American Morning
Blizzard of partisanship
The Senate voted overnight to end debate on the health care reform bill. Republicans, who didn't cast a single vote in favor, say the bill and the whole process was ugly. CNN's Jim Acosta reports.
Ben Stiller – Tuesday on American Morning
Editor's Note: In an American Morning original series, “Big Stars, Big Giving,” Alina Cho looks at celebrity philanthropy and how these big stars can make a big impact. Through one-on-one interviews with Elton John, Ben Stiller, Madonna, Martha Stewart and Richard Branson, she shares what causes have become their passion, and how you can get involved.
Ben Stiller is using comedy and social media to make a difference, raising money to build schools in Haiti.
His charity name is a spoof on Lance Armstrong's foundation, "LiveStrong," with its famous yellow bracelets. Stiller came up with "StillerStrong," and his version of the bracelet is a headband.
In part two of "Big Stars, Big Giving," Alina sits down with the famous funny man Tuesday, 6-9 a.m. ET – only on CNN’s American Morning.
Counting Down Cady: Cady-in-training
Editor's Note: Cady Coleman, Ph.D. is a NASA astronaut – a veteran of two space missions, who has logged over 500 hours in space. She is assigned to the Expedition 26 crew and is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz 25 in late 2010. This is part three of our year-long American Morning original series, "Counting Down Cady."
By Kim Segal and John Zarrella, CNN
Houston, Texas (CNN) - It takes two people to help dress Cady Coleman for work.
The spacesuit she must wear for training at the Johnson Space Center here weighs more than twice the body weight of the petite astronaut.
"Some people think you might have a custom spacesuit, and you don't," she says. "They're in a generic size."
Pads are added and adjustments are made to ensure a custom, comfortable fit for each astronaut. The suit Coleman is training in is similar to the one she will wear if she must do a spacewalk next year while aboard the international space station.
In November, if everything goes according to plan, Coleman will blast off on a Russian Soyuz rocket for the station, where she will live for the next six months.
Actress Brittany Murphy dead at 32
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/21/brittany.murphy.art.jpg caption="Actress Brittany Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. PT, according to a spokesman at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was 32."]
Los Angeles, California (CNN) - Brittany Murphy, the bubbly, free-spirited actress who appeared in such films as "Clueless" and "8 Mile," died Sunday, apparently of natural causes, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said. She was 32.
Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. PT Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Sally Stewart told CNN Radio.
An autopsy had not been scheduled as of Sunday night, but Captain John Kades, a spokesman for the coroner's office, told CNN that there was no sign of foul play or trauma. He added that it's not unusual for a younger person to die of natural causes.
The coroner's office is looking into Murphy's medical history. A final report could take up to eight weeks.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the death, and robbery and homicide detectives will be at her home, LAPD spokeswoman Norma Eisenman said.
"The sudden loss of our beloved Brittany is a terrible tragedy," her family said in a statement issued by her publicist. "She was our daughter, our wife, our love and a shining star. We ask you to respect our privacy at this time."
Funeral arrangements are pending, the family said.
Counting Down Cady: Cady relives first space launch
Editor's Note: Cady Coleman, Ph.D. is a NASA astronaut – a veteran of two space missions, who has logged over 500 hours in space. She is assigned to the Expedition 26 crew and is scheduled to fly to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz 25 in late 2010. Below is a blog written by Cady exclusively for CNN via NASA's Astronaut Office.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://am.blogs.cnn.com/files/2009/12/creamer.jpg caption="Astronaut TJ Creamer gives a press conference at the Baikonur cosmodrome on December 19, 2009."]
By Cady Coleman
Special to CNN
Was it everything he hoped for and dreamed about? Col. TJ Creamer left Earth yesterday on Soyuz 21S, bound for a six month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Was it worth the wait, the time away from his family and the grueling pace of training around the world? Based on my two space shuttle flights, I predict that launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome was everything TJ dreamed about, and then some!
I’m betting that as we speak, TJ is floating inside the БО (pronounced bay-oh) with a huge grin covering most of his face. I don’t mean to leave out Oleg Kotov and Soichi Noguchi, also onboard the Soyuz yesterday when it launched, but TJ’s veteran crewmates have both been to the ISS before. Oleg spent 6 months as part of Exp 15 in 2007 and Soichi made 2 spacewalks to help assemble the ISS during STS-114, the first post-Columbia mission.
As a trio, the Expedition 22 crew was always great to interact with. They all bring, of course, amazing technical competence to the ISS stage, but Soichi’s quick wit, Oleg’s quiet, slow smile and TJ’s ever-present cheery nature made them a pleasure to train with as well. As Nicole Stott’s backup for Expedition 20, I spent the last 2 years training with my fellow astronauts and cosmonauts in Star City Russia, Tsukuba Japan, Cologne Germany and of course, Houston Texas.
TJ and I didn’t always overlap in those places, but he was known for his generosity in sharing the training lessons that he learned with other crew members. Many of my skills with both large and small computers came from TJ-based-advice. He was especially helpful in hooking me up with cool software to make learning Russian as easy and fun as possible.
Because he was on a mission ahead of me, he also provided helpful lists of Russian vocabulary for our Star City training. My favorites: for water survival “No really, I mean it – I can’t swim!!!!” And for winter survival: “Who has the marshmallows?” (Thanks Teej!)
Big Stars, Big Giving: All next week on American Morning
Editor's Note: In an American Morning original series, “Big Stars, Big Giving,” Alina Cho looks at celebrity philanthropy and how these big stars can make a big impact. Through one-on-one interviews with Elton John, Ben Stiller, Madonna, Martha Stewart and Richard Branson, she shares what causes have become their passion, and how you can get involved. In part one, Alina sits down with legendary musician Elton John. Monday, 6-9 a.m. ET – only on CNN’s American Morning.
By Alina Cho, CNN
There are many famous people who just talk the talk, and then there are those who walk the walk – and do it in other people's shoes. They are the ones who really give back, and their generosity is helping change the world.
I had the chance to sit down with some of Hollywood's biggest stars, and I mean "biggest." All of them are doing their part to try to make a difference.
All next week on CNN’s “American Morning,” we are highlighting them for the holiday season.
We begin on Monday with the man I call the "original" – Sir Elton John. In 17 years, his Elton John AIDS Foundation (ejaf.org) has raised more than $150 million with programs in 55 countries.
I caught up with him at a celebrity tennis tournament benefiting his foundation. Did you know Sir Elton John plays tennis?
“I've got a good forehand,” he tells me. And he's using it for a good cause.
The 62-year-old music legend says he wasn't inspired to become an advocate until he met 14-year old Ryan White in 1986. The Indiana teen was expelled from his school because he had AIDS.
John became so close to the White family that he gave them financial assistance and was at Ryan's bedside when he died.
“I never heard Ryan complain about having AIDS. I never heard him whine or be miserable; he carried everything with such dignity. It just taught me about humility, how my life was completely out of whack. About six months after Ryan died, I began to change my life."
On Tuesday I talk with movie star Ben Stiller. He's using comedy and social media to raise awareness and money to build schools in Haiti.
We all know Lance Armstrong's foundation, "Livestrong,” with those famous yellow bracelets. Well, Ben Stiller came up with "Stillerstrong," and his version of the bracelet – a yellow headband.
For the rest of the series, I’ll sit down with Madonna in a rare one-on-one interview. She's building a school for orphans in Malawi. Then there’s Martha Stewart, who built a center for aging Americans. She did that for her 93-year-old mother.
And last, but certainly not least, Sir Richard Branson – the man behind the "Virgin" empire. He treats philanthropy like a business – identify a problem and solve it.
So don't miss American Morning all next week for our original series, “Big Stars, Big Giving.” It’s an up close look at how Elton John, Ben Stiller, Madonna, Martha Stewart and Richard Branson are giving back.
To learn more about the organizations these stars have created to make a difference,
and how you can get involved, visit Impact Your World.
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