See who made our list for the ''Ten Most Wanted: Culprits of the Collapse''

Anderson Cooper

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve heard politicians tell us that now is not the time to point fingers and blame people for the financial crisis. I remember them saying that in the days after Hurricane Katrina as well.

The truth is that’s what politicians always say. They mean that now is the time to fix the problem, but once the world’s attention moves on, the time for hold people accountable never seems to arrive. Politicians point fingers at members of the opposite party, but no one ever seems to take real responsibility.

So who is to blame for this financial fiasco?

That’s the question we’ve begun investigating. We’ve put together a list of the Ten Most Wanted: Culprits of the Collapse. This week and next week, every night, we will be adding a name to the list and telling you what they have done, and how much it’s costing you.

It’s a rogues gallery of Wall Street executives, politicians, and government officials who did not do their jobs. It’s time you know their names, their faces, it’s time they be asked to account for their actions.

See who made the list…

Program Note: 3 out of 4 young people know someone who is currently serving or has served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Anderson helps MTV shine a light on issues facing young veterans… Check out MTV.com for how to get involved.
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Anderson with MTV’s Sway at the taping of MTV’s special ‘A Night for Vets’
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Anderson Cooper

Last night just before the broadcast, I was at the Nokia theater in Times Square for a really cool night in support of our troops. CNN and MTV teamed up for a tribute to veterans home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the brave men and women who are still serving. The place was packed with vets and their loved ones, and it was such an honor to meet them and be a part of the event. (Here’s a sneak peak)

My buddy Robin Meade from Headline News was also involved, and she did a great job, she even got a vet to propose to his girlfriend. I’m not sure how she managed that, but the girlfriend said “yes,” in case you are wondering. There were a lot of live musical performances - 50 Cent, Ludacris, and other big names appeared on tape, like Kanye West and Linkin Park. But it really was a night dedicated to veterans, highlighting the lives they live now, and the challenges they’ll face in the future.

The special airs tonight on MTV at 8pm, and then both tomorrow night and Sunday night at 8pm we are airing a 360° special on CNN called ‘Back From The Battle.’ I hope you’ll watch. I think you will really be moved by some of these vets stories, by their courage, and by their determination.

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


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Anderson Cooper

In this time of financial crisis, when Wall Street greed and gluttony seem to be the norm, it is refreshing to be able to take a few moments to talk about Heroes. Today we are announcing the ten CNN Heroes honorees. They have been picked by a distinguished panel from nearly four thousand people you have told us about in the past year. CNN viewers have written us, letting us know about remarkable people doing extraordinary things in 75 countries around the world. We’ve highlighted 30 individuals on the air this year, giving them much deserved praise and attention, and now the top ten CNN Heroes announced today will each be awarded $25,000. You can go online now to vote for the CNN Hero who inspires you the most and had the most impact — the CNN Hero of the Year. On Thanksgiving evening we will broadcast an all-star tribute to all 10 of these heroes but only one will be named the CNN Hero of the Year. That person will be awarded an additional $100,000.Be sure to watch CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE Thanksgiving night at 9p ET. Throughout the day we will share their first reactions on the AC360° blog.

What’s so amazing about these Heroes is that they often did not have much money, but they had an idea and a determination to help other people. They usually started off small, and gradually built their programs using whatever resources they could find.

Keep reading

Anderson Cooper

The storm is coming, and everyone here knows it. Right now store owners are boarding up their windows, but you hardly see anyone on the street, and in downtown Houston there aren’t many cars on the roads, just a few police cruisers slowly gliding by.

We’ve been trying to decide where we should locate ourselves to cover the storm. Normally, we’d go to Galveston, but we are going to need to stay on the air all during the storm to anchor 360 tonight.

If we are in Galveston, it’s likely we’d be knocked off the air by the storm at a certain point, so we are thinking of staying in Houston, or moving just a bit further south. Gary Tuchman will be in Galveston and we have correspondents fanned out in spots all around the coast.

Keep reading

Anderson Cooper

I’m sitting at a bar.

I know, I know, there’s a massive storm coming. Don’t worry, I’m not drinking. I hadn’t eaten all day and this is the only place I could find open in the French Quarter.

“We never close,” the bartender yelled out as he waved me inside. “I knew you would be here,” the chef said, rushing into the kitchen, “I’m going to make you up some crabcakes.”

How could I say no? It’s a small place called the Oceana Grill, and it’s packed with cops and reporters. That’s a good sign, it means most of the residents and tourists have left. The Quarter is empty, boarded up, calm. I’ve spent today walking and driving around, checking up on evacuations and preparations.

So far the differences between the response to this storm and Katrina are obvious. Lessons seem to have been learned. The governor appears on top of the evacuations, city officials seem to be working together.

We haven’t gotten a final count on how many of the estimated 30,000 people who needed help to leave have actually gotten out. But there have been buses evacuating people since early yesterday. As for the levees, we simply don’t know. The work on them is not completed, and there are serious concerns about how strong they really are. we will be watching them closely.

We will be broadcasting a two hour special tonight. We have a large presence here, and are ready to cover whatever happens. We have staked out multiple locations to be at during the storm, and we hope to stay on the air as long as possible even during the worst of it.

“How long are you staying open for?” I ask the bartender as I pay my check…
“til,” he says.
“til what?”
“til we get tired.”

Anderson on assignment in New Orleans today

Anderson Cooper

We weren’t sure how to cover the third anniversary of Katrina.

I think I’ve said it before, but I’m not a big believer in anniversary broadcasts. They always seem a bit contrived…a bit treacly. Lots of somber music and video montages. I don’t know how much attention this 3rd anniversary is going to get from newscasts. There is so much other news this week, and now John McCain has announced his vice presidential candidate.

We’ve broadcast from New Orleans on each of the anniversaries, of course, looking back…looking forward. All in all, I’m not sure how many times we’ve visited the gulf coast, I know we’ve done more than twenty broadcasts from there since the initial month we spent in the region after the storm. It’s more than most, but not enough.

Much has improved, much work remains, and now Gustav is out there, growing stronger, getting faster, threatening all that has been done…all that is still undone.

It was strange to leave the euphoria of the convention and this morning board a flight to New Orleans. Sitting on the plane right now, talking with people returning home, there is concern about the levees, anxiety about their homes, but there is, resolve as well - resolve to face whatever may come.

We will broadcast from New Orleans tonight, a two hour live program. Most of it will be about politics. We’ll go in depth on John McCain’s selection and look closely at Barack Obama’s speech last night. It was a soaring speech, but was he factual, was his rhetoric fair?

As always, we’re checking the facts - keeping them honest. We’ll also have the latest on Gustav, and whether or not New Orleans in ready. I will also have a reporter’s notebook on the memories of Katrina, and all that we have witnessed these past three years. See you tonight from New Orleans.

Anderson Cooper

You know you’ve been up too long when you start taking hits of oxygen with your producers. It was John Roberts who got me hooked. He handed me a small steel cylinder and said “try it.” Jack, my associate producer, and I passed it around and then tried to see how long we could hold our breath. The problem was we kept laughing. It’s supposed to help with the altitude, though frankly I haven’t had any problems with that, I’m mainly just punchy.

I’ve been in the CNN workstation since about 7 this morning. I’m not sure where the day has gone. It’s been kind of a blur of reporters and politicians, delegates and speeches.

I suppose it’s easy to be cynical about these conventions, the scripted speeches, the programmed party - but there is something remarkable about these gatherings, these celebrations of our process. It is hard not to get caught up in the excitement of Republicans and Democrats gathering to give voice to their longings, their hopes.

There is a storm brewing, of course, today it hit Haiti, and we are watching with concern. By some models New Orleans is in its path. It’s been almost three years to the day Katrina touched down, and the thought that the Gulf Coast could once again be battered is almost too terrible to consider. There could be political consequences if the storm hits New Orleans hard, but the personal consequences for that city, and it’s people, is foremost in our minds.

The Democratic National Convention comes to life on it's opening day in Denver, Co.

Anderson Cooper

After two days of working in the relatively empty pepsi center, it’s a bit of a shock to suddenly see the place swarming with people.
The lines thru security are long, but once you’re inside the excitement is palpable, if a bit unfocused. It has something of the feeling of the first day of school, a lot of nervous energy and people unsure where they are supposed to be.

Right now I’m in a room off a back hallway, waiting to go on the air. I checked out our set a minute ago and James Carville was getting mobbed - people asking him for photographs. Donna Brazile walked by in a yellow vest. “You look like a traffic cop,” I told her. “They just made me a floor whip, and sent me to give the florida delegation their seats.” For anyone who followed the drama over seating michigan and florida delegates, the irony is obvious.

It’s still unclear if Senator Kennedy will speak tonite, but he is certainly on the minds and in the hearts of many here. Michelle Obama is speaking of course and her words will be closely followed by friend and foe alike.

Conventions are scripted, rehearsed, and polished, but that does not mean they are unimportant. These may not be the conventions of old, where backroom deals and floor fights were common, but they do serve a purpose. Certainly for democrats, some of whom have yet to accept the primary results, and who are now facing a dead heat, this is a chance to demonstrate unity, introduce their candidate, and draw distinctions between themselves and the republicans. I’ve got to go to the platform now, the crowds are getting thicker, and the clock is ticking.

Watch Anderson Cooper in the water with great white sharks off the coast of South Africa.

It is an odd sensation. Lowering yourself into water teeming with great white sharks. There is a cage between you and the sharks, but its open on the top, and when the first shark emerges from the shadows, moving full speed toward you, its giant mouth open, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth, the cage is little comfort.

I spent last week off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa for Planet in Peril: Battle Lines. The second installment of our documentary series that will air this December. Sharks are hated creatures, and because of that there is little outcry at their destruction. Each year, as many as a hundred million sharks are killed, many slaughtered for their fins which are used to make shark fin soup, a delicacy in Asia.

Great white sharks however are a top predator in the sea, and if they disappear, the entire underwater ecosystem will be affected.

What’s really interesting is that scientists don’t know much about great white sharks. Keep reading

More footage has headed our way from Anderson’s trip in South Africa. Stay tuned for more from Planet in Peril: Battle Lines.