American Morning
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Discovery Channel HQ given 'all clear'
(CNN) - Authorities gave an "all clear" early Thursday after sweeping the headquarters of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland, where police shot and killed a man who was holding three hostages.
Montgomery County Police said no active explosive devices were in the building, but authorities didn't say if any bombs had been found there. Earlier, Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said a number of devices in backpacks would have to be rendered safe.
The suspect killed by police was identified by Manger as James Lee. The hostages were unharmed, he said.
Manger said hostage negotiators negotiated for almost four hours by phone with Lee on Wednesday afternoon while police officers watched and listened to Lee on the building's surveillance system.
"At times during the negotiations, he was calm, but I wouldn't call him lucid. The conversation was indicative to me he was dealing with some mental issues," he said.
Manger said the three hostages were lying on the ground, but were not otherwise constrained. He said Lee mainly dealt with the hostage negotiators and did not communicate with the hostages. Read more
Earl strengthens, heads toward East Coast
See local coverage from CNN affiliate WVEC. Is Hurricane Earl affecting you? Share images and information with CNN iReport.
(CNN) - Hurricane Earl took aim on the Outer Banks of North Carolina early Thursday as the powerful storm prepared to take a swipe at the Eastern Seaboard.
Hurricane warnings and watches stretched from North Carolina to Delaware, and covered parts of Massachusetts as Earl strengthened late Wednesday.
President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for North Carolina on Wednesday evening.
"The president's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures," a FEMA statement said. Read more
A Soldier's Story Update
As the U.S. military forges ahead in the final wave of the surge CNN's Jason Carroll shows us how one soldier is making the last few preparations before his mission gets underway, in our ongoing series, A Soldier's Story. Follow his updates on twitter, @jasoncarrollcnn
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.
Change of command in Iraq
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- Confidence in Iraq's government?
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- Iraq goals achieved?
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- Iraq casualties
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- Cost of deploying
A taste for tea
Tea party winners in this year's primary elections:
Democratic strategist Kiki McLean, and former Republican congresswoman of New York, Susan Molinari discussed the Tea party winners on CNN's American Morning, Wednesday. Watch 
Soldiers touch base with Afghan students
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.
I'm following First Class Sgt. Randy Shorter through his third combat tour of duty. Initially, he thought he would end up at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Afghanistan. But upon arrival his mission changed. He and the others would be moved to a much smaller location about four miles away called Forward Operating Base Rushmore.
We wanted to get an advanced look. So we headed out with some soldiers in the 4th brigade, who were already there. They took us on a patrol of the center of town outside the protective walls of the base. For security reasons we wore armored vests and protective helmets. As we walked through the bazaar, past vendors selling beads, small souvenirs, and flat bread, the people stopped and stared at us. Whenever, we stopped for a moment it didn't take long for small crowds to gather around and ask questions or make comments:Why are you dropping bombs on us? How long will you be here? I'm glad you're here; the United States military will not succeed.
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- Jason and Ali Baba school principal
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- Sharana residents
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- Sharana street scene
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- Jason at the bazaar
The soldiers answered questions, and listened to concerns. Engaging the Afghan people is key to their mission. I stopped at the only school near the bazaar, Ali Baba High School. The principal came out and warmly greeted us. I asked if I could talk to a student, he said I was welcome to come inside but it wasn't safe for a student to talk to me. He explained if the student spoke out about insurgents while speaking to me, that student could face reprisals from the Taliban. He said insurgent sympathizers were in schools like these.
Most of those we met were curious, kind and honest about their feelings regarding the war. Even so, as I walked the streets wearing an armored vest, I still felt exposed. Reporters have a saying, "always trust your gut." and that gut feeling of exposure was tough to shake. As the patrol ended, we walked back to Forward Operating Base Rushmore and away from Ali Baba High School. I graciously thanked the Principal who was hopeful seeing U.S. troops in the village. I asked our interpreter where was the next closest school. He said there was another to the north not too far from us. It's named Jihad High School.
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.
