American Morning
George Steinbrenner dead after massive heart attack
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/13/yankee.art.jpg caption="Steinbrenner reportedly suffered a massive heart attack."]
[Updated at 9:58 a.m.] New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died, Steinbrenner's spokesman said.
“It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing," a statement from his family said. "“He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family – his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer, Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren.
“He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again.”
The team has seven World Series trophies – 1977, '78, '96, '98, '99, 2000 and '09 earned under Steinbrenner's ownership since 1973.
"Owning the Yankees," Steinbrenner once said, "is like owning the Mona Lisa." Read More
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New cap on ruptured oil well faces key tests
New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) - BP plans to begin testing the new cap on its ruptured deepwater well Tuesday - a move that officials hope will be a step on the way to stopping oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.
"This test involves closing one or more of the valves on the new cap for a period of time to allow BP to measure pressures in the well," retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.
The process could take anywhere from six hours to two days, or longer if BP extends them.
Officials say several scenarios are possible: the cap could contain all the oil; the cap could contain some of the crude while ships on the water's surface collect the rest; or, under a worst-case scenario, there could be more damage to the well's casing, meaning that capping the well would not stop the oil from flowing.
Before testing began, some oil continued to gush from the upper section of the new, 18-foot, 150,000-pound cap.
Allen, who is leading the federal response to the environmental disaster, said Monday scientists will be checking the pressure inside the well, and then determining whether the cap is holding the oil in or if ships will need to continue siphoning oil.
A critical step is making sure there's no hydrate buildup, according to BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles. 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.
Swiss won't extradite Polanski on child sex charge
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/12/polanski.art.jpg caption="Director Roman Polanski is under house arrest in Switzerland pending extradition to the United States."]
(CNN) - Switzerland will not send Oscar-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski to the United States to face child sex charges, the Ministry of Justice announced Monday.
He is now free, the ministry said.
Polanski pleaded guilty in Los Angeles, California to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 but fled to Europe before he was sentenced.
He was arrested in Switzerland last year and had been fighting extradition since then.
Switzerland was not making a decision about the severity of the charge or whether Polanski was guilty, Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said.
"It's not about qualifying the crime. That is not our job. It's also not about deciding over guilt or innocence," she said.
The Swiss rejected the American request because the United States did not supply all the legal records Switzerland requested, and because Polanski had a reasonable right to think he would not be arrested if he visited the country, she said.
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 $#&*).
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/12/rubble.haiti.art.jpg caption="Students help to clear the rubble of the Anglican Cathedrale Episcopale Sainte Trinite in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Saturday."]
Six months after quake, Haiti still suffers
(CNN) (CNN) - On January 12, the earth shook here. More than 220,000 people were killed. More than 300,000 people were injured. The city and large stretches of surrounding countryside were devastated.
Six months later, not much appears to have changed. It still looks like a bomb just dropped on this city.
The government has barely begun the cleanup process. Roads in the center of the city are still blocked by debris. And some experts predict that it could take up to 20 years to remove all of it.
"We have moved 250,000 cubic meters of rubble, which sounds like a lot, until you realize there's 20 million cubic meters of rubble here," said Imogen Wall, spokeswoman for the United Nations office of humanitarian affairs in Haiti.
The U.N. estimates 1.5 million people currently live in camps. That means roughly one in nine Haitians are homeless.
And Wall says the situation is so difficult that six months from now, it may still look the same. 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.
Google to stay in China
Beijing renews Google's license to operate in China. CNN's Christine Romans reports.
The Teaser
"The Teaser” is a preview of the guests we have lined up for the next day – so you know when to tune in (and when to set your alarm!). Guests and times are always subject to change.
6:40AM 21-year-old Alia Sabur, and engineering prodigy, on her fix for the oil leak, and whether BP is listening.
7:40AM Arne Duncan, Education Secretary, on the winner of the "Race to the Top" contest . Who will get to have President Obama give their commencement address?
8:10AM Don Van Nieuwenhuise, Professor of Petroleum Geoscience at the Univ. of Houston, on the attempt to cap the oil spill – how is it working? What other options are available?
8:40AM Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst, on the two New Jersey men arrested at JFK airport, allegedly trying to travel to Somalia to "wage violent jihad".
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