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Rick's List

Hurricane Earl Nears Coast; Oil Rig Fire in Gulf

Aired September 02, 2010 - 20:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: There's a lot of developing news on this night, including the very latest developments on what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico. That's right. This one involves yet another fire at an oil rig. And we're going to be all over it.

Here's what's on the LIST tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): It's prime time. Here's what's making RICK'S LIST.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Platform 380 was completely engulfed in flames.

SANCHEZ: Another oil rig platform catches fire in the Gulf, 13 workers rescued. But could this lead to another environmental emergency? It is a developing story.

Earl is heading for the Carolinas. How far inland will it reach? Evacuations, watches, warnings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just starting to rain. The wind's probably blowing 30.

SANCHEZ: We have got you covered up and down the coast.

BETHANY STORRO, ATTACK VICTIM: The girl that did this to me, you know, if we could all come together and help find her.

SANCHEZ: A bizarre attack on a young woman, and she speaks out from behind these bandages.

The governor of Arizona called on a story she can't defend twice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you still believe that? Come on, Governor.

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: OK, thank you, all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor, what do you...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor.

SANCHEZ: And another developing story out of California. Why did this plane go down shortly after takeoff? (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody.

I know you have been watching us throughout the course of the last several hours, and you have seen there's a lot of news to report on this night. Perhaps the biggest story of the day involves another oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. We're all over that story. Expect a lot of developments.

But topping the LIST right now, there's breaking news from North Carolina, as evacuations continue from all coastal communities. Earl has just received a new category, Category 2, as a storm right now from the National Hurricane Center.

And Chad's standing by. In fact he's right here to my right and he's going to be taking us through this in just a little bit.

First, I want you to take a look at some live pictures as we move through this story, number one, the newest information on the path itself. First target, the Hatteras Island area, North Carolina.

Boats are being tied up or hauled off. But that's no guarantee that they're going to make it through. Now, look at these waves. They could reach 15 feet before it's all over. That's important.

I have got Chad Myers and locals on the phone that are ready to go and ready to give me the very latest.

Number two, time is running out now for those seeking higher ground in North Carolina. We're just now getting these pictures of evacuees. This is, by the way, from an assisted living facility. This is in Kill Devil Hills. They have been heading out of the danger zone.

And, number three, even if Earl passes by North Carolina completely, it could still pose a major threat as far up the coast as New England. That's right. Winds of up to 100 miles an hour could -- could possibly be headed for places like Cape Cod and vicinity, around Martha's Vineyard, over the weekend.

All right, let me bring in Chad Myers.

The first thing we have to get to, the first order of business is, you have just gotten another advisory. What's it say?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: One hundred and ten.

SANCHEZ: That's good.

MYERS: That's still high. That's a big wind, OK? We can't let our guard down just because it's not a Category 3 anymore. Category 3 is 111, so we're one mile per hour lower than that.

(CROSSTALK) MYERS: But it's still, as we started about 4:00, still veering away from North Carolina. Remember you said, was it in a wobble before? Is it a wobble? We didn't know at 4:00. Now we know it was not a wobble.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Good.

MYERS: Now we know it's still moving that way, not completely northeast. But at least it's not moving north anymore.

In fact, we can't even see the other side of the eye wall. We know it's there. But we can't see it because it's too far away from the radar sites. We should be able to see it. If it was getting closer, we certainly would.

But there it is. There would be Cape Hatteras. Our Rob Marciano is right up there. We have a bunch of other trucks all along the cape. Here's what it looks like right now. Losing some definition of the eye. Earlier, look how big that eye was earlier, how impressive it was. Now it's hard to find.

And, in fact, the hurricane hunter aircraft then -- guess what? Guess who's back in it tonight?

SANCHEZ: Miss Piggy.

MYERS: Miss Piggy's back in it again tonight. They name these planes after the Muppets. There's Gonzo. Here's Miss Piggy. There's Kermit.

But there it is flying through it right now. It had a hard time even finding the middle of the eye a little bit ago. In fact it missed it by about five or so five miles. But, anyway, irrelevant. Right now, winds 110 miles per hour. But they still could be gusting to almost 140, especially on the right side.

Luckily, there's nobody out there, we hope, in a boat on the right side of the plane. And then this is what you were talking about earlier. This could still make a run somewhere here, Martha's Vineyard. There's Nantucket. There's Narragansett. There's the cape, not in the forecast. Now, no models, not one computer model is over here, but it's close enough.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: It's all a matter of how close it gets.

Now, who is and who isn't evacuating and why? I want you to check out this iReport. This is from a CNN viewer, Rusty Mace. This is from Beaufort, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSTY MACE, CNN IREPORTER: These boat slips are usually filled with boats. Most of them are gone now. The storefronts, some of them are boarded up. Some of them aren't.

As for me and my family, our decision has been made. We're going to sit right here and ride out the storm right on the Beaufort waterfront.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Mary Ellon Ballance has lived in Hatteras Island for 13 years, been through plenty of hurricanes, including Isabel.

Are you there? I understand from my producers that you're not going to budge. Would you tell us why, Mary?

MARY ELLON BALLANCE, RESIDENT OF NORTH CAROLINA: Well, we have -- you know, when you have businesses here, they called for evacuations yesterday. So, you're trying to get -- the businesses are trying to get the remainder of the tourists out of here.

My father-in-law is a -- he owns a gas station, so they're stopping to fill up gas, if they're having any trouble with their cars. And, you know, it's trying to get them out of here before we can start getting things ready

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: These are, by the way, live pictures that we're looking at right now.

And it looks like you might get a storm surge, depending on what high tide is at that time, help me out here, Chad, of?

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Three to four feet.

SANCHEZ: Three to four feet above storm surge.

MYERS: Three to four feet above where you should be because this is not a direct impact like Katrina impacted Bay Saint Louis.

SANCHEZ: Right.

BALLANCE: That was a front-on, perpendicular slam into the coast. This is a graze. So, you don't get the big storm surges. Now, you don't get the 15-, 20-foot storm surges with a glazing blow, compared to that frontal blow.

SANCHEZ: Mary, I guess you've been through a lot of these. Does that concern you at all, this storm surge of about three foot? That's of course on top of whatever you're going to get during high tide.

BALLANCE: Well, the other side of it is we're on the island where you have got the ocean on one side and you have got the sound on the other, so you have got water on both sides of you. We're only about a mile-and-a-half, two miles wide through Hatteras Village. So, you have got, you know, concerns either way, no matter whether it grazes you or not. You're still going to have to worry about tide coming up.

SANCHEZ: You're going to hang tight. And we're going to keep in touch with you. We wish you the very best to you and your family.

Now, I want you to take a look at something, folks. Take a look at this. This is what happened. This is what you and I were talking about earlier, Chad. This is what happened to boats in the Gulf five years ago. All right? They were no match for Hurricane Katrina, see?

It's like they're all piled up way inland, which is what's interesting. These pictures by the way could be from Andrew. They could be from Camille. They could be from Hugo. It happens all the time. These boaters don't get a chance to get their boats out of the water or simply can't.

Farris O'Neal is dealing with this tonight. He owns Restless Native Boat Rentals. He's on Ocracoke Island.

How many boats you got there, Farris?

FARRIS O'NEAL, RESIDENT OF NORTH CAROLINA: About 16.

SANCHEZ: How many have you taken care of already?

O'NEAL: All of them.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: What about the big one? I understand you got like a 40-footer there, don't you?

O'NEAL: Yes, it's tied up. I checked on it about an hour ago. Everything looks good. We're going to have a pretty high tide. It was close to low and it's still real high.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Explain to our viewers, if you would, how you can tie a boat up knowing that as the surf comes up, as the tide comes up, the water goes up? So how do you keep the boat at one level and from not breaking those ropes?

O'NEAL: You put the ropes up -- you put the ropes away from the boat. You use a longer scope on the ropes, different pylons, different angles. So, use a lot of rope and then it kind of rises.

SANCHEZ: I get a feeling you -- I almost get a feeling you have done this before.

Chad, is he going to be OK?

MYERS: He is. And do you know what that means, longer scope?

SANCHEZ: No.

MYERS: All right, I'm going to use your glasses here.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: You have got a mid-cleat on the boat right here in the middle of your boat.

SANCHEZ: Right.

MYERS: You don't want to tie a two-foot line, a two-foot rope from the middle of your boat to the bottom of the dock. You want to tie a 15-foot rope line from this cleat all the way back here, another one all the way up here, so that that 15-foot line can stretch a lot, rather than that two-foot one. That two-foot one is going to go like this all day long and probably yank the cleat completely off your boat.

SANCHEZ: Right. There you go. A lot of folks are going to be dealing with that very same thing tonight.

Farris O'Neal, we thank you for keeping tabs with us. And we will be keeping tabs as well with you.

Meanwhile, there's this other story. You and I have talked about this. The Gulf of Mexico, a fire has broken out today on an oil platform in the Gulf. And, boy, has that gotten a lot of folks worried. You see these folks right there? Those are the guys who were in the water. There's about 13 of them.

They immediately jumped into the water. That's what the fire looks like. I know what you want to know. You want to know if this thing's going to cause another environmental emergency. We are all over that story. Been asking questions for the last six hours or so, since we first learned of this thing.

Also, you better believe I'm keeping a close eye on Hurricane Earl. You know Chad's going to be all over this. I have got the emergency information that you need to know as it's coming in from my buddies down at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, or even if you're anywhere just wanting to know if your loved ones are going to be OK, stay with us here at CNN. Don't go anywhere. Breaking news coming in throughout the hour.

This is your national conversation in prime time and tonight your hurricane headquarters. This is RICK'S LIST. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Another developing story that we're following for you tonight, another oil platform. Now, we're going to show you the picture here. This is one of the first ones that we got in. That's that big plume of smoke from the Gulf of Mexico. It has got a lot of folks in that part of the country taking a big gulp as they saw that. Here's a closer look for you. You ready? Does this remind you at all of what we saw last spring? How can it not, right? OK, let's take you through what we know. The scene is about 100 miles south of Vermilion Bay in Louisiana. There's the map that we have put together for you. That's about 200 miles due west of that ravaged Deepwater Horizon, BP situation which exploded nearly five months ago.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has come out and he's been telling us throughout the course of the day that things started to sound alarming. He jumped into the situation. He said the fire wasn't out. And he also reported a possible sheen on the surface of the water, a sheen, an oil-like sheen, as it was described to us.

Now, he said assets were being mobilized. We also learned that 13 workers had to be plucked from the water. We have since learned that they are all OK. Look at that picture. Look at that picture.

What we have also learned is that that sheen that Jindal reported is still a bit of a mystery. Trying to figure out, was there oil there or not and where did it come from? Here's what the Coast Guard said late this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. PETER TROEDSSON, U.S. COAST GUARD: The initial report came from Mariner Energy themselves and their responding boat gave that report. And what I can tell you now is that the boats and the aircraft on scene cannot see a sheen. So, we remain, obviously, ready to respond if one sheen or any sheen becomes visible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That official also said that the fire is out, so where are we now?

If you will remember, this is important, it was a week after the Deepwater Horizon blew out when we began to even get an inkling of the disaster that was unfolding down there, right? Think about that. So, it obviously makes us ask now what about this situation.

So, joining me now is one of the people I trust most with this type of situation. I go to him time and time again. You have seen him and heard before him on this newscast before here on RICK'S LIST. He's Don Van Nieuwenhuise. He's professor of a petroleum geoscience at the University of Houston.

And let me begin with the question that everybody seems to want answered tonight, and that is -- in fact, here's a tweet that's coming in because folks in Washington are asking this question as well. This is from New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone, who says: "Another deepwater water oil rig explodes in the Gulf. Don't yet know if it oil is spilling, but it underscores dangers of offshore drilling."

Question to you. What do we know right now about whether this could become another oil spill type of emergency, like we dealt with, with BP? DONALD VAN NIEUWENHUISE, GEOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON: I don't think there's any issue there at all right now, Rick, because the seven wells that they had that were producing were shut in.

Of course, I have heard different reports that they were shut in before the maintenance work was started. And then I heard another report that the automatic system shut it in. And I think either way the wells are shut in, so we don't have any flowing oil like we did before.

SANCHEZ: What are the chances that that could possibly change as a result of whatever it is that's going on there now in the aftermath of this fire?

VAN NIEUWENHUISE: I don't think there's much chance that it could happen, Rick, because the problem in the past, of course, was you did have a significant amount of oil and gas leaking out in the BP situation.

But, in this situation, they were able to get the fire out relatively quickly. And I think that kind of plays into the fact that there probably is not a significant leak and will not be a significant leak.

Now, one of the reasons why we didn't know right away about the BP issue is because it was in very deep water. It was under the surface. And in this case, we have the wellheads right at the surface. And they can visually see the wellheads from an aircraft or a ship right now. And if there was a leak, we would probably know about it.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Don Van Nieuwenhuise, thanks so much, as usual, Professor, for taking the time to get on the horn and take us through this situation. We are going to keep a very close eye on it for the folks down there in the Gulf of Mexico.

Meanwhile, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STORRO: I have an amazing family and friends that love me. And I'm blessed, you know? I'm trying to stay positive. And I'm a happy person. I like making others laugh, because I'm just hilarious. I mean, hello?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is just an amazing, an amazing spirit, and most worthy of our list of people in the news on this night. This woman, 28 years old, survived an acid attack. And we still don't know why the person attacked her. But she comes out courageously and tells her story. And I want you to hear what it is. Also, we're going to get back to the Carolina coast, where the Red Cross is now prepared for Earl's landfall tonight. And there are so many people who are moving out from the area just in case. And then there are those who are staying and we're communicating with both.

We're going to be right back. This is RICK'S LIST, your national conversation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Here now the list of people in the news today. And we begin in Vancouver, Washington. This is number four.

Bethany Storro was minding her own business Monday night when a woman came up to her and threw some kind of acid in her face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STORRO: Yesterday was a really hard day for me, because I was so stressed about the surgery. I didn't know what was going to happen. And I was scared if it was going to hurt and all that stuff.

And I had a lot of people I had to talk to, so I was under a whole lot of stress. So that was a hard day. But I feel OK today. I had the medicine. And so I feel really good. I have my ups and downs. You know, I think about what happened, and I get frustrated and ask why, of course, all the typical questions. Why did this happen to me? And then I'm OK. I'm fine.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I got to tell you, your heart goes out to you, doesn't it, this beautiful 28-year-old woman? Police are still looking for Bethany's attacker.

Here is our people list number three. Who are you looking at? This is it right here. This is a small beach craft plane that went down earlier today. The who is the pilot. It's in a lagoon near San Francisco. "The San Francisco Chronicle" is reporting tonight that all three passengers in that plane have died.

Now, that same newspaper says the victims are Robert Borrmann, the 91-year-old founder of the East Palo Alto Steel Company, his pilot, and the pilot's girlfriend. Investigators are on the scene trying to determine the cause of the crash that occurred shortly after the plane took off from San Carlos Airport at 11:50 a.m. local time.

Now number two. Two men, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have restarted the peace talks or at least plans to restart those peace talks. They're being hosted officially by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. What is the promise of these talks actually bearing fruit? Stay tuned.

So, who is the number-one person that is making news on this day, as we follow our lists for you every night? Just think Arizona, and you can't help but think of this guy, right? Also, I'm going to show you what people are doing along the East Coast of the United States to avoid that thing -- that and a whole lot more.

Stay right here. This is RICK'S LIST. We keep bringing it to you. The lists continue and we're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back.

So, who is the number-one person on the list today? It is Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County. He is being sued. He's been defying the federal government for quite some time now, even taunting them at times when they have suggested that he may be violating the constitutional rights of citizens.

The Justice Department says Arpaio is withholding documents from them. Here's what Arpaio told John King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, HOST, "JOHN KING, USA": They say you haven't given them everything they have asked for in documents and access to people in your office. Is that not true?

JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, SHERIFF: Well, they have to describe what they want. They want the whole world. Limit what they want. Why don't they ask us what they want? So, our lawyers are handling this. They have done a great job in Washington.

So, we will see what happens. We will see them in court.

KING: You seem to think they have some political agenda against you.

ARPAIO: Well, for a year-and-a-half, they have been down here, and now, at this time, three lawsuits against the state and me? I'm the puppet, I guess, right now. Why now? Why three lawsuits from the Justice Department over alleged racial profiling and discrimination?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, I want to show you something now. You see this video right here? I want to show you what hurricanes can do.

Some call them rip currents. Some call them undertows. But look at this video. There's a man who seems to be drowning. And suddenly his life is saved by a woman who had experience as a lifeguard. See her right there? She's the one right there on that surfboard. The lifeguard, she is paddling out to save him. And there she is, brings the guy out. People applaud. People on the beach are taking pictures. This is just off of Delray Beach, Florida, on Saturday. That's what these hurricanes can do when they're off the coast. By the way, we have been hearing of hundreds of rescues like these along the East Coast since we have been talking about Earl.

Chad Myers joins us now to bring us up to date on what is going on with this -- Chad.

MYERS: That must have been Danielle. Those must have been the waves from Danielle, because if that was Saturday, then...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Yes, that was a while ago.

SANCHEZ: But why does that happen?

MYERS: It happens because there are sandbars offshore. And those sandbars, you can't even see them because they're below the water.

But they make almost like a cul-de-sac for water. When the water comes over the sandbars, it piles up near the shore. And actually the water near the shore gets higher than the ocean level, not a lot, but it does. That sandbar breaks. Where it breaks, all the water goes right out there and if you're in that water where it's going out, you're going out with it.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Tip for all the people. If ever you're caught in that situation, and I know from experience because I have grown up in these waters and I have seen it happen to me many times, the last thing you want to do is fight the current. Go with it.

Eventually it will leave you somewhere else and then you can swim back without having to fight against the current. That's the only way you will get out of that. If you start to fight it, you will get tired and you will drown. People have. People do.

What's going on with Earl?

MYERS: I would just also say life jacket.

SANCHEZ: Most people don't wear life jackets when they're swimming on a beach.

MYERS: Well, then don't go in the water in a hurricane. This is not...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: That may be the best advice of all.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: You get the Darwin award tonight for going out swimming in a hurricane. SANCHEZ: Nobody is allowed to swim on the East Coast right now.

MYERS: I wouldn't go in the water. I wouldn't send my child in the water. That's for sure.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

MYERS: So, here we go.

Here's the cape. Here's basically Ocracoke Island. This would be Morehead City. And there's the eye of the hurricane right now. Hard to find the other side, because it's so far away. And that's what's happened today, Rick. The storm has traveled a little bit farther toward the northeast, rather than just north. Had this storm traveled north all day long today, we would seriously be in a landfalling situation in the Pimlico Sound, and also up near, right along I'd say the Ocracoke Island area. That didn't happen so that's some good news.

We'd been watching the hurricane Hunter aircraft fly through the storm, looking for the eye, looking for the center. And here is the satellite picture. The eye not very nice right now. Looking a little bit ragged. And we like to see that.

SANCHEZ: We like it. We like it when it breaks up.

MYERS: Yes, it went down from a Cat 3 to a Cat 2 just the past half hour. It might even go down below 110 miles per hour at 11:00. That's good.

SANCHEZ: Chad, we want to talk about what's going on out there now with some of the folks who are trying to help the people who maybe stuck in this thing. Still, we've been following a spokesperson for the Red Cross on Twitter. In fact, we've been doing it for a long time. We follow the Red Cross on all types of emergencies.

His name is John Guidone. And while he's -- Jim, Guidone, pardon me. And while he's getting some folks ready for shelter down there, he's also posting some of these pictures on Twitter. In fact, I want to show you some of the pictures that he's been sending us so we can show them to you.

Yes, that's it, Mark. Move that camera on in there. Well done. Here we go.

These are people using the old plywood technique, which, by the way, isn't always the best technique. This is really part of the story. People stuck in traffic as they're trying to get out, doing everything they can. And we've got one more coming in now. You've got to love this, right?

Hurricane Earl will not give the Outer Banks a hurl. They are poets. They don't know it. They're smiling and we're glad to see that.

Jim joins us now. This is what we call 140 plus, because there's 140 characters in tweets, right? Well, we're going to plus 140 characters. We've got him on the phone with us now, and he's going to tell us what's going on.

I understand you are in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. What are you doing for people there? What are they coming to you for?

JIM GUIDONE, AMERICAN RED CROSS: Rick, we opened up one shelter yesterday. We've got another two dozen shelters on ready standby, which means we can open them up in one hour or two. We've also got supplies stationed in the area here. We dropped off two trailer loads of supplies yesterday. We've got four warehouses full of supplies. And we just deployed 37 emergency relief vehicles in addition to 183 disaster support people. So we've been here since Tuesday. We're ready to help these people any way we can.

SANCHEZ: Now, I'm just wondering, it looks like this thing is breaking up a little bit. The best news of all would be that a lot of the stuff that you do doesn't end up getting used, right? You'd be fine with that, right?

GUIDONE: That's the absolute best case scenario. You know, we're going to overprepare and we're going to overdeliver, but we always hope that we're doing a little more than we have to. If this thing turns out to be a non-event, it would be perfect for us.

SANCHEZ: Jim Guidone with the American Red Cross, my thanks for taking time to take us through this. If this thing develops into something more here, your hurricane headquarters, we are going to be talking to him and we're going to be talking to you and we're going to be talking to you again. And then we're going to be talking to a lot of the people out there eventually being affected by this. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

SANCHEZ: Now, tonight we've got a triad of political stories to share with you. Let's begin with number three.

A new look at the Oval Office. That's right. The president's got new digs in the sage words of "The New York Times," the audacity of taupe. What? That's right. The work was done by a decorator hired by, of course, the first lady. Today, reporters wanted to know whether the president had any input, specifically on the color.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was he involved in picking the color scheme?

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: I will tell you, Mark, that is not something -- I know you'd be surprised that I was not consulted stylistically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It's kind of hard to tell from that answer, but Mr. Gibbs seemed to be saying or trying to say that being a husband, the president has no opinion. Hmm.

The makeover caught the eye of former "West Wing" actor Rob Lowe, though. He tweeted just a while ago, "Just saw the new Oval Office decor. The giant cozy couch, leather stripes. Hip lamps. Seems very W hotel. And not George W." Rob Lowe's tweet.

Here is number two on our political list. Watch this ad. Ready?

I think you're going to be surprised with where it's headed.

Hillary Clinton for president of the United States of America. This ad is actually airing. But let's be clear, Mrs. Clinton not behind it. She says she'll never run again for the White House. Never.

The guy who put it together is a dentist in Chicago. And he told us today that he thinks the Obama administration is ruining the Democratic Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: We have done everything that we could possibly do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: If you're uncomfortable watching that, so is everyone else who saw it live in Arizona. What is the number one story on our political list?

Second question, why does the governor of Arizona seem so completely stupefied? You're about to find out.

And down but not out. As I came on the air at the very top of the hour, we learned that Hurricane Earl is downgraded to a Category 2. That's good news. But it's still a serious hurricane, as Chad has said. And we are in touch with a lot of folks there in North Carolina as we move forward.

Chad's here. The Red Cross. All the information you need to know to keep your family safe.

This is RICK'S LIST. We're in touch with you. You're in touch with us. And together we stay connected. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're so glad you're here tonight. This is RICK'S LIST. A lot of news.

Did you hear about Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona? She's best known around the country for signing that state's tough law against illegal immigration. And she's up for re-election. So last night at a debate, she began by trying to spell out her accomplishments. This is the number one story on my political list.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: We have cut the budget. We have balanced the budget. And we are moving forward. We have done everything that we could possibly do. We have -- did what was right for Arizona.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We have -- did what was right for Arizona. Brewer recovered though. And then she listed her accomplishments. The immigration law and the lawsuit against health care reform. But during the debate, her comment about beheadings in the desert, which she blamed on immigrants, was brought up by her opponent. Watch what happens when reporters then try to ask her about that afterward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why wouldn't you recant the comment you made earlier about the beheadings in the desert?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seriously, that's a serious question, Governor.

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: Well, this was an interesting evening tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor, please answer the question about the headless bodies. Why won't you recant that? Do you still believe that? Come on, Governor.

BREWER: OK, thank you, all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor, what do you make --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, tonight, the four most controversial stories of the day. We begin with number four.

You saw it play out live on CNN this afternoon when the bomb squad showed up in midtown Manhattan to investigate a suspicious car they thought might have a bomb on it. And then suddenly in the middle of my interview with one of our producers at the scene, this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a big city and they're going to -- and we just heard a blast. I don't know if you heard this or not over the phone.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've heard these in the past. I cannot confirm what that was. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's how it went down on the air. You just never know when these things are going to be the real deal. Police say that sound was actually officers as they were working to investigate the car. They found nothing suspicious, and they eventually cleared the scene.

The clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch comes in at number three. They're being sued by the federal government for allegedly violating the rights of an 18-year-old who applied for a job at one of their stores in California. The young woman says that she was not given a job because she wore a Muslim head scarf.

And this is not the first time, interestingly enough, that Abercrombie & Fitch has been in this mess. Just last year, same civil rights group filed a similar suit in Texas -- pardon me, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Abercrombie did not respond to our calls today.

Here, now, number two. A New York police officer's actions may have led to the death of a little girl. This is 11-year-old Brianna Ojeda. Last week, she was playing at a Brooklyn park and had an asthma attack. Her mother rushed her to the hospital but she drove the wrong way, the mother did, down a one-way street. So a police officer stopped her and instead of helping he delayed her. Brianna died an hour after she finally made it to the emergency room. Officer Alonzo Mendez, a five-year veteran of the force, has been suspended for failure to take proper police action and for not reporting the incident. It is still being investigated.

So what is the number one controversy making news on this day? It is something absolutely shocking that a young woman was caught on camera doing. And it has people all over the world outraged. Maybe you. Have you heard of this? Wait until you see the video. I'm going to show it you in just one minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: So what is the number one controversy in the news tonight? Before I show it to you, I've got to say that this video has been found to be very disturbing by many of you. But the questions surrounding it have created quite an Internet firestorm. We couldn't leave it alone, so I'm going to let you judge for yourself. Here we go. Here we go.

You're not going to believe what she's doing. The girl in red there is reportedly from Bosnia. As you can see, she appears to be throwing a bucket filled with puppies into the rushing river. This video has gone viral but one report from overseas has authorities taking the whole thing quite seriously.

The French news agency, AFP, is reporting that an animal rights group claims the video was shot in a small town in central Bosnia by the girl's brother. And a Facebook group by the name of "find the girl who threw the puppies in the river" has sprung up and right now it has more than 37,000 members. We'll let you know. Time to see what's trending with Brooke Anderson. She's filling in for Brooke Baldwin and she's joining us now with more on what's going on with Paris Hilton.

This story is one of those that people on the Internet, as they say, are going crazy with as well. And it's because Paris Hilton seems to have really stepped in at this time, right?

BROOKE ANDERSON, HLN'S "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": She does, Rick. The question is, has Paris Hilton incriminated herself with a tweet because that's what people on the Internet are buzzing about. And I want to explain what has happened.

Remember when she was arrested for alleged cocaine possession in Vegas last weekend? Well, I've got the police report right here. And according to it, the cocaine fell out of the purse that she was carrying at the time. But when asked about the purse, Paris told the police it wasn't her purse, she borrowed it from a friend. Although, Rick, she did say that some other items in the purse were hers, cash, credit cards, albuterol, but not the coke.

Anyway, this is a picture of her during the arrest. There's the purse. She's holding a purse. Right? Now a lot of people are saying that it looks awfully similar to the picture of a purse she tweeted about in July.

SANCHEZ: Uh-oh.

ANDERSON: At the time, she wrote, "Love my new Chanel purse I got today. So yes, uh-oh is right. Here they are side by side. You be the judge. What do you think?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

ANDERSON: Take a look really closely. We also should note, Rick, that Paris tweeted last night that "these rumors going around are so ridiculous, untrue and cruel. I'm not going to even pay attention to them because I know the truth."

So there you have it, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Well, but --

ANDERSON: But I'm not sure specifically what story she's talking about. If it's the purse story, there's reason to be concerned, Paris.

SANCHEZ: But, again, the police are saying, and they've corroborated, that this stuff, this powder, this cocaine, fell out of her purse, right? They saw that?

ANDERSON: It fell out of the purse that was in her possession.

SANCHEZ: I got it.

ANDERSON: But she claimed at the time of the arrest, that's not my purse, I borrowed that from a friend. Yes, yes, yes. A bunch of the stuff in the purse is mine but not the coke.

SANCHEZ: That's amazing. I understand there's a big story out there about 90210 in California.

ANDERSON: You be the judge.

SANCHEZ: And I used to love that show.

ANDERSON: That's right. That's right. It's also trending today.

SANCHEZ: What's going on? What is it?

ANDERSON: Well, you know it's September 2nd, right, Rick?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

ANDERSON: Does that mean anything to you? You know, if you write out that date, it's 9/02/10, you know, like the zip code for Beverly Hills or the name of that show I loved so much, that popular '90s TV show. Do you remember it?

SANCHEZ: "Beverly Hills 90210."

ANDERSON: Things will be opening for some good all times.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestly, Tori Spelling, I used to watch.

ANDERSON: Oh, you know the actors names, not just the character's names. I'm impressed. All right. Do you hear that music?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

ANDERSON: Of course, people everywhere on Twitter, Rick, are wishing each other a happy 90210 day. And Beverly Hills is celebrating, of course. Our own Larry King is getting a key to the city tonight.

SANCHEZ: Are you kidding me? Do you know how many of those he's already got?

Larry King joins us now live to let us know what's going on tonight. He's going to -- have you got the key, Larry? And does it -- can you speed with that? What do you do with something like that?

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Ryan Seacrest will present it to me on this historic night. My son Cannon said -- he's 10 years old -- what does the key open? And I said, it opens all new vistas of Beverly Hills. It opens a wide path to the sky and to the sun and to open the hearts of many. And he said, come on what does it open? I'll get the key. I'll display it next time I see you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: I'll look -- I'll really look forward to it. And what else you got going on tonight? Is there anything else I need to know about? KING: Well, there is -- some things make it a little more important.

Hurricane Earl is weakening as it bears down on the east coast. Still a threat. We'll have live reports from North Carolina and Cape Cod where it might hit later on. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is going to be with us to tell us if peace is possible as the Israeli Palestinian talks begin anew in Washington today. Hopeful. So it's all next on "LARRY KING LIVE," Rickster.

SANCHEZ: All right, Larry, I'll be looking forward to it. And we'll talk again tomorrow.

Fallout now over a Twitter hoax. I'm going to call out one guy for a stunt he pulled to test the power of tweets. Now we've all learned about tweets in the past but this one, well, it maybe goes a bit too far. "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On" is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We split the screen for you. On the left, you see the loop. On the right, you see Kill Devil Hills. This hurricane is expected to be felt, at least the brunt of it sometime around 2:00 a.m. tonight or this morning, or tomorrow morning I guess would be best way to phrase it. Stay with us, folks. We're all over it. We're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've got some brand-new pictures coming in. First time we've seen these. These are pictures of that oil rig platform where there was a fire today sending 13 workers scurrying into the Gulf of Mexico. The good news is they were all rescued.

The beauty of social media, and you know how much we use it, right, is that everybody can play a significant part. It's what I write about in my book, "Conventional Idiocy." How we change the idiocy that is our political system by connecting to each other. But there's a right way and a wrong way to use conventional media. Here's the wrong way on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

This is Mike Wise, a sports columnist for the "Washington Post." He's a well respected reporter. He previously worked at "The New York Times" for a decade.

Well, Monday, Wise decided to conduct an experiment. He wanted to prove just how fast misinformation can spread online, that anyone will print anything. So on his Twitter page, he falsely recorded that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would be suspended for five games.

Now, remember the NFL suspended Roethlisberger for six games back in March after he was accused of a sexual assault. There are rumblings that the league is considering shortening that to four games, maybe five games. But it's not official. Well, it's Mike Wise who is now suspended. The "Washington Post" put him on ice for an entire month. They even sent out an e-mail to staff members reminding them about how to use social media, key word here, responsibly. Wise says he agrees with the punishment. He calls the experiment careless and dumb and calls himself, in fact, in this tweet, "an idiot." He also forgot he's a reporter. You're supposed to spread facts, not experimental lies. You work for "The Washington Post." Mike Wise gets top honors on "The List That U Don't Want 2 Be On" on this night.

Remember, stay with us. Stay with us right here because we're going to be your hurricane headquarters throughout the evening. This thing could be touching around the Carolinas 2:00 a.m.

That's our show. Here now, "LARRY KING LIVE."