American Morning
What's on Tap – Thursday April 23, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today:
- The fight to keep more money in your pockets. President Obama is meeting with top executives of credit card companies at the White House today. He’s looking to crack down on sketchy fees and corrupt lending practices. With car sales at historic lows and a massive backlog of unsold vehicles, General motors is reportedly set to announce the bulk of its plants will shut down for up to nine weeks over the summer. GM’s 55,000 workers could get the word on which ones will be affected as early as today.
- Another domino falls. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Wednesday that Pakistan is in danger of falling into terrorist hands because of failed government policies. Taliban militants, who implemented Islamic law in Pakistan's violence-plagued Swat Valley last week, have now taken control of a neighboring district which brings them closer than they've been to the power center of a nation with nuclear weapons. We’ll ask a Former CIA Islamabad station chief what we can do, if anything to stop this.
- Fidel’s Two Cents. Just when everyone is hailing the Big Thaw between U.S. and Cuba, Fidel Castro weighs in – again. In one of his seemingly endless essays, the ailing former president says Obama "misinterpreted" his younger brother Raul Castro – who offered to talk about "everything" including human rights and political prisoners with Obama. Fidel Castro says Raul is merely showing his faith in Cuba's Revolution. All of which raises the ongoing question – just who's in charge in Cuba anyway?
- Michelle Obama’s style. It’s not just what she is wearing that is intriguing, it’s the possibility of what she could wear that has designers inspired. With the world watching to see what she’ll wear next, it’s no surprise that Michelle Obama has become a muse to many. In his fall line, Elie Tahari has created the “Michelle” dress. It’s more casual than what we’ve seen her wear, but more practical for day- to-day and more realistic for those who would like to emulate her style.
We Listen!
Here’s your daily recap of the best feedback we got from YOU today. Continue the conversation below. And remember, keep it brief, and keep it clean. Thanks!
Perez Hilton’s rant against Miss California captured the spotlight on American Morning. Most felt Miss California was justified for standing up for her beliefs. Others felt the presentation of Mr. Hilton was biased.
- Marilyn: At some point in time people have to stand up for what they believe. I give Miss California all the credit that her accuser does not give her. Just because he believes what he believes does not make it right. It actually show he does not read the Bible, she does and I stand up right next to her and Thank her for standing up for what she was taught. I am so surprised that Mr. Trump hired someone like he did to be a Judge with such a small mind. YOU GO GIRL.
- Linda: You Go Girl! You are what our Country needs. A strong role model who stands up for his/her beliefs with beauty, grace, and kindness. God bless you!
- Decobray: Your report on the Perez Hilton/Miss California this morning turned my stomach. The obvious bias you put in the report... the evil gay against the poor christian woman is worthy of a Fox News story, not CNN. The woman told Mr. Hilton he was a second class citizen of the US on national television, but when he calls her a dumb b**** on his website, you liken him to a cyberstalker that killed a woman. Tabloid television at its finest. Between the right-wing, Obama-bashing slant you people have shown lately, and the fact that Fox News is actually more vile than your reporting, leaves me with no one to turn to for unbiased news. Thanks a lot.
- Mrs. Lou: Miss California probably belongs to one of the Southern Baptist Convention churches who have used our TVs and radio's for the last 25 years to dehumanize gay people and trash women. As you know, these churches have used the same tactics that Hitler used when he ranted against liberals, Jews, abortion, gays and other undesirables. Hitler rounded then up and sent them to concentration camps and gas chambers. These radical so-called Christian groups are no better then Hitler.
Who do you believe was correct in this argument, Miss California for standing up for her beliefs, or Mr. Hilton, for demanding his rights as a citizen of the United States? Tell us your side of the story.
Credit crunch – Washington to the rescue, yet again?
Have you noticed your finance charges climbing higher on your credit card statement? Or maybe you've been late paying your electric bill and next thing you know your credit card percentage rate jumps?
Well, Washington is apparently sitting up and paying attention to the pain of many consumers already drowning in credit card debt who are finding new fees and surcharges making it worse.
President Obama meets Thursday with credit card company executives to try to push for changes to predatory practices. There are also bills in the House and Senate to do the same.
New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez joined us this morning because he is spearheading one effort. Watch the interview
Sen. Menendez is calling for a stop to "blanket rate increases," an end to "universal default." This means if you are late on one card it can bump up your rate on another, which then requires penalties and other fees be tied to their actual cost. It is getting ugly! But there are two sides to every story. Lenders say they've been hurt by the rise in defaults and delinquencies and that legislating the way they do business will restrict the flow of credit and slow the economic recovery.So all eyes will be on the White House to see if and how this gets resolved.
We are going to continue to follow this debate and see where things go tomorrow on American Morning. We'd like to hear from you. Call our show hotline at 1-877-MYAMFIX. And follow us on Twitter @amFIX and @kiranchetrycnn.
See you in the morning!
Kiran
Doga? Doggie yoga!
I don't do dogs and I don't do yoga.
Having inherited my mother's abject fear of animals, I try to stay clear of anything with four legs and fur.
Yoga is too slow for me. All that breathing and stretching and chanting and centeredness. Boring. I'd rather jump and kick and pump and gasp for air.
But my curiosity got the best of me when I discovered that Bideawee, an animal welfare organization in Manhattan, offers a yoga class for dogs - doga. During the 45-minute session, pooches and their masters give new meaning to the phrase "downward facing dog."
Craigslist controls
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/22/art_craigslist_arraignment.jpg caption= "Medical student Philip Markoff, 22, appears in court Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts."]
It’s been a bad couple of months for Craigslist. In March, New York radio reporter George Weber was killed by a man he allegedly met on Craigslist. And now, Boston police are attempting to connect the dots between alleged killer Phillip Markoff and what they believe may be ‘multiple’ victims he found on Craigslist.
The website’s CEO, Jim Buckmaster, seems genuinely concerned. “We feel terribly and feel sad that anyone would lose their life”, he told me in an exclusive interview, saying he was “horrified that use of Craigslist would be connected with a violent crime of this nature.” Watch the interview
He also defended the website from the notion that it was a conduit for criminal activity, saying “there are 50 million Americans using Craigslist each month. When you have that kind of human activity, there’s going to be things going wrong despite everyone’s best efforts to protect people.”
Buckmaster is eager to counter any negative perceptions about Craigslist. It is a valuable commodity – one of the internet’s more successful ventures – and therefore a ripe target for critics.
If alleged killer Phillip Madoff had stalked his victims through the “personal ads” section of the Boston Globe, would there be so much publicity?
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.
On Twitter
