American Morning
Free store! No, really!
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It was a frigid morning in downtown Manhattan. A day made for blankets and good books. But instead of hibernating at home, dozens of people were shivering in front of the Free Store, waiting to walk away with the ultimate bargain. The old adage says that “nothing in life is free”, but at this New York City store, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Everything—and I do mean everything—is F-R-E-E, Free.
Naturally I was skeptical when I walked in, after all, I’m a journalist, paid to be skeptical. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that nothing in this place had a price tag. The store’s “owners,” Athena Robles and Anna Stein, don’t have to worry about turning a profit because the space is actually an art exhibit funded by grants. Instead, they just do their best to manage the frenzied customers.
Minding Your Business
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Somehow over the past week, we've taken the edge off the desperation in the markets and economy.
Let me be clear: there is a lot of work to do and many difficult months ahead. I'm not ready to say confidence has returned, but certainly the gloom is not so thick.
Why? A more unified message is emerging (either by accident or by design) that yes, there IS a road to recovery and yes, we are trying to get on it.
The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, sat down with 60 Minutes because, he said, he wanted to speak directly to the American people. His message? The Fed is doing everything possible to support the economy. A recovery doesn't happen until the banks are stabilized. There is a plan for that but it will take time and patience.
Fast Forward
The stories that will be making news later today:
We're standing by for more insight from the White House on President Obama's promise to revamp the nation's food safety net. During his weekly radio address the President announced the creation of a new food safety group to update laws untouched since President Theodore Roosevelt.
In a few hours actress Lindsay Lohan will have a court hearing regarding an arrest warrant issued Friday. Lohan's attorney told CNN the warrant was issued "Out of a misunderstanding." It's believed to be connected to a possible parole violation. Lohan is currently serving three years probation following two d-u-i arrests in 2007. She's not expected to appear at the hearing.
We'll also be learning new details of an interview Levi Johnston gave to ABC. The former fiance of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's daughter reportedly says he and Bristol Palin have split... But he's also not ruling out a reunion in the future
What's On Tap – Monday March 16, 2009
Hello everyone!
Today kicks off CNN's week-long special report on the economy – Road To Rescue. We are explaining this economic crisis to you in a way only CNN can do. We are cutting out the partisan noise and giving you the information and knowledge needed to successfully navigate these times of uncertainty. Road To Rescue begins on American Morning today and here is some of what we have in store for you:
- Outrage over AIG distributing 165 million dollars in bonuses to its executives.
- Bernanke on 60 mins. For the first time in 20 years, a sitting Federal Reserve chairman is interviewed about the nation’s economy.
- Many unemployed workers looking for a career change are turning to the trucking industry. Because truck driving jobs can pay around $30 thousand to start, and require only three weeks of training, these jobs are now in high demand. Truck driving schools across the nation are seeing an increase in applicants and the American Trucking Association says they are getting some much needed help in finally filling some long-time employment gaps.
- Craigslist is a mirror of these tough economic times. It started out as a place for people to list the things they wanted to sell or places they had for rent. Now, the ads reflect just how hard the recession has hit home. FULL POST
amFIX: A quick tour
Hi everyone,
Welcome to amFIX. Let me give you a quick tour.
We’ve tried to keep the design as clean as possible. Each blog post has an avatar next to the byline at the top so you can easily identify who it was posted by. That way if you only want to read a post by a certain reporter, just scroll down until you see their face.
Each day starts off with What’s on Tap, which gives you a rundown of who and what you can see on the show.
That is followed up by Fast Forward, a look at the stories that will be making news later in the day. It’s kind of like a cheat sheet for what will be news in the hours ahead.
Business Correspondent Christine Romans blogs each morning about the latest financial and economic news in Minding Your Business. The rest of the AM reporters will post throughout the day with news and commentary on the stories they are following.
We want as much feedback from you as possible. So now we have a toll-free phone number for you to call and leave your voice comments/questions. 1-877-MY-AM-FIX. We will pick some of these and air them on the show each day. We’ll even take some of them that we don’t air and post them in a daily blog called We Listen, along with your feedback from Facebook, Twitter, email and the amFIX blog comments. It’s a daily round-up of the best feedback from you. Because honestly, we do listen. Oh and just a note about comments: Please keep them brief and free of any profanity. That includes using characters to m@sk w0rd$. We will not approve them.
So the long and short of it – we have a ton of ways for you to reach out to us. There’s no excuse not to!
And stay tuned. We have some more exciting things planned for the future.
Welcome from John and Kiran
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/16/amfix.final.fs.art.jpg caption=" Get your daily amFIX at cnn.com/am."]
Welcome to our new blog! It’s called amFIX and we hope you get hooked!
We’ve replaced the old American Morning show page with amFIX because we wanted a way to better communicate with YOU, our viewers. So communicate away, folks! Post comments to the blog, follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or send us an iReport or email.
Whatever method you choose, we promise to read them all and we’ll even share some of them on-air and on the blog each day!
At amFIX you will find stories and video from American Morning reporters and producers and behind the scenes blogs from the both of us. We’ll keep you updated on the stories we’re following and give you advance notice when we have guests we think you’ll find interesting.
This is just the beginning and we welcome your feedback so make sure you tell us what you like (and don’t like) and what you want to see more of.
And don’t forget, each day, get your amFIX!
John and Kiran
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.
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