American Morning
'Bird bartender' nursing Gulf pelicans back to health
CNN's Rob Marciano reports on a warehouse converted to a bird rescue center where oiled birds get rehabilitated and released.
(CNN) – No exaggeration is necessary when describing the sheer scope of the environmental tragedy that's now unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. It is an unprecedented disaster and when it comes to dealing with all the damage it requires an unprecedented response. Our Rob Marciano reports on the story of one woman who is answering the call. Watch 
Program Note: Join Rob Marciano for his special report, "Rescue: Saving the Gulf," this Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. He'll take you inside the largest, most ambitious cleanup job ever.
Farming increasingly popular with young & hip
Editor's Note: For many, the hip thing to do on the weekends is to hit up your local farmers market for fresh organic produce. Now, a surprising number of young and smart people are going a step further. They're ditching the city life to pick up organic farming, and with a lot of hard work, some of them are making a pretty good living. Our Carol Costello introduces us to one such farmer. Watch
By Carol Costello, CNN
(CNN) – Every week, at the University Farmers Market in Baltimore, Maryland, 28-year old Roy Skeen sells greens, squash and other vegetables. All of his produce came from his small, urban farm. He planted the vegetables, picked them, and hauled them on his bike to University Market.
It’s not the kind of life he had in mind for himself when he graduated from Yale University in 2004. He majored in History and thought he’d land a job in a minute. He didn’t.
“The story that’s told about Yale,” he says, “is you’re an intelligent person if you go to Yale. But I graduated and I didn’t know how to do anything useful. I could go make green pieces of paper with dead presidents on them, but I couldn’t do anything practical.”
Skeen tried to “do something practical.” He headed to New York to work in investment banking, but he found that life stifling. After a trip to the Caribbean, he found his calling: farming.
Arizona immigration law faces federal challenge today
Protesters march in front of the White House as Arizona Governor Janice Brewer meets inside with President Obama June 3, 2010. (Getty Images)
(CNN) – A federal judge in Arizona will hear arguments today in two lawsuits challenging the state's controversial new law targeting illegal immigrants, including one brought by the Obama Justice Department. Arizona's law is set to take effect next week and supporters say it's a response to the federal government's failure to secure the southern borders. The feds say the borders are more secure than ever. Could both sides be right? Our Casey Wiann takes a look. Watch
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/07/22/sherrod.shirley.cnn.art.jpg caption="After her father was shot to death by a white man, "I decided to stay in the South and work for change," Shirley Sherrod said."]
Shirley Sherrod: Dad was killed by white farmer
(CNN) – Shirley Miller Sherrod has spent most of her life fighting injustice.
On the Baker County, Georgia, farm where the Miller family grew corn, peanuts, cotton and cucumbers and raised hogs, cows and goats, oldest daughter Shirley despised the work.
"I swore I would never have anything to do with a farm past high school," she said Wednesday with an easy chuckle. "I would talk to the sun as I picked cotton and picked cucumbers and worked out there in that hot field, and [say], 'This is not the life for me.' I didn't want to have anything to do with agriculture ever again."
On the night in 1965 when her father, Hosie Miller, a black man and a deacon at Thankful Baptist Church, was shot to death by a white farmer in what ostensibly was a dispute over a few cows, Sherrod - then 17 years old - changed her mind.
"I decided to stay in the South and work for change," said Sherrod, now 62, who believes her father's killing was more about a Southern black man speaking up to a white man than about who owned which animals. The all-white grand jury didn't bring charges against the shooter. Read more
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he has apologized to Sherrod, who resigned from her Agriculture Department position under pressure this week over a video showing her making comments about a white farmer.
Vilsack said he told Sherrod by phone that the USDA would have another position for her should she want it. Sherrod answered that she needed some time to think about it, Vilsack said.
Program note: Will Shirley Sherrod reconsider working again for the USDA? She'll join us live in the studio this morning at 6:30 a.m. ET.
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.
'The Blind Side' actor helps pair at-risk kids with mentors
(CNN) – The lesson of the film "The Blind Side" is that one act of kindness is all it takes to turn a life around. Actor Quinton Aaron starred with Sandra Bullock in the Oscar-winning film, and he's taking that lesson to heart. He's in Washington today promoting the nonprofit group, "Children Uniting Nations," which pairs at-risk and foster kids with mentors. He joined us on Wednesday's American Morning, along with Beatrice Franklin who was mentored through the program.
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.
