American Morning
Obama's first state dinner more than a meal
Washington's A-list heads to the White House tonight as the Obamas host their first official state dinner. The guest of honor is Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush, and Lisa Caputo, former press secretary for First Lady Hillary Clinton, spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN's American Morning Tuesday about the significance of the state dinner.
Related: Putting India center stage 
Sanford impeachment debated
Could this be the beginning of the end for South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford? Today state lawmakers begin debating an impeachment resolution. This comes after Gov. Sanford was charged with breaking South Carolina's ethics laws – thirty-seven times.
Sanford has been under fire since going AWOL in June during a secret rendezvous with his mistress in Argentina. So how can he govern with all that hanging over his head?...
Leroy Chapman, government and politics editor for "The State" newspaper, spoke to John Roberts on American Morning Tuesday.
Read more: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford faces 37 ethics charges
Success in Sour Times: Local chains take on retail juggernauts
By Stephen Samaniego
They have infiltrated American consumer culture – Walmart, Target, and Costco. They are the mega-chains. Stores that carry anything and everything found in almost every community across the country. Many towns have gone to court to stop stores like Walmart from setting up shop, fearing a loss of local businesses and community charm.
Now in a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood, a new phenomenon is starting to take root. The local chain. They're small businesses linked by a common theme and – unlike their big chain rivals – are located in close proximity to each other. "We're not cloning one thing and putting it somewhere else," says Patrick Watson. "We're trying to target a neighborhood that we know and love incredibly well, and fill the gaps in."
Patrick Watson and his wife Michelle Pravda have lived in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens neighborhood for fifteen years and are owners of a local chain. Their first business was a wine shop called Smith and Vine. Playing off the wine theme, they opened up a cheese store across the street, called Stinky Brooklyn. They followed it with a combination of the two – opening a wine and cheese bar up the street, called The Jakewalk.
The concept: Identify a customer base and cater to their specific tastes with a personal touch and local flair. After a loyal following begins to build, capitalize on that reputation with another store that further extends your local brand.
Crib recall: 2.1 million deemed unsafe
By Aaron Smith and Ben Rooney
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The federal agency in charge of product safety announced the recall of 2.1 million cribs Monday, citing defective hardware that can cause toddlers and infants to suffocate.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/24/crib.art.jpg caption="Drop-side cribs have been recalled by the thousands this year due to hardware malfunctions that could cause infants to be wedged between the mattress and crib wall."]
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said parents should immediately stop using Stork Craft drop-side cribs, which are made by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada.
About 1.2 million of the cribs have been distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.
The recall includes about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo, the CPSC said.
The cribs were sold at major retailers including Sears and Wal-Mart and online at Amazon.com and Target.com between January 1993 and October 2009.
The CPSC said the cribs' drop-side, which is attached with plastic hardware, can detach unexpectedly and create a space between the crib wall and the adjacent mattress. Infants and toddlers can become trapped in the space and suffocate or fall to the floor, the agency said.
Don't Miss: Read the safety release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
There have been 110 documented incidents of drop-side detachment, including 67 in the United States and 43 in Canada. Among those, four resulted in suffocation and 20 resulted in falls that caused injuries ranging from concussion to bumps and bruises.
We Listen – Your comments 11/23/2009
Editor's Note: Health care reform was the primary topic for Monday’s American Morning audience. RNC Chairman Michael Steele and the Republicans were accused of “abandoning all logic and common sense in their bipartisan attempt to quash health care reform.” Some believed he lacked credibility by using “scare tactics.”
- Chris: Michael Steele and the RNC have abandoned all logic and common sense in their bi-partisan attempt to quash health care reform. Their argument for voting against “debating” the health care bill Saturday evening because of a few things they don't agree with insults my intelligence. I'm not an expert in building homes or making laws, but, I understand enough to know it's less expensive and takes less time to remodel a home than it is to tear one down and start over.
- Charles: Mr. Steele should ashamed of himself. He like many other politicians are siding with special interest groups, the same special interest groups who took us to Iraq, on manipulated intel! The Republican party had a chance to give the American people healthcare but decided, to manipulate the intel on Iraq and take contributions from the defense industry. Now, the healthcare special interest groups have infected the Republican party and Mr. Steele is leading the charge. Fool me once.....
- Bob: Mr. Steele simply lacks credibility in his comments about Health Care Reform activities & Congress. He refers to activities 'behind closed doors without Republican representation'. What about the Committee of 6? He attacks with negative words about topics and people, always in 'generalities'. How about Mr. Steele identifying a 'few' items in any of the Bills being worked on, and taking a detailed position, pro/con, or suggesting an alternative.? His approach is nothing more than an unqualified 'filibuster', to delay the actions of Congress.
- Sharon: M. Steele just made a statement re: Health Care that do we want a program dictating what just recently came out about mammograms/pap smears. Those studies were done under the Bush administration. Once again scare tactics are being used. We as Americans are sick of this type of politics (on both sides)...
How do you feel about the Republican approach to health care reform?
'King of the world' James Cameron returns with 'Avatar'
By Jason Carroll
Say what you want about "Avatar." Here's what you need to know about James Cameron. When he decides to tell a story, he's one hundred percent committed. He proved that when we showed up to interview him about "Avatar."
Cameron told me it's a classic adventure much in the mold of "Lawrence of Arabia." That may sound odd for a science fiction tale, but that’s how Cameron describes "Avatar."
"I want to take people to another world, I want to take them out of their daily lives on a fantasy journey," Cameron said. "This is an experiential journey, it's highly immersive and you're gonna see things that you probably haven’t seen other than in your own dreams."
"Avatar" is an expensive dream, costing $237 million so far and counting. It could end up being the most expensive film ever made. Does Cameron feel the pressure? You bet. "I think pressure's good for filmmakers. It makes us think about our audiences and what the audience wants. It makes us in a sense beholden to the audience."
Don't Miss: Watch Jason's full interview with director James Cameron
And that is where the commitment comes in. When we met up with Cameron he was still tweaking "Avatar," (in fact, he still is by this posting) still adjusting sound and making edits to the film, which opens December 18th.
He gave us behind-the-scenes access, allowing CNN's cameras into an editing session where I watched Cameron do his thing. At one point, Cameron telling the editors how he wanted an explosion to sound. "... if you use explosions with a longer attack and decay, like a BOOOOOM kind of sound, then they all merge in to on big BOOM BOOM BOOM."
The question is, will "Avatar" be a bomb? Some bloggers who have seen the film's trailer say Cameron's giant visioned Avatar's look more like Smurfs. I asked Cameron if that made him nervous. "I think if everybody was embracing the film before the fact the film could never live up to that expectation."
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