American Morning
LIVE Blog: Chat with us during the show
Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.
Imam: We are proceeding with NYC Islamic center
CNN's Soledad O'Brien has an exclusive interview with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on "Larry King Live" Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. Submit questions for the imam via iReport here.
New York (CNN) - The imam at the center of an ugly controversy over an Islamic center near New York's ground zero broke his silence Tuesday, just hours after a broad coalition of Christian, Jewish and Islamic leaders denounced what they described as a rising tide of anti-Muslim bigotry across the United States.
"I have been struck by how the controversy has riveted the attention of Americans, as well as nearly everyone I met in my travels," said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in an editorial published online by The New York Times Tuesday night.
"We have all been awed by how inflamed and emotional the issue of the proposed community center has become," wrote Rauf, who has just returned from a State Department-sponsored Middle East trip to promote U.S.-Muslim relations.
"The level of attention reflects the degree to which people care about the very American values under debate: recognition of the rights of others, tolerance and freedom of worship."
The imam was clear about his intentions.
"We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community, government at all levels and leaders from across the religious spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right thing to do for many reasons," he wrote. Read more
BP to release results of investigation into oil spill disaster
(CNN) - BP on Wednesday is expected to release findings of an internal investigation into the Gulf oil disaster, the oil giant said.
The report comes nearly five months after an April 20 explosion aboard an oil rig left 11 men dead and spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over an 87-day period.
A federal task report on Tuesday said scientists have found a decline in oxygen levels in the Gulf following the BP spill, but no "dead zones."
Levels of dissolved oxygen in deep water have dropped about 20 percent below their long-term average, according to data collected from up to 60 miles from the well at the center of the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
But much of that dip appears to be the result of microbes using oxygen to dissolve oil underwater, and the decline is not enough to be fatal to marine life, said Steve Murawski of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the head of the Joint Analysis Group studying the spill's impact.
"Even the lowest observations in all of these was substantially above the threshold," Murawski said.
The samples were collected from 419 points at varying distances from the ruptured well at the heart of the disaster and at depths as far down as 4,800 feet, the group reported. The task force is made up of NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Read more
Sound off: We want to hear from you this morning. Add your comments to the LIVE Blog below and we'll read some of them on the show.
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.
On Twitter
I support building the Mosque at the current location. But my question is where are the Muslims marching against Al Quida or the suicide bombers? Why do we not see Muslim Americans marching and protesting against the acts of the extremist Muslims....are they afraid? Do they secretly support these acts? This is the question I want asked of the Muslim Community.
I am a Christian and have a deep faith. But it just is to bad that other people with faith find it OK to burn any Holy book for anyone. If a group of people decided to burn the Bible America would go on a witch hunt and clam how aweful it was. What is the difference? I do not believe my God would want such a thing.
I am neither Democrat or Republican. I am an American tax-paying voter who votes for the individual I beleive will be the best candidate. Both parties have numerous flaws; however, one individual above slams just the Republicans, and makes the Democrats out to be the saving party.
A couple flaws of the Democrats, that will have eternal consequences (you can choose to ignore it now, but one day there will be judgement) and they are abortion and gay marraige rights.
Just heard your comment about taxes and health care costs......my husband and I do well, but we are decidedly middle class, we live in a modest home we can afford on 1 income in a modest neighborhood, we drive a base model Ford truck and a base model Subaru-we both work 60 hours per week. Our employer based health insurance for 2011 is going up 23% B/C of Obama's healthcare.....make no mistake the bail – out, socialized health care, and any new bail out or taxes are coming right off the backs of people like us. What happened to rewarding hard work and innovation in this country?
I hope this speech today by Barack Obama is a speech for ALL of America, and not just for his liberal constituency. It seems we have been sending the President around the country on the taxpayer dime non-stop, and all we have been seeing of him on TV are campaign rallies, demonizing Americans who don't agree with his policies, and whining about what he "inherited". Rarely does he speak in the dignified manner of a President who wants to lead ALL Americans. His speeches from the day he was inaugurated have been partisan, political speeches. The shirtsleeve schtick that he continues with is getting old. This President was part of the Congress controlled by Democrats since January of 2007. They spent the money and made the laws. If anything was "driven into the ditch", it was driven there in part by the Democrat controlled Congress as well as Republicans.
As a Christian, I don't understand why one would want to burn the Koran. Even though I don't agree with Muslims, it is their Holy Book, so treat it as such.
While I am on this topic of burning, I am retired Navy as well. I find it very offensive when one burns the flag of the United States.
Many have given their lives for the red, white and blue, and to allow people to burn that (because of the 1st amendment) is low.
While I agree that burning the Koran at the church in Florida is a bad idea, it is their Constitutional right to do so. It is the same thing as the mosque near Ground Zero. It is within the Imam's Constitutional right to do so, but is it a good idea? Does the Imam cause divisivness by insisting on going ahead with this location? Tolerance and sensitivity is a 2 way street. If the church in Florida needs to re-think the appropriateness of what they are doing, why not the Muslims who are moving ahead with the mosque location?
Art,
I assume your "NO" to extending the Bush tax cuts also applies to ALL the Bush tax cuts. I keep hearing that we need to keep the "middle class" Bush tax cuts. Judging by the rhetoric of Democrats the past 4 years or so, you would think the only tax cuts that George Bush put into place were for the so called "rich". Now all of sudden these same Democrats are finally acknowledging that the Bush tax cuts went to ALL tax payers, not just those evil "rich".
The economic proposals affecting business that the President will lay out today are a bit "too little too late". This President has spent the past 19 months demonizing business, rather than working with them to improve the economy. His anti-business rhetoric has laid the groundwork for the distrust of him by corporations.
Why has it taken President Obama this long to finally realize that business is not the enemy?
Extending the tax cuts does NOT make sense. Why should we continue to enable the wealthiest 1-2%?
They created this mess. Let THEM pay the price for their greed. The working man is tired of paying for it.
Muslims were in 9/11 world trade centers when they went down, so how can it be that this religion is terrorists. Look at the guy who shot tha abortion doctor on May 31st, thats terrorism at its finest and that loon was a Christian. Just my two cents
Good morning!
I just caught John Roberts' check in regarding the midterm elections, beginning with a discussion of the Rand Paul / Jack Conway contest.
It was mentioned that Paul is right wing, but I don't believe that is correct. He is trying hard not to offend the right wing of his party, but I believe that he is ultimately a Constitutionalist (a libertarian) in the mold of his father, Congressman Ron Paul. He realizes that to be elected to a group of 100, he has to be very careful about promoting a return to Constitutional principles in Washington, not starting from the presumption that Washington has all of the solutions and that the states and the people cannot "think" for themselves. Certainly this is a principle that has been missing from Washington for so long, a generation or two or three have no concept of life under a truly constitutional form of government. What we have now is a so profoundly corrupted form of government, activist groups like the so-called Tea Party movement, have been working uphill to raise awareness about the need for our country to get "back to the basics" of what makes our Constitution so vital to our ability to avoid decline like so many other great nations throughout history have brought upon themselves.
LOL@ stupid, uneducated Americans making stupid, uneducated, untrue statements.
America was founded on the premise of Freedom of Religion and tolerance of different religions – take that away there is no America.
Muslims were in the US BEFORE the US even became a country. Muslims have fought and died in every war the US was ever involved in.
Educate yourselves before you open your mouth and you might not appear to be so stupid.
I have this to say and you all need to hear it. Why put the party of NO in pRower they have done nothing to help or to get us as a nation back on our feet. I left the republicans and went to the other side because i saw that the country was going down with us in power and after 18 months i see i made the right choice I mean 18 months of saying NO and the thought of the country putting them back in power just shocks me and makes me sad that the people in the country act as if they have forgot what the republicans did to us the middle class and think about this if the republicans would have had their way our S.S fund would have been in the big wall st. down turn and we would be broke and where would that have left us the people who depend on it to live My god stop and think about it do we want them in power again to finish the job they started under Bush, Remember they have been the party of NO and they have done not one thing to help this country scene they were put out and i dont see them doing anything if they do get the power back except doing the same old things that got us here in the frist place............
Good morning cnn,
I disagree with the Imam about building the mosque where it is. How can he say he is sensitive to the people who died, and their familys,
then put up a building that will just inflame many thousands of people, even his own people, perhaps, since Muslims also died in 8/11. Are there no places available to build his new mosque that won't be so offensive to so many?
The government should run ads on tv to counter the propganda ads by bp and other oil companies.
#1 bp is required by epa alws to clean up, pay fines and claims when they have a spill. They are not doing this out of the kindness of their corporate hearts.
#2 Energy companies are not over taxed as advertised. Exxon/mobil paid 0$ taxes in 2009, and only paid a 500k fine for the multi million dollar exxon valdez spill thanks to the corporate supreme court.
Aren't they two sides of the same coin? Some people find what the pastor is doing wrong, but he believes he's right and has every right to do what he wants. Some people believe the imam is wrong but he believes he's right and has every right to do what he wants.
Both are bad ideas. Although the Imam isn't a wingnut like the pastor is.
NO to extending the Bush tax cuts.
Haven't we American's been pushed around long enough? NO Muslim Mosque should be 600' feet from American's hallowed grounds while this Muslim Rauf demands he will. Who the hell does he think he is making demands here? Take your Muslim crap and leave the United States. BTW..Where were you Muslims when we broke bread with the Native Indians at Plymouth? Where were you Muslims during slavery? Where were you Muslims during the civil war? Where were you Muslims during WWI? WWII.......with Hitler!
Where were you Muslims in Korea and Vietnam?
You Muslims have done nothing but create havoc. GO HOME. Didn't a Muslim Army Major kill American soldiers in Texas? Didn't a Muslim Iraqi shoot and kill 2 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq the other day.
How dare you demand from us. Half of you Muslims aren't even U.S. Citizens.
The Koran? burn baby, burn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regarding the Koran burning and the building of the Islamic Center in New York: I think the pastor who is planning to burn the Koran is sorely misguided; however, Muslims need to realize that many Americans are offended by the building of the mosque in New York. It seems to me that the Muslims are more concerned about their sensibilities than they are about the sensibilities of other Americans. If they can rightly get offended about Koran burning, why can't we rightly get offended about the building of the mosque in New York near the site of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
Our nation has been built on freedom of religion. To practice one's faith in peace is an integral part of our basic rights.
But, Islam has been stained by those of its faith that promote or engage in terrorist activities. If you support terrorism and/or the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel-in a sense, you become my enemy. Not that I now hate you, but that I must be wary lest your ideologies lead to unwholesome action against our society, our nation.
This doesn't legitimate discrimination or hatred and anti-Islamic violence-or for that matter Koran burning. We must fight for freedom of expression, while battling those that spawn hatred and death.
hi guys,
I am a christian arab living in canada for the past 22 yrs. I grew up in Kuwait..lived with muslims all my life.
some were really tough to deal with some were great. like anyone else.
I do not understand why you as a network have chosen to give this truly "stupid" Christian reverend air time.
I'm a Christian and i'm offended. this is not about shwoing different points of view. this is tabloid fodder and it is on cnn? what does burning Q'urans get you? Jesus would not approve. I don't think he said to act this way. I was hoping that someday you would be more a voice for reason and compassion..but not today.
it is true, the islamist extremists are extreme..but this guy well he's just set off a whole bunch of kids on the edge. he just made that decision for them. it was really difficult growing up in Kuwait as a Christian girl where people thought you were destined for hel all the times. Never though would it have sent me into a tirade like it did this reverend. I kew better.
I have turned off the tv. and I am disgusted but what is on it.
i'm curious: are american and non-american christians living in
predominately muslim areas of the world feeling any
heat from the anti-muslimism here in the states?
and if so, would the hate mongerers here care? if they don't "love thy brother," will they love their christian brother?
Good Morning CNN!
Glad the iman made the decision to build the Mosque right where he wants to. America doesn't need to give to the Terry Jones' of the world. Those types of people do more damage than good.