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Rick's List

Koran Burning Controversy Escalates; NFL Quarterback Tom Brady in Car Accident; Debate Continues Over Planned Islamic Center Near Ground Zero; One American Being Held in Iran to be Released by Iranian Government; Kelsey Grammar to Begin New Right Wing Network; Tom Brady in Car Accident

Aired September 09, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Ali.

And we're going to top the LIST right now with this -- this debacle -- really, there's no other word for it -- that's planned for Saturday in Florida. Have you been following this?

It's called -- quote -- "Burn a Koran Day" nine years to the day after the September 11 terror attacks. This thing looks like it's turning out to be more volatile than anyone imagined when we first started reporting on this just a couple of months ago.

And think about this. This probably could have easily been no -- nothing more than an unnoticed, unpermitted bonfire by a preacher in a church lot of -- in a parking lot of a church witnessed by maybe some members of his tiny organization.

But it's exploded into a full-fledged spectacle, an international incident just waiting to erupt. And, as the clock ticks towards Saturday, there are warnings about national security now, very -- very -- very strong warnings that are coming from different sectors. The potential that demonstrators like this one in Afghanistan could turn violent is now very real.

And condemnation is coming from the highest ranks. Look at this list of people who are asking this reverend in Florida not to burn Korans. Are you ready? Hillary Clinton, General David Petraeus, the secretary-genera of the United Nations, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sarah Palin, and, today, President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA")

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope he listens to those better angels, and -- and -- and understands that -- that this is a destructive act that he's -- he's engaging in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now I want you to take a look at this. Just this afternoon, some men in black suits, in big dark cars showed up at the church. They blew past the reporters and they left as fast as they came.

It turns out they're federal agents with the FBI. Were they delivering some type of message to this pastor, perhaps a warning?

Here's what I would like to drill down on now. How much bigger can this thing get? How much bigger should it get? What impact could it have on us, on our families, on the world? And, of course, the big one at all, can anything be done to stop something like this?

I want to start with President Obama. He warns that burning Korans in Florida could lead to more terrorism around the world and may be aimed at us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA")

OBAMA: This is a recruitment bonanza for al Qaeda. You know, you -- you could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan.

This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, that concern is echoed by the man at a center of another potentially explosive controversy, the imam who plans to build an Islamic center at -- and mosque just blocks away from Ground Zero.

I want you to listen now to what he's told my colleague Soledad O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")

IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF, FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN, CORDOBA INITIATIVE: I would plead with him to seriously what he is doing.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Why?

RAUF: It's going to feed into the radicals of the Muslim world. It's dangerous. General Petraeus has said that. It is something that is not the right thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I should also tell you the -- the international police agency Interpol has just issued a global alert. It says there's a good chance that the Koran burning will lead to attacks.

The FBI says it doesn't know of any attacks planned for now, but it is concerned that there will be an uptick in hate crimes and extremist rhetoric.

And the State Department has just issued this travel alert, warning Americans about the potential for anti-U.S. demonstrations in many different countries.

As a matter of fact, it says -- I will read to you -- "Demonstrations, some violent, have already taken place in several countries. We urge you," it says, "to pay attention to local reaction to the situation and to avoid areas where demonstrations will take place."

And I should also tell you that, right now, in Washington, the highest levels of government are seriously discussing whether to intervene.

Ed Henry is our senior White House correspondent. Barbara Starr is covering the Pentagon for us.

Ed, let me begin with you.

What is the official word from the White House tonight? And is there really a possibility, as we're hearing through back channels, that the president might actually reach out himself to this pastor?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I -- I can tell you, Rick, based on my reporting, it seems unlikely the president himself would make that call, but that they're weighing now, in the highest levels of the administration, whether some other official somewhere should make that call.

Now, it's interesting to me, because it's changed in just a few hours. Early this morning, it -- we were learning that the Indonesian president had written a letter to President Obama, saying, look, you need to step in here. Your administration has to stop these Korans from being burned.

And when I talked to Robert Gibbs early this morning about that story, he said: Look, I'm not sure what -- how much more we can do. We have already spoken out.

You have got the president, as you played a moment ago. You've got General David Petraeus, Secretary Clinton, many people have said, look, this is harmful to our troops. You know, stop it.

And he said: I'm not sure how much more we can do.

And then, just a few hours later, at the White House briefing just moments ago, Robert Gibbs basically said, well, wait, inside the administration, we're weighing whether a phone call should be made.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There are discussions inside of the government about the possibility of doing that. I don't know that a final decision has been reached on that.

If -- if anything does happen we will certainly keep you up to date and up to speed on who might be called -- who might call and what was said.

QUESTION: What kinds of things would be...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: But I can tell you that senior officials I have spoken to say they're still dubious, at least some of them, as to whether, even if a phone call is placed by some senior official within the Obama administration, whether the pastor will, in fact, stop from going ahead and burning the Korans on Saturday for the 9/11 anniversary, or whether he will just use that as even more leverage and go ahead anyway and make the administration look bad and weak and impotent and all of that.

SANCHEZ: Hmm.

HENRY: So, you know, the bottom line is, when you talk to senior administration officials, they keep noting, this pastor allegedly has about 30 followers.

And so they also worry about the precedent that if you go out there and he's able to essentially hold the administration hostage and say, I want a phone call, how many other pastors out there or how many other people in other walks of life can just say, look, we want the White House to call us, or we're going to do this or that?

SANCHEZ: Yes. You're absolutely right. It's an interesting thought process. I'm sure they have got their hands full trying to work through that.

But, you know, what -- what -- what you're left with, though, is the potential image of a holy book being burned, and for that image then being caught on camera and then being burned into the psyches of a billion Muslims all over the world.

That's what I imagine -- Barbara Starr, you're following things for us from the Pentagon -- that's what folks at the Pentagon fear the most, I imagine, right? What are they saying to you?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Rick, I think that is really the point, to follow up on what Ed is saying is, if a phone call is placed to this man in Florida, and he goes ahead and does it anyhow, then what?

SANCHEZ: Hmm.

STARR: You know, has this -- has basically this situation gotten to the point where it even matters anymore, because there is resonance on this matter in the fundamentalist Islamic world?

A little while ago, the Pentagon spokesman, Geoff Morrell, took a very firm tone from the podium at a press conference. And I asked him that very question. If you do this, if you call Terry Jones in Florida, what about copycats?

Well, have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON: This is the pastor of an obscure, small church in Florida, who has been given an incredible international platform, due, frankly, not to General Petraeus' comments or any other member of the government's comments, but because of extraordinary media coverage.

And -- so, yes, we do open the door to the possibility that there are other extremists out there who all they want is a call from so-and-so to be walked off the ledge -- to be talked off the ledge.

But this may -- we may now find ourselves in a situation where we believe the risk to our forces outweighs the potential bad precedent or slippery slope that's set by a phone call such as this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But is the risk to U.S. forces, Rick, whether they're in Afghanistan, Iraq or U.S. citizens around the world, is the risk already there because the rhetoric has gotten so hot in recent days? -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: You -- you -- you know what is interesting, too, is, I mean, as perplexing as this is, guys, we live in a free country, in a country where a person has the right to burn the American flag.

They right -- they have a right to burn the Bible, the Koran. They can burn whatever you want, because it says right there in the First Amendment that this is -- this is speech, this is a way that they're trying to make their point.

Has anyone -- I ask -- I -- I -- I use that as a caveat, because I want to ask this question of either one of you. Has anyone yet brought up or considered the possibility that there's any kind of law in the books in Florida or federally that would allow officials to somehow stop this man from doing this?

HENRY: I have heard from -- from a senior official that they have been looking for such a law, but they haven't found anything. And, if they had, I would assume, since we had those pictures of what were believed to be FBI agents going in and talking to him, that -- that something would have been enforced.

But you raise a good point about freedom of speech and the fact that, as heinous as it may be, in -- in America, you have got a right to do that, even if it's stupid.

Just think back to what happened a couple of weeks ago, when President Obama came out and said, look, there's a constitutional -- a freedom of religion...

SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.

HENRY: ... and expression, so that this group in New York City, even blocks from Ground Zero, as he...

SANCHEZ: Right.

HENRY: ... as he put it that night at the White House, can build this, even if this is a bad idea. And he got a big firestorm.

But, in that case, the White House, in -- in the form of the president himself, was standing up for that constitutional right. It's interesting how, in just a couple of weeks, it's sort of flipped around...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

HENRY: ... because this one could be so inflammatory, that they're speaking out.

SANCHEZ: A bit of a paradox, isn't it?

STARR: And, you know, Rick, I think -- Rick, I think that's why you're seeing people like General Petraeus and the Pentagon make a very narrow case here that it is the risk to U.S. troops and the risk to security that concerns them the most, because, repeatedly, behind the scenes for the last several days, what we do hear is here around the Pentagon is, we hear folks saying, look, there is a right to free speech.

As disgusting as this event could possibly turn...

SANCHEZ: Hmm.

STARR: ... out to be, the military is not going to step on free speech rights, but it is going to make the case that this poses a very significant risk, in their view.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and it -- and there's a lot of irony here, because, as the -- some of the generals have pointed out, his actions may get some of the people killed who are fighting overseas for his right to free speech.

Think about that for a moment as we get ready to go to break.

Barbara Starr, thank you so much, Ed Henry as well.

HENRY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Obviously, it's a story that we're going to be staying on top of.

Now, on the very day the NFL kicks off the regular season, one of the league's star quarterbacks gets into a car accident. Yes, that's Tom Brady. He says he's shaken by the car accident, but he's not broken.

That's ahead. The season goes on.

Also, the clock is ticking, many leaders around the world weighing in on a planned Koran burning, as we were talking about just a little while ago. And we're going to be showing you video of other events like this and ask the tough questions. So, we will bring you that as well.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back to New York City. I'm Rick Sanchez.

It's 14 minutes after the hour of 3:00 on the East Coast.

We have been collecting videos and showing you some of the reaction that is coming in from all over the world. Planned protests by this Florida pastor has stirred emotions all over the world and including right here in the United States.

One of the first places I want to take you to is Pakistan. Here's our correspondent CNN's Reza Sayah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The condemnations and a call for unity buried in the headlines here in Pakistan by the planned event itself.

And the reaction has been predictable, religious groups outraged, highly offended and angry. We spoke to several who said they plan to protest beginning on Friday and through the weekend.

For most Muslims in this region, the worst thing you can do is burn the Koran. And here you have this very small church in Florida with a very small following that is now planning this Koran burning event, and it's getting worldwide media attention.

And that is also a factor. Analysts here say, without the media attention, nobody in this region would know about this church. And now you have the media attention that's created the impression that this is a very large movement with a large following.

And based on what we know about this Florida church, that is simply not the case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Here's another part of the story.

The international police organization Interpol issued a global alert to its 188 member countries today. They are warning of a strong likelihood of violent attacks if the plans for the Koran burning go ahead.

This has been backed up in Washington, where the U.S. State Department today has issued a travel warning. In it, they are warning Americans traveling overseas to be on alert for anti-U.S. demonstrations in response to the planned protest.

Now, let's give you another perspective.

With a view now of how this may affect our troops, here's CNN's Arwa Damon. She's reporting from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Back in 2008, the desecration of a Koran at the hands of an American soldier sparked massive outrage across Iraq. The soldier was a sniper, and he used the Koran for target practice. And he scrawled an expletive across one of the pages.

At the time, the U.S. military apologized, and a senior U.S. officer kissed a Koran and presented it to tribal leaders as a humble gift. And former President George Bush publicly apologized to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

If the burning of the Koran does take place on September 11, it is likely to bring together both Sunnis and Shias in opposition. And while the military here does still maintain a largely behind-the- scenes role, that could possibly endanger the 50,000 troops still in country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: That's Arwa Damon reporting for us. She's in Baghdad.

We have got crews, obviously, all over the world, as we carefully follow this situation.

Imagine this scene now. Soldiers surround your car and they start yelling, "Bomb, bomb." How would you react? You would freak out, right? Would you believe that it's a prank, that somebody would be stupid enough to do something like that? That's ahead.

Also, large sections of the United States are now feeling the aftermath of what was once a tropical storm. It's the wet and windy punches of Hermine. What's it doing now? Did you see what it did in Dallas last night? We're going to take through some of those pictures.

Stay with us. We're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Boy, we have been telling you about what Hermine has been doing. That's that tropical storm that blew. But we said the real problems are going to be when it comes inland.

Well, look at what we're just -- you know, we follow Governor Perry of Texas. He's one of the folks whose tweets we get here at RICK'S LIST. And here's the tweet he just sent out: "Governor Perry issuing disaster declaration for now 40 Texas counties."

Again, that's from the office of Governor Perry. TexGov is what he goes by.

Now let me show you some pictures, because remnants of what was a tropical storm continued to bully the South and the Central Plains states.

I want you to listen to this. This is from a couple of guys who were caught up in the wrath of Hermine right in the middle of Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm OK. I'm OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're sure you're all right? You need some help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm going to need some help.

BRYAN BURNS, RESCUED TRUCKER: (INAUDIBLE) come through, and I stopped to see if there was anybody hurt. And that guy over there was pinned inside that truck. And he and some other people pulled the door open to get him out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is just some of the mess that was left over last night. You saw this happening just as it was blowing through when we were doing the prime-time edition of RICK'S LIST at 8:00 p.m.

By the way, Hermine's potential damage is not done yet.

Let's bring Chad Myers in. He's been following this thing to see what -- what else it could do and where.

Chad, take us through this...

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... if you would.

MYERS: I guess that mean part of Hermine should have...

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: We should have named it -- named it Hermine, and then...

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: ... maybe it would have just died out.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: I don't know.

But...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: ... this thing really is mean. I'll tell you what, Rick, yes, we're going to see showers and thundershowers across parts of Missouri, into Arkansas. And now we're seeing some of the storms pop up here across parts of western Arkansas. You see some of the red convection. And that was that convection yesterday. There was just one cell, literally, that rotated. And that one cell put down that tornado. We showed you that. It looked like -- from the ground, it looked like a big dust devil, because it was hardly even attached to the cloud. But it was.

There was a little -- a funnel cloud all the way down to the -- to the ground. Winds were about 90 miles per hour inside this spin, only on the ground for just a short time, but it -- boy, right in the middle of Dallas, right near Love Field, the men and women in the tower at Love Field watched this thing for a few minutes. And they said, if it gets any closer, we're out of here.

And, luckily, it did turn a little bit, but away from the airport. They did not have to abandon the control tower. Now, the airport was shut down. They don't want -- obviously, you don't want planes flying through anything like this.

But there you see live -- and it was very close to our bureau there. Ed Lavandera watched this thing. He said he had been in Texas a lot of his life, never seen a tornado. This was the first one that he has seen.

Now, it was small thing, OK, but you know what? When it's in the middle of a city, it makes a big difference. You can actually get quite a bit of damage -- heavy rain from it today.

The next thing, Rick, we're going to see tonight, I think -- this has nothing to do with Hermine -- this has to do with the next low- pressure system that is coming out of the Rockies. Look at this. This is right here -- right there, this is where that fire was -- still is.

OK, it's still on fire a little bit. There are still hot spots. And we're going to get winds to 50, and, in some...

SANCHEZ: Sheesh.

MYERS: ... spots 55 miles per hour tonight and tomorrow. So, you can't put out every single hot spot. There are sparks and embers still within that 6,000-acre, 7,000-acre complex. Here's some of the houses that went away.

There were still people missing as of last night. But almost -- almost 60 structures burned in this thing. People are being allowed to go back into their subdivision today, but let me tell you, with winds like this possible tonight, if you're allowed to go back, and you smell smoke at all tonight, it's time to get back out.

SANCHEZ: Hmm.

MYERS: Rick.

SANCHEZ: A total of 169 homes damaged so far, according to last count.

MYERS: Yes. Mm-hmm.

SANCHEZ: They're saying most of the people who were missing have been found. So, we're going to...

MYERS: Right.

SANCHEZ: So, we're going to -- you know, we're going to stay on it.

Chad, we have got you for that. We have got you for all the remnants of Hermine. And we will be checking with -- checking back with you as needed, and certainly in the next hour.

Meanwhile, imagine being told that your mammogram tests came back normal, only to find out nobody even looked at your mammogram tests; somebody just made that up; it's a lie. That happened to hundreds of women, and now police are looking for this former hospital worker that was lying. That's ahead.

Also, Mark Preston is going to be standing by with some brand-new information just in, in the world of politics. We have got the latest info, the latest polls.

Look at Preston. He's looking skinny these days.

We will be going to your "Political Ticker" in just a little bit.

Stay there. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Time now for CNN equals politics.

And here's CNN's Mark Preston from the best political team on television.

And he's going to be taking us through what is happening, what is crossing, and what's brand-new right now.

Take it away, Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Rick, let me tell you very quickly, of course, we're heading into the anniversary of September 11.

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll has new numbers out heading into this anniversary on Saturday. And let's take a look at the story here on CNNPolitics.com. Poll -- look at this headline, "Bin Laden will never be caught, most Americans say." So, to this point now, Rick, only 30 percent of Americans believe that Osama bin Laden will ever be caught or captured.

Another real interesting number out of this poll, Rick, is the fact that 62 percent of Americans believe that it's necessary to keep troops in Afghanistan. Of course, the Afghanistan war is very, very unpopular, yet 62 percent of Americans believe, in order to prevent another terrorist attack here on U.S. soil, we need to keep troops there.

Let's ship back here domestically. Let's talk a little 2012 politics. Your friend Joe Arpaio, Rick, is...

(LAUGHTER)

PRESTON: ... looking at running for president.

Look, this is the story we talked a little bit about this morning. But I do have an update here. I spoke to his campaign advisers just about 20 minutes ago. They told me that, since the story ran last night on CNN and all day today, that there's been an outpouring of support for Arpaio to run for president.

(LAUGHTER)

PRESTON: And they point out, Rick, that, at this point, he has $3.5 million in the bank, which isn't a whole lot of money to run for president, but it is when you're running again for another term...

(LAUGHTER)

PRESTON: ... as sheriff of Maricopa County. So, Arpaio heads to New Hampshire on Sunday, Rick. He could be running for president.

And let's leave it on this, a -- a feel-good story, kind of a sad story, though, Rick. The White House has just announced that Staff Sergeant Robert Miller will be awarded the Medal of Honor. He will receive it posthumously.

And let me just tell you what he's receiving it for, Rick: for sacrificing his own life to save the lives of his teammates and 15 Afghanistan national army soldiers while he was serving in Afghanistan.

So, his parents will be at the White House on October 6, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Tough. God bless them.

My thanks to you, Mark, for bringing us that update.

And, with that said, we have some breaking news coming

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: -- soldiers while he was serving in Afghanistan so his parents could be at the White House on October 6.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: God bless him. Thanks to you, Mark, for bringing us that update.

With that said, we have some breaking news coming up. Here's what we know. You know that there's been two Americans who have been stuck in Iran for more than a year now, right. The information that we're just now getting in, and we're trying to get a sense of who's there.

We've got Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal. Pardon me, I misspoke. There are three Americans who have been held there. We are now confirming that, in fact, Iran says it will release one of those three American hikers. The one they will release is the female, Sarah Shourd.

So Sarah Shourd, this information coming into us right now. Of the three American being held hostage for more than a year, Sarah Shourd is going to be released. Officials say one of Iran's vice presidents is going to be present when the hiker is released. This will happen Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Again, Saturday at 9:00 a.m., the official release.

Don't know what's going to happen with the other two, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. If we get anything else on this, we'll share it with you.

Meanwhile, Kelsey Grammar is plotting a TV comeback with a political twist. That's ahead. And the bride, the groom, and the fistfight -- a slugfest breaks out at a wedding. Trust me, you will want to see this. That's next right here on "Fotos."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club, unless, of course, you're at a wedding. It's time for "Fotos."

Ah, so much love. The bride, the groom, posing for pictures they'll have for the rest of their lives, when suddenly the gloves come off. Photographer and videographer duking it out right in front of the wedding party. "I wanted that shot," "no, get out of my way." Seems like a misunderstanding led to a fistfight, some broken cameras, even a chase.

What is going on here? Watch out how everyone is standing by, taking pictures of the battle. Definitely include that in the wedding album with the bride wearing a black eye.

Next video, from rowdy people to animal tricks -- this clever Chihuahua shooting a game of pool with some folks at a billiards bar in Washington State. The owner of the menu says the hustling dog performs for customers every day.

Forget the glove. Somebody get this guy a helmet. A fan lays himself out for a home run ball. This is in Oakland. Ready? Look at this guy. Oh, my goodness. He leaps over a railing, bouncing off of seats, hits the pavement, and completely misses the ball.

He eventually recovers, probably because not a single fan challenged him. He was all by himself. All he had to do was wait for the thing to bounce. You have to give him some credit, thought. He listened to his mom when she said give it all you got, son. Give it all you got.

That's "Fotos," and you can see it for yourself on my blog with a lot of other really cool stuff at CNN.com/RickSanchez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE PATAKI, FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR: I don't think America need Imam Rauf to tell us what we have to do to show we are a tolerant, open, free society. We are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The man who was governor near 9/11 can't condone building an Islamic center near ground zero. We've got a lot more of his comments about the imam in charge of that project. He's right here with us in the studio.

And the football studio started with a bang for Tom Brady, a wreck that sent one person to the hospital. What happened? And the NFL season kicks off tonight. Will Brady be ready on game day, which for him is not tonight?

Brooke Baldwin is going to take you through all of this because she's a football aficionado.

(LAUGHTER)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Catch it, baby.

SANCHEZ: She's got that Heisman thing going.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Look who's here. Brooke Baldwin's here, and she's got all the things that are trending that America needs to know about.

BALDWIN: It's your favorite topic today, football.

SANCHEZ: NFL season starts tonight.

BALDWIN: Tonight is the big game. We're talking Patriots-Bengals Sunday. A lot of people thinking hmm. Guess what happened to today? I know you saw. New England patriots QB, Tom Brady, he's been in the news. Is he going to sign, re-sign this contract extension, right? But he was in this car accident this morning. That's what's trending.

It happened in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood pretty early, right around 6:30 this morning. Here are pictures from that accident. This van, not that car, another car ran a red light, smashed into the black car which apparently Brady was driving. So one of the passengers of the van had to be pulled out with the jaws of life. The Audi was the car he was driving.

SANCHEZ: Nice car. BALDWIN: But the passenger in the van was hospitalized. No word on that person's condition. But yes, that's the Audi.

But here's this picture. There's Tom Brady. This was taken from somebody on the scene moments after the cars came together. You can see him standing, his car door open, the front of his Audi was bashed in a little bit. But witnesses said Tom Brady appeared to be OK. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was on the phone and taking glass off himself. He went into the ambulance and the police talked to them there. Then he jumped into a car with another guy and drove off and he seemed fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I hope he didn't get any scratches on his face, because he's already a pretty unattractive guy. That would only make him so ugly.

BALDWIN: Yes, he's a looker. I'll go there.

SANCHEZ: Oh, wait a minute. You jumped all over that cue.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: What's pertinent is a source tells us -- let's talk -- focus, focus. He did go to practice. Apparently he was catching some tosses. He's fine.

Patriots did tweet about it. First they tweeted earlier this morning -- this was the original one, "Patriots QB Tom Brady was in a car accident this morning. He was not hospitalized and is expected at Gillette stadium today."

And then one more I want to read for you -- "Caught up with Brady briefly between meetings. Reports that he is OK."

And some of you want to know, what about his supermodel wife Giselle Benchen. She's here in New York for fashion week.

SANCHEZ: So you said he's fine?

BALDWIN: He's fine.

SANCHEZ: Fine.

BALDWIN: Double entendre perhaps? Sanchez, don't go there.

(LAUGHTER)

Trending number two -- bad news for lovers of lexicon. You and I both being journalists, right? The next edition of the historic book, talking about the Oxford English Dictionary, may not be printed ever again. That is what oxford university press told CNN this week, the popularity of the page apparently being upstaged by the virtual version.

By the way, it gets 6 million hits a month. You have to pay a couple hundred bucks. But not to mention book sales, they're not where they used to be. So Oxford says this team, this whole team in Oxford, they're sitting there researching, you know, the derivation of words, 80 lexicographers. They will continue their research for this next edition. They just have to wait it out to see if, you know, depending on the popularity of I pads and kindles, perhaps they will never print that particular edition again.

SANCHEZ: It's a shame, but it's also a sign of the times.

BALDWIN: It's kind of said. I love the tangible page.

SANCHEZ: We all had to have one.

BALDWIN: You lug it around.

SANCHEZ: No journalist worth his salt didn't have a dictionary.

BALDWIN: On his desk.

SANCHEZ: Next to his Olympia typewriter. Yes, I'm that old.

BALDWIN: You are that old.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Brooke.

There are speed bumps and then there are speed bumps. Canada is using children, that's right, children to scare drivers into slowing down. That's coming up in just a little bit.

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SANCHEZ: You heard us talking about this a little while ago. Tonight is what NFL fans like myself have long been waiting for. Football season officially kicks off tonight. And the first game really doesn't get any better than this. The Minnesota Vikings are going to be playing the New Orleans Saints.

Do you remember the last time these two teams got together? The buzz huge all over Twitter. One is from Louisianan governor Bobby Jindhal, who has had his hands full this year. He decided to send this tweet to Tim Pawlenti. "Dear Tim Pawlenti, go Saints. Who dat?" Who dat say they're going to beat them saints?

The Minnesota governor wasted no time in replying. He tweeted Bobby Jindhal, "Don't underestimate Brett Favre and company." What does a Skol mean? You got me there.

All right, watch this.

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(SHOUTING)

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SANCHEZ: When did it become OK to make fun of bomb scares in Baghdad? Can you believe this? We're going to show you a so-called game show that's turning security fears into a bizarre form of candid camera. That's ahead.

And then the tea party movement has been all over TV this year. So this the next logical step to a tea party channel? Our most intriguing person thinks so. That's next. Stay right here.

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SANCHEZ: Remember I was befuddled a while ago when I read the tweet from Pawlenty, the governor from Minnesota, and it said Skol Vikings. I mean, I went to school in Minnesota, and I'm sorry to say I didn't know what that means.

So somebody had to tell me, and it came in the form of a tweet, as it usually does, because you guys always tell me what I do right and what I do wrong. And here we go to the twitter board. Ready?

This is from a Miss Blakowski. She goes by "Holy Blakowski." She obviously is Scandinavian in some form, an she wanted me to know that "skol" means cheers in Swedish, or he wanted me to know. I don't know if he's a he or a she, but that person, that tweet, wanted me to know that "skol" means cheers in Swedish, so when you hear "skol Vikings," it means a cheer for the Vikings.

And I want you to know that that person is going to receive an autographed copy of my book signed by myself and Brooke Baldwin. My book released just this week, and a show of appreciation for all you guys do for me, which is to help me through the newscasts and stay connected to me through the newscasts, every show I'll pick one person to give a book to. And today's choice is Mr. or Mrs. Blakowski.

Time to check the list of the most intriguing person of the day. Here we go.

Everybody knows his name, and they are always glad that he came. They have even shared a few beers on occasion, you get it yet? This actor- comedian made a career out of stating his opinions at a Boston bar or Seattle radio station as one of the longest running TV characters in primetime.

Now the man who brought Frazier Crane to life is the public face of a new network called the Right Network that he says will portray political conservatism more realistically than the mainstream networks. Yes, that's right, one of the most intriguing persons of the day is Kelsey Grammar.

He said this just yesterday. "This network promotes middle of the road people who want less government." Did I mention one of the new series on the network will profile tea party movement candidates and their quest for office? Fans say cheers, but critics say jeers, and add that to be competitive the right network will need a better distribution system. It's available online and through video on demand.

Kelsey Grammar, one of today's most intriguing people in the news.

If an Islamic center is not built near ground zero, our security may be at risk, so says the imam who wants to build it there, but is he willing to budge on this issue or compromise or anything? That's what we're looking into tonight. That's ahead.

Also, you're going to hear my conversation with former New York governor George Pataki who is dead set on this thing, not crazy about the imam's discussions or ideas either. You'll hear what he has to say. That's next right here on "The List."

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SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. "The New York Times" has posted an op-ed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and with the article we've got a sense of where he's coming from on the planned Islamic center near ground zero.

Have you had a chance to hear what he has to say? He believes allowing the center to be built in the lower Manhattan will help strike a blow against all anti-American sentiment in the world. But that's not stopping critics who say, no, its location is terribly sensitive since radical Islamists were behind the attacks.

Yesterday, I talked to George Pataki. He is the governor of New York, in fact, was the governor of New York, because I was there with him when it happened. He was there on September 11th, 2001.

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PATAKI: I have unfinished business, as I think all Americans do, until ground zero represents the symbol of freedom and the symbol of sacrifice that I believe it will. And as you say, it's almost like I have ownership.

When it comes to the memorial, when it comes to the site, I think all of us do, and certainly I feel that way. I feel very proud of what is happening there and the tremendous effort that's been made by so many millions of people.

SANCHEZ: Let me stop you there, sir. What if -- what is wrong with sharing that ownership with people who say, as Imam Rauf has said today in the "New York Times," that he wants to do this to show the rest of the world how committed Americans are to sharing other faiths, to believing in other faiths.

And he goes on to say, in fact, let me read this to you real quick, he says if we don't do this, it would seriously undermine the ability of anti-American radicals to recruit young impressionable Muslims by falsely --

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SANCHEZ: That was kind of weird, wasn't it? I guess gremlins ate the tape or something. All of a sudden there was an issue with that.

Well, I should tell you that he with two interviews that we did on that last night. We did Governor Pataki, and we also did the -- the Imam Rauf. I'm told now that we fixed the problem we had with that tape, so let's go back to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: -- on 9/11, on that day, you were the governor of this great state of New York. It seems like you have unfinished business with this.

PATAKI: I have unfinished business, as I think all Americans do until ground zero represents the symbol of freedom and the symbol of sacrifice that I believe it will, and you say it's almost like I have ownership. When it comes to the memorial, when it comes to the site, I think all of us do, and certainly I feel that way. I feel very proud of what is happening there and the tremendous effort that's been made by so many millions of people.

SANCHEZ: Let me stop you there, sir. What if -- what is wrong with sharing that ownership with people who say, as Imam Rauf has said today in the "New York Times," that he wants to do this to show the rest of the world how committed Americans are to sharing other faiths, to believing in other faiths.

And he goes on to say, in fact, let me read this to you real quick, he says if we don't do this, it would seriously undermine the ability of anti-American radicals to recruit young impressionable Muslims by falsely claiming that America persecutes Muslims for their faith. Those are his words.

PATAKI: And I think those are inflammatory and very poor words, because what he's saying unless we let him do things his way that we're going to be held up in the rest of the world as being intolerant.

I certainly don't and I don't think America needs Imam Rauf to tell us what we have to do to show that we are a tolerant, open, free society. We are, and the world knows that. We have over 100 mosques in New York City.

And in fact, the reason we were attacked on September 11th was because of our belief in freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to worship as we choose, which we respect for every religion. And those who attacked us hate us because of that belief.

SANCHEZ: He says, by the way, this is not really a mosque. He says there will be separate prayer spaces for Muslims, for Christians, for Jews and men and women of other faiths. He says the center will also include a multi-faith memorial dedicated to victims of the September 11th attacks.

PATAKI: We have that memorial right across the street that the people of America and the people of the world have worked very hard to put in place, and it will be the most moving place I believe in the United States of America.

And Rick, let me just ask you a question. Why there? Why does it have to be a block or two from where Islamist terrorists attacked us on September 11th, and why if it's about building bridges and reaching out and showing understanding, doesn't he understand the emotion that those of us who were there on September 11th and so many others feel about this?

The governor of this state said we'll find you a more appropriate site. He said no. Why does it have to be there?

SANCHEZ: Last time you and I spoke you were very concerned about where the funding was coming from. I remember you said that.

He now says in this letter that he wrote today, this op-ed in "The New York Times," that he will actually share all the information of where all the funding is coming from. Does that satisfy you?

PATAKI: No. It's one thing to say it. It's another thing to do it. He could start by explaining how someone who a year-and-a-half ago was a waiter in a restaurant in New York was able to put down almost $10 million in cash to buy the rights to that site.

Why doesn't he explain that today? The money has already been spent. It's already been put up. He doesn't say that he won't take money from Iran. He should. He should make it unequivocal that he will not do that.

So, you know, I want to see, and I think the American people have a right to see, where those funds are coming from. And I also question, as I said before, why there? Why does it have to be a block or two from where Islamist terrorists attacked us?

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you one final question, if I possibly can.

There's this new hullabaloo going on in Gainesville, Florida, with this pastor who wants to literally burn Korans, and now we're getting protests in Afghanistan. Our generals are saying this guy is going to get our troops killed.

Do you feel in any way that some of this backlash that has been seen led by some fine gentlemen like yourself in New York City has kind of paved the way for that controversy, and, if so, do you feel guilty at all?

PATAKI: I can't claim or understand what the motive of this person in Florida is.

All I can say is that it's wrong, it's reprehensible, and it should be condemned by all Americans. And it's just we are a free and a tolerant society. Any sign of bigotry such as this person is talking about in Florida is utterly unacceptable and has to be condemned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Interestingly enough, this is a story that's playing very much overseas.