American Morning
'Poverty tour' aims to give poor Americans a voice
The Great Recession has left 1 in 7 Americans living in households with income below than the poverty level and unemployment is still on the rise in many communities as America's middle class continues to shrink.
In order to bring attention to poverty in the U.S., Princeton professor Cornel West and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley are on a 15-city "Poverty Tour" aimed at giving poor Americans a voice. The tour is the latest effort by the two to highlight what they see as deficiencies in the Obama administration.
Today on American Morning, West and Smiley join Carol Costello to discuss their criticism of the President and to describe what they have learned during their "Poverty Tour," which kicked off on Saturday.
For more information on Smiley and West's poverty tour, visit www.povertytour.smileyandwest.com
Standard & Poor's Beers: 'We stand by our decisions' to downgrade U.S. debt
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) - Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency that lowered the grade on the federal government's credit worthiness, continued its defense of its move Monday, calling Washington criticism a "smoke screen."
"This idea that we made a $2 trillion error is simply a smoke screen for the unhappiness, in our view, about our decision," said David Beers, S&P's global head of sovereign ratings, in an interview with Ali Velshi and Christine Romans on CNN's "America Morning."
In talking to CNN, Beers took particular issue with criticisms made by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Sunday, when he told NBC that the agency they "drew exactly the wrong conclusion."
Beers pointed out that even Geithner acknowledged the harm done to the U.S. reputation, when leaders took until the last possible minute to come to a deal, and that the U.S. remains on an unsustainable path.
"So it seems that the Treasury isn't challenging the analysis both on the political side and on the fiscal side. They're just unhappy with the downgrade, but we stand by our decision," Beers said.
Beers talked to CNN about further downgrade possibilities, saying there is a 1-in-3 chance the United States could be downgraded again in the next six to 24 months.
Talkback: Do the poor share responsibility for our economic woes?
According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 44 million Americans – one in seven – live below the poverty level.
While some argue that it is time for lawmakers to put reducing poverty back on the national agenda, others, like the conservative Heritage Foundation, claim that poverty statistics can be misleading.
Talkback: Do the poor share responsibility for our economic woes?
We want to know what you think. Your answer could be read on American Morning.
CNN Heroes: A helping hand for young breast cancer patients
Bellevue, Washington (CNN) - Just a year before turning 40, Judy Haley was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer that required an immediate mastectomy.
The procedure and the treatments that followed left her fatigued, nauseated and in so much pain that she couldn't pick up her 1-year-old daughter or do simple household chores. She also struggled with depression because she needed constant child-care assistance.
"It's really hard to ask for help," Haley recalled. "You want to be competent and independent. ... And then, all of a sudden, you have to acknowledge the fact that you can't take care of your daughter all by yourself."
Haley and her husband were both full-time students, so there were also financial concerns. The couple cashed in their retirement to deal with the crush of medical bills.
"I was really bottoming out emotionally," Haley said.
That's when a friend recommended that she reach out to the Pink Daisy Project, a nonprofit that provides support to breast cancer patients under 45.
Since 2008, the Pink Daisy Project has helped more than 150 women - mostly in the form of house-cleaning assistance and gift cards for gas, groceries and restaurants. But according to Haley, it's so much more.
A Soldier's Story: Soldiers prepare for life after war
Concluding our series looking at the lives of soldier's in Afghanistan, CNN's Jason Carroll takes a look at the challenges soldiers expect to find while adjusting to life on the homefront.
Secrets of the FBI revealed in new book
From movie stars to the country's most wanted criminals. We're getting a new look at some of the FBI's most closely guarded secrets. Why has the U.S. not suffered another attack since 9/11? Who went to visit Marilyn Monroe right before her death? What really happened in the days leading up to the death of Vincent Foster, the deputy White House Counsel during the Clinton Administration?
The answer to those questions are all being revealed in Ronald Kessler's new book "The Secrets of the FBI." Kessler talks with Carol Costello this morning on American Morning and takes viewers behind the closed doors of the FBI's mysterious training centers and labs.
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