American Morning
Disney's first black princess
Snow White was the first Disney princess to be featured on the big screen in 1937. Now, 72 years later Disney is introducing their latest princess - Tiana. She's the new "fairest of them all" and she's making history as Disney's first black princess.
"Finally, here is something that all little girls, especially young black girls, can embrace. And that is huge,” says Cori Murray of Essence Magazine.
Tiana's timing couldn't be better. The fairy tale princess comes on the heels of what some call a real-life fairy tale: The Obamas.
Ron Paul: Secession is American
For ten years, Texas was a sovereign territory before joining the United States in 1845. It’s the stuff of legends that the “Lone Star State” could end the ties with the U.S. if its constituents want it that way.
Texas Governor Rick Perry, who's been highly critical of President Obama's stimulus package, raised the possibility that his state may one day secede from the union.
“We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people - who knows what might come out of that,” Perry told reporters last week.
The governor isn't the only one suggesting secession is not out of the realm. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), a former presidential candidate, spoke with Kiran Chetry on CNN’s American Morning Tuesday.
Kiran Chetry: How serious is this secession talk?
Ron Paul: I don't think it's very serious. I don't think anybody called for secession, and I don't think the governor called for it. But he brings up an important issue. The biggest surprise to me was the outrage expressed over an individual who thinks along these lines, because I heard people say, well, this is treasonous and this was un-American. But don't they remember how we came in to our being? We used secession, we seceded from England. So it’s a very good principle. It’s a principle of a free society. It’s a shame we don’t have it anymore. I argue that if you had the principle of secession, our federal government wouldn't be as intrusive into state affairs and to me that would be very good.
Fmr. CIA operative: Torture does not work
President Obama has come under strong criticism from some in the CIA and others for releasing memos that detail some of the agency’s harshest interrogation tactics. Yesterday, the president went to the heart of the spy business to explain his decision.
“I want to be very clear and very blunt. I've done so for a simple reason. Because I believe that our nation is stronger and more secure when we deploy the full measure of both our power and the power of our values.”
Former CIA operative Robert Baer supports the move and says perhaps even more information should be released. Baer spoke to Kiran Chetry via Skype on CNN’s American Morning Tuesday.
Kiran Chetry: You support the move? You think the release of the Bush-era memos on interrogation tactics was the right move and that it did not compromise national security?
Robert Baer: Well, not at all. All of those techniques are in the military manuals, which are on the internet. Most of that information appeared in the New York Review of books in Mark Danner's article, “The Prisoner’s Getting Out.” It talked about what they were subjected to. It's not a secret. None of these techniques are a secret so why not release it? I think what we really need to do is clear the air on torture. My biggest objection is nobody, until now, has presented evidence that torture works and I just don't see it.
Iran's president sparks walkout
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/21/iran.walkout.art.jpg caption="European Union delegates leave during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech Monday."]
From CNN's Bob Ruff
UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon thought he had an understanding with Iranian President Mamoud Ahmadinejad to stay on message Monday at the UN’s racism conference in Geneva.
But when it came time to speak later in the day, Mr. Ahmadinejad launched into a tirade against Israel, Western Europe, and the United States. He was especially tough on Israel, saying that they are racists by running “the most cruel and repressive regime in Palestine.”
Many of the delegates hung around to listen to all of it, but dozens expressed their displeasure by walking out barely 3 minutes into the speech. Protestors repeatedly tried to interrupt the President’s speech.
UFO believers appeal to President Obama
You've heard about the scores of special interest groups appealing to President Obama in his first 100 days in office.
Now you can add believers in UFOs to the list.
What do you think? Should President Obama release alleged secret UFO files?
Fast Forward
Fast Forward: [cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/23/fast_forward_art.jpg caption=" "]
Here are some of the stories that will be making news later today:
This morning at 10 o'clock ET, President Obama will meet with King Abdullah of Jordan at the White House. Officials say the talks will focus primarily on achieving peace in the Middle East.
Also at 10am ET, The Supreme Court takes up a landmark case that could affect your children. The case centers around a teenage girl who was strip searched at school. She was suspected of carrying ibuprofen, that's the active ingredient in Advil and Motrin, which the school district had banned. The girl's family claims the search violated her constitutional rights.
And today, some major U.S. companies will reveal their quarterly earnings. We're expecting first quarter reports from construction equipment maker Caterpillar, pharmaceutical giant Merck, Coca-Cola, Delta, the New York Times and later in the day, Yahoo.
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