American Morning
CNN Heroes: Nourishing New York's low-income communities
New York (CNN) - When Gina Keatley first moved to New York to attend culinary school, she noticed that many of her neighbors were missing limbs.
"I lived on 99th Street across from some projects," she said. "I would walk to the train and think, 'Why are there so many amputees?'"
Keatley found out that many of them had to have amputations because of complications from diabetes. Diabetes can reduce blood flow to extremities and cause nerve damage, and sometimes amputations are necessary if serious infection sets in and there is severe damage to the tissue and bone.
The neighborhood where Keatley lived, East Harlem, has the highest diabetes rate in Manhattan, according to city health officials. It also has the highest obesity rate: One-third of adult residents are obese or overweight.
"It's so shocking to me to see people who are poor and unhealthy and literally dying in the street," said Keatley, an award-winning chef and nutritionist.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta recounts Diana Nyad's journey to swim from Cuba to Florida
For over a year, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following 62 year old endurance swimmer Diana Nyad's journey to become the first person to swim between Cuba and Florida without a shark cage.
To even attempt this dream, Diana had to secure visas from both Cuba and the US, get boats, drivers, safety divers, meteorologists, shark experts and a navigator to support her as she's swimming.
Although Nyad ultimately was unable to complete her journey, her story is nothing short of incredible.
Dr. Gupta discusses Nyad's mission on American Morning today, explaining what exactly caused her to stop her swim.
To see the rest of Diana's story, and never before seen video of the moment Diana decided to get out of the water, tune into CNN on Saturday night at 8pm.
How is President Obama connecting with the American people?
This week, President Obama has taken to the road to promote his jobs legislation and many are saying that the American people are seeing a side of the president that we haven't seen since he ran for office. The president will be in Virginia later this morning trying to fire up crowds with his new catchphrase "Pass this bill."
So is Obama finally connecting with the average American again?
Today on American Morning, Michael Maslansky, CEO of Maslansky Luntz + Partners, a corporate and public affairs market research firm that specializes in language and messaging, discusses the president's jobs strategy and compares it with that of GOP candidates like Rick Perry.
Palestine to seek full United Nations membership
Just hours before two American envoys were set to meet with Palestinian leaders yesterday in an attempt to work out a deal for resumption of peace talks with Israel, the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister said that the Palestinians will seek full United Nations membership next week.
The announcement sets the stage for a showdown with the United States, who has vowed to veto a vote on full Palestinian statehood if the question comes to the U.N. Security Council.
Daniel Kurtzer, former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, explains the importance of this move on American Morning today, breaking down the potential repercussions for both the United States and peace talks in the Middle East.
House Speaker John Boehner unveils his own jobs plan – but will it work? Earth Institute's Jeffrey Sachs weighs in
With criticism mounting against Obama's "American Jobs Act," Speaker of the House John Boehner unveiled his own jobs plan yesterday dubbed "Liberating America's Economy" in an early afternoon speech to the Economic Club of Washington.
Much of Boehner's contention with Obama's plan focused on regulation and he told listeners that we need to "remove these barriers and liberate our economy."
Today on American Morning, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, speaks with Christine Romans about Boehner's plan and weighs in as to whether or not it is a viable solution to the unemployment situation.
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Thomas Friedman weighs in on what the country needs to bring jobs back
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently came out with a new book, "This Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back."
Within the book, Friedman outlines four great challenges facing the U.S., globalization, the revolution in information technology, chronic deficits, and a pattern of excessive energy consumption.
Describing himself as a "frustrated optimist," Friedman spends much of the book discussing the hyper-partisanship on Capitol Hill, describing Washington as being systemically paralyzed. He argues that the U.S. needs a "shock to the system" to change this system, specifically, a third party candidate.
Today on American Morning, Friedman joins Ali Velshi to place his book in context with the jobs crisis and to weigh in on what the country needs right now, both in leadership style and in legislative substance.
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.
