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Rick's List
How'd He Get Back in America; South Carolina U.S. Senate Race; First Family Heads to Mini-Vacation on Gulf/Storm Over Dr. Laura's Use of N-word on the Air
Aired August 13, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the immigration debate heats up from Texas to Washington. In Houston, an illegal immigrant who had been deported twice made it back into this country and is accused of killing a 14-year-old girl.
Just hours ago, Washington beefed up border security to the tune of $600 million and that's just the start of our national conversation. And there's this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): Here's what's making the list today. A BP supervisor accused of raping a Gulf cleanup worker?
SHERIFF MIKE BYRD, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: I told him we would do the background checks for them and they said no.
LEMON: But a CNN investigation uncovered his record as a convicted sex offender.
ADAM MILLER, ATTORNEY: The buck ultimately stops with BP. It was their site.
LEMON: Dr. Laura saying the N-word not once, not twice, but over and over and over again to a black caller on the radio? Can we talk?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We should all make more of an effort to discuss with one another the divides that still exist, a discussion that needs to take place not on cable TV.
LEMON: We respectfully disagree, Mr. President. She even called you half black. So we're starting a national conversation on cable, on race, this hour.
And this guy gives a whole new meaning to over-the-counter at the pharmacy. We jump into it in Fotos.
The list you need to know about. Who is today's most intriguing? Who has landed on the list you don't want to be on? Who's making news on twitter? It's why we keep a list. Pioneering tomorrow's cutting edge news right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. Don Lemon sitting in for Rick Sanchez today. It is hour two and it's time to pick up the pace of today's list.
For those of you just checking in, number one on our immigration list today how much money will it take to secure the nation's borders? Is any amount enough to keep the crime I'm about to tell you about from happening again?
The victim was a 14-year-old girl. Police say she was walking home late at night when two men robbed her. And when she tried to run away, one of them shot her in the back. The men are charged with capital murder and appeared yesterday in a Houston, Texas courtroom.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He admitted that he killed the black girl. Mr. Lopez Torres admitted his take from the robbery was $10 for gas and the complainant's cell phone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: But the outrage over this crime doesn't really stop there. The girl's family has just been told that the man charged with shooting the girl had been arrested for drunken driving twice and he is an illegal immigrant from Ecuador who had been deported not once but twice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSE THOMAS, VICTIM'S AUNT: How do they get back in America when he's been deported twice? I want to know that. We were so happy to see her so happy. We were finally coming to grips with burying our angel and now we get this news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Congress just passed and President Obama just signed a $600 million bill to tighten security along the southern border. The money will be used to hire 1,000 border patrol agents. Pay close attention, 1,000 border patrol agents, 250 immigration agents and 250 customs agents. It will also pay for communications equipment and two surveillance drones along the border.
Larry Dever is the Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, right now on the border with Mexico. He is among the sheriffs who support Arizona's tough immigration law.
Thanks for joining us. How you doing, sir?
SHERIFF LARRY DEVER, COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA: Doing well, don. Thanks for having me today.
LEMON: Thank you. How far will this, all those numbers I just read, how far will this go toward controlling the border?
DEVER: Well, certainly it's welcome and it will be a big help. The sad part is it's going to take a couple years to get those agents recruited, trained, vetted, and finally in place since they have such a long field training obligation after they in fact are certified and make it through the academy. We're still looking a couple years down the road before that resource is meaningfully available.
LEMON: All right so that before that, I don't know if we can get full screen back, but Sheriff, it's going to be a couple years down the road before you get these guys.
All right, we said 1,000 border patrol agents, 250 immigration agents and 250 customs agents. How many do we need? What would you like this number that we're looking at to look like?
DEVER: Let me direct your viewers to www.border sheriffs.com for a bigger, larger picture of this, don. But the right mix of personnel, technology, aerial assets, all the right things are beginning to happen.
They're just so slow getting here, so tardy, that we continue to have horror stories like the one just down in Texas. We had my friend who was murdered. All of that stuff is preventable.
We can secure our border. Until we do that, it doesn't matter how many people we catch, how many bad people we catch. We just throw them back across the line, even after they've served a little bit of jail time, we're just -- it's like if we don't plug the hole in the Gulf, you keep having the spill and the cleanup and you never solve the problem.
LEMON: OK, it appears -- I want to play something. Let's do this and then I'll ask the question. The director of immigrations and customs, he's name is Joe Morton.
He was in Phoenix yesterday to announce results of a federal sweep in Arizona looking for illegal immigrants with criminal records.
He says the fed has stepped up enforcement and is setting records for the number of illegal immigrants he is deporting. He says you have to go beyond law enforcement. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE MORTON, DIRECTOR, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: Strong, sensible enforcement is a critical part of the solution but it's not the only part. You have got to have a complete, comprehensive federal reform that recognizes a need for strong border security, a need for strong interior enforcement.
But also a means for families and workers to come here lawfully, which is what we all want, not unlawfully, not across the border through the desert illegally, but lawfully.
And an ability for people who have been here a very long time to get right with the law by paying a fine, learning English, by paying their taxes, and getting to the back of the line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Sheriff Dever, what do you think?
DEVER: Well, I think, John hits on all cylinders there except for the one problem. You have to go beyond strong. You have to get the job done. You have to secure the border and you can be strong on all those other enforcement aspects in the interior and keep deporting lots of people.
I notice they announced they arrested some 64 here in Arizona in that sweep. That's a slow day in Cochise County. As long as you keep sending them back they'll keep coming. That's shown every single day.
LEMON: Here's something according to Joe Morton, he said I supported more than 380,000 illegal immigrants last year, 136,000 of those were convicted criminals and so far I.C.E. has deported 150,000 people.
Listen, I asked you that because let's go to the board here. Here is what Congressman Harry Mitchell says. He says border security bill now law. We need more.
But the additional border patrol I.C.E. agents, equipment, are a good start. This is my question. You see the numbers. Who knows what to make of numbers, right? Are we at least moving in the right direction here?
DEVER: Sure and I'm not a guy that ever says it's too late. It's never too late. You start now. You're still looking many years down the road before we solve this at the pace that we're currently on.
We need to accelerate the pace, recognize the border is different in every area. You can't apply the same tactics and strategies in one place as the other and that is part of the deficiency is the failure to recognize that you can't, the same mix doesn't work in the same location.
LEMON: Sheriff Dever, we know you are a busy guy and we appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thanks again.
DEVER: Thanks and bordersheriffs.com if you will. Thanks.
LEMON: Got it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An abomination to civil rights laws. It is an abomination to enforcement of the laws. It is an abomination to the 1964 civil rights act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Tempers flare at a civil rights hearing and it's all over a case involving the new black panthers. That gets your attention doesn't it? You'll see the video straight ahead.
Plus, he is called the child soldier of al Qaeda and in his highly anticipated trial at Guantanamo Bay, it's now on hold. Why? Because something just happened to his attorney. Have you heard about this? We'll tell you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time right now for what we call the roundup list. The wreckage from the plane crash that killed former Senator Ted Stevens is now being examined in Dillingham, Alaska.
The NTSB says the initial investigation is complete, but they have not released any details about the cause of Monday's crash, which killed Stevens and four others.
Four other passengers did survive the crash. The state's medical examiner says the fatalities were a result of blunt force trauma from the crash. Stevens' funeral is now scheduled for Wednesday.
Number two now, the trial of the youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay is being delayed for at least 30 days. That's because his defense attorney, Lieutenant Colonel John Jackson seen right here collapsed in court yesterday.
Jackson has been transported out of Cuba for medical attention. His collapse is believed to be connected to his recent gallbladder operation.
Number three now, criticism from the Pentagon apparently won't stop the website wikileaks from posting more military documents to go up soon. This time human rights groups are complaining as well about this.
They fear that if civilian workers are identified they could be targeted for violence. The Pentagon is worried these documents could even be more damaging than the last batch that wikileaks published.
Number four now, drilling is expected to restart this afternoon on the relief well in the Gulf of Mexico, but BP isn't sure if they'll even need it.
The new theory is that the cement and the mud that was pumped into the top of the ruptured well during that static kill procedure likely went down to that well core making the bottom kill procedure unnecessary.
Engineers are expected to use the relief well to examine the core. Speaking of the oil spill, did you know BP and its subcontractors did not do background checks on cleanup workers? Well, a sex offender was hired and now a nightmare scenario is playing out. We'll tell you about that straight ahead.
And fireworks at a civil rights hearing in Washington. We're going to show you video of a heated back and forth over a case involving the new black panthers. That's right, the new black panthers. Coming up, the list scrolls on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. The next story right now tops our outrage list. After the deepwater horizon oil rig began spewing oil into the gulf, there was a huge need for cleanup workers.
A lot of people found work pretty fast but here is where the outrage comes in. Pay close attention. A man who supervised oil cleanup workers in Mississippi is now in jail charged with raping another employee.
A man who supervised oil cleanup workers in Mississippi is now in jail charged with raping another employee. A CNN investigation uncovers his criminal history, which was there for all to find and questions why background checks weren't done here. Here's CNN's Abbie Boudreau.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): One of thousands of cleanup workers who descended on the Gulf Coast was this man, Rundy Charles Robertson. He was in charge of numerous workers on this now deserted Mississippi beach.
(on camera): The problem was all of these people who are coming to town were strangers and the residents here had no idea who they were or where they were coming from.
And apparently they had good reason to be concerned. Robertson was convicted of a sex offender, and he was breaking the law by not telling local law enforcement where he was living.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't understand how they can hire a man like that as our supervisor.
BOUDREAU: Do you think what happened to you could have been prevented?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do. Yes, I do. And that's what makes me a lot of times so angry.
BOUDREAU: Well, this woman came to this town because she was looking for work. She wanted to help clean up the beaches and she needed a job. She has four young children and it was important for her to get hired right away. And that's exactly what happened.
Rundy Robertson was her supervisor and she told us time and time again, I trusted him because he was my boss. I respected him. He was the person who was put in charge of me.
You just weren't feeling well that day and he offered to drive you home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BOUDREAU: And you thought he was a nice enough person to make that offer, I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He was my boss, so I thought it was all right.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): She says Robertson asked to use her bathroom. And when he came out, she says he raped her.
She's represented by attorney Adam Miller.
ADAM MILLER, ATTORNEY: I find it unbelievable because BP and their subcontractors had relationships with all local law enforcement. They had the opportunity and the ability to clearly check all of these people that they were hiring and bringing in to ensure the safety of the public.
BOUDREAU: If anyone had checked Robertson's background they would have found a lengthy criminal history and he was still on probation for a felony. Instead, he was made a supervisor.
(on camera): We are in Pascagoula, Mississippi here to talk to the local sheriff.
(voice-over): Several weeks before this incident, Sheriff Mike Byrd says he met with BP's local head of security about why BP was not doing background checks on beach cleanup workers.
SHERIFF MIKE BYRD, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: I asked them directly, I said, are you all doing criminal histories and background checks on these people. And his answer -- reply was no, we're not.
I said you are kidding me? He said no. He said there's so many of them, we were told to do drug screens and that was it. And I said, well, that's -- that's not good at all.
BOUDREAU (on camera): But you actually recommended that they get criminal background checks on their employees?
BYRD: Yes, we did. And I told them that we would do that for them, we would do the background checks for them, and they said no.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Robertson worked for a company called Aerotek that hired workers to remove oil from the beaches.
(on camera): You'll come out and talk to us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will come out and talk to you. Give me a literally a about four minutes, OK?
BOUDREAU: So you're not going to shut the door and then never see you again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promise I'll come back and talk to you.
BOUDREAU: OK. He promises.
(voice-over): So we waited. But they only slipped us a note through the door referring us to the corporate headquarters.
(on camera): Did you realize you were hiring people who are registered sex offenders?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, ma'am.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): This is when the blame game begins.
First, we spoke with the general counsel for Aerotek by phone who says Aerotek wasn't the one who decided not to do background checks. Quote, "We are not liable for anything that happens. Once we deliver the people to be supervised by our client, we don't have anything to do with them anymore."
Miller Environmental Group, which oversaw the cleanup and hired Aerotek, did not return our phone calls.
Then BP, which was paying for the beach cleanups, told us in a statement it normally checks its own employees but, quote, "This was not done for all contractors in this response; the responsibility lies with the employing company for their own staff. The requirement on subcontractors to BP's contractors is one further step beyond BP's scope of control."
MILLER: The buck ultimately stops with BP. It was their site.
BOUDREAU (on camera): Robertson was arrested and he was then charged with sexual battery and failure to register as a sex offender. He tells police that the sex was consensual, but now he's being held on more than a $500,000 bond and he is sitting in jail.
BYRD: Yes, he's in jail, but you've got a victim here. What's she going to live through the rest of her life? It's just going to be pure hell for her. That's what it's going to be.
BOUDREAU: And it could have been prevented.
BYRD: And it could have been prevented, in my professional opinion.
BOUDREAU: And you warned them?
BYRD: Yes, ma'am.
BOUDREAU: How does something like this just change everything for you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I go through anxiety. You know, I'm angry, I feel dirty. Scared, I'm scared.
BOUDREAU: Abbie Boudreau, CNN, Pascagoula, Mississippi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thanks, Abbie. Nice reporting there. From the new Black Panthers to Shirley Sherrod to the Tea Party movement, race really dominating the headlines this summer. That's just the truth.
And now radio host Dr. Laura just put the debate back in the spotlight. I'm going to ask the tough questions on an issue that is do dominating the national conversation, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. I'm sure you remember this guy right there. I told you, sitting right here, this was one of the really most unusual interviews, honest interviews I've ever done.
I'm talking about Alvin Green, he's the unemployed veteran turned Democratic nominee for South Carolina's U.S. senate seat. Here he is at the NAACP event having a tough time with a joke about his legal troubles. I want you to take a look at this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know this guy that some folks got into trouble. This guy happened to be a person of color. This was in the fifth judicial circuit. Anyhow, this guy met the criteria for pretrial intervention, but was denied it. That same guy, the same guy's trial was scheduled for last week but was put off. Anyway, moving on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, it seems now that the legal troubles he was speaking of really are no joke. Today a South Carolina grand jury has indicted him. The charge? A felony for disseminating, procuring, and promoting obscenity.
That's according to a police report Greene was charged with last November with showing some pornographic material to an unwilling female, University of South Carolina college student, on a computer in the school's library.
The victim also claims Greene asked her if he could come to her room. Greene told CNN that his lawyer, quote, "is dealing with the indictment." It may come as a surprise but according to the United States constitution this does not disqualify him for running for the U.S. Senate. Stay tuned.
All right, today's meeting of the Civil Rights Commission turned uncivil and it happened very quickly and escalated into a shouting match. Jeanne Meserve, what set everybody off? What happened?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you, Don. You hear about a meeting of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and you probably go, ho hum. Not this one. Give a listen. Here is a little bit of the drama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a transcript.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is false. You were there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have the transcript. You are cherry picking very conveniently.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are denying it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You completely lost it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't take it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can obfuscate as much as you want to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't agree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: And that went on for a lot of their meeting. What are they talking about? Well it all goes back to a video shot in 2008, election day, when someone took a camera to a polling place in Philadelphia.
They caught some video of members of the new Black Panther Party outside. One of them had what looked like a night stick. The Bush administration decided to prosecute this as a voter intimidation case.
When the Obama administration came in, it decided to drop most of the case. That prompted a lawyer in the voting rights division to quit and testify before the U.S. Civil Rights division that the Obama administration was only interested in prosecuting voter rights cases against whites not against blacks. Here is a bit of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J. CHRISTIAN ADAMS, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LAWYER: I don't believe that the law allows us, the constitution allows us to pick and choose who we're going to protect under the law. We have an obligation to protect everybody, not just certain people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Now, the Justice Department absolutely disputes this in a letter to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez says the Civil Rights Commission firmly committed to the even-handed application of the law without regard to the race of the victims or perpetrators of unlawful behavior.
They say we are race neutral, but the U.S. Civil Rights commission has been investigating this. The Justice Department has handed over thousands of pages of documents but they have not allowed a key official to testify.
They say to protect the integrity of internal deliberations. However, some members of the commission claim that the administration is stonewalling here. That is what led to that colossal argument today at the commission meeting. Back to you, Don.
LEMON: The Commission meeting. Not one like I've seen. That one was on fire as they say. Jeanne Meserve, appreciate your reporting. Have a great weekend. OK?
MESERVE: Thank you.
LEMON: All right. Listen to this. Three Florida kids use their baby sitting money to buy plane tickets at the airport and to fly to Tennessee. And they did it without anyone from the airline or airport raising a single eyebrow. Are you kidding me? That's ahead.
This robber doesn't even wear a mask. Why? Because he is positive no one will see him slide over the counter and he's got a perfect reason for that. In Fotos, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, we've all been here. Most fans -- really, most times, fans want to catch a foul ball. Every time I'm at the ballpark, I'm like, Why can't I catch one of those? Actually, one almost hit me once. I should have caught it? I digress. Well, some will push and shove, bump and bruise their way through the crowd. Grown men will even knock a cute kid out of the way. But for some people, beer is more important. Let's do "Fotos."
Dateline, Marlins/Nationals game. A line drive goes foul. And ah, yes, saved by the brew! The woman gets a Miller Lite shower, but appears to be fine. No word on whether she was rewarded with a free beer. Poor lady.
And tag team back again. Police are looking for a couple accused of joining forces to rob several drug stores in Kentucky. The woman distracts the pharmacist, and as you can see, the man hops the counter and helps himself right to the goods. They're suspected in at least three different heists.
And how about this for a catch of the day? I can't get over how big this catfish is! Several guys wrestled a whopper of a catfish on the Missouri River -- on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, rather. They say the whiskered fish took them for a wild ride, weighing in at 115 pounds. They're hoping it also gives them a spot in the book of records. Look at that! That's a big fish, isn't it?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a mighty large fish.
LEMON: That's a mighty big fish.
BALDWIN: No problem for you.
LEMON: You could feed a bunch of folks on that one, Brooke Baldwin, coming up next. But first I want to tell you to check out all of our "Fotos" on CNN.com/ricksanchez.
You know, it is dominating conversation right now, Dr. Laura's racial barrage on the radio. She used the N-word almost a handful of times in five minutes. But many people are saying that's not even the worst part of it. We're going to have a discussion that you need to hear and that you can participate in. That's coming up straight ahead.
And the entire first family heading to the gulf this weekend. So everybody's asking, What will they do? Will they eat seafood? Will the girls swim in the ocean? Oh, it's "Trending"! And there's our Brooke Baldwin. She's all over it. She's next on "THE LIST." We were just doing, Is the first lady Marie Antoinette?
BALDWIN: I'm, like --
LEMON: She's going to Spain. What's up with --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Every time you come in, we're talking about the Obamas on vacation. We're doing it again.
LEMON: Oh, let's see what happens this time. What do you think, criticism, praise?
BALDWIN: We'll see. I'm getting tweets.
LEMON: Brooke Baldwin, "Trending," on "THE LIST."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, Brooke Baldwin is here. Brook Baldwin is "Trending."
BALDWIN: Yes.
LEMON: I like to say that -- is "Trending." So Brooke, both have to do with a little travel. Were these both vacations that we were talking, these two stories?
BALDWIN: One was semi-vacation. One will be a vacation. Yes, Don Lemon.
LEMON: I have to tell you, if I had done what those kids -- I don't know -- you've been digging into the story.
BALDWIN: Your mama would have --
LEMON: -- I'd have a sore -- I'd have a sore behind.
BALDWIN: I love how you always talk about your mom.
LEMON: As a kid.
BALDWIN: My mom says -- my mom would have done this. My mom would have whipped my rear, as well!
LEMON: I'm glad she did!
BALDWIN: Let me tell you the story. We're talking about kids. Who needs summer camp when you can score some airline tickets to Tennessee? Tuesday afternoon, three Florida teens -- I'm talking 15, 13, and 11 years of age -- hey, they're too young to drive! What do they do? Hop a cab, head to the airport. They say, Hello, sir. Can I have three tickets to Nashville, please? And they got them.
How did they afford the fare? Apparently, baby-sitting money paid for it, all $700 worth. But here's the question. How did they get through security without an adult present? I'll let them explain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He told us how much it would be, and then we paid him. And then he put the little flight things on our bags and then he said, You better run because you might miss your flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just took our stuff out of pockets, our shoes off, and walked through it. And they didn't say nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: No IDs checked, is what the kids told this affiliate. Southwest is the airline. And here's what the airline says. Their unaccompanied child policy does allow the 11-year-old to fly in the company of two older kids. By the way, a 12-year-old on this airline can travel alone without a parent.
Why Nashville? Apparently, the kids wanted to go to Dollywood -- Dolly Parton, apparently still hip!
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: For them, though, that is 200 miles from Nashville's airport, so a call home -- apparently, I think one of the parents called one of the kids, and Hey, where are you? Sorry, Mom and Dad. I'm in Nashville. So you know they hopped on a flight that day and headed home.
LEMON: Oh, gosh!
BALDWIN: Can you imagine? Yes, your parents, my parents -- totally.
LEMON: You know, this is a weird, weird, weird non sequitur, but I just -- insomnia, I'm an insomniac --
BALDWIN: Really?
LEMON: I just saw Dolly Parton's biography on the bio channel!
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Was it fascinating?
LEMON: Yes. I can see why they want to go to Dollywood. It's fun, fascinating!
BALDWIN: Now we know what Don Lemon does in the middle of the nights.
LEMON: Moving on -- moving on --
BALDWIN: Anyhoo, let's talk first family --
LEMON: We were here last Friday talking the vacations of the first family.
BALDWIN: Right. You know, Michelle Obama and one of her daughters coming -- catching a lot of heat for going to -- on this ritzy trip to the southern coast of Spain. Well, the first family back in the news because they're headed to the gulf tomorrow, Panama City specifically. And this is being billed as a vacation, per the White House, even though they're on the ground for a whopping 27 hours.
On the docket, there will be a roundtable discussion between the president and the first lady with some of the small business owners about the pace of recovery. The president will also be making a public statement. Keep in mind, this is, you know, the first lady. And of course, the president had been down there. This is the first trip they're all taking together to the gulf since that disaster back in April.
Just taking a look back, as we were talking about Spain, also, you remember Maine? The first family raised some eyebrows earlier this summer, took a trip up to Maine, and critics felt like they should have been to the gulf. So now they're headed, as we mentioned. Costo del Oro (ph) in Spain last week. So perhaps the trip to the gulf, better late than never. But you know, if you hop on the Internet and read about all these different stories -- not a lot of details yet when it comes to this Panama City trip.
But the question everybody is asking is, Will the president or perhaps Sasha or Malia take a dip in the gulf? It's a question I asked my fellow tweets. And I want to read a couple of the tweets to you. John (ph) says, "It's vacation. Who cares? Leave them alone." I got another tweet, says, "Yes, give Americans some reassurance about traveling and swimming in the gulf waters. The president did it. Why can't we?" Good point.
This person says, "Didn't Mrs. Obama and Sasha just come back from vacation? Is it a wise move for the Obamas to go again, with the" -- is it -- I guess it's a question -- "Is it a wise move to go again, with the flack she faced?" And one more. "Why wouldn't it just come across as a publicity stunt?"
Look, cameras follow the first family anywhere they go. I'm sure it could be perceived that way. But I think it's kind of nice to see them down there. LEMON: Well, I'm sure I will be, when they go, while they're there and afterwards, talking about --
BALDWIN: Talking about every single move.
LEMON: Talking --
BALDWIN: Stuck a big toe in --
LEMON: Withhold the comments.
LEMON: -- in the gulf, you know?
LEMON: Oh, my gosh!
BALDWIN: Breaking news!
LEMON: I have to say this, though, you know, because I grew up down there.
BALDWIN: Yes?
LEMON: Gulf Shores, San Destin (ph), Panama City, Pensacola --
BALDWIN: Gorgeous!
LEMON: -- some of the most beautiful beaches you've ever seen.
BALDWIN: Right.
LEMON: The go-carts, the mopeds, the water slides, the -- what do you call it, the hydro, when you go up in the thing -- I never would do that -- when the boat takes you on the -- is it hydro -- what do you call that?
BALDWIN: Wait. You were talking about a water park?
LEMON: The gliding when it -- when the boat pulls you along on the skis and then you up -- parasailing!
BALDWIN: Parasail --
LEMON: I would not do that as a kid. I was too afraid.
BALDWIN: It's not scary.
LEMON: Yes.
BALDWIN: But anyway, point being, some of those places down there you can still do because there is no oil, and I think perhaps that's part of the reason why they're going.
LEMON: Yes. I'd get in the water.
BALDWIN: You'd get in the water?
LEMON: Oh, yes.
BALDWIN: I feel like this is, like, What does Don Lemon do in his spare time block?
LEMON: It's OK. I'm going to go down there --
BALDWIN: Dolly Parton and parasailing.
LEMON: -- and swim. You want to go and swim with me? It's great. It's beautiful water.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: All right. We're thinking about all the people down south --
BALDWIN: We are.
LEMON: -- and we'll be reporting on the first family's trip.
BALDWIN: We'll be all weekend.
LEMON: Thank you, "Trending" lady.
BALDWIN: Thanks.
LEMON: You know, radio host Dr. Laura has apologized after a pretty shocking rant about race. Yes, she used the N-word, but she also took on interracial marriage, President Obama's election and the NAACP. So we want to get everything out in the open here. That's straight ahead. And of course, we want to hear what you're saying, your tweets, next right here on "THE LIST."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, listen, we have breaking news in to CNN. It's really breaking weather news. We want to turn now to our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider. Bonnie -- and I want to tell our viewers anywhere in the area of Minnesota, pay close attention because you could be in danger. Why?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. A tornado spotted on the ground by weather spotters. And this is near Hayfield, Minnesota, in southeastern Minnesota. It's all part of a more widespread area where there is a tornado warning, which includes the city of Rochester right now. You can see it highlighted in pink right here, and real-time lightning strikes show you how intense this is.
Now, spotters reported the tornado on the ground near Hayfield, and Doppler radar indicates that this is around five miles to the southeast of Dodge Center. This is an area we're watching for severe weather. Notice the severe thunderstorm warning just to the west of Minneapolis. This means that nasty weather is headed your way in Minneapolis, even though a warning hasn't been issued. It is likely that one will be. I'll tell you something else that's been issued, a tornado watch. This is in effect straight through the evening, and it includes the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So we are looking at a lot of nasty weather rolling through Minnesota and Wisconsin, down through areas into Illinois, as well. The severe thunderstorm watch box you can see to the south also includes the city of Rockford, Illinois. So some very rough weather across the Midwest. And remember, just yesterday, we had very strong damaging winds in Minnesota from a different storm system. So it's two days in a row of terrible weather.
We're still tracking the flooding situation in Iowa. Even though most of the worst of it's over, we're still getting thunderstorms in the vicinity. And finally, I also want to point out that the weather has been very troublesome through much of the South today. We're seeing powerful thunderstorms through Mississippi, Alabama and down through Florida. These do contain frequent lightning strikes, so please be careful. If you're not going to be outside, you may want to really plan to stay indoors until the storms pass.
So again, the severe storms working their way through the Midwest. And finally, I just want to mention also, Don, we're still tracking extreme heat across much of the mid-South. I know it seems like it's neverending. But yesterday, we had incredible record highs through the areas getting the thunderstorms today, and that does include the city of Birmingham. So more heat working its way through the mid-South right now. And once again, a tornado warning in effect for southeast Minnesota. Hayfield, Minnesota, is where we have reports of a tornado on the ground. So take cover now, if you're in that storm's path.
LEMON: All right, you should be listening to our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider. Bonnie, serious stuff when this happens. A lot of lives can be saved. If you're in the Wisconsin area --
SCHNEIDER: Minnesota.
LEMON: -- the Minnesota area and also Illinois, expect some really rough weather, and as she said, a tornado on the ground. We're going to tell you more about that. We're going to keep a close eye on it. If it warrants an update, we'll bring it to you.
Also, we're talking about Dr. Laura on the radio making some comments using the N-word. You guys are weighing in. And we're talking to someone who can sum all this up. Where have we gone? Where are we going? How far have we come when it comes to talking about race in this country? Does a black president make a difference at all?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Our conversation here on air has really started a conversation on line. And you know what? We really appreciate it. Whether you agree with what we had on the air or not, if you -- whatever you thought of it, send us your comments. Send us a tweet. And a lot of you are. Let's go to the Twitter board right now. Here's what one viewer, one tweeter sent to my Twitter address. It says, "Dr. Laura's apology was more mocking than sincere, and her apology -- her comfort with the word is apparent." One more. This is to RICK's. "I guess my 26 years of marriage to someone outside my race is wrong, at least according to Dr. Laura. She needs to be fired."
And then one person says, "Dr. Laura does not speak for this white person." Some one sent that to me. Thank you very much.
Dr. Laura -- you know, she has stirred up the conversation of race in America with her use of the N-word, as we've been saying. Has race improved at all since an African-American has become president? We're going to talk with Jay Newton-Small. There she is, right there. We'll have that conversation with her next on "THE LIST." Hold that thought, Jay.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, up next, on our list, radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger and what some would call her gratuitous use of the N-word. We used her comments today to open a conversation on race.
But first, for those of you who haven't heard this story yet, let me start from the very beginning. On Schlessinger's radio show, the host took a call from a black woman married to a white man. The caller was asking for advice on how to deal with her friends and in- laws. She needed advice with how to deal with racial questions from them that made her feel uncomfortable.
Well, the simple call for advice led to the controversial conversation, a conversation that prompted Schlessinger to release an official apology. But first let's listen to some of it.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
LAURA SCHLESSINGER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Yes. I think you have too much sensitivity --
CALLER: So it's OK to say (DELETED)?
SCHLESSINGER: -- and not enough sense of humor.
CALLER: It's OK to say that word?
SCHLESSINGER: Well, it depends how it's said.
CALLER: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?
SCHLESSINGER: It's -- it depends how it's said! Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK!
CALLER: But you're not black. They're not black. My husband is white.
SCHLESSINGER: Oh, I see. So a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that.
CALLER: I can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the (DELETED) word, and I hope everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: I didn't spew out the (DELETED) word!
CALLER: You said, (DELETED) (DELETED) (DELETED).
SCHLESSINGER: Right, I said that's what you hear.
CALLER: Everybody heard it!
SCHLESSINGER: Yes, they did.
CALLER: I hope everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: They did, and I'll say it again --
CALLER: So what makes it OK for you to say the word?
SCHLESSINGER: (DELETED) (DELETED) (DELETED) is what you hear on HBO --
CALLER: So what makes it --
SCHLESSINGER: Why don't you let me finish a sentence?
CALLER: OK.
SCHLESSINGER: Don't take things out of context! Don't double N -- NAACP me. Take the --
CALLER: I know what the NAACP --
SCHLESSINGER: Leave them in context.
CALLER: I know what the N-word means and I know it came from a white person. And I know the white person made it bad.
SCHLESSINGER: All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Can't have this argument. You know what? If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEMON: So after the heat caused by this conversation, she released an apology. Let me play it for you.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SCHLESSINGER: I talk every day about doing the right thing. And yesterday, I did the wrong thing. I didn't intend to hurt people, but I did. And that makes it the wrong thing to have done. I was attempting to make a philosophical point, and I articulated the N-word all the way out, more than one time. And that was wrong. I'll say it again. That was wrong.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so that brings us to today. We've reached out to Dr. Laura, and she will not be making any additional comments other than that apology which you just heard.
Now I want to read you a quote that we didn't hear on that sound that we just played. This is a comment about race and the president made by Dr. Laura on that very same program. It says, quote, "I really thought that once we had a black president, the attempt to demonize whites would stop, but it seems to have grown."
Joining me now is Jay Newton-Small, congressional correspondent for "Time" magazine. You know, thank you so much, Jay. And I do have to say, to make an apology like -- it that takes a big person to make an apology, and I don't want -- we don't want to call anybody racist or anything. This is just what happened.
What do you make of that? We've been talking about, you know, a black president. A lot of people said, Oh, once we elect a black president that it's going to be this post-racial era, what have you. What do you make of her comments? Do you agree with what she said?
JAY NEWTON-SMALL, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, I think -- I mean, look, we also thought when we -- you know, in the beginning of the hype of "Obama nation," when he first took office, they were talking about a post-partisan president, and that hasn't happened, either. But I think to a certain degree, yes, race has become --
LEMON: Well, she says it's grown. That's what I'm asking if you agree with.
NEWTON-SMALL: -- more of an issue, more of a --
LEMON: She says that it is -- I think what she says is attempts to demonize whites, you think it would have gone away, but she thinks really that it has grown, at least, I think blacks -- I don't know, may be more upset now with whites about race. I really don't know what she's talking about here.
NEWTON-SMALL: I don't know. I mean, look, the president -- the president's had several instances where race has become an issue, and sometimes he's used them, as he says, teachable moments, when you've got Skip Gates, and you know, the police officer that arrested him in Massachusetts going to the White House for a beer summit. And then other times, the White House has been overly sensitive about these things, like the Shirley Sherrod case, which, you know, happened last month, and overreacted and fired this woman from the Department of Agriculture before she really had a chance to explain her remarks in full and that they weren't actually racist remarks.
So you know, is electing a black president going to be the magic silver bullet that fixes racism in America? I don't think that anybody -- LEMON: Why would anybody --
NEWTON-SMALL: -- really expects that to happen.
LEMON: -- even think that? I mean, you know, it took, to get to this point -- and I'm not just talking about America. Every different country, continent, has their own conflicts, their own internal strife and struggle when it comes to race and religion. Why would you think by the election of one person in one day -- you know, his election took a number of years, but what took centuries to build up, that you would knock that down within just a year or so? That doesn't make any sense to me.
NEWTON-SMALL: No, and certainly, there was going to be a backlash to it. And there was always going to be people who feel like this is, you know, the wrong direction for America and couch it in those kinds of terms. But it's just -- it's always going to be something that -- is the president -- he's the first black president. It's something that we're going to be talking about for a long time. And it represents a huge leap for, you know, civil rights and for the advancement of all kinds of minorities. But at the same time, it doesn't mean that there aren't -- there isn't racism in America that exists today. And there aren't, you know, women who are married to black men or white women -- white men married to black women who don't have uncomfortable relationships, as that caller did calling in to Dr. Laura. You know, this is something that everybody deals with on a very local level and struggles with almost every day. And it's, you know, whether you're in an interracial relationship or not, it's part of our nation. It's part of being a melting pot, frankly.
LEMON: And I think we shouldn't let the moment pass here, Jay, to -- because I think in this case, at least for me, the glass is half full, to get to a place where we can actually elect a black person as president. I think we've come a long way, but we still have a lot to go.
Hey, listen, thank you. I'm running out of time. My friend, Wolf Blitzer, has to get in here. Jay Newton-Small, congressional correspondent, "Time" magazine, appreciate it.
I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. Time now for "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Mr. Wolf Blitzer. Take it away, Wolf!
