American Morning
Presidential adviser quits amid 9/11 controversy
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The resignation of Obama administration figure Van Jones, following controversies over a petition he had signed and his comments about Republicans, did not come at the request of the president, the White House senior adviser said Sunday.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/09/06/obama.adviser.resigns/art.van.jones.gi.jpg caption="Van Jones attends the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, in August."]
"Absolutely not - this was Van Jones' own decision," David Axelrod told NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked if the president had ordered the resignation.
The chairman of the House Republican Conference, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, had called for Jones to resign or be fired.
"I think Van Jones did the right thing," Pence said Sunday about the resignation. "His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this administration."
Jones has frequently been dubbed a "green-jobs czar" for the administration.
"The president should suspend any future appointment of so called czars while the administration and the Congress carefully examines the background and qualifications of the more than 30 individuals who've been appointed to these czar positions," said Pence, speaking to reporters. "And the Congress ought to initiate a thorough inquiry into the constitutionality of this practice which has spanned Republican and Democrat administrations."
In a statement Saturday night, the White House said Jones was giving up his post at the Council on Environmental Quality, where he helped coordinate government agencies focused on delivering millions of green jobs to the ailing U.S. economy.
Window seat? Pay up!
If you check your bags when you fly you paid the airlines a half a billion dollars for that convenience in the first three months of this year. It's a convenience that used to be free, and that's just the beginning. CNN's Carol Costello has the story.
Great white sharks tagged off Massachusetts
(CNN) - The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has tagged two great white sharks off Cape Cod in an area where shark sightings have been reported, state officials said Sunday.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/US/09/06/massachusetts.sharks/art.shark.mdmf.jpg caption="A great white shark is tagged Saturday off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Shark sightings closed nearby beaches."]
The first tagging Saturday marked the first time a great white shark had been successfully tagged in the Atlantic Ocean, the division said in a statement. A second shark was tagged Saturday afternoon, officials said.
The taggings took place in the waters near Chatham, Massachusetts, two days after Greg Skomal, shark expert for the Division of Marine Fisheries, reported as many as five large sharks were seen near Monomoy Island, a National Wildlife Refuge off the southern elbow of Cape Cod. The island is about a mile away from Chatham's Lighthouse Beach, a public swimming area.
Chatham's beaches were closed to swimmers after the sightings, Skomal said. CNN affiliate WCVB reported that all of Chatham's east-facing beaches were closed after three sharks came within 75 yards of the coastline.
The beaches will be off-limits to swimmers until the middle of the week, officials told WCVB.
A soldier's sacrifice
Two of the biggest challenges of the Obama administration intersect in our story, “A soldier’s sacrifice.”
Back in July, Army Specialist Greg Missman was killed in Afghanistan when his convoy was hit by an IED. The explosion cut short what was Missman’s second stint in the Army. He had left the military 11 years ago but came back for one reason: health insurance.
Last year, Missman lost his job as a computer consultant. And Missman’s father Jim says his son was worried about providing health insurance for his family. Specialist Missman had a four-year-old son, Jack.
What’s on Tap – Monday September 7th, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today:
- We're heading toward a final showdown on health care reform. After months of passionate debate, the president is about to say something we haven't heard before. Exactly what he wants to see in health care reform. What you will hear in his speech this Wednesday night in Prime Time.
- How many added airline charges are you willing to take? In the first three months of the year, U.S. airlines took in a half billion dollars by making you pay for checking your bags. And now there's another way to make you pay… think of a fast pass at the amusement park.
- And what would a Labor Day show be without a trip to the beach? Our Rob Marciano is taking his road show to Cocoa Beach, Florida. Where the surf's up and the pros are hangin' 10.
- No sun and fun off the coast of Cape Cod. Several great white sharks spotted off the beach, tagged for the first time in the Atlantic Ocean. And we're not reading from the script of "Jaws." Why the beaches could be quiet this Labor Day in New England.
Rob's Road Show – Send in your ideas
CNN's Rob Marciano is hitting the road this summer.
Surf's up! Today he's at the 24th Annual NKF Pro-Am Surf Festival in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
So far he's been to:
- Dog Days – Mystic Seaport, Connecticut
- National Tractor Pulling Championships – Bowling Green, Ohio
- World Yo-Yo Contest – Orlando, Florida
- World's largest yard sale – Dunlap, Tennessee
Where he goes, nobody knows...
But you can decide his next stop – send us your ideas!
About this Show
Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
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