American Morning
Coping with a partner with Alzheimer's
(CNN) – Jan Chorlton and Barry Petersen met in a Seattle newsroom over 25 years ago and fell head over heels in love. They married and traveled the world – Barry as a CBS News correspondent and Jan as a reporter for several news organizations, including CNN. But their lives were shattered in 2005 when Jan was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease – at age 55.
In his new book, "Jan's Story: Love Lost to the Long Goodbye of Alzheimer's," Barry describes seeing his wife, and his life, disappear. He joined us on Monday's American Morning to discuss the book and coping with a partner who has Alzheimer's Disease. Watch 
Commentary: Exhaustion to blame for BP's PR blunders
Editor's Note: David Margulies is a 24-year crisis management veteran and founder and president of The Margulies Communications Group in Dallas. His book, “Save Your Company, Save Your Job: Crisis Management in the Internet Age,” comes out later this year.
By David Margulies, Special to CNN
It seems that every day BP makes some new public relations blunder, like BP CEO Tony Hayward attending a yacht race or talking about “getting his life back.” Many attribute these blunders to arrogance, insensitivity or stupidity. I would like to suggest a simpler explanation – these folks are just plain exhausted.
One of the most important decisions executives make is how to delegate important duties during a crisis so that no individual in overwhelmed. For example, when Captain Sully Sullenberger’s plane lost both engines over New York, he wrote that his first priority was to keep the plane in the air. Other duties were turned over to his first officer while Sully concentrated on job one.
To avoid these public relations blunders BP should have taken the same approach. The CEO can’t be the company’s primary spokesperson if he is also trying to deal with one of the world’s biggest environmental disasters.
One reason BP may have undertaken the strategy of making Hayward their main spokesperson is that many in the oil industry remember that the Lawrence G. Rawl, chairman of Exxon, was heavily criticized for not going to Alaska after the Exxon Valdez spill.
But BP went too far. A visit to the site of the incident is appropriate for top company executives, but once BP’s CEO visited Louisiana he should have turned the role of spokesperson over to others in the company and focused on managing the crisis.
Pakistani-American community fights extremism in Islam
(CNN) – The suspected Times Square bomber faces arraignment in a New York courtroom today. Faisal Shazad will be asked to enter a plea on ten weapons and terror charges. At the same time, many Pakistani-Americans struggle to understand why he – and others – are turning against America. In this American Morning original report, our Deb Feyerick talks to one family trying to understand radicalization among Muslim youth. Watch
Collecting from BP proves challenging for fishermen
(CNN) – BP is calling the release of its "worst case scenario" document "irrelevant," but critics call it one more reason not to trust the company. Many people on the Gulf Coast already feel that way about BP after filing claims with the oil giant, including charter boat captain Stu Scheer.
It took 40 years for Scheer to build his business running charter fishing boats for tourists in the Gulf. Now it's all falling apart – between the oil spill that shut down business and haggling with BP over his claim. Our Chris Lawrence has his story. Watch
Excerpt: 'Jan's Story' by Barry Petersen
Editor's Note: Jan Chorlton and Barry Petersen met in a Seattle newsroom over 25 years ago and fell head over heels in love. They married and traveled the world – Barry as a CBS News correspondent and Jan as a reporter for several news organizations, including CNN. But their lives were shattered in 2005 when Jan was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease – at 55. In his new book, "Jan's Story: Love Lost to the Long Goodbye of Alzheimer's," Barry describes seeing his wife, and his life, disappear.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/06/21/petersen.book.art.jpg caption="In his new book, "Jan's Story: Love Lost to the Long Goodbye of Alzheimer's," Barry Petersen describes coping with a partner who has Alzheimer's."]
From "Jan's Story," by Barry Petersen
Prologue
“Every man's memory is his private literature.” ~Aldous Huxley
May I tell you the story of how I never proposed to Jan? No getting down on bended knee, no diamond ring in a box—because I was so broke after a divorce that I couldn’t afford a ring.
No Jan sitting in some fancy restaurant, choking up, blurting out a joyful “Yes.” We had been friends for a while because she worked at the CBS TV affiliate in Seattle and I would travel there for stories, often working out of their newsroom.
One evening . . . the first time she ever invited me to her tiny one-bedroom apartment overlooking Lake Washington . . . we sat and talked. It was never more than that . . . sorry . . . no scenes that censors would take out of the movie version.
It was just that, somehow, we knew – both of us – that we would be together from then on, HAD to be together. I gently kissed her goodnight and walked away and felt as if I had been in an earthquake. I was shaken and elated, scared, but also ecstatic with the sense of being alive . . . I knew my life had changed in brilliant ways.
We were married in San Francisco on Valentine’s Day in 1985, and then lived here and there across the globe . . . San Francisco, Tokyo, Moscow, London and back to Tokyo and Beijing.
My job as a journalist for CBS News provided Jan and me with the ability to see and experience the world. Much of it was wonderful, some of it still gives me nightmares. Read more
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/06/21/rig.worker.gi.art.jpg caption="As oil continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, a federal judge will hear arguments Monday from companies seeking to end a 6-month ban on deepwater drilling."]
Companies seek to end moratorium on drilling
(CNN) – As oil continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from a ruptured undersea well, a federal judge will hear arguments Monday from companies seeking an end to a temporary moratorium on deepwater drilling.
The six-month ban, instituted by the government last month, halts all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevents new permits from being issued.
But a company that provides boats and equipment to the offshore drilling industry says in a lawsuit that the government has no evidence that existing operations pose a threat to the gulf.
Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC and other oil service companies named as plaintiffs in the case say they want a court order declaring the moratorium invalid and unenforceable. A federal judge will hear their arguments Monday morning.
Government lawyers argue that the temporary suspension of deepwater drilling is necessary to assess the safety and regulation issues and reduce the risk of another environmental disaster. Read more
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