Cate Vojdik
AC360º Writer
Here at 360º, we’re deciding what to order for dinner and waiting to hear President Obama’s remarks at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington. Usually the event is a light-hearted affair, a chance for everyone to kick back and have some fun. Will the president hit the humor benchmark when he takes the stage? We’ll let you decide for yourself. It’s our “easing into the weekend” segment.
We’re following serious news tonight as well, including the provocative line in the sand that Iran’s Supreme Leader appeared to draw today.
In a sermon during Friday prayers at the University of Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khameini denied that last week's presidential election was rigged and argued that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won in a landslide. He also insisted that post-election protests by Iranians must stop or demonstrators will be held responsible for "the chaos and the consequences."
To a lot of analysts, that sounds like a green light for a harsher crackdown if protests continue. More protests rallies are planned tomorrow, and tonight there’s no sign they will be cancelled. In his sermon, Khameini also slammed U.S. policies in Afghanistan and Iraq and alleged the U.S., along with Britain, Israel and some factions in Iran, manipulated and undermined Iran’s election process.
We’ll get the latest from Reza Sayah, one of the only western reporters now reporting from Iran.
We’ll also show you exactly what the U.S. is doing to track two possible threats from North Korea. A ship that may be carrying illicit weapons left North Korea two days ago and is heading south along China’s coast. North Korea has warned in the past that any effort to stop one of its ships would be considered an act of war. Meantime, Japanese media said yesterday that North Korea is preparing to launch a missile toward Hawaii, possibly around July 4th.
Defense Secretary Gates says the U.S. is ready and able to defend itself against both possible threats. But how? It got us wondering about where U.S. missile interceptors and radar equipment are located – and how a response might play out. Tom Foreman will walk us through it all.
Tonight we also continue our special week long report, “America’s High: The Case for and Against Pot.”
Pot is legal for medical purposes in California and 12 other states. Think you can envision what a medical marijuana dispensary looks like? Get ready to toss out all your preconceptions. Anderson takes us inside a California dispensary that looks more like a café, with a case packed with brownies, pastries, chocolates and other confections—all laced with pot.
Obviously, not everyone who uses pot is doing so legally. The government estimates that 100 million Americans 12 or older have tried pot—a number that made us wonder about the logistics behind it. How does all that pot make its way from a seedling to a user’s bong? Tom Foreman walks us through the delivery system tonight, step by step.
Plus, 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta takes us inside the controlled chaos of a Chicago ER. This month alone, more than 80 gunshot victims have come through the doors of Christ Advocate Hospital. Its medical professionals work on the front lines of Chicago’s raging gun wars. Chicago police report up to 700 shootings so far in 2009. We’ve been following this story for months. Tonight, an up-close at the race to save Chicago’s shooting victims, many of them just children.
See you at 10 p.m. eastern..
| Eleanor Coombs, Ga |
June 19th, 2009 8:07 pm ET Eagerly awaits Tom Foreman's report on the seed that went to "pot" |
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| Annie Kate |
June 19th, 2009 8:09 pm ET Sounds like a full show tonight. Ought to be good – especially the parts on North Korea, and Iran. I had thought the North Korean president had also said that shooting down one of their missiles (even if it is headed towards one of our states) would be regarded as an act of war. Doesn't he have that backwards? I would think him shooting it off at us would be the initial act of war, don't you? To all the fathers' out there – Happy Dad's day! I'm sure the people in your life appreciate all you do. |
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| Jeremy |
June 19th, 2009 9:16 pm ET Why doesn't President Obama listen to Americans who want marijuana legalized and taxed when it can not only help America but also help stop the cartel and violence in the US? By keeping marijuana illegal it is just wasting money that comes from taxpayers and supplying the cartel. |
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| Benjamin |
June 19th, 2009 9:35 pm ET The legalization of marijuana would creat millions of jobs, billions of dolars in tax revinue, and would take the marijuana market out of the hands of criminals and drug cartels. Marijuana can not only be used as a drug but can be used to produce cloth, paper, rope, seed oil, and and different types of building materials. |
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| Michael W. North Little Rock, Arkansas |
June 19th, 2009 10:20 pm ET Anderson, what are you doing sir? You are a very intelligent person, obviously, but can you really being letting this happen? With this broadcast tonight sir you will be scaring people. Drug Trafficking! If it was legal it would not happen! Why not talk about the industrial benefits? Hemp seed oil to replace crude. Hemp fiber to replace paper made from trees, and for clothing. Come on, if you really wanted to spark a good debate talk about how we could overcome this recession by just legalizing this plant! The public thinks you're a smart man, now prove it! |
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| Chuck Brown |
June 21st, 2009 2:36 pm ET What ,if anything was accomplished by a week long series about legalizing marijuana??The 1st part iof th series was unbiased and well done.However as the week progressed it became evident that the real truth about why pot is illegal would ever come out.Dupont and the textile industry made pot illegal to protect there intrestes as the Big Pharma does now.Is there reasons to fear pot? Hardly...Mr.Cooper its is up to the media to tell the whole story and not a zealots outlook.Its is time for a frsh approah because this si not working... |
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| David |
June 21st, 2009 11:08 pm ET The phrase “your comment is awaiting moderation” sounds like a suppressive dictatorship- with Utube and the internet you should not be suppressing free speech |
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| Malissa from Kansas |
June 22nd, 2009 1:58 am ET I’m a 30yr old mother of 3 and i’ve smoked for 13 yrs responsibly. Last year i was arrested for having a joint in my house and one of my children was taken into state custody. Before that incident I had a good job, nice house, and all my children. Since then I’ve lost my house had to take a pay cut, and the father of my children is now incarcerated for simple possesion. If marijuana was so addictive like they say I wouldn’t have been able to quit so easily |
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| robert beresford |
June 22nd, 2009 8:25 am ET Around 1900 the government and industry made hemp and marijuana illegal,using marijuana for fear brainwashing . Hemp was used for fuel,food,etc. Henry Ford made an auto made from hemp,the material being stronger than steel. With hemp suppressed industry proceeded to contaminate the ground,air,water and us. With marijuana illegal we were denied life saving medicine. If you add the deaths caused by contamination and the deaths from medicine being denied, haven't the numbers passed the Holocaust? Isn't it time to tell the truth and allow the people to heal our world? Hemp and marijuana can help answer many of the issues in the news ,jobs,economy, health care,environment,etc. You say but what about the children then you hand them a bottle of water,the plastic made from toxic oil,but they say it's alright,right. I say for the children's sake legalise now.I guess if your not afraid to tell the Truth,for the children's sake. |
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