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Rick's List

Third Man Accuses Popular Pastor; "Obama's Wars" Revelations

Aired September 22, 2010 - 20:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, HOST: All right, thanks so much, guys.

Yet another young man has come forward and said he was coerced into having sex when he was a teenager by a pastor who has 25,000 people who to go his mega church, a television show.

This is an update to a story we first told you about yesterday. Here is what's on the list.

Here's what's making "Rick's List." New allegations, more reaction on the story we broke. A millionaire minister flies in private planes, drives a Bentley, accused of using that money to attract young men for sex.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sexual things started to happen at the ages of 17 and 18 years old.

SANCHEZ: His accusers say money is exactly what mattered most to Eddie Long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He drives a fancy car. He wears custom- tailored clothes.

SANCHEZ: The Harvard professor who writes about the so-called "Gospel of Prosperity" takes us through the phenomenon of God, money, power and idol worship in America.

Dropping the hammer on politicians who live high on the hog, but with our money. After a night behind bars, Bell, California city officials face a judge today.

Japan tells Paris Hilton no criminals allowed, especially one on probation.

And who's on the list tonight you don't to be on? Booze, sex, drugs, teachers? I'm calling them out.

All right, here we go. Hello, again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. So glad that so many of you are here with us once again tonight.

At the very top of the list tonight, sex, money and a mega church. A new shock in this scandal involving one of America's most famous preachers. Another man has now come forward tonight, accusing Bishop Eddie Long of seducing him when he was a teenager. He says that Long told him to call him daddy and as of this very second, we still have not heard from the pastor himself although there is an update now on that.

We've just learned recently that the bishop has now made plans to address reporters. More on that in just a moment. As you probably know, two other men are also accusing Long of coercing them into sexual relationships. How? With money, with jewelry, with cars, with their own place to stay.

He allegedly would fly them around the world in exchange for sex. That's what the complaints read. Keep in mind, 25,000 people follow this preacher. That doesn't even include his television audience.

One more thing, and this is by far the most ironic part of the story, he is an outspoken critic of homosexual rights to form legal unions. The lawsuit doesn't just name Eddie Long though. Fingers are being pointed at his church, the New Birth Church.

So tonight I'm drilling down on this as we research Long and his church. We noticed something interesting and I'm going to tell you why it's important after the clip. First, watch closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's about to raise you up and ask where you came from, how did you get there, how you standing, where did you get that business, how you in the black and not in the red, how did your family get together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Did you see that right there? As people are coming up to the dais there. You see how church members appear to slam dollar bills below his feet. This apparently happens every time the pastor makes a dramatic point in his sermon. So why is this relevant?

Well, because in these lawsuits, the accusers are describing the lavish lifestyle that the pastor leads. They say that Bishop Long gave them expensive gifts, paid them cash, took them on fancy trips and on private jets.

So we have to obviously ask, how much money does he get from the church? And if the allegations are true, did innocent churchgoers, people who believe in God and used his church to worship indirectly pay for these gifts and for these trips that the bishop is allegedly to have used to find sex with teenage boys.

I want to bring in Ed Lavandera now. He's been all over this story from the very beginning. First off, tell us first of all there's a new lawsuit, another person has come forward. What is the allegation and how does it compare with the allegations that we told our viewers about yesterday, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Overall, it's very similar to what we've been. We've gotten into the issues of Bishop Long being accused of using his, quote, "spiritual authority," in driving these kids, essentially teaching them that part of their spiritual journey and as part of spiritual maturation involved getting into this sexual relationship with him.

So that has been very pretty much the same. There are just some unique details about this particular case and that sort of thing, but the overall picture is still very much the same.

SANCHEZ: We're hearing now that he's -- this is interesting because we're going into almost the beyond 48 hours now since he has known about these allegations and he's yet to come forward and address them specifically.

You and I were just talking that apparently now there's news he's going to finally address them. Would you tell us what you have learned?

LAVANDERA: That's going to change. A couple things will happen tomorrow at some point. We know that our colleague Roland Martin will interview the bishop on the Tom Joiner radio show tomorrow morning I think at 7:15 Eastern time. That's what Roland is telling us tonight.

There's also a press conference that's being scheduled with the bishop and his attorney. We're told tonight as well that will include followers and supporters that will be standing behind him.

SANCHEZ: His followers. Is he going to take questions from reporters?

LAVANDERA: We've been told that the bishop will not take questions --

SANCHEZ: Will not take questions --

LAVANDERA: Will not take questions from the reporters at this press conference.

SANCHEZ: So he's going to read a statement and walk away?

LAVANDERA: His attorney will then take questions. We followed up and asked, what do we kind of expect to hear for tomorrow, and you heard what his spokesman said earlier today, which has been kind of a big headline throughout the day.

Essentially saying these accusations by these three men are essentially a shakedown of the bishop and we're asking do we expect to hear more along those lines and we were told yes that indeed would be happening.

In fact, the bishop taking it a little bit further. So clearly the bishop is out to continue defending himself strongly tomorrow.

SANCHEZ: You know, what's interesting about this, a lot of people have come to know that these two men are not just accusing him of the sexual peccadilloes, but beyond that they seem to be making this point about the reverend being so much into his lifestyle. In fact, you told us yesterday that one of these men is accused of breaking into I believe the church offices --

LAVANDERA: His office --

SANCHEZ: And he said he wanted to pay back or take away from this pastor what he cherished most. Take us through that story.

LAVANDERA: Well, his attorney basically, this is back in June his office gets broken into according to a police report that we've seen a $100,000 in jewelry and other electronics like an iPad were stolen.

Maurice Robinson who's one of the accusers that came out yesterday, was arrested in that case. According to his attorney, he says --

SANCHEZ: So the same man who is accusing the reverend of having a sexual relationship with him also had in the past broken into his church.

LAVANDERA: Right. Bishop Long's people are saying, look, take a look at what we're dealing with here. This speaks to the credibility of the person we're hearing from in this lawsuit so that's what they're saying.

His attorney, Maurice Robinson, the man who is making these accusations is saying about the time that he was finding out about these other relationships with the bishop, that's when this happened.

And it was his way of lashing out at Bishop Long, going after what he treasures most, his material possessions.

SANCHEZ: The accusation is that he had once come to Bishop Long and said I've just lost one of my dear friends, he died somehow, and he expected the bishop to pray with him and instead the bishop did what?

LAVENDARE: Kind of came on to him essentially and so that's what --

SANCHEZ: Tried to look for sexual favors?

LAVANDERA: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: That's what took him over the edge, he says?

LAVANDERA: Yes, combination of that and finding out -- what the attorney told us, finding out he wasn't just the only one.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Do we expect there's going to be other people who are going to be coming forward? What are you hearing from your sources on this?

LAVANDERA: We've been told that there are others who are coming forward. So the problem with this now is that you've got three people who have come forward --

SANCHEZ: Will it be a drip, drip, drip, drip?

LAVANDERA: Right and so a lot of people coming out. A lot of information needs to be vetted, whether or not these people are credible and that sort of thing.

But really I think all eyes towards tomorrow when you start thinking about the thousands and thousands of people who listen and follow what this man says and they're desperate to hear what he has to say.

SANCHEZ: You and I have to talk to some of these parishioners. They're torn apart by this. They're literally extremely affected by this. This was their life. This is their church. They believed in this man. They believed more -- hopefully God, but it's a very difficult thing for these people.

LAVANDERA: This was so crucial there because it's a huge spiritual empire. A lot of people who have invested their lives into the church, worked for the church, have dedicated themselves.

SANCHEZ: Hold on just a moment. Listen to this. A lot of the folks in the religious community are tweeting their support for Bishop Eddie Long. We follow them as a matter of fact on our religion list.

Here's one of them, Grammy Award winning gospel music producer, Kevin Bond, he tweets, my prayers are with the lovely Mrs. Vanessa Long tonight! Lord cover her through this entire ordeal! In Jesus Name! That's the wife.

LAVANDERA: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Gospel singing duo, Mary Mary, be quiet and prayer for Bishop Eddie Long.

And preacher/comedian John Gray tweeted this, as a believer, I must let you know that perfection was never a requirement of leadership for God to use you, Moses, Samson, David all failed.

So those are some of the tweets that we're getting from people who, you know -- I don't know if it's phrased fair to say that they still believe in him, but they're certainly letting it know they're not going to abandon this man either.

LAVANDERA: Eddie Long has also done, in the past, he's never shied away from his own personal problem, his setbacks, his child -- speaking to people who have known him for quite a while, he's often referred to himself as the scarred leader of this church so he's not afraid --

SANCHEZ: So the question then tomorrow is does he embrace this and say I've sinned, I've made a horrible mistake and I want to come clean or this didn't happen, these people are liars, I've not had sex with these boys?

LAVANDERA: Based on our reporting tonight, I can't imagine that some sort of admission would be happening tomorrow.

SANCHEZ: We don't -- no indication that's going to happen --

LAVANDERA: Based on the conversations we've had with people tonight so I would be shocked if that were to happen tomorrow.

SANCHEZ: We'll just have to wait and see and good reporting as usual. We're going to stay on top of this story. There's a lot more to come. You're going to be hanging tight, right?

LAVANDERA: We'll see you tomorrow.

SANCHEZ: All right, there's another layer to these allegations by the way that we want to drill down on. I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pastor becomes modeled as the man all the women want and all the men want to be. And so make its sense in many ways that young men would find this attractive and see him as a mentor and something to aspire to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What is it about the psyche of a man who can lead thousands of faithful and still find himself accused of something like this?

As we wait to hear from Bishop Long himself, I'm going to let you hear from the leader of Harvard's Divinity school. This professor has written a book on this very thing on men like Eddie Long.

Next though dozens of whales have suddenly washed up on a beach. I mean, a whole lot of them. Can some of them be saved? It's going on right now. I'm going to show you these dramatic pictures.

This is "Rick's List." We are all over, all the news of the day, and you'll get it if you stay with us. Right here on your national conversation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. Here's now the list of the most controversial stories making news on this day. What in the world is going on, on New Zealand's shoreline? Have you seen this?

Dozens and dozens of pilot whales have suddenly beached themselves again. The story comes in at number four. Look at these. Same thing happened just last month. Rough seas, gusting winds are pushing the whales on the rocks, hurting some of the whales so badly they have been -- they've been euthanized.

Officials are fearing dozens of other whales may be in danger. So far and I'm telling you, pictures don't reflect it, but a lot of people are racing to the scene. Only about eight whales have been saved so far and returned to the sea. We hope to get video of this and when we do we'll share it with you.

Here now is controversy number three, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasts Israel's leader in an interview with CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): He is a skilled killer. All dictators in the world have condemned others and he's one of many of them. He should be put on trial for killing Palestinians, for placing Gaza under siege, which is against the law and against the spirit of the charter of the United Nations. He should be put on trial for killing women and children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Interestingly enough Ahmadinejad deflects questions about Iran's nuclear program saying, we are not seeking the bomb. He denies that international sanctions were hurting Iran and refuses to commit to meeting President Obama.

Referring to Israel, he says both the Zionist regime and United States government should be disarmed. You can see the whole interview with the Iranian president coming up right here right after our newscast during "Larry King Live."

Here is number two. The arraignments of eight current and former Bell, California, city officials has been postponed until late next month, but look at the pictures. No word yet on why the delay, 3 of the 8 defendants were in court today to have their bails reduced.

They're accused of using the city's tax money as their own personal piggy banks, exorbitant salaries, fancy homes, big pensions to the tune of $5.5 million. The Los Angeles County D.A. says it's a case of corruption on steroids but an attorney, defense attorney, says it's all about politics.

The story gained national attention in July and residents of Bell became outraged when they learned about the high salaries city officials were being paid.

So what's the number one item on our controversy list on this night? For the first time, we hear from the man who survived the gruesome home invasion that left his wife and his daughters raped and killed and burned.

This is like a movie of the week, suspense movie, it's real though. The latest on this horrible case is coming up. It happened just today.

Also you're going to want to pay attention to this next story. A popular baby formula is being recalled, we've learned. The makers of Similac are voluntarily recalling about 5 million cans of powder formula sold in the United States, in Puerto Rico, in Guam, and in some countries in the Caribbean.

The reason? The company detected the possibility of a small beetle, get this, a small beetle in the formula. We'll have that for you. Stay right there. This is "Rick's List."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Tonight, for the first time we are about to hear from the Connecticut doctor whose little girl, 11 years old, was raped so was his wife. His entire family was murdered and he was there. He was at home as this happened.

This is the number one story on our controversy list. Steven Hayes and his accused partner in crime are charged with killing the family in their own home. This is a horrific crime that involves theft, rape, murder and even arson.

Hayes says -- this is one of the bad guys and there's his partner. Says the whole thing just got out of control when they returned from the bank with the doctor's wife and all the family's money.

He's now blaming his accomplice for much of what happened. What we haven't heard from is the doctor himself, William Petit. He has not given testimony in the courtroom because no cameras are allowed. So we haven't seen his reaction or what he said.

But here is, now, for the first time, we see him describing what happened. This is a video that was released by his family's foundation. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WILLIAM PETIT, FAMILY MURDERED: Two men who should not have been out on parole broke into our home on July 23rd, 2007, and beat me up and brutally murdered my wife, Jennifer, and my daughters, Haley and Michaela.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Anew book from "Washington Post" reporter Bob Woodward lets us now know what the president and his staff were really thinking and how divided they were over Afghanistan.

"Obama's Wars" takes you inside, behind the scenes of the strategy sessions and the closed door meetings. This book just doesn't top the political list, it owns this list.

I want to run through the top revelations and we begin with number five. Woodward reveals a president who has no intention of keeping our military forces in Afghanistan for any longer than is absolutely necessary regardless of what his top military advisers have to say about this.

Here's what the president tells Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Quote, "I'm not doing 10 years. I'm not doing long-termination-building. I am not spending a trillion dollars," closed quote.

Here's number four from the Woodward book. Richard Holbrooke, a special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He might want to take a cue from Rodney Dangerfield because according to this book, according to this book by Woodward, he gets no respect.

Woodward says that note takers put down their pens when Holbrooke began to talk in meetings and that Deputy National Security adviser Thomas Donilon once criticized one of Holbrooke's memos saying my fifth grader wouldn't do work this bad. That is serious. Ouch.

Here's number three. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been diagnosed as a manic depressive who doesn't always take his medicines and that becomes a problem. Woodward's book pegs that on U.S. intelligence reports. Also regarding Karzai, Woodward quotes U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry as saying, he's on his meds. He's off his meds.

Here is number two, the CIA is running a top secret paramilitary force on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan. An unnamed U.S. official said in the book the operation employs no less than 3,000 Afghans.

They're used to run covert ops against the Taliban and al Qaeda. Something most Americans know nothing about. The CIA refused to comment on this force and Pakistan officials denied that any CIA- trained soldiers are actually on Pakistani soil.

So what is the number one news item on Bob Woodward's new book? It's actually some pretty scary stuff. I'll share it with you.

But first, here's latest poll from Delaware. According to a new CNN Time Opinion Research Corporation poll released just today, 55 percent of likely voters say that they are backing the Democrat, Chris Coons for Senate there in Delaware.

So then how many are going to support the Republican? Thirty nine percent say they support the Republican/Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell.

When we come back, what does wealth have to do with spiritual health? We're learning more about prosperity and the church as three lawsuits against a famous bishop come to light when we talk to a Harvard professor who's written about this.

Wait till you hear what he has to say. That's Eddie Long, his story, when we come back. An update, stay with us. This is your national conversation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A lot has been said tonight about the situation having to do with Bishop Eddie Long. Among the things that are being questioned is how things got so out of control. The wealth, the money, the private trips on private jets, the jewelry, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, that finally these young men allege led to sex with them on many of these private trips and houses and cars that they got.

So questions are being asked. Let me show you one of the tweets we've gotten, which kind many puts it in perspective. It's a good question. This is going all out that sent this tweet just a little while ago.

It says the question is, are people attacking Bishop Eddie Long's sex with men or his wealthy lifestyle? We're going to address that in just a little bit with a Harvard professor who's going to join us who's written a book about this very thing.

So as we move on, what is the number one item on our political list from Bob Woodward's new book, "Obama's Wars"? Here it is. This one is nothing short of frightening for many Americans. We learn in the book the U.S. government did a nuclear preparedness exercise earlier this year.

Here's the news. According to reports, it failed miserably. Woodward even interviews the president of the United States about the exercise. This is what the president says, quote, "when I go down the list of things that I have to worry about all the time, that is at the top because that's one where you can't afford any mistakes." Stop quote.

By the way, you could see of all Bob Woodward -- you can see Bob Woodward himself when he sits down with our very own Larry King that is scheduled for next Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern.

There are new questions to ask tonight about one of America's most famous pastors. At the very top of this list, I told you that a third man has now come forward. A third man has now come forward and is now claiming that Bishop Eddie Long had a sexual relationship with him as a teenager. As disturbing as those allegations are, there's more to this story.

The men claim that Long gave them gifts and showered them with cash and trips. One of them got a car. They both had homes where they were able to live. They say he took them on these lavish trips, introduced them to celebrities, even put them on the payroll. So if this is true, what did the New Birth church pay for?

The problem for the church is this. It is also being named in this lawsuit. They say officials there knew about Long's behavior but covered it up. Remember, Eddie Long pushes the gospel of prosperity. It's a phenomenon developed in mega churches around the country that somehow ties wealth to god. And in these churches, individual wealth, not community wealth or not the church's wealth, an individual's wealth, a pastor, for example, is on display, even shown off. In fact, one of Eddie Long's accusers says wealth and jewelry is what the pastor treasured most. That's what his accuser says.

This is what I talk about. In fact, it's what I ask Harvard professor and author Jonathan Walton who writes about this in his book. It's called "Watch This."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SANCHEZ: When people see their pastor, many would ask, driving a Bentley, which the last time I checked I couldn't imagine but I think it's something like a $300,000, $400,000 car. When they see him only flying in private planes, when they see him wearing Rolexes, when they see him only wearing $4,000, $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.

ASST. PROF, JONATHAN WALTON, AFRICAN-AMERICAN RELIGIONS, HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL: Well, in this kind of evangelical subculture where mega churches 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?

SANCHEZ: What the hell -- I've got to stop you and ask you this question only because -- and pardon me for --

WALTON: Yes.

SANCHEZ: -- I'm using my own life experience. I'm Catholic and maybe that just make me really different, I don't understand it. But when I think of St. 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've been taught, what the hell does a rich businessman have to do with God? There are two of the furthest things that can --

WALTON: No, absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Explain it to me.

WALTON: Well, I can add one to the list. I can add one to the list. I mean, Bishop Long has declared himself the kind of spiritual successor to Martin Luther King, Jr. And during the 1960s when Martin Luther King, Jr. was making about $200,000 in speaking fees, he would only accept a salary of $1 a year, right? So there's absolutely examples that counter to this, right? So what I was just trying to explain is 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, is because it's very consistent with the theology that is 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.

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's seen as a feminized 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 skintight 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: It -- 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: I want to be careful because I don't want to put any blame on parishioners. In particularly, they had nothing to do with these charges, in particular 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 cultural 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 these fascination with mega church 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's in their words and not necessarily what they drive or what's in their wallet?

WALTON: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think that you hit it on the head in citing St. 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. I mean, Benjamin Elijah Mays, the president of Morehouse College, say that preachers should be measured by their service to humanity, not the wheel base of their Cadillacs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Smart man, huh? I want to point out here that Eddie Long's spokesperson is denying the allegations and Long is expected to address the issue tomorrow. CNN has been chosen as the pool network for this event. Our Ed Lavandera will be there representing us, asking questions not of the bishop. The bishop apparently, from what we know right now, is not going to take questions from reporters. His lawyers, though, will answer the reporters' questions after the bishop makes a statement. This is sometime around noon Eastern Time.

I also just got this e-mail from my friend Roland Martin who is also my colleague here at CNN and he want everyone to know that he's going to interview Eddie Long tomorrow at 7:15 Eastern. So, there it is. Let me just make sure I got that right. Yes, OK, 7:15 Eastern, on the Tom Joiner radio show, where Roland's going to be filling in for Tom, so there you go. That's, again, the first time we will hear and see from the bishop, Eddie Long, since these allegations have come forward.

Now to our list of people making news on this night and we begin with number three.

Paris Hilton is all but kicked out of Japan. Really. Hilton was there to promote her fashion and fragrance lines but she was sent packing because Japan doesn't allow people on criminal probation to get into the country. Hilton is on probation for cocaine found in her purse last month.

Here is number two, Mark Cuban. Today, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, you know who he is, won the latest round of the government's insider trading charges against him. A federal judge ruled that Cuban can access government files in the case. Cuban is accused of selling his stake in an Internet company before news about the stock offering was even made public. The move allegedly helped him avoid a loss of nearly three quarters of a million dollars.

So who is number one on our list of people that is making news on this night? Here's the question. Did Jesse Jackson Jr. offered to pay $6 million for Blagojevich's Senate seat? And there are also questions tonight of infidelity. He's been responding to both. He's very candid about the way he deals with this. We'll tell you what he's saying. That's next.

Also as we go to break, I want to show you how we put our newscast together every morning when we come in. You can go to my web page or my blog to see it at CNN.com/ricksanchez. It's something we call -- well, my staff calls this the "Rick vid." Here it is. Let's go to it if we can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: They were the teachers of the students.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

SANCHEZ: Teachers of the school and those schools -- those students --

I want you to know that we just watched one of the best car chase endings we've seen in a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?

SANCHEZ: Here's the clip. Finality. Miami is a perfect place for a car chase. Like in Atlanta, you'd be in a creek like within five minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A creek you didn't know existed.

SANCHEZ: Yes, exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Rick Sanchez here. Now I want to tell you about somebody else whose name is recognized as one of the most recognizable in modern American politics, and now he's speaking out about some allegations of public and personal wrongdoing. That's why he's number one on our list of people in the news on this night.

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. He's already denied reports that he's offered $6 million to the disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in exchange for Obama's, President Obama's old Senate seat. That's kind of old news, right? But it's now a relationship with a woman, a restaurant hostess in Washington, D.C. that has become very problematic for him and for ethics investigators, particularly if the congressman paid her for her travel expenses between D.C. and Chicago as the "Sun Times," the "Chicago Sun-Times" is now reporting.

The congressman says the relationship itself is a private matter that he and his wife have been dealing with. We'll leave the story at that for now.

Now to trending stories. And Brooke Baldwin joins us to bring us up to date on what's going on with that. And here we go with another Chicago politician.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. There we go. It's perfect segue. We're talking about Rahm Emanuel. Will he or won't he step down as President Obama's chief of staff?

Yes, chances are good that's not necessarily the newsy part. What's making news tonight is the win. We are now hearing from a source close to him that Emanuel may leave the White House as soon as next month. The former Illinois congressman has been mentioned as a likely candidate. You know the mayor of Chicago.

By the way, look at the calendar. The city's deadline to file, you've got to get all those signatures, that's November 22nd. That's kind of right around the corner. Primary would then be next February. And that is precisely why according to these sources that if he does make this firm decision, the process will have to move and move very fast. They tell us that one day to closely, closely watch, the day the Senate decides to adjourn before midterms.

You know, we had heard it was October 8th. Now they could be moving it up. Maybe the end of next week. And why is that date so important? Because Emanuel is so closely intertwined in these pressing issues on the president's agenda, you know, before the Senate leaves. So we'll be watching for that time. There are some names that are floating out there for possible replacements if he goes but still too early to tell.

SANCHEZ: Hmm.

BALDWIN: Hmm.

SANCHEZ: So there's this really cool video that everyone in our staff has been talking about especially the ladies.

BALDWIN: Yes, yes, we have. Let me show you just a snippet. But first, I want to get to this Facebook site.

SANCHEZ: OK.

BALDWIN: So here's the story. Let me set it up.

Ladies, men too.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BALDWIN: Sanchez, you can listen as well.

SANCHEZ: No, no, I'm interested. But it's just, the people were like, wow, you can see this, right?

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes.

So, did you know, I didn't, that women on average make 23 percent less than men? That is according to the National Women's Law Center. In fact, they created this Facebook page. We can take a look over here. We have it popped up over here on the Twitter area. It has now more than 17,000 people who like this page. This is all part of this new movement to narrow the wage gap, the pay gap, between men and women but you're talking about that video. Let me show you the snippet of this new PSA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you're taller. That must be why I make 23 percent less.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women are not worth less.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But they make just 77 cents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventy-seven cents?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For every dollar a man makes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's an average of over $10,000 in lost wages every year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a year's supply of groceries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three months of child care.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six months of health insurance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's time to stop discounting women's paychecks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Senate must help close the wage gap.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By passing the paycheck fairness act now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's well done.

BALDWIN: It goes on, right?

SANCHEZ: You get the message, yes.

BALDWIN: It's this whole -- you get it.

SANCHEZ: But it's clear, exactly.

BALDWIN: It's clear. It's pretty effective. And you heard her mention this act. This whole effort centers around this long stalled bill, this paycheck fairness act that would essentially get rid of some of these wage disparities. So it would, you know, help companies become more aware of pay versus men and the women. Maybe make it easier for women to file lawsuits if they feel like they're being discriminated against in terms of pay because of their gender.

SANCHEZ: Right.

BALDWIN: You know, of course, you have the flip side. Others say, you know, gender discrimination is groundless and that, you know, traditionally speaking women have these -- there's this phrase pink collar jobs. You know, they head more towards nursing, towards teaching, versus the men who are businessman and the engineers.

SANCHEZ: So they're saying in other words, they just happen to have jobs that pay less.

BALDWIN: Exactly, that's what they say.

SANCHEZ: I don't buy that.

BALDWIN: I don't either.

SANCHEZ: Well done. You're not supposed to. Good stuff.

BALDWIN: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: You know what's great about that spot that you just showed us?

BALDWIN: What?

SANCHEZ: What do I always tell the writers when we have meetings? Write concrete.

BALDWIN: There you go.

SANCHEZ: It's concrete. It's well told.

BALDWIN: Boom, boom, boom.

SANCHEZ: Well done.

Two teachers share dubious honors tonight on my "List U Don't Want 2 Be On." That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey, welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. So glad that you're here.

Sometimes people just need to be called out. Let me tell you specifically what I'm talking about.

This is a question that asks when did extracurricular activities involve sex, booze and drugs? Right? When did you hear the term sex -- I mean, extracurricular activities? In school, right?

I'm about to tell you the story of a field trip that parents did not sign a permission slip for. Yes, I'm being facetious because it's time for "The List U Don't Want 2 Be On."

I want you to take a look at these two women. Last week they were teachers in South Carolina. This week, they're accused of some pretty bad stuff. Police say they hosted parties in their homes. Not just any parties. Parties for young kids. Together they allegedly drank. They drank booze, they smoked pot, and they had sex.

The preschools where these women worked fired her. That one right there, she was fired. She's accused of having sex with several students.

This woman, Sarah Lindsay, has just resigned. She's accused of having sex with a student who's between 11 years old and 14 years old on several occasions. Yes, not your typical after-school special, right?

The local sheriff said it best. He calls it heartbreaking. You just don't expect this kind of behavior from the people you trust to teach your kids.

Sarah Lindsay and Audrey Grabarkiewicz at the top of the class tonight on "The List That U Don't Want 2 Be On."

If you look closely, you see the man driving an ATV. He's wearing a gorilla suit. Yes, man driving ATV in gorilla suit. What the heck is that all about, you ask? You're about to find out on "Fotos."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: This is the time when, as you know, I recently wrote a book and it's doing very well and it's because it's really about you, it's your book. It's all of us that put this show together and all the things that we do with social media and politics and a little bit of what it's like to grow up in this country as a refugee and end up anchoring the news on CNN. You get it all in the book. And a lot of you have been asking for it. Every day, we give one away. And who gets it today?

Freakyfran, that's right, one of our most loyal and longtime tweeps and listeners. And viewers. "What will Mrs. Sanchez handle you coming home at regular hours come Monday?"

Trust me, we've been talking about that recently. The fact that we get up very early and dad only gets home in time to kiss the kids goodnight after mom has put them in bed. Tonight, again. Next week, back to the regular schedule. Thanks for asking. Congratulations on the book.

Ahead, flames leaping up from a Roman relic but don't call the fire department just yet. We're going to explain why the coliseum lit up like a four-alarm fire. That's next right here in what? Ah, dios mio.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here's a bit of a good rule of thumb that I need to share with you. If you're ever going to get pulled over by a police officer, don't monkey around. Here's "Fotos."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.

SANCHEZ: Here's why. It's against the law to ride an ATV through the streets of Wadsworth, Ohio, while wearing a gorilla suit. The guy learned this the hard way after police pulled him over and took him into custody. The crime, failing to comply with police and reckless operation of a motor vehicle while wearing a gorilla suit.

Rome is burning. Well, not really. Great iReport out of Italy though by Alice and Victoria (ph). This is an art exhibit at the coliseum of Rome. Images of fire were projected on the arches to create this effect. It's part of a wider project called "city on fire" being held at some of Europe's most historically significant monuments. That is too cool.

And in Philadelphia, there is a fine line between being a fan and being a fanatic. A crazed fan wearing a red spandex body suit, yes, a red spandex body suit, like mine, ran onto the field Monday night during the Phillies game. A fast-acting outfielder trips the intruder allowing security to tackle him and take him into custody.

That's "Fotos" and you can see them for yourself on my blog. That's CNN.com/ricksanchez.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, dios mio.

SANCHEZ: That part where I said like mine, erase. OK, it's gone.

Here's Larry King.