Today on American Morning:
- As accused Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff prepares to plead guilty, one major question remains: what happened to the money? CNN's Allan Chernoff reports.
- The Taliban is now bragging it can strike at will at the very heart of Kabul. Just to prove it, they launched a suicide attack last month on government buildings that killed 20. CNN's Paula Newton reports.
- North Korea Korea says it will test a rocket in April. CNN's Jill Dougherty reports.
- Taxpayers hate the bank bailout. Lawmakers too. And now it looks like some of the bailed out banks themselves are starting to get fed up with it as well.
- The role of Michelle Obama – she has a much higher profile than many of her predessors – not just public appearances, but various print publications – landing on the cover of many magazines.
- A man used to giving advice perhaps should have gotten some of his own – think before speaking. CNBC Business analyst Jim Cramer is under fire after a web video surfaces where he admits to manipulating the market when he managed a massive hedge fund.
- John Edwards makes an appearance at Brown University and takes students’ questions – including one that alludes to his affair.
- An update to a story we brought you Wednesday on AM – Chris Brown has now decided to take his name out of the running for Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice award – as photographers catch a glimpse of Rihanna back in L.A. leaving a nightclub.
- What happens when society turns its back on a town and just walks away? Braddock Pennsylvania is what happens. CNN's Jason Carroll has this story.
- Gerri Willis takes a look at how the number of scams has increased due to the economy
- US Congress has voted to lift limits that President George W. Bush tightened on Cuban Americans wanting to visit relatives in Cuba. In Cuba, the measure is welcome. Cubans say it helps keep families closer and provides much-needed financial support
- Bennett Goldworth, a Madoff victim who lost almost 4 million dollars in Madoff’s scheme, joins us live.
- Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-CA, is holding one of the 111th Congress' first major hearings on the ongoing Mexican drug war and the threat it poses to U.S. security on Thursday. The hearing will address the resources and strategies in place for combating and responding to U.S.-Mexico border violence.
- Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, tells us how the economy is linked to international security - and what needs to be done to prevent the economic crisis from turning into a security crisis
- Forbes' 2009 list of the World's Billionaires. Who are the TOP 5? What Billionaires dropped off the list altogether?
- Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Finance Committee, may go head to head with the Obama administration over health care overhaul. He has been drafting his own plan to contain costs and expand insurance coverage, putting him in potential conflict not only with the White House, but also with Senator Kennedy. He joins us live.
- Pastor Jerry Lawson is the pastor of Daystar Church in rural Good Hope, Alabama. His small town congregation put up billboards with the phrase “Great Sex: God’s Way" on rural highways to promote his sermon series. He joins us live.