American Morning
Obama receives Nobel Peace Prize
Oslo, Norway (CNN) - President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway on Thursday but acknowledged the questions surrounding the award.
Obama, along with first lady Michelle Obama, walked into Oslo City Hall at 1 p.m. to a trumpet fanfare and sustained applause.
"I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility," he said. "It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations - that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.
"And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage." Read more
Transcript of Obama's speech | Award is about 'highest aspirations' 
Exclusive: One-on-one with Secretary Clinton at NATO
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is visiting NATO, meeting with world leaders to get their support for President Obama's surge strategy in Afghanistan.
Our John Roberts is there as well and had the chance to sit down, exclusively, one-on-one with Secretary Clinton. It was a wide-ranging talk. How many NATO troops will member nations commit? What can be done about the violence across the border in Pakistan? And what will the changes mean for U.S. forces already on the ground?
First up, Secretary Clinton talks about how many NATO troops are committed and what that will mean for U.S. forces on the ground.
Next, how the 18-month time line will play out. Plus, the challenge of transitioning power to Afghan forces, and Secretary Clinton responds to criticisms that the U.S. is going to "cut and run."
Mumbai survivors mark anniversary of attack with celebration of life
By Beth Anne Marengo
Naomi Scherr should have started classes at the Emma Willard Boarding School in Troy, New York this fall. She should have been honing her skills on her Fender and jamming with her Dad on weekends. She should have been anxiously awaiting the release of the next “Harry Potter” movie and experimenting with yet another new hair color.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/25/scherr.family.art.jpg caption="Kia Scherr's husband Alan and daughter Naomi were killed during the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008."]
But she wasn’t.
Naomi, 13, and her father, Alan Scherr, 48, were killed during the terrorist attack on Mumbai last November that lasted 4 days and took the lives of 160 people.
They had been in India on a spiritual retreat sponsored by the Synchronicity Foundation when the terrorists struck – and were gunned down in the restaurant at the Oberoi Hotel as they shared a meal with their fellow travelers.
“I was shot along with them and I died while I was alive,” says Kia Scherr, Alan’s wife and Naomi’s mother. “I miss them. They were my best friends and companions. On that level, I’m alone.”
But right from the beginning, Scherr said, she shunned the urge most people would feel to lash out against the attackers who took her family from her and instead chose to focus on forgiveness and celebrating life.
So along with Charles Cannon, who led last year’s retreat to Mumbai, and other survivors of the attack, Kia Scherr is launching One Life Alliance. They plan to use the alliance to help unite people from different backgrounds and cultures by highlighting the fact that all people are members of one human race. They’ll use the group’s Web site as a venue for conversation and hold events around the country focused on promoting the sacredness of life.
Scherr and Cannon say the idea for the alliance was born from the outpouring of support she received from people – most of them strangers – from around the world in the aftermath of the attacks.
E.T. phone Rome?
Our galaxy is so large that, if traveling at the speed of light, it would take 100,000 years to cross it and it's not the only galaxy in the universe. The vastness of the universe causes many people to wonder, is anybody else out there?
The Vatican asked the same question in a recent five-day summit on the possibility of alien life.
Chris Impey attended the summit and spoke to T.J. Holmes on CNN's American Morning Friday.
Charges dropped against U.S. father in Japan custody case
(CNN) - Authorities have officially dropped all charges against an American who tried to snatch back his children from his ex-wife in Japan, the Fukuoka prosecutor's office said Thursday.
Charges had been technically "on hold" since Christopher Savoie was released from jail in October, though legal experts had said the move essentially meant the charges had already been dropped.
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