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Rick's List

President Obama Targets Republicans; What Jobs Are Out There?

Aired September 06, 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: That's a pretty shot. There's another one.

We are here in New York and that's Columbus Circle that you see right behind me. As a matter of fact, we are taking you now, though, to San Francisco, another beautiful city. But look at this. I don't know if you want to call him Skyscraper Man or Spider-Man or what you want to call him, but this is going on right now.

These are live pictures. This is downtown San Francisco, where this man, you can see right there, right? You can tell he's carrying the American flag in some kind of backpack. He is attempting to climb a 58-story luxury condominium complex. It's said to be just blocks from the Transamerica Pyramid.

Joe Montana is said to have a residence in this building. He's very close to the top. And we understand when he gets to the top, he's immediately going to be arrested.

As we watch this unfold, by the way, they're like suction cups that he is using to climb this building. We're going to be all over this as well, on this Labor Day.

Here's what else is coming up on RICK'S LIST tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It would take time to reverse the damage of a decade worth of policies...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: ... that saw too few people being able to climb into the middle class...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: ... too many people falling behind.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SANCHEZ: This time, it's personal. The president uses his Labor Day speech to lambaste Republicans, perhaps like never before. You will hear it.

DOUG HEYE, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: What Republicans are doing. He should talk about what Democrats in his own party are doing.

SANCHEZ: A Republican spokesperson fires back, but then gets challenged by my colleague Ali Velshi.

What jobs are out there for Americans on this Labor Day? What jobs are Americans taking or settling for? I have got new numbers that will surprise you.

Why does General Petraeus accuse this book burning American pastor of endangering the lives of his troops?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the one of the four most aggressive sharks on the East Coast.

SANCHEZ: A Hemingway-ish tale in the Potomac. No, really. He caught what? A monster shark? I'm talking to this guy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Why would someone do like this? All of a sudden, we were getting ready to come on the air and do the news for you when we realized that this was taking place in San Francisco. And officials there are trying to figure out what to do with this guy. Obviously this is a very dangerous situation for him.

The area has now been cleared. What point he -- look what happens when they back off on that camera. You see just how big this building is. It's 58 stories by the way. Our affiliate KGO -- OK. There's the shot from the rooftop. And there you see some of the officials with police and fire who have gotten to the very top of the building to wait for him to get there.

Apparently he is hoisting some kind of American flag as if he's trying to make some kind of message. As you pull out -- and, from time to time, when you pull out, you will see he has got like -- looks like less than 10 floors left. So it looks like he's on the last leg of this trip, this point that he seems to be trying to make and notice what he does.

With each step that he takes, he takes some kind of a suction cup or something and he puts it into the glass and that apparently gives him the hold that he needs to then take the next step and continue sort of rappelling his way up or a short version of rappelling.

Obviously if he were really rappelling, the ropes would be hanging from the roof. They're not. He is essentially climbing step by step.

Let me tell you what we're learning from some of our affiliates there. KGO's been on top of this story. They're still reporting it on this Labor Day. It appears this man is trying to get the attention of the police department and city officials and he certainly has done that.

KGO is telling us the climber's in his 50s, believed to be Dan Goodwin. He's known as Skyscraper Man, according to people who have followed this guy. San Francisco police say he has refused their demand to come down. Officers are waiting for him. They say as soon as he gets to the very top, they will, in fact, arrest him.

The building is home to several well-known Californians, as I mentioned earlier, among those, Joe Montana. He started his climb nearly three hours ago. So, he's three hours into this climb and it looks like he's just now about to get to the very top as he carefully goes through this process.

Appears to have climbing gear, but seems to be scaling the building in what people who know about this would call freestyle. So, he's using a freestyle technique. And, you know, obviously, we are going to keep an eye on this thing.

Look, let's see if we can get the shot that shows us how just close he is to the very top there. As we look at the shot that they're providing there, yes, that's a live camera you are looking at right now from KGO, this developing news story which just came to our attention just as we were getting ready to go on the air there.

You see the man who is making his way up toward the top. In fact it looks like now he is just a couple of floors away, working his way up to the very top. You talk to city officials there and they will tell you that they will not in any way condone this and that they are going to, as I said earlier, that they're going to, indeed, going to arrest him as soon as he gets to the very top.

Let's do this. Let's create a little gizmo for this thing and put it on the side of the screen and we will continue bringing you what we consider to be some of the big news stories of the day and then when he gets to the very top and the action begins, you will be able to watch it unfold.

Meantime, let's do this. The president went to work on Labor Day and in case you didn't catch it he broke a pretty good sweat. Today marked the start of an eight-week White House push to try and save control of Congress and today Mr. Obama got personal. He blasted the rich and the powerful special interests, as he called them, and he tied them to Republicans, calling the Republicans the party of, no, we can't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And -- and, over the last two years, that's meant taking on some powerful interests, some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time. And they're not always happy with me.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: They talk about me like a dog.

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That's not in my prepared remarks. It's just -- but it's true.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: "They talk about me like a dog."

You are just minutes away from hearing what is easily one of the testiest speeches that this president has ever given. That's just a taste of it right there.

And while his base is eating it up, Republicans are saying, this was just way too personal. What is it? You decide. Send me tweets. I want to know what you think.

Now, here's tonight's political list and we're going to begin with number five.

Shortly after the president's speech, Republican strategist Doug Heye said that the president was addressing his own special interests. Union workers. CNN's Ali Velshi took umbrage at that comment and challenged him on camera. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG HEYE, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: He had the moxie to talk about railing against special interests while he was doing so in a speech to labor unions on Labor Day.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Doug said something that I think needs to be challenged here. There are special interests in this group. There's no question. And everybody caters to them. Working men and women of America and those 14 million who are not working who would like to be, they are not a special interest group.

You want GDP to go up? People have to have jobs. You want to stop foreclosing on homes? People have to have jobs. So to say that the president talking to working people is pandering to a special interest is quite remarkable to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And it continued.

Here now, number four. Sharron Angle, a Nevada lightning rod and Tea Party fave, says she has been taken out of context during her campaign to oust Senator Harry Reid. She now says that once she gets to Washington, she will actually be mainstream.

Listen to what she told my colleague Jim Acosta in a rare interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Will you be a Tea Party senator in the Senate if you get in there?

SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know exactly what that means. I will be a mainstream senator. How's that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Some of Angle's controversial positions include, number one, working to do away with Medicare, number two, saying that incest and rape victims must not be allowed to get abortions. Number three, said also she will do only interviews with journalists if they can help her raise money.

And, number four, she also wants to phase out Social Security.

Here now, political story number three. It's a bad year for career politicians. You have heard that, right? Voters say they're just sick of all the old faces. Right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: As governor, he cut waste, got rid of the mansion and the limo. Budgets were balanced, $4 billion in tax cuts, world-class schools and universities, clean energy promoted, 1.9 million new jobs created. California was working.

JERRY BROWN (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm Jerry Brown. California needs major changes. We have to live within our means. We have to return power and decision-making...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That is an ad released today for Jerry Brown. That's right, Jerry Brown running again for governor of California. You remember him. He was once called Governor Moonbeam. He served two terms going all the way back to the 1970s. And he dated Linda Ronstadt.

Brown's opponent, Meg Whitman, has a response to that ad. Her campaign today said that Jerry Brown is the last person to trust if you're looking for change.

Here now, political story number two. I want to show you our new CNN poll -- 81 percent of the country says economic conditions are poor. And you get that. We get that. Can't help but wonder what those 18 percent are thinking.

Here now is where it gets intriguing. We asked respondents which party is more responsible for our economic problems. And look at this. With the midterms nearing, 44 percent say it's the Republicans' fault -- 35 percent say it's the Democrats' fault. Now, that's kind of weird, given the trends that we have been hearing in other polls. Look now at this. If you ad the names George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the trend is now more even pronounced -- 53 percent say it's Bush's and the Republicans' fault -- 33 percent say it's Obama and the Democrats that are to blame.

Regardless, as far as the midterms go, the numbers do not look good for the Democrats.

So, what is the number-one story on our political list? A very, very, very fired-up President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: They point to everybody and say, look what these guys did to your car, after we got it out of the ditch. And then they got the nerve to ask for the keys back. I don't want to give them the keys back. They don't know how to drive.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The president comes out swinging as the midterm election season kicks into high gear.

And then later Tropical Storm Hermine has its sights set on Texas. You are looking live at pictures from Galveston where shortly -- well, maybe you are not. You're looking live at a loop, though. That's the radar. We're going to show you the pictures we got in from Galveston in just a little bit.

In the meantime, as we go to break, let's go back to that situation we got out in San Francisco. Once again, that is Skyscraper Man. That's what they call him. Yes, he has a real name. It's Dan Goodwin and apparently he is known to the folks out there in San Francisco because he's done this before.

It looks like he's now just about, oh, 10, 12 feet from getting to the very top of this skyscraper. Police are waiting for him. In fact you can see them there on the right. You see the guys with the badges there looking at him as we speak. How will this thing end up? You will see it unfold.

Let's sneak a break in and when we come back you will see this on your Labor Day. This is RICK'S LIST. I'm Rick Sanchez. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. It is, indeed, breaking news and it looks like he's getting very close to the very top.

This is Dan Goodwin, as you know, also known as Skyscraper Man, and it looks like he's close to the top. But, actually, it takes a little longer than you think because he's got to put those things up on the glass, those little suction cups. And then eventually he moves and then he takes another step and then he takes another step. So, I will tell you what. Let's get the president's sound in here.

And as we come back, this guy will be as close to the top and we will be able to do two stories at once. Let's go ahead and move him over to that little gizmo on the right.

The number one story on my political list tonight, the president comes out firing. I promised we would listen to more of his Labor Day speech and here we will.

First, as I show you Mr. Obama, glad-handing today, keep in mind that every poll out there is saying he and his party have a lot of work to do and not much time to try and catch up to the Republicans to try and keep control of Congress.

Eight weeks before these off-year elections, Mr. Obama signaled today that he is going on the attack. Here he is taking on the opposition Republican Party in a Labor Day speech, which seemed as enthusiastic as, well, as perhaps as we have ever seen him. This is from Milwaukee. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: If I said the sky was blue, they'd say, no. If I said fish live in the sea, they'd say, no.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Think about it. We have tried what they're peddling. We did it for ten years. We ended up with the worst economy since the 1930s and record deficits to boot.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: It's not like we haven't tried what they're trying to sell us.

Now, I'm bringing this up not because I'm trying to re-litigate the past. I'm bringing it up because I don't want to relive the past.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: It would be one thing, Milwaukee, if Republicans in Washington had some new ideas, if they'd said, you know what, we really screwed up and we've learned from our mistakes. We're going to do things differently this time.

That's not what they're doing. When the leader of their campaign committee was asked on national television what Republicans would do if they took over Congress, you know what he said? He said, we'll do exactly the same thing we did as last time.

These are the folks whose policies helped devastate our middle class. They drove our economy into a ditch. And we got in there and put on our boots and we pushed and we shoved and we were sweating and these guys were standing, watching us and sipping on a Slurpee, and they were pointing at us saying, how come you're not pushing harder? How come you're not pushing faster?

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: And then when we finally got the car out -- and it's got a few dings and a few dents. It's got some mud on it. We're going to have to do some mud at it. They point at us and say, look what these guys did to your car, after we got it out of the ditch.

And then they have got the nerve to ask for the keys back.

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I don't want to give them the keys back. They don't know how to drive.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And I want everybody to think about it here. When you want to go forward in your car, what do you do? You put it in "D." They're going to pop it in reverse. They'd have those special interests riding shotgun. Then they'd hit the gas, and we'd be right back in the ditch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This president did not hold back today. That's just part of what he had to say.

By the way, let's go back to the story now out in San Francisco, as we see that -- oh, he is unveiled the U.S. flag. This is the flag that he had in his back pocket.

Boy, I get chills just thinking about it. This guy's 58 floors above the ground on one of the tallest buildings in San Francisco. You know how the wind whips through San Francisco if you ever have been out there. It looks like -- what did you say, Angie?

Yes. He's about to be arrested as soon as he gets to the very top. This is what police are -- this is what police are telling us. And it's interesting that it looks like he's trying to put his flag up somehow using either some kind of tape or something.

But the interesting part of this, if he puts the flag above him, then how is he going to get to the very top of the building? Hmm. It's kind of hard to figure out, isn't it? So, how are police going to be able to get him? It looks like they're communicating with him in some way. All right.

There you have the police officers and the fire officials and others who have gathered at the very top of this building. And he has just gone up.

Now, I'm being told by my executive producer -- and I can't see this on camera, but I guess she can, because she has got a different angle or something -- that just below him there's a landing. I guess you would mean like, what, a balcony or something like that, Angie? To the lower right, there's a balcony. And that's where he's going to going back.

So, he's going to go back down now? Oh, I see. There's a police officer. You see where the live bug is? Right down there there's a police officer and that's where he's going to make his way back down to them now, where he will be arrested.

And apparently we are going to have San Francisco police joining us in just a minute as soon as that happens. There he goes once again putting each one of those apparatus that he's using -- those are those suction cups that he seems to be using so he can get the traction to work his way back down.

And there's the police officers. Now you can see them. But it looks like they're behind some glass or something, which tends to fuzz them out. So, I'm being told now where they are is a glass-enclosed observation deck for people to go and see.

It must be beautiful. San Francisco from up there must be as beautiful as any place in the world. And he's climbed up, moved over to the right and now he's working his way down and I guess he will be cuffed and arrested, and given a good talking to.

Let me tell you what's going on, folks. For those of you just now joining us, this is Dan Goodwin, said to be in his 50s. You got to be in some kind of shape to do something like that in your 50s. He's known as Skyscraper Man.

And apparently the community out there knows him pretty good because it is not the first time he's done something like this. Apparently he's climbed buildings in New York, as well as out West. This is a big, tall building, though -- 58 floors, it has.

And he's apparently climbed in places like Sydney, Australia, as well. By the way, this is a popular building out there in San Francisco, said other have a lot of famous people living in it, among those, Joe Montana.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that Joe Montana is in house today. It's probably one of the condos where he has residences. Police are waiting for him. His climbing gear and the way he's climbing is described as freestyle, as opposed to I suppose rappelling or some other forms that may be used out there.

Because this is a glass building, he's essentially been inserting suction cups as he goes and then going up and down. Of course, this is a dangerous, dangerous situation.

We were scheduled to speak to Jessica Yellin now about what's going on with the politics of our country as we often do, but for some reason Jessica has decided to send one of her friends up this building to get our attention on something else.

Jessica, you still out there, by the way?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm here, but I can't compete with Skyscraper Man, Rick.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Oh, Jessica.

YELLIN: I mean, what is this?

SANCHEZ: You know, it's just -- it's just -- it's Labor Day in America and suddenly just as we're getting ready to bring folks the news, we have this situation playing out.

All right. We have got one of San Francisco's finest on the phone now.

Tell me who I'm talking to, Angie? Albie Esparza.

Mr. Esparza, are you there, sir?

ALBIE ESPARZA, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Hello. How are you?

SANCHEZ: All right, what do you have here? This is weird.

ESPARZA: Yes, it's very weird. Basically, what we have right now is, we have a climber who goes by the name of Skyscraper Man.

SANCHEZ: Great.

ESPARZA: He's climbing our Millennium Tower skyscraper building, which is about 60 stories, in downtown San Francisco.

SANCHEZ: It looks like you are about to nab him right about now.

ESPARZA: We do have officers that are hopefully standing by to detain him pending further investigation. And that's all we have at this time.

SANCHEZ: It looks weird. And you are right. And, you know, it interrupts everything and now everyone's talking about it. But, you know, this kind of stuff is dangerous, huh?

ESPARZA: Absolutely.

One of our main concerns was for his own safety, as well as the safety of the others down below.

SANCHEZ: Are you sure, by the way? We're told it's Dan Goodwin. Are you pretty sure it's him?

ESPARZA: I don't have an identification as far as his name. Just told that he goes by the name of Skyscraper Man. He's a white male in his 50s.

SANCHEZ: All right, well, do you know -- we thought Skyscraper Man was Dan Goodwin. I mean, we don't know.

KGO, one of our affiliates, has reported that. And that's -- we trust that they have covered this type of story with this guy in the past. So sounds right to you, right?

ESPARZA: As far as being Mr. Skyscraper Man, yes. We are going to detain him, find out what he did, and we will take it from there as far as any charges go.

SANCHEZ: What do you charge him with? What do you charge somebody with who does something like this?

ESPARZA: You know, at the minimum, trespassing, but there could be other violations that he has violated, but I don't know that at the time.

SANCHEZ: It's one thing to jeopardize your own life, but when you're climbing up the side of a building like that, you could loosen other impediments I imagine and you can fall yourself and now you're jeopardizing the lives of other people down below, I imagine, right?

ESPARZA: Absolutely. And that's one of our main priorities is to make sure that everyone is safe, as well as the climber.

SANCHEZ: By the way, we have got a shot there of police as they start to fold up that flag. It's interesting that they're trained and they fold it up a certain way to make sure it's gone -- do you know what -- was he trying to make a point or something with the flag and this whole business?

ESPARZA: I don't know at this time. He will be questioned as far as what his intentions were. And hopefully we will find that out.

SANCHEZ: Well, it sounds like you guys did a good job. We're watching it along with you. I don't think this is the time that you guys have had to deal with something like this.

ESPARZA: Absolutely. San Francisco's a very, very fun, interesting city to work with.

SANCHEZ: Fun and interesting city to work with. You have got to love it. My thanks to you, sir.

ESPARZA: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: That's Albie Esparza, who is good enough to join us. He's a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department.

Angie, you want to move on to Jessica or you want to push it? Get a break in? Let's do that. Let's get a break.

Jessica, are you still there?

YELLIN: I'm still here.

SANCHEZ: Are you spellbound?

YELLIN: I will wait.

SANCHEZ: Are you spellbound by...

YELLIN: I am spellbound.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Good. You look like you are on a skyscraper, too. But don't even answer that. We are going to be back.

Jessica's taking us through a lot of the politics on this day, but most of all the speech by the president of the United States today which was as fervent as anything this president's ever said as far as speeches go since he's become president. I mean, some would compare it to some of his stump speeches. What is going on here? And can he sustain this? He said during the speech, this is what I'm going to do from now until November. Can he sustain that?

Stay right there. We're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: OK. Once again, the number one most important story on our political list tonight is the president of the United States. He comes out firing. We listened too much of what the president had to say and, folks, that was just some of it. There was a whole lot more.

He went on. He started at -- he started at 3:10 and he continued until, like, 3:59, 58. He was only supposed to speak for about 20 minutes. Started ad-libbing in the middle of the speech, you know, he went off the script completely. No tie. Sleeves rolled up. Then he went out into the audience and started talking to some of the people out there. I mean, he seemed really at ease.

National political correspondent Jessica Yellin has been watching this. She's in Pittsburgh with our express. Here's what I'm wondering, because you heard him say at one point, I'm starting today. I'm going to take this message around the country. It was a red meat message. It was without a doubt, Jessica, the kind of thing that a lot of folks on the left have been saying they want this president to do. Go after, hammer those Republicans and the rich and the special interest, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Well, here he goes. He's doing this. Can he sustain this until November?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATL. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure, he can, and we should expect him to. I mean, as you say, this is exactly what his base has been wanting him to do. And the intent of this is to drive up the enthusiasm. We've talked a lot about how Democrats just aren't that excited to get out and vote. There is a sense that they may not -- the new voters Obama turned out for the presidential election may not turn out, so this is really directed at the base voters to sort of energize them. He does risk alienating independents who prefer not to hear such partisan attacks. But at this point, Democrats really have to focus on getting out their key voters, Rick.

SANCHEZ: There was a certain -- you know, I was talking to Doug Heye today and he thought the speech was a little too personal like it -- you know, if you're a Republican, you almost felt uncomfortable. Well, you know, you talk to some folks at the White House and they say the Republicans have made them feel uncomfortable with the attacks, as well. But when the president ad-libbed that line, and he told everybody, look, this isn't even in the script, this is how I feel sometimes. He said they treat me like a dog. Treat me like a dog. Now, you know, that has a special meaning in the streets. That's almost like a lack of respect to a man who should have the respect. What did you make of that? Do you think that's going to have some repercussions?

YELLIN: Well, I think we'll all talk about it. I mean, we've been sort of wondering what exactly did he mean by it. What does that come from? I mean, clearly, he means that he is being, you know, kicked around or treated disrespectfully as you say.

SANCHEZ: Dissed. Yes.

YELLIN: Yes. I was surprised by Doug from RNC's comment that this was exceptionally personal. I didn't hear very personal attacks. They were strong. They were angry or, you know, barbed about policy. But it wasn't going after any individual Republicans' characters per se.

SANCHEZ: Well, he did. No, wait, wait, wait. No, wait, he did go after Boehner pretty harshly twice.

YELLIN: Saying that he's already prepared to be speaker.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

YELLIN: Essentially, yes, which is not particularly personal. It means that, you know, don't start measuring the drapes just yet. And this is exactly, again, what Democrats want to hear the president say.

One thing I heard him say that I thought was new and worth noting, he said, you know, Boehner has been saying that we're trying to create more government jobs as if that's no big deal. Well, you know what, a government job is a job and it matters. What that was was the president hitting back point by point on some of these Republican attacks and that is what he did so well during the campaign that he hasn't been doing effectively lately and maybe we'll see him start him doing it again, beginning today.

SANCHEZ: Well, if this is the beginning of things to come, it's going to be an interesting couple of months.

YELLIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Jessica, nobody does the analysis on this better than you do. My thanks to you. Sorry about the wait, by the way, but we had -- you know, a (INAUDIBLE). YELLIN: Hey, I couldn't get enough of skyscraper man. I couldn't get enough of him.

SANCHEZ: We'll be tweeting about this for weeks. Thanks, Jessica.

Ahead, tropical storm Hermine. Folks in Texas are already feeling the effects. And we've got the severe weather team.

Oh, look, there's the picture we promised. That is from Galveston Beach. Right? Is that Galveston? Galveston, oh Galveston. We'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Last time I was in Texas covering a hurricane, I remember that at the time, Governor Perry was as involved as any governor that I've ever seen with the media giving us updates and every -- so we've put him on our governor's list of some of the tweets that we follow. As a matter of fact, Duff Meister (ph), do me a favor. Shoot the Twitter board, would you?

There we go. Hermine is -- Hermine, no, wait a minute, I speak Spanish. I'm supposed to be able to pronounce this. Hermine is heading toward the south Texas coast. State resources are on standby. And this is one of the first updates. This is the governor of Texas himself tweeting information so that you in Texas know what you could be up against with cyclone Hermine, as they would say in Spanish, heading up. Awesomely it's going to hit in Mexico or potentially on the south side of Texas.

Now, Jacqui Jeras has been following this thing for us. She's at our hurricane headquarters in Atlanta. And I was hearing this thing by now would be a hurricane. Is it still a tropical storm or is it a hurricane and when might it become a hurricane?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's still a tropical storm but close, Rick. Winds have increased slowly but steadily throughout the day at 65 miles per hour. You've got to get up to 74 to be a hurricane and as long as that eye stays over water, there's a chance that this is going to intensify into a hurricane in the next couple of hours. But landfall is really, really close here now and as we take a look at the radar picture, it will help you see that center of circulation here, as well. It's been bringing heavy rain and outer bands across parts of Texas, all day long. And right about here is where the center of circulation is. It's about 20 miles away from the coast. It's moving northwest, so it's still probably going to be another hour or two, maybe three at the most before it makes landing.

Keep in mind, you know, this is the bad side of the storm so we are going to have some coastal flooding. We are going to see a heavy downpour. There is a threat of tornadoes, as well, and you can see those waves there. That's from Galveston. One woman died today in that surf in those rough rip currents. We're going to have a much bigger problem with Hermine after landfall actually because it's going to linger across parts of Texas, so watch out for river flooding especially by the middle of the week -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Look forward to hearing more from you as this thing develops.

Now, who's on our list of people making news tonight? With your life on the line, an Iranian woman has sparked an international outpouring of support. Is it too late to keep her from being stoned to death? That's right, stoned to death. The whole world is trying to keep her alive tonight. And we'll bring you the update. Stay right there.

This is RICK'S LIST and we'll be right back. We're in New York tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And tonight, RICK'S LIST is live from New York, New York. And that is beautiful Columbus Circle that you see right there behind me, as a matter of fact.

Right now, let's do this. As we do lists, it's time for the list of people who are making news on this night. This is number three.

Jefferson Thomas was one of the members of the Little Rock Nine. That was the group of teenagers who made history when they integrated Central High School in 1957. Thomas was 15 at the time. He played a pivotal role in this country's civil rights movement. He passed away Sunday at the age of 67 after battling pancreatic cancer.

Here now, number two. Tonight the entire world is rallying around an Iranian woman. They are trying to keep her alive. World leaders, the Vatican, members of the media are all trying to stop this woman from being literally stoned to death. Her name is Sakineh Ashtiani. Her crime, supposedly adultery. The Vatican is calling the punishment brutal. The French foreign minister has pledged to save this woman's life somehow. She may be only alive today because Iranians don't execute during Ramadan, but it ends in just a couple of days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN LARSON, ARMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS: The professionals here at Fort Stewart, Army professionals did their job in an exemplary fashion and brought it to, if you will, a successful conclusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So who is the number one person on our list today? He's a former Army soldier, but just what did he do that has many worried for the health of our troops? I'm going to tell you about that one next.

And then later, how did a well-known sportscaster stick his foot in his mouth talking while talking about an upcoming NFL game? It's a football game. Well, it's landed him on "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On" and I'm going to take you through what he did, what he said. You're going to be going, really? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: So who is the number one person that is making the news tonight? It is the former Army soldier who took three hostages at Winn Community Army Hospital at Fort Stewart in Georgia. The soldier demanded access to a part of the hospital that deals with behavioral issues. After two hours of negotiations, the standoff finally ended peacefully.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN LARSON, ARMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS: The professionals here at Fort Stewart, Army professionals did their job in an exemplary fashion and brought it to, if you will, a successful conclusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We watched the story play out. It's fairly obvious, the soldier had some mental issues. One very common mental illness in our military is, of course, post traumatic stress disorder. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, up to 20 percent of our combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD and for every one story you hear, there could be thousands going on that are unheard or unfortunately, in many occasions, untreated.

All right. Now this. I'll be honest with you. I am a jock. I have been one all my life. So, I get the fact that sports terms are sometimes a little bit over the top.

In news, a bomb is something you run from. That you put breaking news on the banner about. In baseball, it's a long home run. In football, it's a long pass. So, you can take sports terminology too far.

Yes, you can. Here now "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

Dan Hampton played defense for the Chicago Bears back in the 1980s. He is even a Hall of Famer. Well, these days he's an analyst for TV's "Pro Football Weekly" and on the latest show he discussed the season's very first game.

This is good. It's a matchup between the Vikings and the Saints. Look, I'm excited about this game. So are a lot of other football fans because it's how the season ended last year for Brett Favre. But to compare it to a natural disaster, a natural disaster that killed 1,700 people? No. No. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF: DAN HAMPTON, "PRO FOOTBALL WEEKLY" ANALYST: If you watched that playoff game last year, the Vikings need to go down there and hit that town like Katrina. I think the Vikings go down there and get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Hit that town like Katrina? Wow. Katrina's one of the worst disasters in the history of the United States. Again, 1,700 people lost their lives. Hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Five years later, the city is still rebuilding. There are people there who are still struggling and suffering and just the name of Katrina sends shivers through their bodies.

I was there. I saw some of these terrible things. I still wake up in the middle of the night sometimes hearing the screams from people begging for help who didn't get out because they were trapped in their attics. The publisher of "Pro Football Weekly" has now issued an apology calling the remark, come on, "a little inappropriate." In fact, he said it's indefensible.

Now, we all say stupid things from time to time. Please. I know. But Katrina, it's just one of those topics that is and should forever be -- can we just come to some kind of agreement on this? Off limits. Dan Hampton, you top "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY JONES, DOVE WORLD OUTREACH: Islam is of the devil.

SANCHEZ: No.

JONES: It is causing billions of people to go to hell.

SANCHEZ: You believe that.

JONES: It is a deceptive religion.

SANCHEZ: You believe that.

JONES: It is a violent religion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He believes that, all right. He believes it so much and now he's in trouble. In trouble with who? With -- well, the commander of U.S. troops.

That's right. He said this guy, this U.S. pastor is going to get our troops killed. Who's saying that? General Petraeus.

Stay right there. We'll bring you that story. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I want to show you now a telling example of how word can spread across the globe in this age of instant communication. This is a protest rally. It was held in the state capital of Afghanistan today in Kabul. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops are risking their lives to keep that country from falling back to control of our enemies, but now some of those people who live in that country are saying, to hell with the United States. Why are they saying that? Because there's some pastor in the United States who says their religion doesn't matter. That they are of the devil and that he should have the right to burn their holy book, their Koran. It's the preacher at that tiny church in Gainesville who's scheduled to do this September 11th. If you remember I spoke to this preacher. His name is Terry Jones. Flabbergasted by this guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY JONES, DOVE WORLD OUTREACH: We're saying stop. We're saying stop to Islam. Stop to Islamic law. Stop to brutality.

We believe that Islam is of the devil. It is causing billions of people to go to hell.

SANCHEZ: You believe that.

JONES: It is a deceptive religion.

SANCHEZ: You believe that.

JONES: It is a violent religion.

SANCHEZ: You believe that.

JONES: That is proven, many, many times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The preacher, obviously, has a right to believe anything that he wants to believe but I don't know if he understands the harm that he could be causing our U.S. troops. He says that he is a patriot. But let me tell you, the highest ranking United States military were on the record saying that they're seeing the reaction from overseas and it's not good for America. They say this fellow, Terry Jones, and his Koran-burning followers need to butt out. He says -- General Petraeus said they're hurting the troops and so did a general that spoke to Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, U.S. ARMY: We're over here to defend the rights of American citizens and we're not debating the First Amendment rights that people have. But what I will tell you is that their very actions will, in fact, jeopardize the safety of the young men and women who are serving in uniform over here and also undermine the very mission that we're trying to accomplish. I would hope they would understand that there's second and third order -- second, really, and third order affects that will occur that will affect young men and women who's out there on point for America, serving their nation today because of their actions back in the United States. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Caldwell is one of the top American generals in Afghanistan and here now is the top general himself, David Petraeus. He was speaking to the "Wall Street Journal" about the planned Koran burning in Gainesville, Florida. Quote, "It is precisely the type of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."

So, this is interesting. By the way, this Gainesville, Florida, preacher, he was set to appear on our show today. We had called him. And he was going to be here. And I was very much looking forward to talking to him and trying to get some reaction from -- based on what Petraeus and Caldwell had said. Well, at the last minute, like a cow -- I mean, at the last minute, he backed out. As far as we know, he's still planning his Koran burning event Saturday, even though the message from the Pentagon is clear that he should cease and desist for the sake of our U.S. troops.

All right. You saw this story lead the show. The skyscraper man taking on a 58-story building during this hour. We've got the latest on this dramatic and very illegal stunt, and we're going to bring it to you here in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I want to welcome you back and we're going to do something every night at the end of the show. You know, I put together this book which we're pretty proud of because it's a good representation. It's called "Conventional Idiocy" and it hits the stands tomorrow. Yes.

It pretty much is a representation of what we do on the show every day, and it teaches us by connecting, by using social media. We all can make the world a much better place. So we're going to send one of this out every single night. After every show, we're going to give a free book out to that tweet which we think is the most interesting.

And the tweet that wins today is -- to the Twitter board we go. Duff Meister (ph). Ready?

"How is burning a Muslim holy book going to solve the problem? We shouldn't provoke others to anger. We shouldn't provoke others to anger, if we want to save them."

Important words from Joshua Smith. And Joshua Smith is the winner tonight of "Conventional Idiocy." By the way, as we let you go on this night, I want to show you the very final pictures that we've gotten of tan tararan (ph) -- skyscraper man!

This was the beginning of our newscast today and, yes, we were kind of as freaked out as anybody else when we looked up and we saw this man climbing a 58-story building, but there he goes. Dear friend of Jessica Yellin's that he is. Apparently all he wanted to do was put the American flag up and show it to the world.

Of course, there are easier ways to hang an American flag. There's always your front yard, but he wanted to do it the most difficult way and as a result he is now behind bars, we understand. He's been arrested. We don't know exactly what the charges are but we will learn as the night progresses.

I'm Rick Sanchez. Thanks so much for being with us. We'll see you again tomorrow. The book goes on sale. It's called "Conventional Idiocy."

And here now, "LARRY KING LIVE."