American Morning
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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 $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.
Planned Quran-burning could endanger troops, Petraeus warns
(CNN) - The U.S. commander in Afghanistan has criticized a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, warning the demonstration "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.
"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.
With about 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, Petraeus warned that burning Qurans "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems - not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."
Petraeus said he was concerned by the political repercussions of the church's plan.
"Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday," he said. "Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."
He said extremists would use images of burning Qurans to inflame public opinion and incite violence. Read more
Obama to introduce another business tax cut
(CNN) - In another move aimed at stabilizing the still-shaky economy, President Barack Obama on Wednesday will introduce a new $200 billion tax cut giving businesses across the country an incentive to buy new equipment in the short term, according to a senior administration official.
The tax cut would allow businesses to write off 100 percent of new investments in plants and equipment made between now and the end of 2011, according to the senior administration official.
The new tax cut will be in addition to a $100 billion permanent extension of the business tax credit for research and development, as well as $50 billion in new infrastructure spending included in a package that the president will officially unveil Wednesday during an economic speech in Cleveland, Ohio.
The $100 billion tax credit proposal was reported by CNN on Sunday while Obama himself disclosed the infrastructure spending Monday in a fiery speech at a Labor Day event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in which he tried to draw a sharp contrast with Republican economic plans.
"I don't want to give them the keys back," Obama said. "They don't know how to drive ... They're going to pop it into reverse and have special interesting riding shotgun and we'd be right back in the ditch."
The leaks of a flurry of Obama proposals in just the last 36 hours show just how anxious White House officials are to show the president is on top of trying to rescue the still-faltering economy at a time when Democrats strategists are privately starting to panic that their majorities in both the House and Senate may now be up for grabs. Read more
Tropical Storm Hermine downs trees, power lines in Texas
(CNN) - Tropical Storm Hermine began its journey across Texas Tuesday morning, bringing fierce winds and the possibility of tornadoes.
As of 2 a.m. ET, Hermine was about 10 miles (15 km) south-southwest of Harlington, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and was headed north-northwest at about 14 mph (22 km/h).
"Isolated tornadoes are possible along the lower and middle Texas coast" through Tuesday morning, the weather agency said.
Joseph Tomaselli, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Brownsville, Texas, said fallen trees, signs, power lines and power poles were reported throughout Brownsville and Cameron County on Tuesday morning. Tomaselli said flooding in Brownsville and Cameron County has also been reported. 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.
Gearing up for midterm elections
(CNN) – Today marks the beginning of the fall political season. And with November’s midterm elections less than two months away, CNN poll numbers indicate that support for Democrats is eroding. What does this mean for the balance of power on Capitol Hill? And how will jobs, the economy and health care be affected? Republican strategist, Leslie Sanchez, and Democratic strategist, Kiki Mclean, joined us on Monday's American Morning to help us answer these questions.
Related: CNN’s complete coverage on November's midterm elections
"Outside the Wire": Sgt. Shorter and unit on patrol in Afghanistan
Editor's Note: As part of an ongoing series “A Soldiers Story,” CNN's Jason Carroll follows Sgt. Randy Shorter and his unit as they head into Afghanistan. Catch their stories on our AMfix blog, CNN.com and CNN's American Morning in September.
Angle vs. Reid: the Tea Party's big gamble
(CNN) – We are kicking off the fall political season with a new series, "Make Room… for the Tea Party". The latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that voters are mixed on the political movement. 40% of respondents say they have a negative opinion of the Tea Party, while 36% have a positive opinion. Today, we are taking a closer look at Nevada where Sharron Angle, a Tea Party favorite, is the Republicans’ hope for taking down Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Our Jim Acosta has the story.
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 $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.
Next up: Obama moves economy to top of week's agenda
(CNN) – On this Labor Day, the White House will put its focus squarely back on the economy, following a week where the Obama administration concentrated on Middle East peace talks and the end of America's combat role in Iraq.
The address will be the first of two speeches this week in which President Obama will try and frame his administration's response to the recession, less than two months ahead of midterm elections where Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are on the ropes.
Obama will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Monday, speaking at a Labor Day event in a state that has extremely competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.
Then on Wednesday, he will deliver an economic speech in hard-hit Cleveland, Ohio, in a state that also has very competitive gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House battles that will help determine control of both chambers of Congress. Full Story
CNN Poll: GOP's midterm advantage is growing
(CNN) – With November's midterm elections less than two months away, a new national poll indicates that the Republicans' advantage over the Democrats in the battle for Congress is on the rise.
According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey the GOP leads the Democrats by seven points on the "generic ballot" question, 52 percent to 45 percent. That seven point advantage is up from a three point margin last month. The generic ballot question asks respondents if they would vote for a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district, without naming any specific candidates.
"The survey indicates that Independents and voters who dislike both parties are starting to break toward the GOP," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "In a year when anger at incumbents is a dominant political force, the key to the election lies among those who aren't rooting for either side."
According to the poll, the two parties are equally unpopular. Forty-nine percent of all Americans have an unfavorable view of the Democrats and 49 percent have an unfavorable view of the Republicans. Just over one in five questioned dislike both parties. Back in April, Americans who dislike both parties appeared to mildly favor the GOP on the generic ballot, by a 43 to 39 percent margin, with a large number saying at the time that they would pick a minor-party candidate or stay at home.
"Now, a lot of those voters appear to be bolting to the GOP. Republicans now have a whopping 38-point advantage on the generic ballot among voters who dislike both parties," adds Holland.
Republicans also have large and growing advantage among Independents. Sixty-two percent of Independents questioned say they would vote for the generic Republican in their district, with three in ten saying they'd cast a ballot for the generic Democrat. That 32 point margin for the Republicans among Independents is up from an eight point advantage last month.
"It's not surprising that those two groups are voting the same way, since almost by definition Independents don't like either party," adds Holland.
What will the "Obama factor" be in November? The poll indicates that most say that their vote for Congress will not be intended as a message for President Obama.
Twenty-four percent say that their vote will be in opposition to Obama; with one in five saying their vote will be a message of support for the President. In 2006, anti-Bush voters outnumbered pro-Bush boters by more than two-to-one.
"Among those who plan to send a message with their vote this fall, Obama is having a negative effect but nothing like the effect George W. Bush had on Republican candidates in 2006," says Holland.
The CNN/Opinon Research Corporation poll was conducted September 1-2, with 1,024 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
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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.
