American Morning
What's on Tap – Tuesday April 21st, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today:
- Breaking now: The only Somali pirate to come off the lifeboat alive was brought to New York early this morning. He could be in court today. The young man, known in official documents as "Pirate Defendant" was said to be all smiles. He was one of four who held Captain Richard Phillips at gunpoint for five days at sea. U.S. Navy snipers shot and killed the other three.
- UFO believers to Obama: release the X-files! 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. They're calling on the president to end what they insist is a government cover-up of the existence of extraterrestrials.
- Racism, Iran Style. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the stage Monday in Geneva at the U.N.'s Racism conference, and pointed fingers at Israel, the U.S., and western Europe. He also went after the United States for its war in Afghanistan. Several nations, including the U.S. and Israel, boycotted the U.N. Conference. Representatives of many other nations walked out. Protesters in clown wigs made a lot of noise.
- A urine test for Lung Cancer? Someday, a simple urine test might spot smokers at highest risk for lung cancer, according to a new study. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with the potential breakthrough.
- African-American Princess. In 1937 Snow White was the first Disney princess to be featured on the big screen. Since that time Disney has introduced eight princesses, but this year they make history with their first black princess. Cultural watchers see this as a milestone and a symbol of a culture-changing standard of feminine beauty. Others draw a connection to the Obamas being in the White House, and as a result see the image of the princess resonating even more with the public – a sort of perfect storm of African-American cultural imagery.
We Listen!
Here’s your daily recap of the best feedback we got from YOU today. Continue the conversation below. And remember, keep it brief, and keep it clean. Thanks!
Monday’s American Morning viewers were indifferent to the Republican’s response to President Obama’s handshake with President Hugo Chavez.
- Ralph: I think it's about time we started talking to some of these other leaders. As far as the negative reaction for the [Obama-Chavez] hand shake, I think this is just [a] typical Republican [reaction]. Bush IS the devil and it's time we moved past that crap.
What do you think? Was President Obama right to shake the hand of President Chavez, who is known to have a negative opinion of the U.S.? Do you believe President Obama has been too apologetic about the U.S. in dealing with international leaders? Are we losing our “self-respect” as a nation or does Mr. Obama’s “listening” approach allow us to have greater engagement with the world?
The reaction to the idea of lifting sanctions with Cuba was seen as long overdue. Viewers felt that trading with Cuba would be the same as trading with China, a country not known for allowing “their own people human rights.”
- Ron: I believe the time has come to lift all sanctions against Cuba! If we allow travel and trade with other countries such as China, whom we cannot trust and do not allow their own people human rights, why should we continue to allow the Cuban people to suffer! Enough is enough already! Cuba is no threat to us but can be if allowed to be taken in by other countries not friendly to the USA. Shame on America for letting this continue for so long!
Is the U.S. overdue in mending relations with Cuba, since we have engaged with China as a trading partner? Do you believe sanctions work or do they simply harm the people of a country more than its leaders? What do you think about the numerous changes Mr. Obama has recently made concerning Cuba? Is it enough or too much? Let us know your thoughts.
Hijacking in Montego Bay
When we arrived at work this morning, our producers were monitoring the latest on a story that broke overnight. CanJet Airlines Flight 918, a 737 charter flight from Canada with 174 passengers and 8 crew members, was being held hostage by a young man on the runway at Jamaica’s airport in Montego Bay.
When we went to air all we knew was that the gunman slipped on the flight late last night and ended up releasing all of the passengers but was still holding members of the crew.
Then during the 8am hour of our show Jamaica’s Information Minister Daryl Vaz joined us by phone and broke the news on our air that police entered the plane, nabbed the Hijacker and got the rest of the hostages out safely. Watch the interview
We were happy to be able to report that this tense standoff finally ended peacefully before we got off the air.
Speaking of planes, we got a lot of comments from many of you on cnn.com/amfix and our show hotline 1-877-MYAMFIX regarding United Airlines “fat passenger policy.” Watch the debate
As always we want to hear from you. Follow us on Twitter @amFIX and @kiranchetrycnn.
See you in the morning!
Kiran
Journalist: U.S. officials skeptical of Obama’s Afghan surge
President Obama is shifting America's military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan. His strategy includes more boots on the ground and more cash and diplomacy. Will the strategy work or should the Pentagon turn to quick intense strikes?
Michael Hastings is a contributor for GQ Magazine. He is just back from the Afghanistan/Pakistan border where he was embedded with American forces. Hastings spoke to John Roberts on CNN’s American Morning Monday.
John Roberts: Some of the soldiers and commanders you spoke with are, according to your article, skeptical of whether or not this surge strategy is going to work. Based on your reporting, what do you think?
Michael Hastings: I think I found there was a significant amount of skepticism among U.S. officials and soldiers on the ground there and that a long-term, 10-25 year, multi-billion dollar commitment to Afghanistan has a very low chance of success. And essentially the question these officials asked was what are we winning? Even if we win in Afghanistan, what is it exactly that we're winning? Maybe the answer is maybe we're winning security gains, but that's not even for sure and there’s certainly no guarantee of that.
New developments in search for "craigslist killer"
There are new developments in the search for the "craigslist killer."
Police have released a photo of a man who they believe killed a woman, after luring her to a Boston hotel last week. That woman had advertised massages on craigslist, according to police.
And now another woman advertising in the "erotic services" section of the website has been attacked. Cops say the cases appear to be connected.
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