American Morning
Minding Your Business for Sept. 22, 2011
Christine Romans reports the morning business news headlines in our daily segment "Minding Your Business" on CNN’s
American Morning.
Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings releases new book about geography
Ken Jennings, famous for winning 74 straight Jeopardy games and $2.52 million dollars on the show, has always loved geography. As a child, he slept with a Hammond World Atlas under his pillow every night.
In his new book, "Maphead," Jennings explains why both himself and many others around the world find maps and geography so fascinating.
Jennings discusses the state of geography education in the United States and comments on new navigation technology today on American Morning.
Senator Chuck Grassley demanding answers about Justice Department spending
Senator Grassley is outraged at the Department of Justice and demanding answers for an inspector general report that found that the agency has often paid well above market costs for food and drinks at its conferences, including $16 muffins.
In all, the audit found that the Justice Department spent $121 million on 1,832 conferences throughout the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years.
In response, Vice President Joe Biden released a statement yesterday calling for a review of all conference-related expenses and declaring that all future expenses will have to be signed off on by the Deputy Secretary or an equivalent chief operating officer of each agency.
Senator Chuck Grassley appears on American Morning today to talk about the Justice Department's audit and the measures that are going to be enacted to regulate spending.
Nicholas Kristof discusses his interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof was the only print journalist to interview Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at this year's United Nations General Assembly.
Kristof spoke with Ahmadinejad just hours before the release of two American hikers from Iranian custody, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, and he describes the interview as calm, and conciliatory, with moments of tension.
Today on American Morning, Christine Romans sits down with Kristof to discuss what Ahmadinejad said about the hikers' release, Iran's relationship with the U.S., and recent protests in Syria.
PLO's Ashrawi: 'We do not want any delays in the deliberations on our membership'
Confronted with the prospect of a Palestinian bid for full U.N. membership, U.S. President Barack Obama issued a sharp rebuke yesterday to those pressing for statehood.
Hanan Ashrawi, executive committee member for the Palestine Liberation Operation, appears on American Morning today to offer her reaction to Obama's remarks and to weigh on the country's impending request for statehood.
"We do not want any delays or procrastinations in the deliberations on our membership," Ashrawi explains. "We know that the United States has been working overtime and has spent so much energy and effort trying to pressure different countries to persuade them not to vote in our favor."
Ashrawi also comments on yesterday's speech by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who called for a resolution for non-member "observer status" for Palestine as a bridge toward statehood.
"We found it extremely interesting," Ashrawi says. "We did meet with President Sarkozy and we said we would view it positively and give it positive consideration.
How is Israel reacting to Palestine's impending request for statehood? Daniel Ayalon explains
President Obama spoke out about the impending request by the Palestinians for statehood this week, asserting that the U.S. believes that peace between Israel and Palestine will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations.
Today on American Morning, Daniel Ayalon, Israeli deputy minister of foreign affairs, sits down with Carol Costello to discuss Palestine's request for statehood and to comment about how the United States is handling the situation.
When asked to comment about the fierce criticism that Obama is receiving from GOP presidential candidates, Ayalon affirms that he does not think that the president has "thrown Israel under the bus."
"It's a very heated political season here and Israel is not part of the campaign," Ayalon explains. "When it comes to Israel, I don't see a difference between Republicans and Democrats. We see only Americans."
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