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Rick's List
Texas Massacre Averted; CDC Recalls Millions of Eggs in Multistate Salmonella Outbreak; Mother Accused of Killing Her Children; Radio Reporter Fired After Wearing Florida Gators Hat; Inside the Plane That Broke Apart; 'Stolen Valor' Not a Crime
Aired August 18, 2010 - 15:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: As we begin this hour, I want to welcome the men and the women who are watching us right now on Armed Forces Network all over the world. Thanks for being there for us, guys.
Here's the national conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making the LIST today.
Why was this crazed gunman armed to the teeth, fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, gasoline, guns a blazing, attacking a local government building?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was actively engaging not just any building. It was the entire police department.
SANCHEZ: What was his beef?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ANDERSON COOPER 360")
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": What research?
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Can you tell us about the research?
(CROSSTALK)
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R), TEXAS: You're attacking the messenger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Congressman Gohmert takes his charges a step further. What is he saying now?
The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's landed on the list you don't want to be on? Who's making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list.
Pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Hey everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. So glad that you're here with us. This is hour two and what we're going to try and do for you now is pick up the pace for those of you checking in.
First, the attempted massacre outside a Texas police station. We now have some disturbing new details of this crazed gunman's plans. Have you heard about this guy? Officials are now saying that 29-year- old Patrick Gray Sharp, he showed up at the McKinney police headquarters yesterday towing a trailer that was loaded with explosives. The trailer caught fire.
And then Sharp exchanged gunfire with police. In the end, the former security guard shot himself in the head, this according to a coroner's report. Now, Sharp's ingredients for destruction eerily similar to what Timothy McVeigh had on him. Yes, not kidding here.
The trailer was packed with, listen, wood chips, roadside flares, gasoline, ammonium nitrate, fertilizer. This is the same kind of fertilizer that was used to destroy the federal building in Oklahoma City back in 1995.
But instead of a devastating explosion, his truck, this guy's truck just caught fire. I want you to listen now. This is a witness account from one of our affiliates. This is one of the best there, WFAA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The gunman launched his assault directly in front of McKinney's police department, first by igniting his truck, apparently to draw out his targets.
MATT PAYNE, EYEWITNESS TO SHOOTING: Just as we got past the truck, we heard the gunfire.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Matt Payne driving by shot this cell phone video of the suspect's burning truck.
PAYNE: All I remember is the flak jacket and the gun. When I saw those two things, I knew that was enough that we needed to keep going.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: In a field across the street, he saw the gunman carrying an assault rifle and opening fire on approaching officers. His video captured some of the gunshots, either from the suspect or ammunition exploding inside the burning truck.
PAYNE: You know, he wasn't like down in tall grass hiding or in the trees. He was right out in the open and just standing there with his guns shooting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Joining me now to discuss this story at length is the McKinney police chief, Doug Kowalski. Hey, Chief, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time.
You know, just as casual viewer, when I hear stories like this, I'm thinking to myself, wow. Who was this guy? What was his beef?
Do you -- do you have any sense of this? Or do you have any knowledge about what -- who this guy was yet?
CHIEF DOUG KOWALSKI, MCKINNEY, TEXAS, POLICE: Rick, we're still conducting the investigation. At this point, we still don't understand any motive.
He doesn't have any particular beef that we know of with the police department or with the city of McKinney. We are continuing our investigation. We have looked into it. He was a security guard at one of our local wire companies that produced wire. We have had contact with him, but he was a witness on several incident reports where they were reporting theft or criminal mischief.
SANCHEZ: So, there's a --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: So, there's --
(CROSSTALK)
KOWALSKI: As far as a criminal record, he has none.
SANCHEZ: No --
KOWALSKI: As far as any negative interactions with the police department, there weren't any.
SANCHEZ: So --
KOWALSKI: So, right now, we -- we don't know the motive behind this.
SANCHEZ: So it's one of those stories where, you know, we often describe it as, you know, somebody who maybe one day woke up and just snapped?
KOWALSKI: At this point, that's what it appears. He appears to have acted alone and -- but we don't know why and why he elected to do this yesterday, what was the motivation behind it.
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
KOWALSKI: We have talked to his family members. We have talked to his roommate. We have talked to friends and co-workers. And they are saying that he seemed like a very nice individual, and they are -- they're shocked by yesterday's events.
SANCHEZ: Well, he was pretty thorough. I mean, the stuff that I just reported and the stuff that you guys have uncovered, I mean, you know, we're talking about ammonium nitrate, going to the trouble of getting the wood chips, getting the guns.
It seems like he had some kind of big plan. Do you know exactly what that plan was? Or have you figured that out, that -- that part of the story out yet?
KOWALSKI: Yes.
He apparently had a plan that he -- that he put into action. It involved his pickup truck. It involved a trailer that -- that was attached to the pickup truck. He made several passes by the public safety building. We have gone back and reviewed our cameras in front of it. And then he pulled up in our parking lot, set the truck on fire, then began to retreat with a series of weapons.
He had a 223 rifle. He had a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. And he had a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. He retreated to a tree line with extra ammo clips, extra ammunition. And as people came out or appeared to -- in response to the fire, he actually began shooting at them.
He began actively engaging several police officers in gunfire. They began to try to outflank him. He was -- across the street from us is a local community college. They have a police department. That officer had come around to see what was going on. That officer came under fire.
He was outflanked in the tree line. There's a creek there. And long story short, he began drawing fire --
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
KOWALSKI: -- returning fire. He was eventually hit by one of our officers in the arm. That disabled him. He was no longer able to operate, maneuver his -- his long rifle. And he began staggering away and then turned the gun on himself and killed himself with the final round.
SANCHEZ: Well, I will tell you, I mean, you don't want anybody -- you don't ever want to see anybody die, but I -- I think you guys are to be commended. It sounds like you guys did a hell of a nice job not only protecting themselves and the property, but the people in the area who also could have come under fire.
What does -- what does it say about the fact that he chose the police department as his -- his target? Have you thought about that?
KOWALSKI: The best way I can describe that right now is that it -- to me, it's a clear case of suicide by cop.
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
KOWALSKI: He set out on a plan. He wasn't trying to hide his identity. The truck was registered in his name. The trailer was registered in his name. He had no plan of escape. He was just going to go to a tree line and make his last stand.
When he drew fire and was struck, it -- it was clear. Then he turned the gun on himself and then committed suicide. He was looking to die yesterday. We have found some correspondence to that effect on some social networking pages. He contacted his previous boss, made statements to that effect.
And he was just -- elected that he was going to die yesterday.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
KOWALSKI: He was going to go out with guns blazing. And --
SANCHEZ: But according to the coroner --
KOWALSKI: -- he was going to force --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But, according to the coroner, you guys didn't kill him. I mean, you shot him, but you didn't kill him. He -- he -- he killed himself, right?
KOWALSKI: That's -- that's correct. I -- I think that was part of his plan, that, if he ever got wounded, he did not want to be taken alive. He was no longer able to manipulate the weapon that kept the officers at a certain distance. They were going to be able to close in on him, since he was now only able to manipulate the pistol, and he turned his pistol on himself and fired the fatal wound.
SANCHEZ: What a story.
Chief Kowalski, you're a good guy, sir. Appreciate you taking time to talk to us and take us through this incredible story. Job well done. And, once again, tell the fellows and the women, fellows and the gals that work for you that, you know, they ought to be commended. They did a nice job with this situation.
My thanks to you, sir.
KOWALSKI: They -- they certainly did. I couldn't be prouder of each and every one of them.
And I -- I thank you for having me today, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right, my pleasure, Chief.
News Corp. is a huge media company. It owns FOX News and "The Wall Street Journal." And it just gave a million dollars to a Republican donor. So, we're asking the question, obviously, how much cash are big companies giving to political parties? And where on the list does the News Corp. donation rank, just to put things in perspective for you? That's ahead.
Also, the woman police say confessed to suffocating her kids, putting them in a car and sending it off a bridge, is appearing in court. We are going to tell you what she said. In fact, you are probably going to be seeing her for the very first time in these videos that we now have for you. What is she saying?
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Time now for one of our big lists of the day. This is what we call the roundup list.
Twenty-nine-year-old Shaquan Duley tearfully replied to a judge's questions during her arraignment hearing for double murder today. There she is. You may be seeing her for the very first time. This is the South Carolina mom who is accused of allegedly suffocating her two sons, putting them in her car, and then sinking it in a river.
Police are saying she just outright lied about the children, and she had said that it was an accident. It certainly was not. Her attorney says she will plead not guilty.
Today, for the very first time, we're seeing pictures of the boys, 1-year-old Ja'van Duley and 2-year-old Devean, who perished when their mom suffocated them.
Number two, federal prosecutors will seek a new trial against former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. Yesterday, the jury found Blagojevich guilty of only one -- only one -- of 24 counts, lying to the FBI. To Blagojevich, the partial verdict was a vindication.
We're hearing more about the apparent holdout juror. Apparently, just today, we're hearing that she agreed with the panel that Blagojevich made false statements, but she did not agree with them on anything else regarding the charges against him.
Number three, a funeral service is scheduled to begin in less than two hours for former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. Vice President Joe Biden is among the list of dignitaries expected to attend. Biden is also expected to speak at the service. Stevens, who served in the Senate for 40 years, died last week, along with four others, in that plane crash in southern Alaska.
And number four: Shirley Sherrod has apparently made peace with the NAACP. A letter from her is posted on -- on their Web site, in which she writes, "The situation is behind us." Sherrod is referring to her rift with the NAACP in the wake of its public condemnation after a heavily edited video posted by a blogger made her appear to be racist, when she wasn't. The clip cost her, her job at the Agriculture Department, but the full recording revealed that she really did nothing wrong.
The head of the NAACP personally has now apologized to Sherrod.
There is a heated conversation on Twitter right now, and it's over sports rivalries. A reporter wore a Florida Gators hat to an Arkansas football practice. OK, probably shouldn't have done it. Well, the coach calls her out. The fans start blasting her. And now she says she's been put on ice. All because of a cap that she was wearing to a news conference? Something is a little strange there. And we're looking into it. I will -- that's ahead.
Also, this:
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) had a plane crash at 1:45 p.m. (INAUDIBLE) I'm pregnant, so they have got to be careful with me.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That is a pregnant woman who just survived a plane crash in Colombia and immediately calls home to her friends in the United States. You're -- you're going to hear this recording. It's a frantic call. It's coming up in just a little bit.
This is your LIST, your national conversation. I'm Rick Sanchez. And we're going to right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. Here is the story that we were talking about just a while -- and -- and I'm told, by the way -- Jessica Yellin is in the house and --
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
SANCHEZ: -- she's joining us. It's great to have you here.
YELLIN: Good to be here. Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Welcome to the Atlanta digs, as we call them.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: I love them.
SANCHEZ: So, a lot of folks have been talking about this story. This is News Corp. And, you know, part of the reason this becomes newsworthy is, it's one of our competitors --
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- FOX News. They're owned by Rupert Murdoch. That's News Corp. He has given, what, a million dollars to the GOP?
YELLIN: Their parent organization, News Corp., has given a million dollars to the Republican Governors Association --
SANCHEZ: Right.
YELLIN: -- a Republican group -- the governor -- the association, yes.
SANCHEZ: So, I guess -- I guess what I want to get from you -- and to put it -- to -- to make it fair, because, look, there is nothing wrong with giving money. It's the way this system works.
YELLIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: All big -- we are a big company. Time Warner is a big company. I'm sure Time Warner gives money to different organizations, except I have no idea what it is. I mean, I have nothing to do with it. You have nothing to do with it.
But -- but that's part of the process. So, what I want from you is, the $1 million figure, all those zeros --
YELLIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- is -- is it different?
YELLIN: It's --
SANCHEZ: Is it substantially different?
YELLIN: -- exponentially more than other organizations, news organizations, parent companies give to any one organization in a year.
SANCHEZ: Really?
YELLIN: I -- we made up a graph. I'm not -- do we -- do we have the graphic?
SANCHEZ: Hey, do we have that, guys?
YELLIN: I'm not sure if we have it. But --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We do.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: We got it. We got it. Got it. Go.
YELLIN: Great. Look at this. So, that's News Corp. That's how much they gave to Republicans, all told, and Democrats. Look at the comparison between the two.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: OK? And then, if we can advance to look at some of the other news organizations, as you say, Time Warner, OK, that's -- that's -- that's all we have.
SANCHEZ: OK.
YELLIN: But, to give you an example, Time Warner, our parent company --
SANCHEZ: Yes?
YELLIN: -- gave $91,500 to Republicans in the last two years, and $135,500 to Democrats.
SANCHEZ: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: So, $135,000 compared to more than a million, it's -- it's a magnitude scale difference.
SANCHEZ: It means we're cheap.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Don't let the bosses hear you say that.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Yes, and, you know, look, Rick, to be fair, this is why some critics say corporate ownership of media is bad. They worry that this does influence the process.
SANCHEZ: Oh, there's the graphic, by the way, that you were talking about a little while ago.
YELLIN: There's Time Warner.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
YELLIN: GE is the one company that's given as much money, almost as much money total, but not to one group.
SANCHEZ: And they own --
YELLIN: But they're not just a media company.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
YELLIN: They're technology, financial services. They own NBC.
SANCHEZ: Right.
YELLIN: I mean, the bottom line, as you know, FOX is always going on, their message is fair and balanced, fair and balanced. Now the Democratic Governors Association is calling on FOX to have a disclaimer on air saying, hey, we gave -- our parent company gave this much money to the RGA.
SANCHEZ: That's interesting.
And, of course, the argument would be FOX News obviously tends to lean way, way, way to the right for most people.
YELLIN: So you say.
SANCHEZ: So -- yes, right.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I don't know why I came up with that.
YELLIN: It's fair and balanced.
SANCHEZ: I don't know why I came up with that.
YELLIN: Haven't you seen the graphic?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Maybe it's because I have watched from time to time.
But what -- that's fine. You know, you're allowed to have a perspective. One of our other competitors tends to sway to the left. So, that's the way it works. And we happen to be in the middle, and that's the way we do things.
So, the argument is then, look, the fact of the matter is, you're accused of going to the right, and now you give this huge check for a million dollars, and the Democrats are accusing them by saying, that seals the deal.
YELLIN: It's pure bias, it's proven, is what the Democrats say.
Now, they say -- FOX, the owners of FOX say, hey, actually, this organization, the Republican Governors, reflect our political -- our business values. They're going to stand for lower taxes and less regulation, and that's what we like.
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
YELLIN: So --
SANCHEZ: Interesting.
YELLIN: -- the truth is, it's honestly a lot about business decisions, but this is why it's important to, A, have transparent media, have transparency in donations.
SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.
YELLIN: We need to know this stuff. And it is important for all this information to be getting out more often than it does.
SANCHEZ: And, by the way, just to be -- to be fair to -- to FOX and to Rupert Murdoch and to News Corp., there is no -- there's nothing to suggest here that they were trying to hide anything, right?
YELLIN: No.
SANCHEZ: No. It's out in the open. YELLIN: No. It's out there.
SANCHEZ: OK. Good.
One other thing. The president, Ohio?
YELLIN: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: What is he doing?
YELLIN: You know, the president was in Ohio, and he's doing something a little different. He went to a backyard, one family's backyard, and held a little event there.
SANCHEZ: No.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: You know --
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: I mean, I -- obviously, he is a man of the people, is the message here.
SANCHEZ: Did he just knock on the door and let himself in?
YELLIN: I don't -- I think --
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Couldn't you just see the "Saturday Night Live" sketch, though, where one day the president does knock on a door, shows up at your dinner table? It's like, hi, I'm with you. Come vote for my party.
SANCHEZ: How did it work out for him?
YELLIN: It was a good reception. You know, there's a little laughter obviously about the style thing, but --
SANCHEZ: But it's a little weird?
YELLIN: The message is, the Democrats want to say in this election cycle that they stand for the little guy --
SANCHEZ: Right.
YELLIN: -- vs. the Republicans who are with corporations. This is one way for them to try to communicate it. I'm sure the Republicans will have an answer to it in -- in no time.
SANCHEZ: It's almost like politicians will do anything to try and be regular people. YELLIN: Hey, knock on your door.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: And not all of them are regular people, by the way.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Hi.
YELLIN: They live in Washington.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Jess. We will look forward to seeing you tonight at 8:00 --
YELLIN: I will be here.
SANCHEZ: -- on RICK'S LIST prime time.
A federal court has ruled that lying about receiving Medals of Honor is, you ready for this, not against the law, because it violates, well, freedom of speech. But what about honor? Shouldn't that be taken into account as well? We're drilling down on this, because there's been a ruling on this. It's very, very important. We are going to bring that to you here in just a little bit.
This is RICK'S LIST. We are going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. Where was the music? Let's -- we --
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: We forgot the music at the beginning.
There's a tweet coming in to us now. And, you know, on this show, we follow social media, not just because we want to know what you think, which we do -- and you know I talk to you during commercials by tweeting you back, but we also follow news organizations -- folks -- organizations that make news, that are relevant to what we're saying.
And we just got this tweet, and we have now been drilling down on this. And I want to bring you information. I mean, folks, this is definitely news you can use, especially if you like to eat eggs.
It's a multistate outbreak of salmonella associated with eggs. They say shell eggs. That's only to differentiate them from, you know, the ones that you get in a carton. So, there's apparently millions of eggs involved in this. And CNN is now putting out this information. Let me read it to you, because I know you're asking yourself, as the CDC comes out with its reports that you're looking at right there as well -- well, which eggs? I mean, which ones are being affected? Sanchez, come on. Give me more information. Here it is. You ready?
These are Wright County Egg packages under the following brand names. These are the ones you got to look for. You ready? Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms, and Kemps.
These brands are unfortunately distributed nationwide. The recall affects eggs packed in several different sized cartons from a half-a-dozen to 18 eggs. So, that's the information that we have got right now. Those are the names of the companies. And I know a lot of this is stuff -- is hard to follow, and you're not going to sit there and, you know, take copious notes as I'm reading these things to you.
So, let me do this. We will put it on my Web site, all right, CNN.com/ricksanchez. We will put all of this information on my Web site, and we will re-tweet it as well to all the hundreds of thousands of you out there who also follow us on social media, so you can get all the details, just so you know, if you want to be sure, you want to go to the grocery store and make sure you buy the eggs that are not being taken off the market in case the eggs are still on the market.
So, glad that we can bring you that information. It's a public service. We will keep reminding you. And if we get any other information on this, I will let you know.
Meanwhile, take a look at this. I want you to think about the last time that you locked yourself out of a house. You probably never considered the chimney to get back in, right? But one curious young man did, the 11-year-old Santa Claus. His story is coming up in just a little bit.
Also, a weatherman is caught on tape declaring that he's number one. Or was it a bird that he was pointing to? I think you get my drift, all of this on live television, and now he is having to explain for it. "Fotos" is next.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: The broadcast journalists that I know in this business are often hardened professionals, but, every once in a while, occasionally, some of them, including moi, slip up. They just forget for a moment that they're on camera.
What am I talking about? Let's do "Fotos."
ANNOUNCER: Aye dios mio.
SANCHEZ: This is the BBC, of all things. The weatherman doesn't realize he's on live TV, and he gives the one-finger salute to his anchor buddies there who are ribbing him over the accuracy of his report.
All right. Let's watch it one more time. Oh, yes, right, let's turn it into: I'm just scratching my chin. No, I don't think so. Everybody saw it. And people are talking about it everywhere.
But then again, oops, it's just a mistake.
Also a terrifying moment in an air show in Argentina. The wing of a pilot's plane snaps as he is flying. The fast-acting pilot was able to activate the plane's ballistic parachute.
What's a ballistic parachute, by the way?
Anyway, he activates this thing just in time and he walks away from the craft with just burnt -- a burn on his foot. That's fantastic.
And this is every little leaguer's dream. Check out this home run shot by the Red Sox' Darnell McDonald hit last night. Slams one out of Boston's Fenway Park. But guess what?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody is going to need a new windshield.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: They certainly are going to need a new windshield. It hit a car, smashed the windshield.
The moral of the story? You get a great parking spot, you get to be the first one in and the first one out of the game. Unfortunately, it also means you could ruin your car if someone jacks one out.
That's "Fotos," and you can see them for yourself whenever you want. Again, just go to my Web site, my blog. It's CNN.com/ricksanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) prayers at church. Our plane crashed at 1:45 p.m. I'm fine, but I'm pregnant, so they've got to be careful with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This is something we all think about. We don't like to think about it, but we think about it, the idea that you can survive a plane crash or just be on a plane as it's crashing. Well, this passenger survived this crash and immediately calls a friend to tell them about it.
We've got the recording. You're going to hear it for yourself. It's a distressing call, to say the very least. It's next on THE LIST. Also, some people take their college football way too seriously. A local reporter wears a Florida Gators cap, right? You know, SEC, Florida Gators. Wears it to a news conference, though, to an Arkansas football team news conference.
You remember the coach, Bobby Petrino. Well, suddenly, she's fired for this. Bad judgment, maybe. But fired?
We're going to drill down on not just what happened here, but maybe a little bit about Coach Petrino himself. Is he the guy who should be firing her? Is his record clean on this kind of loyalty stuff?
That's next.
You're handling that.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I am.
SANCHEZ: Brooke Baldwin.
BALDWIN: I just got off the phone with a radio station. I've got new details --
SANCHEZ: On this story?
BALDWIN: -- on this story.
SANCHEZ: Is she going to get -- well, don't answer that.
BALDWIN: Wait for it.
SANCHEZ: I bet you there's a development.
BALDWIN: There is. A couple.
SANCHEZ: All right.
We're going to be right back with Brooke Baldwin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: So, I'm on the way to work today -- Brooke Baldwin, welcome.
BALDWIN: Hi. Thanks.
SANCHEZ: How are you?
BALDWIN: Great. How are you?
SANCHEZ: Fantastic.
This is a big trending story, because everybody is talking about this, twittering about this. And I'm on the way to work this morning -- BALDWIN: Yes?
SANCHEZ: -- and of course I'm checking in with sports radio to see what's going on in the world of sports.
BALDWIN: Of course.
SANCHEZ: And everybody is talking about Bobby Petrino and what a horrible guy he is because he fired this young reporter who was wearing a -- wait, let me get this right. She's wearing a Florida Gators cap while she's covering him and the Arkansas Razorbacks --
BALDWIN: Razorbacks.
SANCHEZ: -- news conference. And everybody is saying, well, the coach got her fired for doing that.
Is that true?
BALDWIN: Slow your roll, people. Let me explain this story. Let me step back here.
We're talking about a radio reporter in Arkansas, correct. She wore this Florida Gators cap to this news conference.
Here's the deal. This woman's name is Renee Gork. She grew up in Florida, spent her life in Florida, went to school there, is literally a Gator.
She wore this Gator cap on Saturday. She did in fact interview the coach. She asked him a question.
Here is what coach Bobby Petrino said at the end of his response to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY PETRINO, ARKANSAS FOOTBALL COACH: But I thought the defense came back in the second half, and that will be the last question I answer with that hat on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Whoa.
BALDWIN: What's with that hat on, right? So Gork says --
SANCHEZ: So he gets a lot of heat for this.
BALDWIN: He catches some heat. She catches a whole lot of heat.
She thought he was kidding, told the radio station -- another radio station -- it's called "The Ticket" -- she hadn't even thought about it, so she says, putting the cap on. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RENEE GORK, FIRED AFTER WEARING FLORIDA GATORS HAT: And perhaps maybe because I was out of the business a little bit, I was up with my kids, they were sick the night before, I wasn't thinking as far as wearing the Florida hat. But really, I didn't feel as if it was a disrespectful thing because Arkansas doesn't even play Florida. They're not really even a rival conference.
I mean, it's a rotating schedule. I wasn't thinking, like, here, I'm going to put this hat on and show them, ha, ha, ha.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So that's her explanation.
SANCHEZ: By the way, she's wrong, just to clear it up. Arkansas plays in the SEC and so does Florida. So if you play in the same conference -- I know one is the West and the East, but it doesn't matter. If you're in the same conference, that is a team that you consider --
BALDWIN: It's a no-no.
SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly. That's night right.
BALDWIN: So, it's a no-no. She has learned as much.
She actually has gotten death threats, according to her. She sent Coach Petrino an apology letter. But when she showed up to work on Monday she says she was fired.
So I confirmed that. Picked up the phone, hopped on with Dan Stoers (ph). He's the station's general manager. I literally just got off the phone with him.
He confirmed in fact they did fire her. He said it was for personnel issues.
He says this had nothing to do with the Razorbacks, nothing to do with the university or Coach Petrino.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
BALDWIN: Said the incident had everything to do with the fact that she apparently had been tweeting from her personal account things like, according to this general manager, things like, "Gosh, I wish I was covering the Gators. Man, I hate getting up this early to go to this job."
Now, we tried looking for her Twitter account just to verify that. We couldn't find it.
This general manager told me that she had yanked it over the weekend. But our Stephanie Jelett (ph), our fabulous P.A., found, if we can go to that other tweet, guys, this was a screen grab. Can we hop to the other tweet? Here we go. This is a screen grab from Renee Gork before she pulled her account down. "Was hoping to publicly apologize to Coach Petrino and UA fans on the show today, but I won't get that chance now. I've been fired."
SANCHEZ: Huh.
BALDWIN: And then let's take a look at the other tweet. We're just kind of doing this on the fly.
"For those of you coming to this page, it was developed before I was back on the air, a personal account meant for friends and family not hate." So perhaps that is her personal account.
I've actually been in touch with a colleague. You know, it's a small world -- TV, radio. I've been in touch with a colleague who has been in touch with her, and he says she is already getting other job offers. And, in fact, this general manager who I spoke with, Dan (ph), said, look, she is a good woman, she's a good reporter. She just isn't meant to be here.
SANCHEZ: Well, Bobby Petrino has switched -- what I heard this morning is, look, Bobby Petrino is a guy who has switched a lot of jobs in the past. He's left one team to go to another. By the way, nothing wrong with that.
BALDWIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: You know, you get a better offer, you move on. But people were really slamming him, saying how can he do that to her when he's done it himself?
The moral of the story with the information that you as a reporter have dug up is that Bobby Petrino is kind of in the clear on this.
BALDWIN: He's in the clear.
SANCHEZ: He was not the guy who had her fired.
BALDWIN: Had nothing to do with it. This was a radio station thing and she is gone.
SANCHEZ: Well, I'm glad you found that out.
BALDWIN: Yes, there you go. Case closed.
Story number two. Let's talk about chimneys, shall we?
So, what happens when you get locked of your house? What do you do?
Maybe you have a key under a rock, maybe you go to your neighbor. If you're smart enough, you give him a spare, try to open a window.
Not for this 11-year-old. He had a better idea. Hey, I'll just head down the chimney to get inside.
The problem was the sixth grader, by the way, who is 5'8, went down head first. Yes, he got stuck. Fire and rescue called in to chisel him out. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MCCAMMON, GOT STUCK IN CHIMNEY: My whole face was black. I didn't look like myself.
QUESTION: Was it scary in there?
MCCAMMON: Yes.
JOSE PEREZ, WOODLAKE FIRE CHIEF: If you would have seen him when he came out, only his eyes were white. The rest of him was just black, black, black.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: We've seen the pictures. We've seen just kind of the whites of his eyes. He's covered in soot.
Mom is grateful he's out. He is OK. Apparently the chimney, not so much.
SANCHEZ: You know what they say?
BALDWIN: What's that, Rick Sanchez?
SANCHEZ: Youth is wasted on the young.
BALDWIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: They make mistakes.
BALDWIN: We learn so much from you -- the moral of the story.
SANCHEZ: Get out of here you knucklehead.
BALDWIN: Thanks, Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: Politicians can say a lot of things to get attention, but if they're going to say our lives are at risk, well, they better have some proof to back it up, because that is considered by some a scare tactic. And it appears that one of them quite doesn't understand this.
So when we come back, we're going to be talking about something we call "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Now to the story I told you that we'd be bringing you in just a little bit.
Are we going to do -- OK. I'm confused. Let me talk to my producers here. I was given two pieces of instruction.
Are we doing the interview or are we not?
OK. Here we go.
I want to take you inside some dramatic pictures now.
Yes, we are. All right. We've got the interview. Thanks.
We showed this to you Monday. It is the plane that broke into pieces when it crashed during a storm on an island off of Colombia.
Now, just for a moment, imagine what it would be like to be on board this plane, a plane that is broken up into several pieces.
Joining me on the phone right now is a survivor from that crash. He is an American and his name is David Bellino. And he's good enough to join us.
David, how are you?
DAVID BELLINO, SURVIVED PLANE CRASH: I'm much better.
SANCHEZ: Boy, I can only imagine. Thanks so much.
This is the national broadcast exclusive interview with you, so I'm so glad that we've had a chance to talk with you about this.
Can we -- Roger, can you put the pictures up of this plane?
Because it's not until you look at the pictures that you start to understand exactly just how incredible this crash must have been, and the fact that so many people survived is miraculous.
OK. We're having problems getting that video, but as soon as we get it up, we'll show it to our viewers.
Take us through what happened, what you felt when you were on this plane, David.
BELLINO: Well, it was actually a pretty normal flight. It was a late flight.
We were coming in for a landing. We were told to prepare for the landing. You know, put your seat up, make sure your seat belts are on.
A few moments later, it was just an unbelievable impact where I found that the plane had landed or crash-landed before the runway. Upon hitting and impacting, the plane broke into multiple pieces -- I believe three or four pieces.
SANCHEZ: Here's what I don't understand, David. You know, I'm looking at these pictures, and most people are looking at these pictures as well, and they're thinking, how does the plane break into pieces with people sitting right there, for example, where the breakage is, and those people weren't -- well, I guess I just have to say it. How were they not horribly hurt or killed?
Didn't they go flying out, or did they just sit there while the plane is in pieces rolling down the runway?
BELLINO: It's unexplainable. It's just a miracle from God.
After impact, I was knocked out, but I came to. I took my seat belt off. I turned to my right.
There was chaos, people screaming, things falling from the ceiling. I turned to my left, and half the fuselage was broken in half. The plane was on fire.
I was sitting in the 12th row, which is the emergency exit. I stepped over my wife. I was in the aisle.
I opened the emergency door, threw it out, stepped out on the wing. I saw fire in front of me.
I looked to the back of me. There was no fire behind the plane. I went back in.
My wife is seven weeks pregnant. I got my wife out of her seat belt. I yelled, "We've got to get out of here!"
It turned out the other evacuation door wouldn't open, so everyone started coming out. My wife stepped out of the door and fell. The wing was covered with fuel, so it was slippery. She fell towards the fire.
I picked her up and carried her to the back of the wing, and it turns out I broke my back, fractured a vertebrae. So when I jumped off the wing with my wife, I made it about 10 more feet and collapsed.
SANCHEZ: And you jumped off why, because you were afraid that the fire would spread to the area where you were on the plane?
BELLINO: Well, because the plane was broken in half and it was on fire, yes.
SANCHEZ: So it was the fire that made you -- when you -- you were in seat 12. Let me see if I can do something with you here.
I don't know if you can see the monitor, but we're looking at pictures of the plane. You said you were in the 12th row, I believe, as I was just listening a moment ago. Right?
BELLINO: That's correct.
SANCHEZ: And from the 12th row, how far were you from the place where the actual crack was, where the plane split in parts?
BELLINO: Well, there was no -- it was on fire. There was no more plane after about three seats in front of me.
SANCHEZ: Wow. So you're looking in front of you and you're seeing daylight.
BELLINO: Yes. Well, it was 3:00 in the morning, so it was dark.
SANCHEZ: OK. That's right. Thanks for reminding me of that. But you're seeing the outside, in other words. You're thinking, my goodness, where is the rest of this plane?
Let me also ask you about the impact. When the plane made the initial impact, did you guys on the plane know that you were in a -- you know, because there's an impact every time a plane makes a landing, and most of us just feel the bump, and then the brakes hit and we're all kind of, you know, adjusting ourselves and holding ourselves in our seat.
How different was this from a normal landing?
BELLINO: Well, they didn't tell us there was any, you know, complications. It was just going to be a normal landing.
And so upon impact, it was -- I guess we hit about 200 miles an hour. And all I know is there was this impact like I had never felt before.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
BELLINO: And then I opened my eyes. I can't imagine I was out for but moments, but when I opened my eyes, I immediately took my seat belt off and turned to the right, and then to the left, and then to the back, and then to the emergency door.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
And by the way, as we have reported, there have been -- there was lightning in the area at the time. There was a pretty good storm, although of course NTSB will determine later on exactly what it was that caused the crash.
Hey, David, what a story you tell. And we are thankful that you took time to take us through this. My best to you. I hope you recover well. And my best to your wife as well.
BELLINO: Rick?
SANCHEZ: Go ahead, sir.
BELLINO: Rick, could I thank a few people?
SANCHEZ: Sure. Go ahead. You got it.
BELLINO: Ok. Upon evacuation, I'd like to thank the Colombian Air Force, Dr. Brian Sanchez (ph), and the technician, Edward Tornagro (ph), who gave us all of the support and a wonderful, safe evacuation back to Bogota.
I'd like to also thank the governor of San Andres and the fire and rescue and hospital staff and volunteers. And last but not least, I'd like to thank Jesus Christ for this miracle.
SANCHEZ: Good for you. Good for you, David.
You're a good guy. I get goose bumps listening to your story and taking us through this. You seem like a genuine person.
My thanks to you. God bless.
BELLINO: God bless.
SANCHEZ: "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On" is next. Stay right there. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: This is Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert. He's a Republican who went an entirely different route in the heated debate over illegal immigration.
I want to introduce you to this idea of terror babies. Gohmert said and still insists, by the way, that terrorists are sending pregnant women to this country so that their babies will be born U.S. citizens. Right? And then, decades down the road, they're going to try to blow us up.
He says a retired FBI agent told him this at one point. Yet, without checking with other agents or the present FBI office, he took this theory straight to Congress.
Here, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R), TEXAS: It appeared they would have young women who became pregnant, would get them into the United States to have a baby, and then they would return back where they could be raised and coddled as future terrorists. And then one day, 20, 30 years down the road, they could be sent in to help destroy our way of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So here's what happens next. My colleague Anderson Cooper, doing what a responsible journalist is supposed to do, he asks the feds about this. They say to Anderson, look, there's absolutely no credible evidence to support this. And a former high-ranking agent told CNN the idea is ludicrous, complete fiction.
So, Anderson asks the congressman, Gohmert, a simple and very important question: Where are you getting this from?
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOHMERT: You're going to keep me honest? You tell the world that you've got an FBI statement, you bring on a retired FBI -- former supervisor, and he says, "We were not aware of any credible report that this was going on"?
I brought it to the attention of America for this reason --
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": The FBI says this is just not happening.
GOHMERT: If you send them over there --
COOPER: You're just spreading scare stories. This is completely about politics.
GOHMERT: It is happening. It is happening. It is happening.
COOPER: Where? Give me some evidence. Tell me one person, one terror baby that's been born. Can you tell me?
GOHMERT: The explosions will not happen for 10, 15, 20 years. And then you will be one of those blips. I'm not comparable to Winston Churchill, but the detractors like you are comparable to his detractors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The congressman went on to spend 10 minutes yelling and, well, dodging the question. Now he's telling a newspaper that CNN is attacking his integrity because he would not give away the names of his sources.
Wrong. No one asked him to publicly reveal his sources. Just asked for more than "some retired FBI agent told me this."
And for some reason, you, Mr. Gohmert, seem offended that somebody would actually follow up on your provocative claims. That's our job, sir. The ones you made in public, by the way, on the floor of the House of Representatives, no less.
We reached out to the congressman ourselves, by the way, but he was unavailable on this day for comment. Nonetheless, I wanted to let you know that Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert today is on the top of "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: A federal appeals court in San Francisco has ruled unconstitutional, deciding it is not a crime -- listen to this -- that it is not a crime to lie about receiving awards because that would go against the First Amendment.
This all centers on a man named Xavier Alvarez or Xavier Alvarez. I'm not sure about the pronunciation.
He sat on the board of directors of a water utility in California and claimed to be a retired Marine who won a Medal of Honor in 1987. He was prosecuted and given three years' probation. Alvarez even pleaded guilty but reserved his right to appeal.
Jonathan Libby is the public defender who represented Alvarez, and he is good enough to join us now.
Jonathan, the first part of this is, your client lied. Right? Can you deal squarely with that part of the story first?
JONATHAN LIBBY, PUBLIC DEFENDER FOR XAVIER ALVAREZ: There is no question he lied.
SANCHEZ: And that's not an honorable thing to do.
LIBBY: Absolutely not.
SANCHEZ: However, you say -- and apparently the court has agreed with you -- it's not a crime to lie.
LIBBY: Exactly. The First Amendment is supposed to mean something. The First Amendment makes clear Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. There have been some limited exceptions to the First Amendment over the years, but telling a non- defamatory lie is not one of them.
SANCHEZ: Where is your client now, by the way?
LIBBY: Mr. Alvarez is currently in state prison system on an unrelated matter.
SANCHEZ: But the fact that he's in prison -- because that caught my curiosity -- has nothing to do with the situation he is in now?
LIBBY: Correct.
SANCHEZ: And do you think this will set a precedent or do you think this is going to be challenged?
LIBBY: Well, it certainly sets a precedent within the Ninth Circuit for now. I suspect the government is going to seek further review of the case.
SANCHEZ: Jonathan, you're a good man. Thanks so much for joining us and taking us through this story.
Wolf's coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Thanks for being with us. We'll see you again tomorrow.
This is RICK'S LIST.
Here now, Wolf Blitzer.
