's, because there is not much you can do about it? So do you want to take that test? So questions like that, you have to become an empowered patient.

SANCHEZ: Not to mention questioning your doctor and knowing not as much as him but being able to stay with him as he's taking you through things, because they can't think of everything, can they?

COHEN: They can't. In this book I talk about people who were misdiagnosed and they caught the misdiagnosis. Nobody else caught the misdiagnoses, they caught it. And that's important.

SANCHEZ: I saw that -- including your own mother.

COHEN: Including my own mother who was misdiagnosed, told her high blood pressure was no big deal and she should go home and calm down. She had kidney disease and had to have a transplant last year.

I also talk about my daughter who had seizures, was in the hospital, and was given spinal taps, which was the right thing, but then she was given spinal taps she didn't need, and I had to fight to get that to stop.

SANCHEZ: "The Empowered Patient -- how to get the right diagnosis by the cheapest drugs, beat your insurance company, and get the best medical care every time" by Elizabeth Cohen, proud to say our senior medical correspondent. Good job.

COHEN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk more about this as we move forward.

COHEN: Yes, we need to.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Thank you.

Tough day on Wall Street, by the way. Another check of the DOW as we come right back. Stay there.

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