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Rick's List
Atlanta Minister Accused of Sexual Abuse; Jerry Brown Speaks Out; NYPD Chopper Emergency Landing; Tiny Town, Big Problems; President Obama About to Speak at U.N.; Dream Act Shot Down; Home Invasion Trial in Connecticut; President Obama Speaks at United Nations
Aired September 22, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, HOST: As we begin this next hour, I always do this. And I think it's important. I want to welcome all the men and women who are watching us right now on American Forces Network all over the world.
Here is your national conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Here's what's making the LIST on this day.
New details and more reaction on the story we broke. A millionaire minister flies in private planes, drives a Bentley, accused of using parishioners' money for sex with young male church members.
B.J. BERNSTEIN, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING PLAINTIFFS: Sexual things started to happen at the ages of 17 and 18 years old.
SANCHEZ: Parishioners in disbelief. Should they be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He drives a fancy car. He wears custom- tailored clothes.
SANCHEZ: I will ask the man who wrote a book on the gospel of prosperity. Also, what thousands and thousands of you are saying about this case.
JERRY BROWN (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I have a further investigation in dozens of other cities.
SANCHEZ: Dropping the hammer on politicians who live high on the hog, but with our money. The California attorney general tells me, he's got new targets in mind.
President Karzai is a manic depressive. Really? That and other details from Bob Woodward's latest book.
Booze, sex, drugs, teachers?
The lists you need to know about. Who's today's most intriguing? Who's landed on the list you don't want to be on? Who's making news on Twitter? It's why I keep a list.
Pioneering tomorrow's cutting-edge news right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: It is hour two. It is time to pick up the pace of the stories that we have been bringing you on this day.
And we begin, of course, with number one. Many of you have been following this with us. I have been reading your tweets, your e- mails. We have been tracking the story here since it first broke last night. Today, another man, a third person has stepped forward and accused this megachurch pastor of coercing him as well into a sexual relationship as a young man.
Last night, I first reported on lawsuits brought by two other young men who say that it was coercion that began when they were just teenagers for sex. The center of the allegation, this man right there. That's Bishop Eddie Long. He heads a huge megachurch here in Atlanta. He has 25,000 followers. He has his own TV show. He's a bestselling author. He's taken a very, very public stance against homosexuality.
And joining me now to discuss the new allegations and the power of this megachurch is CNN's Ed Lavandera.
Ed, you have been following this all throughout the course of the day today. I know you had the information even before you reported it. And now today you come again with a new complaint that apparently has been filed. What is it?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We have been told this is the third lawsuit that was filed and we have confirmed has been filed this afternoon.
We're still waiting to hear back any kind of response to Eddie Long's folks. Can't imagine it would be any different from what we have heard on the first two. They have said that: We adamantly deny these accusations.
But this one is filed by a 23-year-old former church member by the name of Jamal Paris (ph) who now lives in Colorado. So this is the third one. And the other big news that we have gotten here late this afternoon is that Bishop Eddie Long is going to speak out tomorrow.
SANCHEZ: Tomorrow, though. Why tomorrow?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You know, if people are saying really horrible, horrible things about you yesterday or today, why are you speaking tomorrow?
LAVANDERA: Yes, that would --
(CROSSTALK)
LAVANDERA: People want to hear from him. His church members desperately want to hear from him.
SANCHEZ: That's not a fair question to even ask you, so I apologize for it.
Let me ask you a question I'm supposed to ask you as a reporter. When you contacted them -- and I know you have many times, our people, your people who have been working on the story -- what have they told you? Why the silence?
LAVANDERA: Well, they have been pretty cautious so far. They told us, look, we have -- this latest one, they haven't even had a -- they tell us they haven't even had a chance to read it yet.
So we essentially made them aware of it just a little while ago. So, they're still probably trying to -- at least his lawyers are probably still trying to process it, figure out exactly what's in here, start figuring out the legal strategy.
SANCHEZ: The other two stories that you brought us yesterday, these two complaints, are young men who felt they were vulnerable. One of them didn't have a father. One of them, their parents suggested they talk to the minister.
They tell very similar stories of being taken advantage of. They bought them cars. The minister bought them cars. The minister bought them jewelry, they say. One of them was put in a house that was paid for with the minister's or church's money, all of these things.
Is this accusation that you're bringing us now similar to that one?
LAVANDERA: Very similar. It talks about, in 2001, Jamal Paris (ph), he was -- he had -- 14 years old, had kind of become a member of this church. That's what they had met. And later on, about when he was 17, things, according to this latest lawsuit, started -- the relationship started changing.
SANCHEZ: Sexual relations?
LAVANDERA: Exactly. Started building up from their meetings in his office and that sort of thing.
And at one point here, it say defendant Long, Bishop Long accompanied the plaintiff, to go again back to this idea of the trips, the lavish trips that the bishop would take with these young men. It says that -- it says that Bishop Long had taken Jamal Paris (ph) to Dallas, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Charlotte, Miami, San Francisco --
SANCHEZ: In his private jet.
LAVANDERA: -- New Jersey, Honduras, Nassau, Bahamas --
SANCHEZ: Oh, my goodness.
LAVANDERA: -- Charleston, Trinidad, Chicago, and Arkansas. It's a long list that they allege that this young man had taken with the bishop.
SANCHEZ: This is a tough question to ask. But I -- the bishop is married and he has children, right? Have we heard anything from the family or --
LAVANDERA: No.
SANCHEZ: Nothing?
LAVANDERA: Nothing so far, nothing so far.
SANCHEZ: I want to bring some -- stay here. I want you to help me with this.
Jonathan Walton is joining us now. He's an assistant professor at the Harvard Divinity School. And he's the author of a book called "Watch This!: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism." Interesting title for a book.
Let me just cut to the chase here with my first question. Eddie is going to jump in here in just a minute. When people see their pastor, many people would ask, driving a Bentley, which last time I checked -- I couldn't even imagine, but I think it's something like a $300,000, $400,000 car., when they see him only flying in private plane, when they see him wearing Rolexes, when they see him only wearing $4,000 or $5,000 suits, why does that congregation continue to grow?
And should that not be the first sign that there's something wrong here? Explain that to the rest of us who have a real tough time understanding this?
JONATHAN WALTON, AUTHOR, "WATCH THIS!": Well, in this kind of evangelical subcultural, where megachurches are largely based upon the charismatic personality of the pastor, in some ways, it makes sense, because for many congregants, these are real, live, breathing celebrities that they can touch, that they can have what seems to be close relationships with.
And so thus they celebrate the fact that their pastor is prosperous. And also in some ways it kind of mimics the larger corporate culture of a Donald Trump and Jack Welch. So, you have church members that would say, well, if CEOs can drive and live and have expensive flights, why can't pastors?
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I have got to stop you and ask you this question only because -- and pardon me for -- I'm using my own life experience. I'm Catholic. And maybe that just makes me really different. I don't understand it. But when I think of Saint Francis of Assisi, when I think of the teachings of Jesus Christ, when I read my Bible, when I think of the things that I have been taught, what the hell does a rich businessman have to do with God? What --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: They're two of the furthest things that can be --
(CROSSTALK)
WALTON: No, no, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Explain it to me.
WALTON: Well, I could add one to the list. I could add one to the list.
Bishop Long has declared himself the kind of spiritual successor to Martin Luther King. And during the 1960s, when Martin Luther King was making about $200,000 in speaking fees, he would only accept a salary of $1 a year, right? So, there's absolutely examples counter to this.
So what I was just trying to explain is the reason -- to answer your question, is the reason why many church members in this particular subculture of evangelicalism, why they embrace this sort of kind of flashy, prosperous lifestyle, because it's very consistent with the theology that's preached and proclaimed, that God wants one to be blessed and prospered as one's soul is blessed and prospered.
And that means materially, financially healthy, everything.
LAVANDERA: Hey, Jonathan, this is Ed Lavandera. We spoke yesterday.
WALTON: Yes.
LAVANDERA: One of the things that they talk about in this lawsuit is that it was the bishop's spiritual authority that essentially convinced these young men to let him because his spiritual father.
I think for a lot of people who are reading this who say, look, these are men who are of age, legally, able to consent to these sexual relationships. What is it about Bishop Long that would make him able to convince these young men, if indeed this is true, of kind of going down this path?
WALTON: Well, one of the things that Bishop Long has largely constructed his ministry upon is this kind of Protestant tradition of muscular Christianity, where it's kind of rejecting what is seen as an effeminized Christianity, but it's really about Christian church for men's men, for being a man, right?
That's why we see the fancy cars, the economic success, the skin- tight shirts and the modeling of the physique that Eddie Long loves. And it kind of sets up this paradigm in many congregations, where the pastor becomes modeled as the man all the women want and all the men want to be.
And so it makes sense in many ways that young men would find this attractive and see him as a mentor and something to aspire to.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you a very difficult question. Can the parishioners of this church be accused of enabling this pastor or others out there who might fall prey to these kinds of things?
WALTON: Well, I want to be careful, because I don't want to put any blame on parishioners. And, particularly, they had nothing to do with these charges, and particularly if these allegations prove to be true.
So we don't want to put blame there.
SANCHEZ: Right.
WALTON: But I would say that there's a kind of larger culture of entitlement and celebrity culture in American society. So, whether we're talking about "MTV Cribs," whether we're talking about a fascination with Donald Trump and CEOs, or the fascination with megachurch pastors and athletes, I think it's consistent across the board, so there's a lot of blame in American culture to go around in that regard.
SANCHEZ: Would you advise parishioners of churches or any denominations to love the pastor for what's in their heart and what is in their words and not necessarily what they drive or what's in their wallet?
WALTON: Oh, well, absolutely. I think that you hit it on the head in citing Saint Francis of Assisi earlier, as well as so many other spiritual men and women, that their spirituality was not defined by their material prosperity or success.
And Benjamin Elijah Mays, former president of the Morehouse College, said that preachers should be measured by their service to humanity, not the wheelbase of their Cadillacs.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
Jonathan Walton, what an interesting person you are. What a great book you have written. What interesting information you share and especially at this particular time. Let's do this again. Let's have another conversation. My thanks to you. And of course my thanks to Ed.
Let us know as you continue drilling down on this story that so many people are talking about.
LAVANDERA: Well, it's a big day tomorrow. We will be on it.
SANCHEZ: Yes, a news conference he's having? LAVANDERA: We're still working on the details.
(CROSSTALK)
LAVANDERA: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Some time in the afternoon?
LAVANDERA: Morning. I wish I could tell you.
SANCHEZ: We will be there.
Also, there's a juicy behind-the-scenes look at the White House, reports of name-calling and infighting among members of the Obama administration. I'm going to show you the greatest hits. They're coming up.
Also, there's word another person close to the president is leaving the White House, and this for political reasons, we're told. That's next. Stay right there. This is your national conversation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right, we have got some breaking news that is coming into us right now.
We understand that there's a helicopter that's down right now. Let me just check some of the information. This is coming from the New York Police Department. A helicopter has made an emergency landing in the water off of Floyd Bennett Field -- oh, this is in Brooklyn -- Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn just this afternoon.
As I go through this area, let me bring Chad into the picture. He can bring us a better sense. Where is this?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not that far from JFK. You know, Jamaica Bay. JFK, you think about JFK, there's a lot of water around it in Jamaica Bay.
SANCHEZ: Like LaGuardia.
MYERS: Like LaGuardia except on Long Island, the south end of Long Island, you know, along the water. The reports that I'm getting on my spy up spot, everything I can figure out from people tweeting and all that is that it made an emergency landing in the water and it's sitting upright in the water, 50 feet offshore of the field.
SANCHEZ: Upright, you mean?
MYERS: Landed on its gear, standing upright.
SANCHEZ: So it's in the fun.
MYERS: In the water.
SANCHEZ: But it's not -- MYERS: It says nothing about pieces, nothing about crash, nothing about parts. It says upright, made an emergency landing in the water, the helicopter is sitting upright.
SANCHEZ: Let me read to you what we're also getting from New York police. Three people aboard the chopper, all got out safely. All got out safely, one is being treated for minor injuries. The incident happened as it was close to its base located at Jamaica Bay. Go ahead, Chad.
MYERS: That's Floyd Bennett Field right there, Jamaica Bay, off to the east. There you go. There is a straight line off to the northeast, that's JFK runway, that's the northeast to southeast runway. Floyd Bennett Field right above the word news in breaking news. Everybody is OK.
SANCHEZ: OK, well, here's the only part of the story that may end up being somewhat salient. That is that all of these foreign heads of state, including the president of the United States are heading to the United Nations and they're going to be giving speeches, et cetera, et cetera.
Let me read what it says here, The New York Police Department could not confirm if the chopper was part of the president's security detail or some kind of United Nations detail.
So there's a possibility that some of these choppers are being used for security with all of the dignitaries. If we get that information, we'll share that with you as well. Thanks for hustling. Appreciate it.
MYERS: Thanks.
SANCHEZ: Now for our roundup list, number one, President Obama's chief of staff might be stepping down possibly as soon as next month. That's what more than one source close to Rahm Emanuel tells CNN today.
It's not really a surprise, but we didn't know a timeline until just today. Emanuel as mentioned as the likely candidate for mayor of Chicago. He was an Illinois congressman before joining the Obama administration. If he does decide to run for mayor, he's got to get moving and start campaigning. The primary is in February.
Here's number two, more personnel news from the White House. That's Larry Summers. He's President Obama's chief economic advisor. He's leaving the public sector and returning to his old job teaching at Harvard. That will be at the end of the year.
And here's number three, those eight men and women charged with fraud and paying themselves super high salaries in Bell, California, they were supposed to be arraigned today. That's been put off for a month, we understand. The new date, October 21st.
They're the subject of a hearing this afternoon cited some of them will be allowed to post bail. The Los Angeles County D.A. calls their alleged mishandling of more than $5 million a case of corruption on steroids.
That is roundup. Here is number four. An Iowa farmer said that he's sorry to anyone who may have gotten sick from his tainted eggs. The owner of Wright County Egg says he was horrified when he learned that wide spread salmonella alert possibly originated with his company.
A House subcommittee is investigating the outbreak. Another Wright County egg farmer declined to answer congressmen's questions when asked if he knew conditions were questionable at one of his facilities. That farmer actually invoked his Fifth Amendment rights about the eggs you eat.
Who does Vice President Joe Biden think is an egotistical bastard? That's a direct quote.
And is there a secret army in Afghanistan? That's ahead. That's the list that Bob Woodward has helped us put together for you. It's coming up in just a little bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. So glad you're all here. Now a tiny town with the big problems, the name is Bell, California. One of every six people lives in poverty in this town.
And today, eight current and former city officials, they stand accused of taking all of them for a very big ride. Look at these pictures, look at these public officials. Look at them now.
See them back there behind those bars. Prosecutors said they used the tax rolls as a cash drawer, a piggy bank that they looted at will.
Those eight are due back in the court in a few minutes for a bond hearing. You could see them right there in court earlier this afternoon for an arraignment. But this case is so big, the procedure was put off until late next month.
There is new evidence today of just how much the taxpayers of Bell were misused. The California State comptroller has just released an audit of Bell's finances.
Casey Wian, this is bigger than anybody had imagined. I'm so glad you're there. A lot of folks I heard talking about these audits, but do you have specifics to give us a sense of what it is these guys were allegedly doing or trying to get away with.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely in the last hour, we talked about these city officials' salaries. We talked about some of the alleged double dealing. City officials having ownership interest in companies receiving tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the city.
What we've been pulling through this audit and found some other pretty outrageous examples of alleged behavior. For example, Robert Rizzo, the former city manager who was being paid an annual salary in the neighborhood of $900,000 a year, well, he also in 2004 he took a $100,000 loan from two retirement accounts.
That money was supposed to be paid back by Mr. Rizzo, but in fact, it was paid by the city's treasurer at Mr. Rizzo's direction according to the comptroller's office.
Another example of what we've uncovered in this audit, it's city employees and many of the city council members were regularly given cash compensation instead of accrued vacation or sick time.
The auditor found that nearly $2 million in just two years, 2008 and 2009 of unpaid -- unused vacation time and sick time were paid to various city officials allegedly under the direction of former City Manager Rizzo.
Now what's interesting about this is that the city council members who received some of this money were not eligible to receive vacation time or sick time because they were supposed to be part-time employees, part-time employees who were making around $100,000 a year.
Another example that sure to gain a lot of attention is the fact that -- let me just look at the year here, if you'll bear with me. In November of 2003, city voters in Bell approved $70 million in bonds.
Now $50 million of those bonds were eventually issued and according to the ballot measure, the funds were to be used for a sports complex, including gymnasium for indoor soccer, basketball, cheer leading, and a baseball facility.
Now according to the auditor's report, in six years, it's unclear what's been accomplished except for acquiring a site that consists of gets this, Rick, a dirt lot with a masonry wall around it.
That's all the taxpayers have received for their money so far and the auditor was not able to uncover any plans for finishing the sports complex project.
So those are some of the examples that investigators are looking into. Civil charges from the state, criminal charges from the County District Attorney and a big mess in the city of Bell.
SANCHEZ: Sounds to me like a perfectly fine croquet stadium.
WIAN: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Sorry, couldn't help myself. Good stuff, Casey. Appreciate you reporting that for us.
By the way, we just got some new information I want to share with you about this helicopter crash off of Brooklyn. According to some of the information that we're getting, this is curious.
I think you're going to find this really interesting. Apparently, there were not three people onboard, there were five people were onboard and two of those people onboard, remember we mentioned that this could be part of the security detail for some of the dignitaries that are going to the United Nations.
The president of the United States is going to be speaking at the United Nations. He's scheduled to speak in about 15 minutes. We're going to carry it live as soon as it happens here.
Well, we were just told, five people were on that helicopter that went down in Brooklyn and that two of them were in scuba gear, complete scuba gear, when they were on the helicopter, which makes you wonder what actually was going on out there, most likely it was a security detail although we haven't confirmed that.
Why would they be in scuba gear, right? All right, as we get more information, I will share it with you. Meanwhile, why were these teachers under arrest and out of jobs? The allegations include drugs, party, and children.
Now put all those together again, teachers, parties, drugs, children, something wrong here? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back as we look at these pictures. This is from outside the United Nations where the president of the United States is about to deliver a very important speech.
There you see some of the dignitaries who are walking in as we speak. President Obama's speech, by the way, we've gotten an advanced copy. As I go through it here, just as you look at these pictures, not to give away the invasion plan, so to speak.
But he's going to be talking about everything going on in the world, singles out countries like Guatemala, Bangladesh, El Salvador.
Talks about what we can do, global U.S. development policies. He's going to be talking specifically about ways that we can use our economic systems and the developed nations of the world. To better help some of the other countries in the world.
It's a pretty extensive speech as I'm looking at it here. It goes on for several pages. The president not simply, you know, talking about the politics of the day, but very much addressing some of the problems he sees around the world.
It should be -- it should be a good speech and there's the president of the United States making his way to the Dais now as he arrives. As he arrives there at the U.N. moments from now, he'll get to center stage. Let's listen in.
The president being asked about Ahmadinejad's comments, comments he made to our own CNN Larry king about being willing to sit down and talk to him. The president for the most part ignored the questions.
Jill Dougherty is joining us now as well. Jill, you're watching some of the pictures as the president walks in. The president's going to be on time I imagine. Was he set for something like -- about 10, 15 minutes from now, right? JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, 4:45 or so.
SANCHEZ: What's the anticipation for this particular address that this president is going to make with all these world leaders?
DOUGHERTY: Well, this one, you know, he has a couple and the big one will be tomorrow, but his one is really on development. What we're expecting is that he's going to talk about this global development policy that they are outlining.
And the idea behind this, Rick, is you know, with development, a lot of times American development, money, support, has kind of been thrown at the problem. There would be a big crisis in the country.
The U.S. would kind of parachute in, throw a lot of money at it and what they're saying is we need to be more cohesive and organize in the way we do it and smarter in terms of how we do it.
So what they're talking about is stable growth. The president wants to zero in on let's call them the winners, the countries that have problems and are developing, but potentially could be real winners and throw as much help to them as we possibly can.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Jill, where is the president. I'm not familiar with this area. Where is he walking in through? Why are there so many people there? They usually bring presidents and heads of states into back entrances, don't they?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, I'm just looking at that. I don't know the U.N. quite physically as well, but there are a lot of areas where there are even employees, you know, yelling stuff out there. There might be some setup there in the media. Couldn't quite tell exactly who is yelling.
SANCHEZ: Looks like they got him pretty well staked out here.
DOUGHERTY: Yes, usually - you'd have to think that it's pretty secure though --
SANCHEZ: Well, yes, well, as a matter of a fact, the very first thing we saw as we were looking at that first picture was a really big guy in uniform. He looked like he was a SWAT commander or something walking in front of the camera as the president came through.
You noticed he was asked a lot of questions about Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad is going to be giving an address tomorrow as well. I don't know if it will be dueling addresses or not.
Is there any kind of expectation that the president of Iran and the president of the United States may at some point be getting together, if not in these meetings, certainly in some future meetings?
DOUGHERTY: Maybe in many, many, many years from now.
SANCHEZ: Don't be so honest about it, will you? DOUGHERTY: There's a whole idea that maybe these two men could sit down and work this out. Remember, let's go back in our backwards to when Obama became our president and he was talking about reaching out the hand. Maybe at that point there was a glimmer of hope that they could sit down, but it hasn't happened.
And at this point, it doesn't look as if anything like that would happen. Although, Mr. Ahmadinejad has said, let's have a debate. Let's have a debate in the United Nations and talk about our world view. That also is pretty predictably not going to happen.
On the other hand, Rick, you know, there is a sign right now that Mr. Ahmadinejad is really looking for an opportunity to make some type of overture to the United States. The United States has heard this many times before.
So what they are saying is if you really want to do that, you know what you have to do, that is come clean on the nuclear program. So until that happens, you're going to get this back and forth. But there's a little glimmer that maybe they can sit down and begin to talk.
SANCHEZ: Well, given the politics here in the United States and the midterm elections that are coming up, I mean, this president obviously has to arm himself against some political trip wire in any conversation or even any dialogue that he has indirectly with Ahmadinejad, right?
DOUGHERTY: Absolutely, because remember when he was running for office and they were saying - in fact, Hillary Clinton was saying, you're pretty naive if you think that you can sit down with a dictator and work something out.
Now that was not exactly what Obama was talking about. It was kind of a black and white description, but really there is a lot of viewpoint that he has been naive for a year and a half.
Many people would say, where's the beef? What have you gotten in a year and a half? Obama would make the case that he's gotten the world on his side to confront Iran and Mr. Ahmadinejad. Others would say they are still processing Uranium and you haven't gotten anything for all of the pressures that you put on them.
SANCHEZ: Jill Dougherty, doing a fine job for us. We - hopefully, we'll be able to catch back up with you in a little bit as soon as the president is done with his address.
We're going to cover it for you and have it live right here on CNN. And another -- another programming note, if you don't mind my sharing with you tonight after RICK'S LIST" today, "Larry King Live" at 9:00 will have that interview that everyone is talking about with Ahmadinejad.
So expect to see that right here on CNN. We're going to take a break, pay some bills, we'll be right back. This is RICK'S LIST, stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Immigration reform. Some call this a wedge issue for the upcoming midterm elections. Others are say that getting meaningful immigration reform in this country is an exercise in futility, never going to happen.
The Senate voted down the latest bid that could have helped thousands and thousands of illegal immigrants in this country. The dream act, it was for kids who had come to this country through no decision of their own because their parents decided to come to the United States, for freedom, for job opportunities, whatever it was.
Now those kids have grown up, in many cases, they have been going to schools in the United States. In many cases, they've won awards for what they've done. Now they want to try and go to college and in some cases, they can't go to college. They can't receive any of the benefits that other kids get because their parents brought them here as illegal immigrants.
In some cases, they're actually even being deported even though they're in the United States in good standing. Now, many Republicans and Democrats alike agree that this is something that should be changed. So yesterday they tried to put it in a bill, the Defense Bill, and it was voted down, again, it doesn't happen.
Joining me now is someone who thinks about this all the time. In fact, he and I have a lot of long conversations on this issue. Ran into the mayor as a matter of fact just a week and a half ago while we were in New York City, Mayor Villaraigosa is good enough to join us now from -- I guess, are you home? Are you in L.A.?
MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: I'm in L.A., on my way back to D.C., by the way.
SANCHEZ: Yes, you're always traveling. What do you make of this move? I use the word futility when I was describing this -- not just the dream act in and of itself, but the whole idea of immigration reform.
At times it seems like there is no chance that in this country both sides will ever come together and compromise on this issue. Am I wrong?
VILLARAIGOSA: I'm an optimistic person. I believe in the American people and our democracy. I believe at some point we will come together and solve this issue that's been festering so long.
Like you, I'm frustrated. I think you have to be frustrated when a bill as important as this that would impact a million young people who doesn't even get on the floor for a vote. Using cloture, deny the opportunity to --
SANCHEZ: That's the point, Mr. Mayor and pardon me for interrupting, but I think a lot of people are asking, if you can't even come to an agreement that some kid who came here when he was 1 or 2 years old and through no decision that he made, if even he can't get a pass, then is there any chance that anybody will ever get a pass, that will ever agree on who can stay and who has to go?
VILLARAIGOSA: Well, again, I believe in our democratic process and my hope is at some point, sooner rather than later, more pragmatic centrist elements will get through a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will address the issue of the Dream Act, add jobs and the overall issue of securing the border, but also -- providing a pathway for citizenship.
You know, I just had an opportunity to see "Waiting for Superman," and you see that in cities all across the country, the 50 percent dropout rate, the 80 percent of our kids scoring in the bottom 20 percentile in many of our urban schools, this would have been an incentive for undocumented students to finish school, to go on to college or the military.
This would have been a win-win. This would have returned on our investment for support in our schools for these kids and yet, we were unable, as I said, even have a debate on the issue.
SANCHEZ: I'm just wondering -- as someone who supported this administration in the past, you wonder why they have decided on some measures they made promises on, reforming health care, for example, hell bent on doing that and they did it.
They also have made promises that they were going to do this, immigration reform, yet they stayed away from it, really almost out of a political fear of sorts. Take us through that argument. As to if you defend or bicker with this administration as to why they made that choice.
VILLARAIGOSA: First of all, the one thing I like to make clear when I ask a question like this, President Obama and no one in the White House actually has a vote in the Congress.
This is on the Congress, on the House and the Senate. I'm glad they at least made the effort to put it up for a vote. I'm chagrinned that the Senate rules of cloture and seemed to -- not only these rules, but other rules, seem to take away the power of the majority to act when they need to.
I've said many times that I like to get rid of a lot of those Senate rules because there are consequences to elections. In the last administration, I'm not sure that President Bush would have survived the first four years if they weren't Democrats mitigating much of what he was proposing in the Senate.
If they had actually passed what he proposed, maybe people would have moved to elect someone else in the next four years. I think a lot of the rules of the Senate are arcane. We need to get rid of them.
SANCHEZ: That's interesting that you would say that. I've been hearing that same kind (inaudible) lately from others in Washington as well. For the record, only because it's an irony and you brought up George Bush's name, George W. Bush tried to pass immigration reform with the help of a senator that we all know from the state of Arizona, John McCain, interestingly enough.
He, too, was essentially repudiated by his own party on this and since then, we've seen feigned efforts to get this done and one wonders why, but we go on and on and we'll keep asking.
Mr. Mayor, we have to go. We got the president coming up in just a little bit here from the United Nations. Thank you, sir. Thank you for hustling, to get to share and have this conversation with us as usual. Good to see you.
VILLARAIGOSA: Thanks so much.
SANCHEZ: From the campaign trail to Capitol Hill, it's been a very busy day in politics. "The Best Political Team in Television" has updates coming up on our "Political Ticker."
Also, Paris Hilton is in the news on this day. And have we got that pic? There she is, Paris Hilton, persona non grata in Japan, turned away at the airport, even with that hat, which is amazing, and those big, giant, cover my entire head sunglasses.
You know about those sunglasses, right, Brooke?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You've got a pair.
SANCHEZ: I've got a pair.
BALDWIN: I know you're rocking a pair of those big shades at home.
SANCHEZ: We're going to be rocking right back. Stay with us. Brooke Baldwin joins us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Just to let you know, the president is going to be speaking at the United Nations, and we're going to carry it live.
Before we get to that though, a president in her own right, Brooke Baldwin, is joining us right now.
BALDWIN: Please.
SANCHEZ: The president of RICK'S LIST.
BALDWIN: Please.
SANCHEZ: Thank you.
BALDWIN: I'll take it.
All right. So a couple of stories on my radar today. One being the story we were all over last week, this horrific Connecticut home invasion trial. The testimony resumed today.
Just to remind you, this is the trial of Steve Hayes. He's one of two men who's accused of murdering this wife, two daughters of a Connecticut doctor, William Petit, doused the home in gasoline, set it on fire.
So here's what I have got for you today.
On the stand, we heard from a police detective who interrogated Steve Hayes right after his arrest. He testified Hayes told him, his "life sucked, no money, not enough to eat." Apparently, Hayes was living with his mother who threatened to kick him out by the end of the week.
SANCHEZ: Oh God.
BALDWIN: So he called up his friend -- I say that loosely -- someone he met in a halfway house, Joshua Komisarjevsky. So he calls him up and they hatch this plan.
They said, all right, we're going to break into a house, tie some people up, get money, and get out. But after they realized Dr. Petit, who they had tied up in the basement, he had escaped, Hayes told the detective, "Things got out of control."
So they got out of there. And Hayes said he had no idea Komisarjevsky had actually set the home on fire. And in addition to that, we've been watching this super twitterer, minute-by-minute updates from his column.
This is from the Hartford Courant" newspaper. I want to pan on over to the Twitter board, because if you're following this as closely as I am, this Notes From Hel." Her name is Helen, and you can see her most recent tweet: "Court adjourned for the day."
Jeff (ph), let's roll down and we can just kind of see. She's tweeting literally minute-to-minute, talking about this coroner was up on the stand, Dr. Carver (ph). That's the name we're seeing.
And this is the one and only time -- you know, we know Dr. Petit, the sole survivor of the family, has been very stoic, as we heard earlier from the report. But when those pictures were flashed up of his dead family members, he had to leave the courtroom.
So she's just going through that, talking about smoke inhalation. You can hop on and read that Twitter page. But again, if Hayes is found guilty in Connecticut, he would get the death penalty.
SANCHEZ: Wow. What a story.
BALDWIN: What a story indeed.
SANCHEZ: You got something on Paris Hilton?
BALDWIN: I do. Paris Hilton, she borrowed your sunglasses, I guess.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Just kidding.
Paris Hilton, she's a gal who gets just about everything, except one thing -- she can't go to Japan. She got all the way there -- it takes about 11 hours to fly -- she hopped off board yesterday and officials said, nope, you can't come in because of your recent drug conviction.
So take a look at her TwitPic. She was all smiles momentarily. We have a TwitPic of her and her sister.
And below this TwitPic, she tweeted about how they were glad to be there. But then what happened is a Japanese immigration officials said, well, all right, you can hang out for the night, stay in country. We're going to assess the situation.
She didn't want to wait. Paris hopped back on her plane. She left that next day and she tweeted on her way out.
She said, "About to take off. Going home now. So disappointed to miss my fans in Asia." This was a business trip. "I promise to come back soon. I love you all. Love, Paris."
Japan, apparently very strict, denies people -- denies people entry who are on any kind of probation.
SANCHEZ: And she is on a kind of probation.
BALDWIN: Remember the drugs - cocaine in the purse in Vegas.
SANCHEZ: We do. We do.
BALDWIN: So she's not going to Japan.
SANCHEZ: the president is going to speak in just two minutes.
BALDWIN: Excellent.
SANCHEZ: We're going to take a break. Hopefully it will be exactly two minutes. If not, we'll cut out, bring it to you as it happens. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And here we go. The president of the United States speaking now at the United Nations.
Let's dip in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We may make some modest progress here and there, but we will miss many development goals. That is the truth. With 10 years down and just five years before our development targets come due, we must do better.
Now, I know that helping communities and countries realize a better future is not easy. I've seen it in my own life.
I saw it in my mother as she worked to lift up the rural poor from Indonesia to Pakistan. I saw it on the streets of Chicago where I worked as a community organizer trying to build up underdeveloped neighborhoods in this country. It is hard work, but I know progress is possible.
As president, I have made it clear that the United States will do our part. My national security strategy recognizes development not only as a moral imperative, but a strategic and economic imperative.
Secretary of State Clinton is leading a review to strengthen and better coordinate our diplomacy and our development efforts. We've re-engaged with multilateral development institutions and we are rebuilding the United States Agency for International Development as the world's premier development agency. In short, we're making sure that the United States will be a global leader in international development in the 21st century.
We also recognize, though, that the old ways will not suffice. That's why in Ghana last year, I called for a new approach to development that unleashes transformational change and allows more people to take control of their own destiny.
After all, no country wants to be dependent on another. No proud leader in this room wants to ask for aid. No family wants to be beholden to the assistance of others.
To pursue this vision, my administration conducted a comprehensive review of America's development programs. We listened to leaders in government, NGOs, and civil society, the private sector and philanthropy, Congress and our many international partners. And today I'm announcing our new U.S. global development policy, the first of its kind by an American administration.
It's rooted in America's enduring commitment to the dignity and potential of every human being, and it outlines our new approach and the new thinking that will guide our overall development efforts, including the plan that I promised last year and that my administration has delivered to pursue the millennium development goals. Put simply, the United States is changing the way we do business.
First, we're changing how we define development. For too long we've measured our efforts by the dollars we spent and the food and medicines that we delivered. But aid alone is not development.
Development is helping nations to actually develop, moving from poverty to prosperity. And we need more than just aid to unleash that change. We need to harness all the tools at our disposal from our diplomacy to our trade policies to our investment policies.
Second, we are changing how we view the ultimate goal of development. Our focus on assistance has saved lives in the short term, but it hasn't always improved those societies over the long term.
Consider the millions of people who have relied on food assistance for decades. That's not development. That is dependence and it's a cycle we need to break. Instead of just managing poverty, we have to offer nations and peoples a path out of poverty.
Now, let me be clear. The United States of America has been and will remain the global leader in providing assistance. We will not abandon those who depend on us for life-saving help, whether it's food or medicine. We will keep our promises and honor our commitments.
In fact, my administration has increased assistance to the least- developed countries. We're working with partners to finally eradicate polio. We're building on the good efforts of my predecessor to continue to increase funds to fight HIV-AIDS, increasing those funds to record levels. And that includes strengthening our commitment the Global Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria. And we will lead in times of crisis, as we've done since the earthquake in Haiti and the floods in Pakistan.
But the purpose of development, what's needed most right now, is creating the conditions where assistance is no longer needed. So we will seek partners who want to build their own capacity to provide for their people. We will seek development that is sustainable.
And building in part on the lessons of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which has helped countries like El Salvador builds rural roads and raise the incomes of its people, we will invest in the capacity of countries that are proving their commitment to development. Remembering the lessons of --
SANCHEZ: And here we go. The president of the United States declaring an initiative that he feels is extremely important.
He will be discussing this today at the United Nations with this visit. And then tomorrow, at the United Nations, we're also going to be taking live an address by the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We'll be following that for you right here.
I should let you know that we've got some visitors today here on RICK'S LIST. And they're going to be waving at the camera to say hello to Wolf Blitzer.
Hi guys. How are you?
And we send the show off now to Washington. Here's "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf.
