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Rick's List
Last U.S. Combat Brigade Out of Iraq; Daring Helicopter Rescue in Washington State; Plane Security Incident in San Francisco; Police Chase on Runway in Dallas; Poll Numbers on President Obama's Faith
Aired August 19, 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: I am constantly amazed nowadays at how far we have come with this crazy idea we once had here on RICK'S LIST to actually use Twitter and social media as a way to bring you information and bring your perspective to the news, essentially the -- the marrying of social media with traditional media.
And -- and -- and today is another example of how we can use it to not just get news, but it actually comes full circle.
We're following a breaking story here of a plane where there was a hostage threat phoned in, and we actually have a passenger on the phone who's threat -- who is tweeting. And we're using the tweets to tell you what is going on inside that plane, with pictures, with comments, and with descriptions.
And we have also now got American Airlines responding to our reports and then tweeting back the passenger, so they can communicate with her and let her know what's going on from their vantage point. Think about that. Think about how far we have come in the uses of --
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: .. .in the usage of social media. And we're just kind of proud to be a part of it here.
Look, that's -- that's -- there you see McKella. She's the one who is -- CMcKella -- she's the one who was talking to us and sending us the tweets and describing it.
So now American Airlines is using its Twitter account to talk to her. Another passenger on board saying: "Hang in there. The authorities are taking care of things." So they can communicate with her while she's communicating with us. It's amazing.
Now joining us by phone is Jay Sears. She too is -- and Jay -- actually, I don't know if Jay is a male or a female. Is it a guy?
Hey, Jay, you there?
JAY SEARS, PASSENGER ON AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 24 (via telephone): Yes, I'm here.
(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: Hey, Jay, thanks for joining us, man.
You are a passenger on this flight?
SEARS: Yes, I am.
SANCHEZ: Tell us what's going on.
SEARS: Well, they just started deplaning all of us, after having us sit in a remote (AUDIO GAP) for some time.
So, the San Francisco PD is on and they're taking us off six at a time.
SANCHEZ: Well, you know, you guys have been sitting there for quite some time. Do you have any idea what took so long?
SEARS: Not a lot of information. But everybody's been pretty calm. And the pilot has been on a couple times and just said that there was a security threat. And the plane was moved to a remote location on the tarmac.
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
SEARS: And -- and, hopefully, you know, we're all going to get off this thing pretty soon.
SANCHEZ: What did they specifically tell you the threat was? I'm curious, because I know what information we have. But let's compare notes if we can. What were you told as a passenger on the plane?
SEARS: They didn't really tell us, much other than what I -- what I just mentioned.
So --
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
SEARS: -- other than there was just a -- just a threat. And that's it. And they're actually having our area of the plane -- we're going to get up and get off right now.
SANCHEZ: And the -- by the way, just for your own edification, the information -- the sourced information we have is that a hostage threat was phoned in. That's the last bit of news that we had.
Do you -- do you have to go? I'm not going to keep you if you have got to -- if you have got to do something there. You have got to -- you have got to get out of there, or can you keep talking?
SEARS: Yes, we're OK.
SANCHEZ: Oh. So, the -- the mood -- where -- where were you sitting on the plane, by the way, Jay?
SEARS: On the left side of the plane --
SANCHEZ: And --
SEARS: -- towards the -- toward the front.
SANCHEZ: And was the --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Was the plane getting ready to take off when you -- when -- were you guys already taxiing?
SEARS: Yes. We were taxiing out to an active runway and then they turned it around. And that's -- that's exactly right.
SANCHEZ: How many -- do you see the buses outside the plane right now?
SEARS: Yes, uh-huh.
SANCHEZ: And they're going to be walking you guys off the plane. Are the police officers on board the plane?
SEARS: Yes, yes, yes. We're actually walking off right now.
SANCHEZ: What -- how -- what do you see the police officers doing? What -- what -- what did they do when they came on the plane? Did they talk -- the address -- did they address the passengers at all?
SEARS: No, just the pilot and the staff addressed the passengers. And the police are just I guess making sure we get off in an orderly way.
SANCHEZ: Are you going to -- I mean, because it's a hostage situation, it might lead one to believe that there might be some debriefing or some questioning that they have to do of passengers. Is there any indication at this point that you're going to be asked questions or that anyone is being asked questions?
SEARS: Not that I can see right now.
SANCHEZ: What are they telling you? What -- what are they saying that they're going to do with the passengers, with all of you, after you get on the bus?
SEARS: They haven't really said, but I just -- I understand from Expedia and American Airlines, they have re-booked a number of us for later in the afternoon.
SANCHEZ: So, they're going to re-book you on different flights, and you're getting one of those blue buses that we see there now, right?
SEARS: Correct.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Jay, you've been very helpful. Thanks so much for taking us through this. You seem like a patient guy.
I mean, I know it's probably the last -- you want to -- you -- are you -- are you a New Yorker? You on your way to JFK or you're just on business?
SEARS: Yes, I'm on the way home to New York. So --
(LAUGHTER)
SEARS: -- can't get there quick --
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: It looks like you're going to be a little late. But, like I said, it looks like you have got the right attitude. And thank goodness this thing is going to end up safely. We're looking at these pictures.
Jay Sears, who is also tweeting as well -- in fact, do we have his tweet? Can we put that one up? Put that on the green screen over there, we can show it to the folks. There's Jay Sears, good-looking, handsome fellow that he is, sharing this information with us. We will get that shot up there for you in just a little bit.
Folks joining us now here at 4:00 -- and ,by the way, I want to welcome all the men and women watching us on Armed Forces Network around the world. We always welcome having you here with us as we follow this breaking news story out of San Francisco.
It's a plane that was going to be headed to JFK. And we have established communication with a lot of the folks who are on the plane, because they know that we're a show that is very receptive to social media. They tweet. We receive the tweets. And we have been sharing the information and breaking the news story.
There's Jay Sears. He's the fellow we were just talking on the phone with moments ago. And he says: "American Airlines 24, police taking people off six at a time," just like the -- the information we had from Campbell that was coming in just a little while ago.
All right, let's do this. We are going to keep an eye on the story. We are going to let you what's going -- let you know what's going on. As you can see, we have got ownership on it right now with all of our sources and all our reporters and all of the tweets coming in.
But here's a look at the other stories that we're going to bring you throughout this newscast.
Roll it there, Rog.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here is what making your LIST today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually left a couple weeks right after she was born, so I'm really excited. It's the first time I really get to see her like this now.
SANCHEZ: The last of the U.S. combat troops coming home -- the hugs, the tears, the thoughts of those who won't. We're in Iraq, in Kuwait, in Fort Benning, as we take you through this historic pullout.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have gone under the bridge, attempting that rescue right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty amazing.
SANCHEZ: How does this rescue helicopter pilot do it, maneuvering under a bridge with just feet to spare? I will ask him.
The number of Americans who think President Obama is a Muslim should have gone down by now, right? Wrong. It's up.
And this story is just a bunch of bull, literally.
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: Boy, there's so much going on. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rick Sanchez. All of you who have been helping us, watching our newscast, sharing information with us on Twitter and on social media.
The story that we're following right now obviously is the big story out of San Francisco, plane that was going to be heading to JFK. Unfortunately, there's been a hijacking threat. And, as a result of that hijacking threat, they're now have to think all the passengers off. They may be asking them questions. They're definitely going to sweep the plane as well.
And it's a giant hassle, but it's also very important and it's part of the security measures that have to take place. So, we're going to keep an eye on this story for you. We're going to keep it in the lower box down there, squeeze it in down for you, and you will be able to keep an eye on it as well, as we cover the big story that we have been following since 8:00 last night, which is this important return of our combat troops from Iraq.
It's happening as we speak. Some pretty important images that we're going to be sharing with you that are bound to put a smile on your face as you watch it. This is the 4th Stryker Brigade, as we were able to tell you about last night. There they are crossing out of Iraq and out of the war that began seven-and-a-half years ago. It's not the end of the U.S. troop involvement in Iraq, of course, but it's pretty darn close. We're told there's going to be 56,000 left there, all right? Fifty-six thousand. Eventually, it will only be 50,000, because those 6,000 are going to be out by the end of this month as well.
So, the 50,000 that will stay there are noncombatants. In other words, they won't be there in combat roles. They're going to there to train and advise the Iraqi army. Here's a tweet I received from the State Department's P.J. Crowley just last night, as a matter of fact. He sent this to me as we were trying to figure out what the news was.
He says: "Combat troops are leaving, but the mission in Iraq is not done. It's in transition to a long-term civilian-led partnership."
But the story today -- the story today really is about the symbolic gestures that we're seeing, the ending of the combat, the troops making their way over here for Americans that are saying we have been wanting to see you and we have been waiting for you so long.
Let's share some pictures, if we can, right now. Hit those, Rog. You can't talk about Iraq without going back to the very beginning, and that is Shock and Awe.
There was little confusion in March of 2003 when we witnessed the nightly bombing of Baghdad. And who can forget this, just weeks into Operation Iraqi Freedom?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Goodbye, Saddam.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: "Goodbye, Saddam." The real goodbye to Saddam would come a few months later.
Now, remember this? This is the bearded, disheveled former leader as he's pulled out of a hole and captured just months into the war. You think about it, this was more than six years ago. My, how time has flown. And it came at a price that did not wear well on the American public as the years passed by.
As we welcome troops home, here are some numbers to consider. As of today, 4,419 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq -- 4,419. But the bigger story of this long, drawn-out war was the huge number of casualties as well.
There are two categories for these soldiers, the wounded in action who returned to duty and those who are wounded and did not return. Basically, they were too injured to return. Here's the breakdown. Almost 18,000 troops were wounded and returned to duty. Nearly 14,000 were wounded in action and could not return to duty. One more thing to consider, what our troops went through these seven-and-a-half years. I was really struck by what Army Sergeant Terry Wetzel had to say.
Let me share it with you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEANT TERRY WETZEL, U.S. ARMY: Moments I will never forget would be just the first -- one of the first firefights you ever have been, the first time you get shot at, it's just -- I mean, it's -- it wakes you up. You think that, before you come here, that, you know, you're an adult, you're a grown man, but this place will change you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: "This place will change you."
Arwa Damon has been following the situation in Baghdad now for quite some time. And she is joining us now live to bring us up to date on what she's learned after talking to some of the military officials.
How is this exit going, Arwa?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just got our press release from the U.S. military that is saying that troop levels are currently down to 52,000. That is just 2,000 troops away from the White House aim of having troop levels reach 50,000 by the end of the month.
Now, we're being told, according to this press release, that those 2,000 troops still in country are members of the support units, as well as individual augmentees. The reason why we're seeing such a drastic drop from what we were reporting yesterday is that this number now includes that last combat brigade that we saw convoying out overnight, as well as individuals and other smaller units.
So, everything is pretty much on track when it comes to what the White House wants to accomplish here, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Yes. That's -- you're -- you're referring to the -- the Stryker brigade. I was reading, in fact, about them last night, members of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team 2nd Infantry Division. They call themselves the -- the Raiders, as I -- I'm sure you know.
That's the -- that's the brigade that was leaving late last night. They're comprised of about 4,000 men and women, fighting men and women, right?
DAMON: That's right, Rick. That is -- at least as far as we are aware. Now, bearing in mind, though, that the U.S. military has really been undergoing this drawdown for well over a year now.
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
DAMON: So, it's important to point out that it's not as if Iraqis woke up all of a sudden and U.S. troops were gone.
The Americans withdrew from the cities and towns, according to the security agreement between both nations, over a year-and-a-half ago. So, for Iraqis, this drawdown, this drop in numbers isn't really impacting them on a day-to-day basis, because they have already grown -- grown used to not seeing U.S. troops around.
SANCHEZ: This -- you know, this is from your own reporting that I'm sharing with viewers, and I -- I think you have done a great job bringing us this story today and making it all make sense.
But, as -- as -- as we were reporting this, it makes sense that U.S. military and the White House has been taking troops out, not just last night, when the world and we here noticed it, but prior to this. But they were doing it secretly, because, obviously, they didn't want -- they didn't want to signal the enemy, right?
DAMON: No, of course not. Operational security plays very heavily into this.
And the very same night that the 4-2 was pulling out, another unit in another part of the country was -- was undergoing counter-IED operations, meaning that they were out and trying to hunt down those individuals, those cells that are placing the deadly roadside bombs.
While one unit is moving out, another unit is still undergoing these types of combat operations. But operational security is still very critical at this stage, because, at the end of the day, Iraq is still a very dangerous place, and none of these troops who are leaving are really under the illusion that they're leaving behind a safe and a secure nation.
We have been talking to some of them. And some of them have been saying, Rick, that their biggest concern as they're leaving is that, one day, they're going to have to come back.
SANCHEZ: Hmm.
Here's the part where I was referring to where Arwa writes in one of her own wire stories that -- that I have been using to better understand the story, so that I can share it with you, she says, "Much of this brigade" -- this is the Stryker force brigade that we were talking about -- "departed more than a day ago, but the announcement was delayed for security reasons."
Well, some of those who had been getting out prior to our reporting of it for security reasons have been arriving in the United States. So, let's switch now to back at home here.
Arwa, my thanks to you. Let us know if anything else needs to be reported out of Iraq.
And -- and let me go to my colleague Brooke Baldwin now, who usually is here with me on set, but she's down at Fort Benning, Georgia, to bring us up to date on what is going on there.
I -- I imagine you will see or have seen some reunions there. Tell us. Bring us up to date, Brooke.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not yet, Rick Sanchez. Not yet.
Get this. We're still two hours away from these 200 men and women 3rd Infantry Division 3rd Brigade coming home here to Fort Benning, and then they still have to go through in-processing for an hour before these family members can even see them.
But I want you to just take a look. I mean, these men and women have been on the plane for hours and hours. But these families have been waiting for 11 months.
SANCHEZ: Huh.
BALDWIN: That is how long their loved ones have been based at the Delta base. This is eastern Iraq, where they have been, near the city of Al Kut.
And from what I understand, this is -- you know, many of them, this is their second or possibly even third tour of duty. So, just to give you some background on them, they have been working more or less as an advise-and-assist brigade, so they have been helping bolster, you know, provincial reconstruction, helping bolster some of the security, the Iraqi security forces, partnering with the Iraqi federal police and also the local policing.
But many of them were involved in the surge, many of them in combat many years ago. But let me just set the -- set the scene for you, how this will work, the big homecoming, because, let's be honest, that's why we're here, this big, exciting moment a couple hours from now.
So, what's going to happen is, these men and women will be arriving. There's an airfield just beyond those doors. That will happen in two hours from now. So, 6:00 Eastern time, they're supposed to land. And then the in-processing begins.
They will have to, you know, give up their -- their -- they call it the sensitive items, the guns, the gear, go through some briefing -- some briefings behind closed doors. And then, if they're -- they -- if they need counseling, there are counselors on hand.
Then they walk through the doors. And in this big space, where you see nothing, right, here on the carpet, this is where the ceremony will begin. They will march in.
And, Steve Sorg (ph), if we can swing this way, on this side of the partition, this is where all the family members will be sitting and they will be watching and waiting for their husbands, their wives, their moms and dads to come home.
And then, hopefully, around 7:00, 7:30 Eastern, what will happen is they will take this little partition like this, Steve. They will take it and the big phrase we're all waiting for, soldiers, go to your families. SANCHEZ: Oh.
BALDWIN: And then they can finally welcome them home.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: So, we're here. We're waiting for it. We're excited.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I -- I haven't seen it yet, and just the way you described it, I just kind of got goose bumps when you said it and -- and when you --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Kind of chill bumps.
SANCHEZ: Yes. I mean, can you imagine how long they --
BALDWIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: -- have waited, and when they're finally able to give them that big embrace and that big hug and daughters and maybe -- maybe kids seeing their dads for the first time since they were born? I mean, that's -- that's how long this thing has been going on.
BALDWIN: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: Wow. All right, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Eleven months.
SANCHEZ: Well, when it happens, you're going to be there.
BALDWIN: You bet I will. We will bring it to you.
SANCHEZ: And you're going to record it. And you're going to share it with us. And hopefully we will be able to see it live tonight on RICK'S LIST at 8:00 p.m. prime time. Wouldn't that be special? I hope we can do it. I just want to see it.
BALDWIN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: I think it's great. I think it's good.
BALDWIN: Fingers crossed.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: It will be --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I brought my Kleenex.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: All right, Brooke, we will be checking back with you.
By the way, some interesting tweets coming out at -- you know, as I told you, we're following a developing story, a plane at San Francisco Airport, and we have got a passenger on the phone -- on the plane -- on the plane who's been using social media to share news with us, information.
And she sent this tweet a little while ago, which I find very curious, and I will just share it with you and we will drill down on it. But she says, "They took two people off the back. They took two people off the back, walking off now."
Exactly what she means by that is a little curious at this point. But obviously we're going to check on it to see if, you know, the person who phoned police, explained to police that they thought there was a hostage situation going on, as Chad had alluded to earlier, and that they may have information the police know, so police have moved in. They have taken all the passengers off.
But then, Campbell, whose information has been very, very accurate thus far, says they have just taken two -- or they took two people off the back, walking off now. We don't know if police had several people in mind that they were targeting for questioning or perhaps persons of interest.
We don't know. All we know is what we have told you and what this tweet from Campbell says. So, when we come back, we will try -- we will try and drill down on this a little bit more.
Stay right there. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Hey, we have got some new information and another picture from Campbell, who's becoming our Twitter reporter superstar on this story. She was the one who's been sending us information throughout.
And she just sent us this one. We're happy for her. She's finally off the plane. It sounds like she was getting a little nervous out there. She says, "Off at last."
And then she sends us this Twitpic of the -- looks -- yes. She's on the bus there. She's inside the bus. That's a shot from inside the bus looking out now at the plane. You see the police officers out there monitoring. But, curiously enough, she also just sent us another tweet, and that tweet was interesting.
As we look at this plane, let me set this up for you again for those of you who don't know. The plane was supposed to be taking off from San Francisco and going to New York, to John F. Kennedy Airport, right? Instead, authorities say they get a phone call telling them that there are hostages -- that there's a hostage situation that could develop on board, right?
So, authorities immediately take the plane away from the main part of the terminal. They put it out in a remote part of the -- of the airport. And they send buses out there to take the passengers off, and they're also going to sweep the plane.
So, remember, it was called in not as a bomb threat, but as a hostage situation. Well, McKella is now sending a tweet that says -- pardon me -- -- Campbell. McKellar is her last name.
Campbell sent us this tweet where says: "They took two people off the back. They took two people off the back. Walking off now."
All right. We're going to see if we can get a phone to her and make contact with her, so we can go beyond the 140 characters and get information from her on what she's seen, what she's witnessed, and see if we can then run that by our correspondents who are on the scene to find out what's really going on here.
This has been going on for quite some time, and we understand that there will be a news conference coming up shortly. And as soon as it happens, we will share that with you as well.
Let's take a short break. We're going to be right back as this breaking news develops.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Folks, you're not going to believe this. I was telling you about the situation that's going on at the airport in San Francisco? Well, look at this. This is a situation going on moments ago at the airport in Dallas.
This is Love Field. Look at that -- look at that car, went onto the airport, affected the security at the airport. The place is suddenly lousy with cops, as they say. They have a man apparently who's driving that car. It began as a slow-speed chase. These are live pictures now. You see the man right there on the ground.
We have got two shots, one of them from WFAA, one -- one of them from our other affiliates there in that area. And there you see -- these are live pictures now of the suspect being taken away.
And, Jessica, you ask, why are these guys always shirtless?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's --
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: I mean --
(LAUGHTER) YELLIN: It is pretty remarkable. I mean, it's a serious situation. The cops obviously did a great job. But as soon as this happened live, we saw him get out of the car with --
SANCHEZ: Without a shirt on.
YELLIN: -- out a shirt on.
SANCHEZ: It's almost, like, every time this happens, the guy gets out and is like not wearing a shirt.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Chad, you were watching this for quite some time.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I was.
SANCHEZ: Fill us in on what you know.
MYERS: I was. I was watching this all the way through -- basically through South Dallas. And then they were basically taking their time. They spike-stripped, knocked out the right rear well of this pickup truck.
They were at times doing 15 miles per hour, yet the police were in no hurry. All of a sudden, this truck ran through a gate onto the airport, and --
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: -- they were taking --
SANCHEZ: Well, here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go.
MYERS: They were taking no prisoners at this point in time.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: This is what you were describing just moments -- well, how in the heck did he end up at the airport, though, and why the airport?
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: It was a very long chase, and they were in no hurry until it got to the airport. And then, all of a sudden, they were in a big hurry.
SANCHEZ: That --
YELLIN: A real security threat at the airport.
MYERS: Absolutely. They knew it at that point in time. They weren't taking any chances right there. SANCHEZ: OK. I'm going to information -- hey, Andreas, my -- my -- one of my lap -- you know, it's been used so much during this newscast, one of my laptops is down. So, I can't get the e-mail you just sent me.
So, just tell me in my ear. WFAA. He's a carjacking/robbery suspect.
MYERS: Correct.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: The chase started an hour ago.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: It started as a potential -- as a carjacking, is what we understand.
SANCHEZ: Truck stolen, according to police. And is that what we're getting from WFAA? They're our affiliate there. And it goes onto the airport.
MYERS: The suspect actually stopped, got out of the truck, looked like he was going to surrender for a while, got back into the truck, and then decided to drive fast onto this -- onto the airport property.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
MYERS: And that's when they got serious.
SANCHEZ: Oh, and, by the way, we're told now that it was actually an active runway that he drove his truck onto.
YELLIN: Ooh.
SANCHEZ: So, just thank God that there wasn't a plane that happened to be either taking off or landing at the time that he -- that this guy decided to do this.
And it looks to me like the pit maneuver worked pretty well.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: Absolutely. Sure did.
SANCHEZ: I mean, you know, for those of you at home that are not familiar with this, the pit maneuver is where a police car literally hits the right quarter of a car to turn it around. And in the moment when the car starts to turn, then the other police officers move in, so he can't move.
Well, wait. Now we're being told that Love Field has been shut down. So, the airport -- the -- the -- this is coming from a helicopter pilot in Dallas. Can we -- can we pick him up? You want to hear some of that? You want to dip into that? Have we got some of that, Andreas? Can -- can we pick up some of the audio from the helicopter pilot? Is he talking now?
He's -- OK. No -- no, no problem. Just checking.
OK. So, the information we're getting, guys, is that they're saying -- look at that scene.
YELLIN: But, if it was a carjacking, it doesn't look like there's anyone else here.
MYERS: No.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I guess he took the car.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: He took the car --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Took the car.
SANCHEZ: He's eventually took the car, or robbed the car, as police say. That's the word they're using. And they say now that the airport is shut down. Love Field is shut down.
So, while we look at the situation there at the airport in Dallas, we have got another situation brewing at an air force in San -- airport in San Francisco. This is crazy. In this situation, a man apparently was threatening to -- someone called police and said that they had information about a hijacking that was going to take place on this plane.
So, they took the plane away from the terminal to a remote part of the runway, where they called many police officers as well. They have now taken the passengers off the plane. We have been in contact with someone who is sending us tweets telling us exactly what's going on aboard that plane.
She says most of the passengers are now off, including herself. And she also says that she saw two people being taken out the back of the plane. Exactly what that means at this point, we're not sure.
But, you know, you raised the point a little while ago, Chad. You said, well, let's hope the person who called this in had inside information as to what might be taking place on that plane.
MYERS: I mean, sure. Could this have been someone that knew this was going to happen and turned it in, and said don't let the plane off the ground? SANCHEZ: And keep an eye on the two people wearing the -- whatever. You know, the white hat and the blue suit, or whatever. Conjecture, of course.
MYERS: Of course.
SANCHEZ: But at this point we're just -- all we can tell you is we have a source on the plane that's telling us that two people were taken off the back.
All right. What's this shot we're looking at here, guys? Are we back in Dallas or still in San Francisco?
All right. Now we're in San Francisco, and now we've got helicopter pilots.
And now we're back in Dallas. This is the airport at Love Field.
MYERS: I have about seven airplanes almost on final going into Love Field here on Flight Explorer, and they are not landing. They're kind of making some maneuvers to stall for time.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
MYERS: You can kind of see they're going to start to do some loops out here, start to -- if they are, in fact, closing down the runways. And it sure looks like that's happened. You wouldn't want to land planes when you have all that activity on the runway.
SANCHEZ: Yes, that's the shot.
Hey, Chad, go over there. Go over to your map over there.
Hey, Robert, pick up our shot of Chad over there showing what he just explained to us, because I think that's important as well.
Jessica, you stay here. We'll put Chad over there. And we'll just kind of work this as we can.
Go ahead, Chad.
MYERS: Well, Dallas-Fort Worth, the whole metroplex here, DFW would be north of the town between 35W and 35E. And it goes north of there.
But we had a couple of planes coming in and ready to land. And when they turn gray, that means that they're below about a thousand feet. So these planes were ready to land.
Now, all of a sudden, this plane -- I can't, because I'm not at my terminal. I can't tell you what plane that is, but it has now turned off to the right and will probably end up doing a loop somewhere else. And so we will watch these planes start to stagger and start to delay their arrival.
SANCHEZ: So pilots are about land their planes, and suddenly they're told, no, sorry, you're going to have to circle for a while, we have a problem down here.
MYERS: Correct. I don't see anybody else circling yet, so they're not turning anybody else away. But at least these two planes that were literally on immediate final said, yes, let's circle you around for just a little bit.
SANCHEZ: All right. This is Love Field.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: I've been to Love Field. I think I've been -- I can't remember the San Francisco airport. I know Love Field is a huge airport as far as space goes, right?
MYERS: It is. Yes, San Francisco is actually out on the water.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
MYERS: You know, you can see it kind of out on the peninsula --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Limited space.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And Love Field is very expansive.
MYERS: Well, it is. It's literally downtown. Downtown Dallas. I think maybe you're thinking of DFW.
SANCHEZ: Oh, right.
MYERS: You're thinking of DFW, which is north of town. That's the one that literally is as big a city.
SANCHEZ: Yes. My mistake. My mistake. You're absolutely right.
That's the one I was thinking, where you can ride around it. It looks like ranch land, and there's nothing around it. Love is closer to the city. It's actually a smaller airport.
Thanks for checking me on that.
What do you make of this, Jessica?
YELLIN: It's a day for patience for the nation's flyers, I'll tell you that. If you're on an airplane, or in an airport, just take deep breaths. Nothing is happening quickly.
SANCHEZ: And look at that plane right there. Is it turning around, the one all the way on the left? It almost looked like it went up to that scene and then turned around, like it was originally taxiing on the tarmac just to the left there.
See it?
YELLIN: Oh, it's moving.
SANCHEZ: Yes, like it came up to that area and then turned around.
This is the situation on Love Field, where someone in a pickup truck just drove his car right on to -- right on to the airport on an active runway. You can imagine what the guys in the tower must have thought. And here you're seeing this as it happens now.
We'll watch this together. Police are chasing him. Apparently, he's a carjack and robbery suspect -- or carjack-robbery suspect.
He drives all the way on to the airport, breaks through a gate. Finally, police use the pit maneuver to turn him around as he tries to get away.
There's the other cop. One in the front, one in the back. Here comes another on the other quadrant. All four corners are stopped, as Michael Herndon (ph) and I have learned when we've done stories with police officers who have shown us this technique.
And there they get the guy in. And as we watch this situation in Love Field, here's a news conference starting now in San Francisco so we can learn what happened at that airport.
Here we go.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SGT. MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE DEPT.: The San Francisco Police Department is still actively working on that incident. Currently, I can update you with information that the passengers are being deplaned from the aircraft as we speak, and being returned back to the terminal for further screening by the airlines.
There is no other information that came out since the last time I met you other than that information. We will have another briefing about 2:30 with the -- I hope more information to release at that time.
But as I said, currently, the passengers are being deplaned from the aircraft, the airfield, and being transported to the terminal areas for re-screening.
Thank you. That's all the information I have at this time.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, from earlier.
QUESTION: The flight number?
RODRIGUEZ: OK.
I'm sorry?
Again, I'm San Francisco Police Department, Airport Bureau. My name is Sergeant Michael Rodriguez.
There was an incident earlier I spoke about, American Airlines Flight number 24, where a verbal threat was made. That incident is ongoing, as I said, and we are currently deplaning passengers from that aircraft and bringing them back to the terminal.
That's all the information I have at this time. And we'll meet at 2:30 again with an update.
Thank you.
QUESTION: Some of us just got here. Can you just go --
SANCHEZ: Well, he didn't say much, and reporters are obviously trying to press him to get more information. That's Mike Rodriguez with the airport police there in San Francisco.
Interestingly enough, that's a Skype feed where we were able to bring you that, so using all sorts of technology and break through and bring the story to you as we go. Talk about the way our media's changing.
Now, it's interesting. If you heard what he said, he talked about a verbal threat, which is what they received.
We don't know, and he wouldn't answer questions, interestingly enough, whether by verbal threat he meant that somebody had actually articulated it on the plane, as opposed to the original information that we've been reporting and sticking by, which is the threat was phoned in from someone outside the airport. So now he comes in and he said it's a verbal threat, we take it seriously, and that's why we deplaned.
No mention of any suspects or subjects or targets, three important words when you cover a story like this. In other words, is there somebody they had their eye on?
We got an original report from Campbell (ph), who's on the plane, who tweeted us, one of the passengers, saying it looked to her like they had taken two people off the back and that they're walking off now. We don't know if she meant them, her, or the two people that she was talking about.
So we don't know this. This is what she told us.
Hopefully we'll get more information on this, we'll be able to get some more answers on this. And as we do, we'll share it with you.
Well, hold on.
We've got Dan Simon? We've got Dan?
Dan, are you there? DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I can hear you. Can you hear me, Rick?
SANCHEZ: Yes, I got you. We just heard that little preliminary news conference there from Michael Rodriguez with airport police. He didn't give us a lot.
What have you got right now?
SIMON: Well, I heard what you heard. It's clear that the authorities are taking this very seriously just by the mere fact that they're holding this news conference. They've also made it clear that at 2:30 local time, there's going to be another briefing.
But from what it sounds like, it sounds like the passengers are in the process of deplaning and that they're all going to be screened. Beyond that, we really don't know much.
As we've been reporting all day long, we don't believe at this point that there is a credible threat here. But I guess until all the passengers once again go through security and are adequately screened a second time, we won't know anything more.
SANCHEZ: We're seeing now the first pictures of the passengers who have been put on buses. They are leaving the plane and heading back, I imagine, to the terminal where they will be put on a different plane. At least that's what one of the passengers told us a little while ago when we were talking to him.
Because it's a hostage situation, you know, we've all been wondering, well, if you have a hostage situation, you'd have to have someone who is the hostage-taker, right? I mean, you'd have to have a potential suspect or person of interest, target possibly.
Have you heard anything related to any arrests or anything of that nature, Dan?
SIMON: Nothing with respect to arrests. And what you heard, the police officer there, it was very preliminary information, just saying that there was an incident and that they're dealing with it, that the passengers are in the process of getting off the plane, and that they'll have more information at 2:30.
You have been reporting those tweets as well. And everything at least I've heard thus far is there's nothing to indicate that this was anything beyond just somebody calling in with some kind of threat. I think we'll know probably more once all those passengers are off the plane and they can adequately, you know, look at all the luggage and look at all the people who were on the plane more closely.
SANCHEZ: Great job, Dan, hustling to get us the information as you follow the story along with us.
We've got two situations that we're following for you at two different airports across the country, one at Love Field in Dallas, the other one in San Francisco. Both of them involving airport security.
We split the screen for you here. You can see the scene on the left, the situation in San Francisco, the plane taken away so they can get the people off there and figure out what they're going to do now. As we get the information, we'll share it with you.
There on Love Field -- that's the right side of your screen -- a man drives his pickup truck on to the airport on an active runway. The good news is there wasn't a plane that was landing at the exact moment or taking off, so there was no emergency other than the fact that they had to use a pit maneuver to get the guy out of the car, shirtless as he was.
And they take him away. We'll let you see this one more time so you can see exactly how they did it.
There's the police chasing him on to the airport. Can you imagine? Talk about crazy scene.
There he is. Here comes the pit maneuver. They hit one side of the car, bang, turn him around. Now four squad cars, as they're trained to do, come in from all four angles, sealing him in so that he can't come out. There come the officer, weapon drawn.
They ask him to get out of the vehicle, they get him to the ground, they take him into custody. You'll get a shot of him right here.
He's being charged with at least those two things that I mentioned, those two charges, which is robbery and carjacking. We don't know, since now it involves an airport and that's federal property, whether the charges will be increased at this point.
But these are two developing stories that we're follow for you right now.
We're going to take a quick break as we follow these things as they go. And as we go to break, by the way, I want to show you one more thing.
Thanks, Roger.
There's a wrecked police car, part of the police car, I believe, that was used in the pit maneuver that hit the vehicle. But we'll go through this in a little bit more for you and get more answers and talk to some officials.
And there's also a lot of other news, believe it or not, going on, on this day, having to do with things that are not airport security issues.
We'll be right back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Jessica yelling is standing by. We're on the way.
Get ready. We're going to be getting it in. Jessica is going to be telling us about this latest poll. This is interesting, the number of people in the United States who now believe that the president of the United States is a Muslim. You would think it would have gone down, right?
No. It's actually gone up. What's going on?
We're -- no, she, Jessica, is going to put this story in perspective for you.
I'm Rick Sanchez. We're going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And Jessica joins us now, hanging out in our Atlanta digs these days.
YELLIN: Never a dull moment here, huh?
SANCHEZ: Crazy. There's nothing like breaking news. I love it. And I'm glad that we can share it.
You know, the crazy thing is that we can actually use social media to report these stories. And, you know, when you and I first started doing this and we were using Twitter and we were doing all these things several years ago, pioneering this, as they say, I never thought it would get to this point where so many people would be on that we'd be able to do this.
YELLIN: It really is a conversation.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
YELLIN: Amazing, right?
SANCHEZ: It is a national conversation.
All right. Here we go.
A new poll on the president of the United States. And this is surprising because, what is it, 18 percent of the people polled think that the president of the United States is a Muslim? Only 48 percent of the people know that the president is a Christian.
And the numbers have what? They've grown. More people now than in the past believe he's a Muslim, right?
YELLIN: Yes, that's right.
So, based on this same poll, 11 percent thought the president was Muslim. That was back in March. Five months later, 18 percent think he's Muslim.
There's no explanation offered in the polling, what's really changed, but the White House saw this as meaningful enough to actually respond. And they put out a statement today. The deputy press secretary, Jen Psaki, put out a statement, very clearly, saying that, "President Obama is a committed Christian, and his faith is an important part of his daily life." She says, "He prays every day. He seeks a small circle of Christian pastors to give him spiritual advice and counseling." She goes on to say, "He faces a lot of challenges and his Christian faith is what guides him through these challenges, but he doesn't wear it on his sleeve," is their final point.
SANCHEZ: That's what they wrote, "he doesn't wear it on his sleeve"?
YELLIN: That's what they said, yes. You know, they know they can't let this go because it's --
SANCHEZ: It's interesting.
YELLIN: -- not true. We know, you know, he's a Christian, and still, many Americans don't believe it, and they want to remind people who he is.
SANCHEZ: Well, and who is anyone to judge what is inside anyone else's heart? I mean, that's the very thing that Jesus taught us not to do.
So, I mean, speaking as a Christian, it's kind of a perplexing situation. But, again, on the other side, people are allowed to think whatever it is that they want to think. I mean, it's not illegal to have a thought that's different from what somebody else believes.
And you've found out there's a lot of people who think all kinds of things.
YELLIN: Absolutely. We thought we'd take a look at what other people believe regardless of what the facts are out there. So we found some interesting things.
Pew Research, the same group that did this study, asked recently, "Have you ever seen or been in the presence of a ghost?" Eighteen percent said yes, the very same amount who believe the president is not Christian.
SANCHEZ: There you go.
YELLIN: "Do you believe in ESP?" Forty-eight percent said yes.
SANCHEZ: That's a big nut.
YELLIN: Right? And did you know I was going to say that because you have ESP? No? OK.
And then this is my favorite question: "Have you ever personally seen a monster in the closet of your bedroom?" Five percent of Americans said -- ding, ding, ding -- yes.
SANCHEZ: They've seen -- so, you know, I'm glad you did that, because, you know, a lot of people get all angry and upset, because, well, how can they believe that? They can believe that because they want to believe that.
YELLIN: And a lot of people base their beliefs on intuition or emotion, not necessarily on cold, hard facts.
SANCHEZ: Right, same as the birthers. I mean, you know, we can show you the birth certificate, or the certificate of birth, we can talk to the governor of Hawaii, interview the people there in Honolulu who say, yes, we've checked it out, we've gone over and over it, look at the forms. And there are people out there who say, no, still don't believe it.
YELLIN: Just like if mom and dad open the closet and say, "Look, there's no monster there," some kids still think -- five percent -- there's a monster there.
SANCHEZ: There's a monster there.
Well done. That's a good explanation. Thanks so much.
By the way, I want to give you guys at home a heads up now. Tonight on "RICK'S LIST PRIMETIME" at 8:00 -- Jessica joins me as well -- I'm also going to be talking to one of the president's religious advisers.
Now, tell them who Kirby John Caldwell is.
YELLIN: He's a pastor who has advised not just this president, but President George W. Bush. So he's been a real guide to people in power and our recent leaders.
SANCHEZ: So, what we want to do -- and maybe you can help me with this tonight -- is drill down on who this person -- this person can help us drill down on, is the president a Christian, and how so? What do you see? When you converse with him about spiritual things, what does he say? What can you share with us?
This will be good. This will be good. I'm going to look forward to this.
Again, we'll be talking to him. He's at the White House, and we'll be talking to him tonight, live, here at 8:00 on "RICK'S LIST PRIMETIME."
We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Back to the situation now going on in Dallas.
We've got Brad Hawkins on the phone. He is with Southwest Airlines, and he's --
Are you there? Brad, are you at Love Field? BRAD HAWKINS, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SPOKESMAN (via telephone): Yes, Rick. I'm in the corporate headquarters just across the street from where all of this happened, and it's still unfolding as a police investigation. But Southwest Airlines operations have returned normal at this hour.
SANCHEZ: So you guys are flying your planes once again. And that's pretty crazy. I mean, our viewers are looking at this now. I don't know if you've got a monitor up there in your office?
Can you watch CNN?
HAWKINS: Yes. I got it.
SANCHEZ: Good. Yes, a guy just drives his car right on to an active runway. How does he do something like this? And what was the reaction when you guys -- did some alarm go off or something there for you guys?
HAWKINS: Oh, certainly. I mean, the heightened security and the heightened awareness around any sort of federal space such as an active commercial airport certainly raises the alarms. And we have a number of procedures in place.
And at that point that it, you know, became such a surprise to everyone, we were reacting just like everyone else, getting out of the way. And at Love Field, for instance, we do 128 daily departures a day, so nine of those aircraft were on the ground when this happened. None of those passengers, none of the aircraft or assets were impacted.
But essentially, for about 10 minutes, Rick, you're right. I mean, it was just kind of a lockdown to wait and see what happened.
SANCHEZ: Well, guess what? We got a shot that just came into us now.
You're familiar with WFAA. Great news station there in Dallas, has been there for years.
And we've got a shot there that shows just how close the car came to the plane. See, that's the car right on the left.
Right, Andreas (ph)? Is it the one in the middle?
It certainly looks -- and Brad, you're with us here. I think you can make out the truck there, right, at the --
HAWKINS: I'm not seeing your air signal, Rick, but, yes.
SANCHEZ: Oh, wait. No, we've got the breaking news covering it up.
No.
Oh, it's not the -- the red truck right there in the middle. OK. That's the red truck, and that's how close it came to some of the -- thank you, Robert. Well done. Because it's hard to see because it's a little fuzzy.
But that's a little too close for comfort, isn't it, Brad?
HAWKINS: Well, I mean, certainly, yes. I mean, we've got all of this space around these aircraft to make sure that operations are safe. That was breached today, but the good news is that Southwest Airlines operations and the operations overall at Dallas Love Field continue now with just one of the two runways open as Dallas police continue their work on what is the northeast side and really the least busy corner of the airport that is very close to downtown Dallas.
SANCHEZ: Those Dallas police officers did a really nice job, didn't they?
HAWKINS: I think everyone here is applauding the way that this has ended. It certainly is not a good place for it to end, but for those of us who are concerned with, you know, running the largest airline in the country out of a building that's just a few hundred yards from where this happened, certainly we're very pleased that it was contained so quickly.
SANCHEZ: Well, yes. And it's not like he went through an opening. I mean, he crashed through a gate, according to our report. So, I mean, it's pretty hard to stop somebody from doing something like that if they're fully committed to doing that.
I'm sure it will make you guys look at your security procedures nonetheless. It's always good to take a look at these things and see if you can improve them in the future.
But I see the investigation does continue. We see live pictures now. This, again, from WFAA of police officers on the scene.
And we want to thank Brad Hawkins for bringing us up to date on Southwest Airlines.
And now let's go back to San Francisco. And from Southwest Airlines, we take you to American Airlines.
What's going on there? Here's a statement from officials with American Airlines.
They say -- they've tweeted this to us, correct? "This was never a hostage situation. It was a phoned-in security threat."
Thanks, guys. They were watching our report and they answered my question with this tweet, that it was not verbal, that it was a phoned-in threat, or at least trying to explain. And they're saying also that all the passengers are being rebooked.
Remember I had that question a little while ago and I wondered what the answer was? Well, they were watching our show and they answered our question via tweet. We thank them. We'll be right back.
Oh, we're going to get Brooke in?
No break. OK. Sorry about that.
Brooke Baldwin standing by now.
Brooke, let's check in with you one more time.
In places like Washington and in Georgia, troops are going to be coming home, and you're getting ready for the big reunion, right?
BALDWIN: Yes. No breaks allowed, Rick Sanchez, because I have the Sunday family next to me. And you have to check out their matching T-shirts.
All right, guys. Show everybody at home. "Welcome home, Daddy."
This is their dad Jason (ph). He's a sergeant here with the 3rd Infantry Division. They're all here and very excited.
I want you guys to each introduce yourselves.
What's your name?
THATCHER SUNDAY (ph), SON: My name is Thatcher Sunday (ph).
MACY SUNDAY (ph), DAUGHTER: Macy Sunday (ph).
KENZIE SUNDAY (ph), DAUGHTER: Kenzie Sunday (ph).
BALDWIN: Kenzie (ph) enjoying the ring pop.
And mom is Emily Sunday.
And mom, how has it been these last 11 months?
EMILY SUNDAY, AWAITING HUSBAND'S RETURN: It's been -- you know, we just try to work along as a team. And for about six of the months, we went home to Nebraska, which is where we're from, and stayed with my mom and dad. And we had support and family around, and that was really helpful.
So, we've been back in Georgia for the last couple of months just preparing for daddy's homecoming. And we are very, very excited to see him.
BALDWIN: And this little one here was very excited. Oh, she's ready to be a reporter. Check this out. This little one was very excited.
Because you thought he was coming home tomorrow. And instead, what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today he was really coming home. E. SUNDAY: And mommy came and did what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got us early from school.
BALDWIN: So she got to get out early from school. And so did this one here.
Thatcher (ph), you've been the man of the house for a couple of months. How has it been?
T. SUNDAY: Good.
BALDWIN: Good? And what do you plan n doing with your dad once he gets home?
T. SUNDAY: A little one-on-one basketball outside.
BALDWIN: One-on-one hoops. And then what?
T. SUNDAY: Well, I want to play some games.
BALDWIN: Play some games.
So, that's briefly just a snippet of the Sunday family.
Guys, we've got to wrap. Thank you so, so much. I love the camaraderie, the spirit. And thanks for sharing your story.
Rick, back to you.
SANCHEZ: That's great. That's fantastic. I love that. I love the way you did that interview.
That little girl is as cute as a button. They all are. All three of those kids are just absolutely huggable.
Thanks for that interview, Brooke. We'll be waiting to see the reunion.
Meantime, here's Wolf Blitzer and your "SITUATION ROOM."
