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Rick's List

Massive Wildfire in Colorado; President Obama's Election Push

Aired September 07, 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: Fires right now in Detroit, perhaps set by serial arsonists, and we're also watching fires in Colorado. It's now a state of emergency there. The governor has declared it so. In fact, he's going to join me here momentarily live.

Here is what else is on RICK'S LIST.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): It's prime time and here's what's making the LIST.

Two American G.I.s are dead. They killed by an Iraqi soldier. Aren't they supposed to be on our side? What's going on? We are all over it.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They talk about me like a dog.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

SANCHEZ: The Obama voters are not engaged, probably are not voting in these midterms, unless this type of presidential rhetoric can drive them to the polls.

OBAMA: So, after they drove the car into the ditch, made it as difficult as possible for us to pull it back, now they want the keys back. No. You can't drive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had fire surrounding us, three -- all four sides. It was just incredible.

SANCHEZ: Mass evacuations near Boulder, thousands asked to leave as this wildfire scorches more than 3,000 acres.

PASTOR TERRY JONES, DOVE WORLD OUTREACH CENTER: We believe that Islam is of the devil, that it is causing billions of people to go to hell.

SANCHEZ: You believe that.

JONES: It is a deceptive religion.

SANCHEZ: Hate speech. A pastor using anti-Muslim rhetoric as a bludgeoning tool, and he is being called out by the top commander of U.S. and allied forces. We offer up a special report on Islamophobia in America.

SANCHEZ: Who wants Reggie Bush to give back his Heisman Trophy? Will he? Is it fair? How unprecedented is it?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody.

I'm going to start off by splitting the screen if we possibly can, two breaking stories that we're following for you right now and here we go. You see right there on the left, that is thereabouts Boulder, Colorado. That is where a state of emergency has now been declared.

Several residences and residential communities have been affected. People are being asked to evacuate and leave their homes. We understand at last check the number of homes and the number of acres that have been scorched or burned is up to past 7,000.

Now, look at the picture on your right. This is the work of a suspected serial arsonist tonight. This is taking place in Detroit, Michigan. We're hearing from several of our affiliates there, this picture coming in from WXYZ, that not just several homes, but homes in several different residential communities, have been set ablaze and beyond that there is also a commercial property that has been set ablaze.

So, on your right, as you look at the screen on your right, that's Detroit, Michigan. On your left, that's Boulder, Colorado. And, once again, there is one of those planes that's going to be coming in, these pictures you will be seeing from time to time as they try and put these fires out.

Let's start with Boulder, Colorado, and then we will shift gears as we go because just west of town this is what they're dealing with, as you look at these pictures now from KUSA and KMGH, brand-new video that's just been feeding into us. This is just coming in, right? Yes.

Now, these are live pictures that are coming in. As just -- as we mentioned moments ago when we were starting this hour, the federal government has taken command of what's being now called the Fourmile Canyon fire.

We thought this afternoon when the winds got better that they would be able to get a handle on this thing. But apparently they haven't yet. It's already burned an area the size of 7,000 football fields. Take a look at this iReport. This is from Bill Hardt. He got this shot. Interestingly enough, he was on a flight. He was heading out of Denver International Airport and he took the shot and then sent it to us.

More than 1,000 people are out of their homes right now after 70 subdivisions, not homes, but entire subdivisions, have now been evacuated. The sheriff says that dozens of structures have burned, including houses. Right now he simply can't say how many there are. Among those losing their homes, some of the volunteer firefighters that are putting out the fires. How ironic is that? Nine volunteer firefighters have apparently lost their own homes tonight while they were putting out fires in other people's neighborhoods.

The sheriff's advice tonight, pray for rain. It looks like the fire may have been started by a car that crashed into a propane tank, we now understand, and this battle is taking an emotional toll on those who don't yet even know if they're going to have homes eventually to return to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one thing that has concerned me more than anything else is my neighbors, because it's just not a bunch of people that like each other. It's love.

We will be back. Stay tuned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's tough watching that, isn't it?

Colorado's governor, Bill Ritter, has had his hands on this. He's declared a state of emergency just a couple of hours ago and he's committed $5 million to this fight now. We understand that the governor has been touring the scene for himself, and he's just reached out to us by phone to give us a sense of what's going on there now.

Governor Ritter, thank you, sir, for taking the time to talk to us. What's the situation in your state as we speak?

GOV. BILL RITTER (D), COLORADO: Well, I would characterize it as a pretty volatile fire. We have, like you said, evacuated over 1,000 people.

The terrain that this fire involves is pretty rugged terrain, but it's also developed. And so there are a variety of different -- like the sheriff said, there are some subdivisions and then just homes that have been developed in the area.

We have done fire mitigation over the past few years, just for this kind of an event. And we hope that at the end of the day helps save some structures, but we know that there are, like the sheriff said, dozens of structures that have been burned already.

I went up Fourmile Canyon today, got to a place where a power line was down and we couldn't go any further. On the way up there we did see homes that had been burnt and we saw -- burnt to the ground, with nothing but the foundation remaining, entire hillsides or mountainsides that had been burned.

And so I think the effort right now is to try and save structures. And fire -- it's going to be a tier one fire by this time tomorrow, where we have all the federal, state, and local resources really committed to it, and it takes a little while to stand up a tier one, because we have got people coming in from around other parts of the country and certainly..

(CROSSTALK)

RITTER: ... parts of the West. And we're just doing everything we can to commit resources to it, but it's a pretty volatile situation.

SANCHEZ: Governor, where are you right now?

RITTER: I'm in -- I have been in northern Colorado for another event for a speech I'm giving up here, but probably about 40 miles from the fire right now.

SANCHEZ: What are you saying to some of the people like that gentleman we heard from just a little while ago who can't help but break down in tears when he starts thinking of not just his home, but all the homes his neighbors are going to lose? And, by the way, as I'm asking this question we're getting new pictures in now of one of those large homes that seems to be burning to the ground as we speak.

RITTER: Well, what we're seeing is, unfortunately, we have seen property damage and property loss. We will probably see more of it before this fire is over.

But the most important thing to us is the safety of the individuals who are homeowners or residents up there who work there. So, public safety is dominant in our thinking. And that just means, if the sheriff comes along and asks you to evacuate, we would really ask people to do that. And we're asking people to exercise some level of patience, knowing that the property is at risk.

But it's very difficult to fight the fire at the same time you're going back to ask people who have once evacuated but have returned to go back.

(CROSSTALK)

RITTER: And so they don't need that distraction.

SANCHEZ: Are people doing that or are you finding that people are becoming problematic and not heeding the advice?

RITTER: Well, largely people have heeded the advice and they have evacuated. There are I think a few people who are trying to get back up to their place, and upset that they can't.

There are just other instances I think of people who might have snuck in, figured out a way to get in and put out spot fires around their place. But that just makes it more difficult for these firefighters who are there and trying to do all they can to put it out. So, there's a variety of responses. I think most people are staying away.

SANCHEZ: All right, talking to Governor Ritter of Colorado as the fire in his state intensifies.

Governor, I understand you had business north of the state. Are you heading back to the area? Are you going to be personally monitoring or is your staff going to be personally monitoring what is going on with this fire as the night and the day goes on?

RITTER: We are.

I don't know that I will go back tonight, given things that I still have to do tonight. But the Division of Emergency Management is our division that monitors that. We have a Division of Fire Safety. They are both fully engaged in this.

We declared a state emergency. The federal government has now declared it a disaster area as well. And those two declarations then help us put resources into it. But we -- even at the start of this fire, we had state personnel cooperating with local authorities.

It's just that the winds lashed so heavily at the start of the fire and it was just this awful confluence of events, an accidental start to the fire, and then heavy, heavy winds.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Yes, I know what you mean. Many of us thought this thing would be under control today, but appears that it's a little more difficult than we thought.

Governor Ritter, you have been very kind to take time to call in and join us and give us a sense of what's going on in your state.

As we thank the governor, let me get your attention now on this tweet that we got moments ago. The governor was referring to some of the agencies that are taking care of this in his state. To the Twitter board we go. Let me show you something. This is from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

And it says: "Wildfire smoke. Health advisory for north fire range until 9/8 at 4:00 p.m." And that would be tomorrow, 9/8 at 4:00 p.m. So, we're talking now this thing stretching until tomorrow. And this is not the fire itself, but some of the smoke that apparently is now sitting on top of parts of the city.

From that fire, let me take you now to another situation. This one is taking place in Detroit. This is another big developing story that we're following for you. This is from one of our affiliates, WXYZ. Look at this. Look at this videotape. Homes are engulfed in flames across parts of Detroit.

We're still not sure how many, but we're now being told as many as 11 homes have been set on fire. And this is in Detroit's east side. Look at this. Firefighters are battling at least one blaze at an abandoned commercial building on top of that. And that's also on the east side.

This is interesting, when you consider that we're told it's not just in one particular neighborhood, but in several neighborhoods, several subdivisions as well. Meanwhile, another set of homes is on fire and this, we're told, is on the west side of town.

Police right now say they're investigating the situation. We're going to be all over this. In fact, we're going to be trying to make some phone calls to see if we can get some Detroit officials on the line to see if they have got a handle on what the motive may have been and who possibly could have set these fires. Expect that from us here on RICK'S LIST.

Meanwhile, superstar Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy. Now they say they want to take it away from him. Bush is not taking this well. He's tweeting up an angry storm, as a matter of fact. I will be sharing some of that with you.

But, next, our political list begins with a major announcement out of Chicago and the president trying to build a firewall around his Democratic Congress. We have got the latest polls and I'm going to share them with you right here on RICK'S LIST.

We're going to be right back. Stay with us, lots of news tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

What in that world is going on right now in Detroit? I want to show you some of these fires that have been burning there in Detroit not only on the east side of town, but on the west side of town, and now we understand as well even a commercial building has been set ablaze. And all indications, at least from some of the sources we have been talking to, our affiliates there in Detroit, are that these fires have been set intentionally.

So this appears to be the work of a serial arsonist on this night. Police obviously have their hands full. Firefighters have their hands full as well.

And we are reaching out to some Detroit officials to hopefully get them on the line. We're going to work this story throughout this entire hour. So expect more information here on RICK'S LIST.

Meantime, time now for our political list. And we begin with news out of Chicago that probably made Rahm Emanuel's inbox explode. We begin with number five.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD DALEY (D), MAYOR OF CHICAGO: Simply put, it's time. It's time for me, it's time for Chicago to move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. He is saying six terms is enough, six terms as mayor of the city. Daley has been mayor since Harold Washington died in 1989.

But back to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. He has made no bones about it. He wants Daley's job, if Daley doesn't want it. Rahm Emanuel wants to be mayor of Chicago. The job just opened up and the election is next year. Can you say White House shakeup down the line? Maybe? We will be watching.

Here now, number four.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: You have got to stop here for a second, because I have got to...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Getting crowded in Iowa. A spokesperson for Mitt Romney says the Republican presidential prospect will visit next month. Romney placed second to Mike Huckabee in Iowa's 2008 Republican caucuses.

Now, did I say it's getting crowded? Newt Gingrich is to visit Iowa this week, and Sarah Palin flies in next month.

Here now, number three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy, as Obama has expressly supported this policy?

(CROSSTALK)

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D-MA), FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: When you ask me that question, I am going to revert to my ethnic heritage and answer your question with a question. On what planet do you spend most of your time?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Remember that moment from the town hall meetings of 2009, that classic moment involving Congressman Barney Frank and a Lyndon LaRouche supporter?

It turns out Frank is being challenged by her in a primary race next week. Her name is Rachel Brown. And among her other positions, she says economic policy should take into account the eventual colonization of Mars.

If you will recall, Frank told her just last summer he would as soon argue with a table than her.

Here now, number two. Look who is saying keep the Bush tax cuts. That's Mr. Obama's former budget director Peter Orszag. Remember him? Well, today, Orszag writes that he would prefer to make a wealthy return to the pre-Bush level, as planned, but given the fight over that, he's saying extend the tax cuts for two more years for everyone, even the wealthy. Then everyone would return to the pre-Bush rates to try and bring the deficit down.

So, what is the number-one story on our political list tonight? The Obama administration and the Democrats get hit with a new barrage of polls, and there are no mixed messages, it seems, here. I'm going to tell you what they say about who will win in November.

And as we go to break, I want to show you two sets of pictures, one, the fires that are taking place right now in -- this is just outside -- is this Boulder or Detroit we're looking at? This is Detroit? All right. This is WXYZ now saying that there are 20 homes burning.

Remember, we said just moments ago that there were 11? Yes, OK, it's pulled out now and you can see there are homes there. Look at these pictures that are coming in. Again, this is all from different parts of Detroit, different residential communities, but many fires throughout town. Who is setting them? That's what police want to know. And so do we. We're all over this story.

Expect new details as we come back right here on RICK'S LIST.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. We have got some more breaking news now, believe it or not.

We have been following this story about this imam building a cultural center in parts of New York, would include, apparently, a mosque. We have just received information that the imam has put out his very first op-ed on this, released this just a few minutes ago. It's going to appear tomorrow in "The New York Times."

And, Angie, if you could, could you get that to me so I can read it? I would appreciate that. I don't know if somebody can get it over here. I appreciate it.

All right, here's what we're being told. We're being told that he is saying -- and there's been a big question as to whether or not he would back down or not back down -- this is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, this coming to us right now.

He says that he will, in fact, proceed with plans. He will, in fact, proceed with plans for the cultural center. And they will identify, as asked, all financial backers, once again that they will, in fact, proceed with their plans to build this cultural center, they are not backing down, and that they will come forward and identify all their financial backers, as had been asked.

As you know, the imam has been on a tour. He's been maintaining virtual silence up to now, recently traveled throughout the Middle East as part of a State Department-funded trip designed to foster greater understanding between Muslims and the United States. This is the second administration that has used him in that way. We also now have an important programming note. The imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, will appear exclusively tomorrow here on CNN during "LARRY KING LIVE." This will be a special edition that will be co-hosted by Soledad O'Brien, who has the get, so to speak, the interview with the imam.

That is tomorrow night right after RICK'S LIST at 9:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN. And you can be part of the conversation, by the way. You can go to iReport.CNN.com, where you can submit some of your own questions to the imam.

So, once again, breaking news that we're bringing you right now. The imam has broken his silence and he said that he will continue with his plans to build Park 51, the Islamic community center. And the second part of this new story is that he will also, in fact, identify all his contributors. We will continue to work that story for you as well. What a night.

Now to the top of our political list, as promised. I will tell you the first thing I read this morning after the baseball box scores was the scorecard on the midterm elections and it said that the Republicans' chances of winning control of the House were looking better and better. They need 39 seats.

Then I read a story saying that the GOP could win 60 House seats. Then there was another story -- I don't know if you saw this -- that said 75 House seats. This is all in the space of one morning. And then I also saw this.

This is a poll by "The Wall Street Journal" showing 49 percent of the likeliest voters want Republicans running Congress -- 49 percent said Republicans. Just 40 percent said Democrats.

The bad news for Democrats is this news is coming in waves, and it's gaining momentum. And now people are talking about a political -- well, at least a potential political tsunami.

Here's my RICK'S LIST colleague Jessica Yellin's take.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Do you sense, as a wise, salty political reporter who's done this for a while, that there...

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: ... is an effort on the part of this White House to try and get those folks who probably don't -- have no interest in voting this time around to get back out and do what they did when this president was running for the office?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rick. And that's why the president's out there delivering the message we heard from him yesterday. He will be here in Ohio tomorrow selling the economy again. And the folks we have been talking to on the road are emphatic that what they need to help them win their races -- this is coming from elected officials who are running, Democrats, and from rank-and-file union leaders, who are trying to get out the vote -- is, as you say, they want an enthusiastic, very clear message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, the president's going to come out on Wednesday with a new economic plan. And we will see what he has to say.

But I think that's one of the things that's making the public uneasy about the Democratic Party right now, is there hasn't been a consistent message on the economy.

TONY HELFER, PRESIDENT, UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS, LOCAL 23: Obama needs to be much clearer in his agenda on how he's going to try to create jobs in America. We need a clear vision of that. That's what we're looking for.

YELLIN: Do you blame the White House for that, to some extent? Or...

HELFER: Well, it's leadership. I mean, absolutely. If you're going to be a leader of a party and a movement, then you have got to be able to explain that to everybody, so they fully understand it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: So, they want a clear message from the White House to try and stave off a possible Democratic disaster. We heard a clear message Monday when the president ripped into Republicans.

It's been a firestorm from many Dems, saying the president is finally doing what they want him to do. Some Republicans are saying he may have gotten too personal.

Look, we're going to be listening tomorrow when Mr. Obama speaks again, and, as promised, he says he's going to be just as exuberant. This time he will be speaking from Ohio. And we have got our Express bus already there waiting for him.

Meantime, three big stories that we're following for you right now. There is a fire as we speak, a big one, in Colorado. We understand that a state of emergency has been declared. Here on RICK'S LIST, we spoke exclusively moments ago to Governor Ritter from Colorado who took us through what they're doing there.

We also have a breaking news story in Detroit. That's where several homes have been set ablaze in different communities. The question is, is this arson or could it be that as many as 20 different homes have gone ablaze on the very same night? And then one of the biggest stories coming out of New York City tonight. CNN has just learned that the controversial imam building that cultural center -- there, you see him -- has just broken his silence. He said that plans for the building of his cultural center will go on as planned.

And he's also saying that, since many of his critics have asked him to give the names of the people who are contributing to the Islamic center, he will, in fact, do just that, all this, brand-new information, brand-new pictures.

We're going to be joined with guests who are going to take us through this right here on RICK'S LIST, busy night again. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here we go with more breaking news. We told you just moments ago about the imam breaking his silence. He's saying, in fact, that he's going to go on with his plans. He's also saying that he's going to, as his critics have asked him for, release the names of many, if not all, of his contributors to this Islamic cultural center in downtown New York.

Deb Feyerick is joining us now. You know, Deb has been following this story for many, many, many weeks now. How significant is this? Was this unexpected? Did someone think that he would actually not go along with it?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. That's the whole thing I think there's really been a sense. I spoke to the developer, I spoke to a number of people surrounding this, and they really believe that this is a very important thing and it needs to be done, it needs to be done now. All of the issues that are coming to play, the right of religion, where do you build? Do you build a mosque but not in my backyard? All of these different things are sort of being asked, these questions.

So that he came back now, he said he really wanted to address the issue while he was back in the United States. That he didn't feel it was right to do it from overseas. Reading through the op-ed that's going to appear in the "New York Times," he doesn't say anything radically new. But he does say a couple of points that I find particularly interesting. Among them, he said that really the words of both the president, President Obama as a Christian --

SANCHEZ: Right.

FEYERICK: -- and the New York City mayor who is Jewish, really resonated with Muslims all over the world, that they really felt a sense of connection, these people standing up to speak for Islam, moderate Islam. He also says that, you know, really this kind of cultural center is going to harm the ability of radicals to recruit in various other places. So these are kind of good points that he's making.

SANCHEZ: Is this a man who is just coming back from a trip where he's been going around praising America?

FEYERICK: Absolutely. He was sent as an emissary by the U.S. State Department.

SANCHEZ: Interesting.

FEYERICK: So he is there on their behalf. And you don't get to be an emissary. You don't get to be an envoy bringing, you know, the divide between the west and the Muslim countries by being a radical. You have to be vetted. You have to get the blessing.

SANCHEZ: Well, then make us understand why it's important for some people for him to come out with a list of his contributors. How has that become such a hot issue?

FEYERICK: Well, it's become a hot issue because it's a political issue. It's a political wedge issue. People saying, well, who is he getting his funding from?

Well, that's very well and good. You can say you can ask any question you want but there's no answer. The answer is that they have a system in place. They are going to be vetting all donors. I asked the developer, how are you sure that somebody with links to terrorism is not going to invest in this particular center? He said we have somebody who is going to be vetting, we have somebody who's going to be checking. The fact now that the imam has come out and said that, I think that gives a lot of weight to the integrity of the Islamic center and what it is they're trying to build and what it is they're trying to achieve.

SANCHEZ: Good stuff, Deb. Good reporting as usual. I appreciate you hustling up here.

By the way, there's a programming note I want to share with you now. The imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, is going to appear exclusively tomorrow night right here on CNN. This is going to be a special edition. It's going to be co-hosted by Soledad O'Brien, my colleague. Now that's tomorrow night. It's going to be on right here right after RICK'S LIST at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN. And you can be part of that conversation, by the way. Just go to ireport.CNN.com where you're going to be able to submit many of your own questions to the imam.

Coming up, my list of the night's controversies. The man who wants to burn the Quran. Another story that a lot of folks all over the country has been talking about.

This isn't in New York though. This is in Gainesville, Florida. Well, he's apparently now having some second thoughts but not before another well-known general has chimed in saying he's stuck on stupid. Stuck on stupid. Who's that remind you off? Who said that? Well, you're about to find out.

Also, coming up, our list of the most controversial involves underwear as in the underwear that -- well, the underwear we don't want to see. Get it? That's ahead.

This is RICK'S LIST. We're coming right back. This is nice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. There's a lot of news going on tonight. But let me get you back to some of my list.

My controversy list tonight begins with the mayor of Dublin, Georgia, telling people in his community tonight that by law they have to pull their pants up. That's right. Mayor Phil Best just signed a new ordinance making it illegal to wear saggy pants that fall more than three inches below the top of the hip exposing skin and/or underwear. Anybody caught breaking this no saggy pants law could be fined up to $200. Similar laws have been passed in Florida and in Michigan.

Here now is tonight's most controversial story number two. In Iraq, two American soldiers have been killed not by insurgents but rather by the guys who are supposed to be on our side. Iraqi soldiers killed two Americans and they've injured as many as nine others.

How frustrating is that? The guys who are supposed to be on our side are fighting against us? Here is my colleague, Barbara Starr from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: By all accounts, the Iraqi soldier pulled his weapon, fired at the Americans killing two, wounding nine before he was shot. And, you know, basically what this comes down to is what any soldier will tell you on the ground in Iraq. The combat mission may have ended on the part of the politicians. Combat on the part of the troops.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes, but it goes beyond this. I mean, when you really think about this, it's the ultimate act of betrayal. I can understand that our enemy is going to be shooting at our guys. I can't understand that the people that we're training to protect this country when we eventually leave are shooting at our guys. I mean, the whole thing for Americans who are paid into this war with blood and sacrifice and our treasure have to be looking at this and going, what?

STARR: Well, certainly. I mean, that's why tragically I would remind people this has happened in both wars before where local Afghan troops, local Iraqi troops have done this. You know, what can you say?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

STARR: They will investigate. They will find out what this man's motivations were, why he did it. And troops do everything they can, American troops, to protect themselves.

SANCHEZ: But one of the biggest problems, right, that they've had in Iraq and in Afghanistan, for that matter, is trying to find the right people who truly are -- who are true to the cause. What does this say about that effort to try and create a police force, an army?

STARR: Yes, I mean, this is one of the crucial challenges in both of these wars to find the Iraqi troops and the Afghan troops that are loyal to their government and loyal to what is going on that aren't perhaps, you know, behind the scenes insurgents, more loyal to the insurgents than they are to their own government. And in some cases, that is what has happened in some of these past instances. These people have proven to be corrupt and it's something that is a huge challenge in both war zones to make sure the security forces are not actually more loyal to the insurgencies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: So it's now 41 minutes after the hour. And let me ask you this question, what is the number one story on my most controversial list? Extreme anti-Islamic rhetoric getting another general fired up. You're going to hear him for yourself. That is next.

Also, we're just being told that there's a reporter in Detroit who's now on the scene and he's going to bring us up to date on why parts of his city look like the apocalypse. I mean, so many different communities with these fires, as many as 20 homes burning. Is it arson? Is it coincidence? Is it perhaps downed power lines because of the winds? We're getting lots of reports and we're going to get to the bottom for you.

This is RICK'S LIST. We're on it. Stay there. A lot more coming your way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. So what is the number one story on our controversy list? It continues to be this pastor in Gainesville, Florida, Terry Jones, who says that he will burn Qurans with other members of his church. That's what he looks like.

Remember, we were one of the first to interview him. Since then, even General Petraeus and General Caldwell have come out from overseas to declare that what this man is doing is dangerous to U.S. troops. They are convinced he's doing the wrong thing. This pastor is now saying with some reservations, though, that he may reconsider. So what's really going on here?

Let me bring in CNN's contributor, General Russel Honore, a man I deeply admire.

General, I was reading one of your e-mails to our staff earlier today and you went back to those famous words that you once issued, stuck on stupid. Do you think this man, this pastor, is stuck on stupid, sir?

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE (RET.), CNN CONTRIBUTOR: If not, he's the closest thing I've seen to it lately. If you consider that he said in his sanctuary that has been fought for and protected by our military men and women around the world as we speak today, and to do an act that would put them in danger after being requested by a senior commander in the field not to do that, there are many things this pastor don't understand. And understanding the environment these troops are working in and the importance of the Quran to the people that we're working with that he should not do this and still he is persisting on doing this. He is stuck on stupid.

SANCHEZ: Sir, I understand this is quite personal to you. Would you explain to our viewers why?

HONORE: Well, our oldest son just came back from his second tour in Iraq. He was there in 2005 and then returned medical evacuated about a month and a half ago. I deployed as the first Army commander over 430,000 troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, visited both Iraq and Afghanistan several times, saw the challenges those commanders are having on the ground, are trying to build that Afghan army specifically speaking in Afghanistan, trying some of the most toughest terrain, the longest logistics routes in the world to get to places and those troops work 24/7 continuously since they've been there. And to see a person who has the right to see something that has been built on the privileges for those who've gone out and fought and now he's putting those soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines at risk because of his idea that he has the right to do this under that very right has been given and protected for him, brought 234 years by the soldiers, sailors and airmen and marines in this country and he won't respect that a field commander has asked him not to do this.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

HONORE: This guy is stupid. And where are the few good Americans, the few and the willing who is going to try and encourage him not to do this?

SANCHEZ: General --

HONORE: I understand he's asking for some sign from God. They tell him a guy called me a little while ago, and tell him not to do it.

SANCHEZ: General --

HONORE: Just not do it.

SANCHEZ: General Russel Honore joining us live and not holding back. General, my thanks to you for taking the time to reach out to us tonight on this controversial subject.

Here on RICK'S LIST, we're continuing to follow some of the breaking news stories of the day including the very latest on what's going on in Detroit. I understand we've now been able to hook up with a correspondent who's going to fill us in on what he's hearing from the fire department there. As many as 20 homes on fire in different parts of town. How can that be?

Stay tuned. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: There's the breaking news story of the night. This one kind of caught up by surprise.

Let's show some of those pictures if we possibly can, Kel (ph), of what it looks like right now in different parts of Detroit. I understand we've got some brand-new video that's coming in now. Look at this. Look at this.

This is Thomas Wait who's joining us now. He's from WYYZ. He is one of the reporters who's been following the story.

Thomas, I understand you told one of my producers in the control room a little while ago that this looked like the apocalypse to you. What did you mean by that?

VOICE OF TOM WAIT, REPORTER, WXYZ: Well, it absolutely does, Rick. There are so many fires burning here. I heard you toss to the break they're saying there were 20 fires. Actually in one neighborhood there are 20 homes that have burned to the ground and that's just one pocket of the fires that are burning here. We actually have about three sections of the city that have been burning. Some of these fires set accidentally. Some of them under investigation, could be arson.

But what I was saying is that if you look at this video it looks like a war zone. You hear that word, that term tossed around a lot, but that's actually what it looks like here. I mean, these homes, an entire block, just completely razed by fire. And you talk to people who live in these neighborhoods, and they're just sitting on their porches looking at this, you know, looking at front yards where kids used to play and people had, you know, birthday parties and all of a sudden it's just smoke and fire and just kind of these --- it's just kind of haunting, too, because there are these little pieces of the houses left. There's like, you know, the frames of the doors and the porches are left, and then the smoke and fire. And so you really got this crazy situation here.

The reason for all this fire insanity, if you will, is that we have these intense, strong winds earlier today so what would happen was a fire would start burning in some of the vacant homes in Detroit, and there are many of them as you probably know. And your viewers know there's been a lot of flight from the city so you've got a lot of vacant homes that are not taken care of and so sparks, you know, travel from one home to another. These are old homes that haven't been cared for and they just burst into flames. They're tinderboxes. And then this huge wind problem we had today that blew the sparks around and then all of a sudden you've got, you know, a firestorm basically. You just look down the block and it's house after house after house burning.

SANCHEZ: I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. I mean, is this -- I imagine this is as uncommon to you as it is to the rest of us watching, right?

WAIT: Well, I've got to tell you in Detroit, I've been a reporter here for about 2 1/2 years and some of the things I've seen here shock me every day, and I'm not just saying that and that word has sort of lost its meaning in some ways. But honestly, coming through some parts of Detroit on a daily basis blows you away.

Now, this is certainly something I've never seen before and photographers that I'm with here on the scene have never seen anything like this before and they've lived and worked in these neighborhoods their whole lives.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

WAIT: So certainly this is unusual but certainly something in Detroit anything can happen on any given day.

SANCHEZ: Thomas Wait, I am so glad that you were able to get to us and tell us what the working theory is right now for how it is that all these fires have started in your town there. We'll stay on it as well.

Brooke Baldwin has just flown in fresh from Atlanta Hartsfield airport to LaGuardia and now walking into the studio as we speak. This is RICK'S LIST. She will put the punctuation on tonight's show. Stay right there.

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SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. Look who just flew back in.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

SANCHEZ: Welcome home.

BALDWIN: Just in the nick of time.

SANCHEZ: I'm so glad you're going to join us. By the way, as far as the book goes, "Conventional Idiocy"--

BALDWIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: -- we're giving one out every single show and we have just chosen "shark goddess."

BALDWIN: She's a big tweeter. Big fan.

SANCHEZ: She is, and she's got a funny tweet that she sent us today.

Can we show that if we possibly can? We'll be showing that in just a minute. Oh, there it is over there. You got it.

She writes -- this is about the underwear story. "Underwear was meant to be under what we wear. It is not meant to be shown. So it should remain. It's called class.

BALDWIN: On the baggy pants story.

SANCHEZ: A signed copy of "Conventional Idiocy" is now going to her.

All right, Brooke, what do you have for trending tonight?

BALDWIN: OK. Other than the fact that I'm reading your book on the airplane, everybody is kind of peering over my shoulder. By the way, I'm like at page 80, we'll talk about it after the show.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Trending today, "Washington Post," journalism 101. Look, we all know, check your facts, right?

So there's a streaming story about this "Washington Post" columnist. His name is Jonathan Capehart, and last night he wrote a little article, just a blurb analyzing who is to blame for the national deficit. What is President Bush, President Obama? And like most good journalists these days, he turned to Twitter. He quoted a congressman in the column. But the thing is Congressman Jack Kimble doesn't exist.

SANCHEZ: Oh, no.

BALDWIN: Not a real guy. Not a congressman from California. In fact, take a look at the tweet here, if we can pull that up. There it is.

"Why have the wars cost so much under Obama? Check the budgets. Bush fought two wars without costing taxpayers a dime." That's what the columnist saw. Grabbed it, ripped it, wrote about it. After realizing the mistake, Capehart posted a correction on line saying the twitterer, Representative Jack Kimble, is not a real member of Congress. He also tweeted his own reaction. Whoops.

SANCHEZ: There's a lot of congressman.

BALDWIN: There are -- come on, though, check the names. Do we have time for number two or no?

SANCHEZ: Go ahead. Go ahead.

BALDWIN: Number two, on "The View" today, Barbara Walters was back.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: You know, she had her heart surgery so that was huge news. We're all wishing her well. Also today on "The View," you had David Letterman. There they are. A rousing applause and there's David Letterman, rare to see him outside of his own late night talk show and he talked to Barbara about his heart surgery, her heart surgery. And then when he was asked why he enjoyed commenting on that whole drama, right, back and forth NBC, Leno and Conan, he said he kind of enjoyed it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": It gave me an opportunity to do my Jay Leno impression. Hey, you know, I got screwed. Conan got screwed. We all got screwed and there's nothing we can do about it. I've got 400 cars. Everybody will get a car. You know, what are you going to do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hilarious.

SANCHEZ: You know, you're amazing. You were on the air today. You were filling in for Tony. You got on a plane, you made it up here just in time to make this --

BALDWIN: For you.

SANCHEZ: -- for our show. Nice to have you here.

BALDWIN: Good to be here.

SANCHEZ: Tomorrow you're going to be here all day, right?

BALDWIN: All day.

SANCHEZ: Fantastic. I'll be looking forward to that.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Guess who's coming up next?

BALDWIN: Mr. Larry King.

SANCHEZ: Your favorite and mine, Lawrence King with "LARRY KING LIVE."

I'm Rick Sanchez. Thanks so much for being with us, everybody. Busy show tonight as usual.

Here now, "LARRY KING LIVE."