Amanda Knox looks on during a session of her trial last week at the courthouse in Perugia, Italy.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

U.S. Senator Mary Cantwell is urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to help American college student Amanda Knox, who was convicted of murdering her study abroad roommate in Italy and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Senator Cantwell, who represents Knox’s home state, has issued a statement saying she has profound concerns that Knox has been failed by the Italian justice system. She wants Secretary Clinton to intervene and ensure that Knox gets a fair appeals trial. Tonight, Anderson talks to the senator about why she thinks U.S. officials need to step in. We’ll also hear from Former Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin. Even if Secretary Clinton decides she wants to intervene, can she? How m uch leverage does she have?

Also tonight: science, skepticism and allegations of conspiracy. World leaders have gathered in Copenhagen for the United Nations climate summit but leaked emails from an internationally-renowned climate research unit are threatening to overshadow the talks. Climate change skeptics say the emails are proof that scientists have manipulated data and public perception of global warming. We’ll explain the controversy. You can decide if you think it’s a conspiracy or much ado about nothing.

In the health care battle, abortion is back in the spotlight. Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson has introduced an amendment to the Senate bill, similar to one in the House bill that would bar any private insurance company that receives taxpayer money from offering coverage for abortions. Tonight we’ll take you past the politics and inside a Planned Parenthood clinic. Anderson will show you what he found when he went up close on the story.

Join us for all this and much more starting at 10 p.m. ET on CNN. See you then!

Richard Samuel McCroskey has been arrested in connection with the killings of four people in Virginia.

Cate Vojdik
AC360 Writer

Tonight, raw politics on overdrive, starting with new signs that U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., could be headed for trouble.

The House ethics committee today said it will expand its investigation into Rangel’s alleged tax shenanigans—an investigation that’s been dragging on for a year now despite the promise Democrats made to clean up Congress when they regained control of the House and Senate.

In case you missed it, Rangel isn’t just any congressman. He’s the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the tax laws that the rest of us have to follow. The kicker: He’s accused of playing fast and loose with his own taxes. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, today urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to force Rangel to step down from his post on the Ways and Means Committee. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, refused to say if Rangel should step down. Do these developments signal the tide could be turning against Rangel? We’ll dig deeper tonight.

There are also some new poll numbers from Gallup showing that Democrats are losing ground. With the midterm elections about a year away, the poll finds support for the two parties virtually tied among registered voters. In July, the Democrats held a six percentage-point lead. How worried should the president and his party be? We’ll chew over the raw politics with our panelists.

We’ll also take a closer look at why many gay Americans are disappointed in President Obama. During the campaign, Mister Obama made a lot of promises concerning gay rights. Has he broken his promises on same-sex marriage, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and more? We’re Keeping them Honest.

We’ve also been digging on a story that’s put a spotlight on an obscure subgenre of rap music called “Horrorcore.” It’s violent and steeped in grotesque imagery. But did it lead a young California man to murder four people? Richard McCroskey rapped under the stage name Syko Sam, performing songs with titles like “Murderous Rage” and “Evil Voices.”  Now he’s been arrested and charged in a quadruple murder. Does the twisted music he embraced cause kids to commit violence—or are troubled kids simply drawn to the music more than healthy kids? We’ll give you the facts and let you decide.

See you at 10 p.m. ET!

Remembering the victims of 9/11

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

We have much more from Afghanistan tonight, as we wrap up our week of reporting from the war zone.

Today Americans marked the eighth anniversary of the September 11th attacks with memorials that have grown familiar, but no less heartbreaking. U.S. troops in Afghanistan also took time out today to remember the attacks. Meantime, the Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to send as many as 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

In the weeks after the 9/11 attacks, support for the Afghanistan invasion was high but support is now waning. On Capitol Hill today, Democrats expressed doubts about deploying more troops, with Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin saying it’s time for a surge of Afghan troops. Tonight, we’ll dig deeper on the pushback.

We’ll also show you how U.S. military doctors are mentoring Afghani doctors on the job. 360 MD Sanjay Gupta spent time at a medical center in Kandahar, where he watched American physicians teaching lifesaving lessons to local doctors. In a country with too few physicians and enormous medical needs, it’s a crucial mission. Sanjay will take us up close.

A short time ago, Anderson filed another reporter’s notebook from the field. If you want to get a sense of what it feels like to serve in this battle zone—the dust, the heat, the isolation—you’ll understand after watching Anderson’s report.

We’ll also have the latest on a missing Yale graduate student. Annie Le was last seen Tuesday morning, entering a campus building. A security camera caught her on tape. The 24-year-old doctoral student in pharmacology planned to get married on Sunday, but has not contacted her family, co-workers or friends. Randi Kaye has the latest on the investigation.

See you at 10 p.m. ET.

A massive wildfire burns Tuesday near a house in La Crescenta, California, near Los Angeles.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

In Southern California–where peak fire season hasn’t even officially begun yet–a huge and deadly wildfire continues to burn out of control tonight.

The Station Fire now covers more than 190 square miles, an area larger than Philadelphia. More than 3,000 firefighters are scrambling to save more than 10,000 homes that remain at risk. Officials say it could take up to two weeks to fully contain the fast-moving blaze. We’ll have the latest from the frontlines of the battle.

We’ll also have the latest on the Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapping investigation. Officials believe at least two unsolved kidnappings may be linked to Phillip Garrido, the man charged with kidnapping and raping Dugard.

Nine-year-old Michaela Garecht disappeared in 1988. A year later, 13-year-old Ilene Misheloff was kidnapped. Both abductions took place not far from where Dugard was snatched. We’ll show you why investigators think the crimes may be related. We’ll also hear from family members of both missing girls.

You’ll also see what court documents from Garrido’s rape conviction reveal about the defense he put forth.

Garrido was sentenced to 50 years in prison but served just a fraction of his term—and then went on to allegedly abduct and rape Jaycee Dugard. His early release has ignited outrage. We’ll dig deeper on why convicted sexual offenders like Garrido are sometimes set free before completing their sentences—and what’s being done to close loopholes that are putting children at risk.

Tonight we’re launching a series of reports on the illegal sale of human organs. Our worldwide investigation has uncovered a thriving black market for human kidneys–right here in the United States. Authorities say illegal transplants are being performed in major U.S. hospitals, with donors flown here to sell their organs to American patients. It’s a booming industry – and it’s thriving because many involved appear to be turning a blind eye to the law. Drew Griffin reports.

Worried parents and their young children are flooding emergency rooms, concerned about swine flu. The influx is taxing already overburdened ERs. Tonight, 360 MD Sanjay Gupta provides a reality check—including a checklist to help parents decide when they need to seek medical help quickly and when they can wait.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

We’re keeping a close eye on a fast-moving California wildfire that’s threatening thousands of homes and businesses outside Los Angeles—and has trapped five people who ignored evacuation orders. They’re stuck in a canyon surrounded by walls of flames. The blaze, which broke out last week, nearly doubled in size overnight. Two firefighters died battling it. We’ll have the latest tonight.

We now have a much clearer picture of what the last 18 years have been like for Jaycee Dugard, the young woman who was found last week 18 years after her kidnapping. Investigators are combing the secret backyard compound where Dugard was allegedly forced to live–and where she apparently gave birth to the two daughters her captor fathered. We’ll show you what investigators found inside the squalid makeshift compound of tents and sheds.

We’ll also hear from people who came into contact with Jaycee Dugard during her captivity. It turns out she wasn’t entirely isolated. She apparently helped Phillip Garrido run his printing business. Why didn’t outsiders suspect anything was wrong? What was their impression of the young woman? We’ll try to answer those questions tonight.

We’ve also learned that investigators are looking into whether other young victims may have fallen prey to Garrido. A short time ago, authorities said that they found a bone fragment on a neighbor’s property that Garrido allegedly used. The fragment is being tested to determine if the bone is human. Meantime, the search for more evidence continues with cadaver dogs. We’ll cover all of these angles tonight.

Plus, we’ll take a close look at the bold allegation that Britain brokered the release of the Pan Am Flight 103 bomber as part of a secret trade deal with Libya. The Times of London says it has a letter that provides proof. Tonight we’re keeping them honest.

Swine flu is also in our mix tonight. Many college campuses are already reporting outbreaks of the H1N1 virus. The University of Kansas has hundreds of suspected cases. We’ll show you what’s being done to contain the spread on that campus. Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta will also answer your questions.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

Tonight we’re digging deeper on the CIA interrogation story.

Yesterday, the government released hundreds of documents detailing harsh interrogation tactics used by the CIA during the Bush administration–and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he was launching a new review of those controversial techniques to determine if the CIA broke the law.

That decision has sparked a war of words—and former Vice President Dick Cheney has entered the fray. He says the newly released documents prove his long-held claim that tough interrogation techniques—including mock executions, banned by the U.N. Convention Against Torture–prevented terrorist attacks and yielded crucial information about al Qaeda.

But do the documents made public yesterday really prove his point? Did those tough tactics actually deliver crucial information that kept Americans safe? Tom Foreman is on the case, Keeping Them Honest. Political contributors Paul Begala, Democratic strategist, and Mary Matalin, who served as an adviser to Cheney when he was vice president, will also weigh in.

We’ll also have the latest in the Michael Jackson death investigation. For weeks now, the focus has been on Dr. Murray, but now another doctor—Jackson’s longtime dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein—may soon be getting even more attention from investigators. Randi Kaye explains why tonight.

The pop singer Chris Brown, who was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend, the singer Rihanna, was sentenced today and ordered to stay away from his victim. Many think he got off easy. His story has focused attention on an ugly reality. Tonight we’ll take a closer look at domestic violence in the African American community.

We’ll also report from New Orleans, four years after the storm that devastated the city. We have an update on a violent death in the chaotic days after Katrina–a police shooting that left a mentally disabled man dead. The police officers maintained it was self-defense. But tonight there are new and disturbing developments in the case.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern!

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

A paper bombshell exploded today when a Houston court released documents showing that Michael Jackson died of lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol.

According to the search warrant and affidavit unsealed just hours ago, the Los Angeles coroner reached that conclusion after reviewing toxicology results from tests on Jackson’s blood. The documents are a window into the powerful mix of drugs Jackson was given in the hours leading up to his death. The warrant says Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s private doctor, told a detective he gave the singer three other medications to help Jackson sleep before finally administering 25 mg of propofol on the morning of June 25.

And that’s not all—the Associated Press is quoting a single law enforcement official, who says the L.A. County Coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office told CNN they had "no comment" on the report. An LAPD spokesman says the story did not come from their department.

We’ll have the latest on all of this breaking news.

360° M.D. Sanjay Gupta will also take us into the operating room to show us how quickly propofol works on an actual patient. You’ll see why patients must be carefully monitored while under its influence.

The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into harsh questioning of detainees during President George W. Bush's war on terrorism. Attorney General Eric Holder said he has chosen a veteran prosecutor to determine whether any CIA officers or contractors should face criminal charges for crossing the line on rough but permissible tactics. The announcement coming as a newly declassified report on alleged detainee abuse describes harsh tactics used by interrogators on terror suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, including making threats to kill one suspect's children and to force another to watch his mother sexually assaulted.

Did the CIA go too far? Is it productive to dredge up these past incidents, which were already investigated during the Bush administration? We’ll dig deeper tonight.

Today brought a grisly twist in the murder investigation of a former swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore. The man police believe killed her was finally found—dead–in Canada after being on the lam. We’ll have all the details.

We’ll also return to New Orleans, four years after Katrina’s floods devastated an already ailing school system. The catastrophe provided an opportunity to rebuild the city’s entire approach to education—and today some are saying the storm may have been a blessing in disguise, at least for NOLA’s children.

We’ll show you why. It’s part of our week-long series on New Orleans post-Katrina.

All that and much more on AC360° tonight. See you at 10 p.m. eastern!

Cate Vojdik
AC360º Writer

Tonight Anderson anchors live from Los Angeles, where the city is bracing for Michael Jackson’s memorial service at the Staples Center. A private funeral and burial will take place tomorrow morning before the memorial. We’ll have the latest details, including the superstar line-up of performers—many of them personal friends of Jackson–scheduled to take part.

We’ll also have the latest on the investigation into Jackson’s death and the battle for control over his estate. A judge today denied Katherine Jackson’s request to remain in temporary control her son’s estate—and instead appointed two longtime advisers of Michael Jackson - an entertainment attorney and a music executive named in a 2002 will - as temporary administrators pending an August hearing.

Another story we’re following closely: the fallout from Sarah Palin’s surprise resignation as governor of Alaska. She dropped the bombshell Friday, heading into the holiday weekend. Since then, the questions have only multiplied. Why is she stepping down with 18 months left in her term? Are there new and unwelcome revelations coming down the pike that forced her to bolt? Or is this just the latest left turn from a self-described “maverick.” We’re digging deeper.

In South Carolina, there’s a potential break in a string of killings that have terrorized a small rural community. Five people were shot to death over six days last week. Tonight, the manhunt for the suspected killer may be over. We’ll have the latest developments as they unfold.

Plus, in Moscow today President Obama kicked off two days of meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. On Day One, they committed to deeper nuclear cuts and downplayed differences over American missile defense. They’re also expected to focus on nuclear arms control, Afghanistan, and the environment. We’ll talk strategy with David Gergen.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern.

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..

Cate Vojdik
AC360º Writer

Tonight on 360º, you’ll hear Angelina Jolie bring to life the plight of 42 million people whose individual stories of terror–and survivorship–are often untold. In an interview months in the making, she talks to Anderson about some of the men, women and children she’s met as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She has a deep passion for the work that takes her far from Hollywood and her own family. Just today, the U.N. announced that Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt, have donated $1 million to help Pakistani refugees. Tonight, hear why Jolie is especially concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan.

Plus, we’ll have the latest from Iran, where tens of thousands of protesters marched in the streets for a sixth day. Iran’s government is still doing its best to silence reporters and control the airwaves. We’ll bring you all the images and information we can, including i-reports and amateur video from Facebook and YouTube.

Also tonight, we continue our weeklong series “America’s High: The Case for and Against Pot.” You may not realize it, but marijuana turns out to be a growth industry in this recession. The collapse of the housing market has turned cheap property into pot houses—and they may be operating on your street.

And we’re learning more about the death of a Continental pilot during a cross-Atlantic flight today. The 60-year-old captain with more than three decades of flying experience apparently died from natural causes. The jet landed safely with the first officer at the controls. Only then, did passengers learned what had happened. Randi Kaye has been working the story and will have details at 10 p.m. eastern.

 See you then..

Culp, an Ohio mother of two, lost the mid-portion of her face after a gunshot wound in September 2004.

Connie Culp, 46, was identified as the first recipient of a face transplant in the United States.

Cate Vojdik
AC360 Writer

A shot gun blast fired at point blank range blew away much of Connie Culp’s face five years ago. Think about those words for a second. A shot gun blast. To the face. Fired at point blank range.

Culp’s husband pulled the trigger.

We learned those chilling facts Tuesday, when the first U.S. recipient of a face transplant revealed her identity for the first time.

Culp’s press conference at the Cleveland Clinic got a lot of coverage, most of which focused on the extraordinary surgical procedures that gave Culp a new face. The fact that she was left horribly disfigured–to the point where children ran from her–because her husband shot her in the face didn’t get as much attention. Culp herself has said she wants to move on with her life and has forgiven her husband, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence.

Today we’re following another story involving a woman shot at point-blank range, allegedly by a man she knew. Johanna Justin-Jinich, a junior at Wesleyan University, was working at a bookstore-café near the campus when she was killed yesterday afternoon. Police have launched a nationwide search for 29-year-old Stephen Morgan, against whom Justin-Jinich filed a harassment complaint nearly two years ago. He’s the main suspect.

Sadly, in the annals of criminal statistics, Connie Culp—and apparently Johanna Justin-Jinich–aren’t unique. Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they know. In 2007, according to the Department of Justice, more than half a million violent crimes were committed against female victims by an intimate partner while just 69,000 males were the victims of such crimes. A whopping 69 percent of all violent crimes against women in 2007 were committed by someone known to the victim—whether a husband, boyfriend, relative, friend or acquaintance. Find more of the DOJ statistics here.

There are still a lot of unknowns in the case of Justin-Jinich. We don’t know for sure that Stephen Morgan is in fact the man seen on a surveillance video wielding a gun moments before Justin-Jinich was shot. Police have found the wig and beard they believe the shooter wore as a disguise. They also say they found a journal in Morgan’s car in which the suspect expressed threats toward Wesleyan and/or its Jewish students.

Back to Connie Culp. You might think that she is unique, even among the many victims of domestic violence, because of her horrible injuries. She’s not. Carolyn Thomas, a resident of Waco Texas, has gone through the same hell. You can read about her story here.

In December 2003, Thomas’s former boyfriend burst into the apartment she shared with her mother and shot them both, killing Thomas’s mom. Thomas lost her right eye, her nose, her cheeks, the roof of her mouth and most of her teeth. Her shooter went to prison for life and Thomas underwent seven operations over two years to rebuild her face. This weekend, Thomas will be honored at a luncheon to benefit the Houston Area Women’s Center. According to the Houston Chronicle, her surgeries were provided through a program that matches doctors and hospitals willing to donate care to survivors of domestic violence.

The fact that there is a need for such a program is itself a sobering fact.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

The markets clearly liked what they saw today.

A better-than-expected housing market report sent the Dow soaring 214 points. The S&P added nearly 30, and the Nasdaq rose 44. Today’s gains erased all - or nearly all - of the year’s losses for the major indexes. Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi will explain what the rally and housing numbers mean for the economy overall—and for your bottom line.

Police in Chicago are asking for the public’s help in solving a brutal murder over the weekend. A 15-year-old high school student was found dead from a gunshot to the head; his body had been severely beaten and burned. Alex Arellano is the 34th Chicago public school student to be killed this year. Police say the 10th grader had no ties to gangs and no criminal record. Tonight, David Mattingly reports on the wave of killings claiming so many young lives in Chicago.

We’ll also have the reaction to the verdict in a Pennsylvania hate-crime trial. Three white teenagers were accused of beating to death an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. One pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation before the trial and testified that his friends had used racial slurs during the attack. On Friday, an all-white jury acquitted the two teens in the death. Latino rights proponents are enraged—and the small town where it all happened is struggling to deal with the media spotlight. Tonight Soledad O’Brien digs deeper into racial tensions in the town.

We’re also keeping a close eye on swine flu. The virus is still spreading, but there are some signs the worst may be over – at least for now. In Mexico, many public spaces are reopening. And in New York, a Catholic school that closed after an outbreak also reopened today. Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta joins us again with the latest.

And, a former co-worker of a suspected serial killer is speaking out. He worked alongside John Floyd Thomas, Jr., a 72-year-old California man arrested last week. Police believe he may have killed dozens of women during two killing sprees decades ago. Looking back, were there any missed clues to his alleged double life? We’ll take a close look tonight.

All that coming up.. see you at 10 p.m. eastern.
4

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

The swine flu crisis is erupting on a milestone week for President Obama; today is 100th day of his presidency.

Arbitrary or not, Day 100 has become part of the drill when it comes to covering new administrations – and tonight, CNN will have extensive coverage, starting with President Obama’s prime-time press conference at 8 p.m. eastern. We’ll cover the presser live and follow with plenty of analysis and reality-checking. We’ll also give you a chance to grade the president - and Congress - on their performance so far.

Starting at 11 p.m. eastern, 360 will have the latest on the swine flu outbreak, which health officials say is hurtling toward a pandemic.

Today brought a flood of new developments in this fast-moving story. The World Health Organization raised its alert another notch, from 4 to 5 – its second-highest level. More than 140 cases have been confirmed in at least 9 countries. Germany and Austria are the latest to report swine flu.

In the U.S., the number of confirmed cases grew to 91. The virus has been reported in at least 10 states, and hundreds of suspected cases are being investigated. A toddler in Texas became the first U.S. fatality. He was visiting from Mexico and died in a Houston hospital.

Health officials say we can expect more deaths. The new Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, held a news conference today, her first full day on the job. Talk about being thrown into the fire.

A lot of viewers have been asking why we’re devoting so much coverage to the swine flu story. They point out, rightly, that the death toll hasn’t yet come close to the average annual death toll from the common flu, which kills around 36,000 Americans each year. But that’s just one piece of the story and one measurement of the danger.

A couple of factors make this flu virus especially newsworthy – and potentially very dangerous. Health officials are battling a brand-new strain of flu, which means they have to create a new vaccine for it. That could take months. Think of it this way: Until a vaccine is developed the virus is free to operate under the radar. Our immune systems haven’t seen anything like it before, leaving our bodies vulnerable to invasion. Imagine the virus speeding down a highway at 100 mph with no police cars to chase it.

While it’s true more people have died this year from the common flu, health experts say a novel flu strain, like the swine flu we’re seeing, has the potential to kill even more people than the common flu. There’s no way to know if it will. But public health responses are premised on potential risks. Because this virus appears to be spreading easily from person to person, and because genetically it’s an unknown enemy, it’s potentially a more dangerous threat than the flu that’s been knocking people flat all season.

We’ll have all the latest on the outbreak, starting at 11 eastern. 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Carlos del Rio will be answering your questions again tonight. They’ll also help us bust some myths about the flu. Dr. del Rio is a professor of global health at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. He’s also a native of Mexico and has been working with Mexico’s government since the swine flu outbreak began.

You can post your questions during the live chat on AC360.com during the show. You can also send it to facebook.com/andersoncooper360 or via a tweet to @andersoncooper.

See you at 11 p.m. eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

Flu fears are growing as the swine flu outbreak spreads.

More cases were reported worldwide today, including in the United States, where at least seven people have been hospitalized. Nationwide, at least 64 cases have been confirmed in five states. While there have been no deaths so far in the U.S., health officials today warned that will change.

"I fully expect we will see deaths from this infection," said Richard Besser, acting director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the same.

As the outbreak spreads, the search for its source has intensified. Did it originate it Mexico? That’s still not clear. Tonight, 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta visits a village where the first known case in Mexico is believed to have occurred. Is the young boy who fell ill weeks ago the Holy Grail in this health crisis - Patient Zero?

Experts say the illness likely emerged in a pig infected with avian and human flu strains, then jumped to humans. According to this theory, somewhere a person picked up the virus from an infected live pig, became ill, and then passed the flu on to other people. Tonight we’ll show you how a simple sneeze can set off an epidemic. Randi Kaye teamed up with a medical expert and braved New York’s subway. Yep, there’s a big ick factor in her report – but it’s one you need to watch for your own health.

While Congress held an emergency meeting on swine flu today, President Obama asked for $1.5 billion to help fight the outbreak. Meantime, Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in California to free up more resources to stop the virus’s spread.

The fight could be a tough one. In the annals of flu viruses, this one is a newbie – a previously unseen blend of bird, human and pig viruses. And that’s what has many health experts worried. Brand new viruses can be especially deadly because their victims haven’t developed immunities to them.

We’ll spend a lot of time on this fast-moving story tonight. Dr. Gupta and Dr. Carlos Del Rio will be taking your questions. Send them our way at AC360.com.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern...

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

At 8 p.m. eastern, President Obama will give his second prime-time news conference since taking office. His aides are calling it a progress report on the economy. Mister Obama will also use the time to pitch his $3.6 trillion budget, which he released last month.

CNN will have full live coverage of the press conference, and afterward on AC360, we’ll dig deeper with the best political and financial team on television.

We’ll also have more reporting on Mexico’s escalating battle against drug cartels. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today unveiled a $700 million plan to help Mexico in its fight to stop drug cartel violence. The plan includes a U.S. crackdown on the flow of weapons and money into Mexico. Hundreds of additional agents from the U.S. departments of Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security will be assigned to the border with Mexico.

The new plan comes on the eve of a series of visits to Mexico by three Obama administration cabinet members, starting tomorrow with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Drug-related violence is already spilling over into the United States. Tomorrow and Thursday, Anderson will report live from the front lines of the battle - in south Texas near the border.

Tonight, Michael Ware brings us another update on Mexico. He’s recently returned from Juarez, a city caught in the cross-fire of the drug cartel wars.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

Tonight we’re following breaking news on those outrage-inspiring bonuses paid to AIG executives. The payments have set off a national furor.

A short time ago, we got word that 15 out of 20 of AIG’s executives are giving the money back. In a conference call with reporters, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said that so far at least $50 million has been returned. Score one for average folks and the power of public opinion. We’ll have all the details for you by air time.

We’ll have to wait and see if the give-backs will quell the outrage that’s still overflowing. Over the weekend, some fuming community groups in Connecticut funneled their anger into action by organizing a “Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous” tour. The bus took sightseers to the homes of two AIG executives. Randi Kaye went along with her camera crew. We’ll have her report tonight.

What do you think? Was the tour a cheap publicity stunt that crossed a line? Or do the AIG execs, despite being private citizens, deserve all the scrutiny they’re getting? For the record, both of the execs who were targeted by the tour bus had already agreed to give back their bonuses before the bus rolled up. Does that change how you feel about the tour? Tell us what you think.

We’ll also devote considerable time to the government’s plan to move toxic assets off bank balance sheets. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today unveiled his long-awaited plan to free up banks’ overloaded books. It basically aims to lure private investors, including big hedge funds, to buy up the bad debt by offering billions in low-interest loans to finance the purchases. The government will share the risks if the assets fall further in price. Wall Street seemed to like the plan; the Dow surged nearly 500 points. But not everyone is convinced it will work. Ali Velshi will breakdown the plan for us tonight. We’ll also dig deeper on the raw politics.

Plus, we’ll take you inside Bernie Madoff’s house of cards. We’re learning all kinds of bizarre details about the King of Ponzi schemes. People who used to work at his firm are talking – and the stories they’re telling will turn your head.

We’ll also have the latest on the shootings this weekend in Oakland, California. Four police officers were gunned down by the same killer. Two were shot during a traffic stop and two were hit while pursuing the shooter. Three of the officers are dead, a fourth is on life support and reportedly brain-dead. The shooter, who had a violent criminal history, was wanted for a parole violation. Tonight, there are plenty of questions about why he was on the streets of Oakland instead of behind bars. Joe Johns will have more for us tonight.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

Tonight on 360, we’ll tackle a couple of key questions at the end of a head-spinning week for the White House. Is President Obama overexposed? Is he overextended? Both? Neither?

Mister Obama seemed to be everywhere this week - from a St. Patrick’s Day event on Capitol Hill to two town hall meetings in California to The Tonight Show. We counted 17 presidential photo ops in all. Meantime, back in Washington, the Obama administration was trying to douse the flames from the AIG bonus fiasco.

Some of the president’s critics say he should be spending more time in the Oval Office keeping a closer eye on the economic crisis and efforts to fix it. Do they have a point? Has President Obama taken on too many issues at once? What do you think?

We’ll also dig deeper on the fallout from the president’s remark about the Special Olympics that forced the White House to issue an apology. What’s your take?

But part of the money she’s turning down would go to special needs students. Meantime, today Palin took President Obama to task for making that insensitive remark about the Special Olympics.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, school superintendents in the state are already lobbying legislators to reverse Palin’s decision. They say they desperately need the stimulus money. We’ll have all the details.

We’ve also been investigating a recession danger you need to know about. It could be a phone call. It might come in an email. Either way, it’s a scam and a growing problem. Fraudsters are offering hope in hard times – but they’re only after your money. We’ll tell you how to keep the crooks out of your pockets.

We’ll also show you the lengths some seniors are going to get a job. These are Americans who were getting ready to retire after decades of hard work – but forced to find new jobs now that their nest eggs are shattered. With 11 million Americans out of work, competition is tough – especially when you’re competing with youth. Some are turning to plastic surgery to get an extra edge on the competition – even if it means going under the knife.

For the family of Natasha Richardson, a heartbreaking week is coming to an end. Today in New York, close friends and family of Richardson gathered at a wake for the 45-year-old actress, who died from a brain injury after a skiing accident. New details are emerging about the timeline following her fall. It now appears she didn’t get medical help until almost four hours after she fell on a bunny slope at a Canadian resort. Initial reports said she was taken to a hospital about an hour after the fall. Why the conflicting information? And more important, could Natasha Richardson have been saved if she’d received medical attention sooner? We’ll have all the details and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent and a practicing neurosurgeon, will weigh in.

See you at 10 pm eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

Tonight, Anderson and Team 360 are in Hempstead, New York, on Long Island. We’ll be broadcasting from the campus of Hofstra University as we continue our special Road to Rescue reporting. The economic crisis has created new worries for college students. How will they pay for tuition? Will they get a job after graduation to pay off all their loans? We’ll be taking questions from Hofstra students tonight. Innovation consultant and author Frans Johansson, who wrote “The Medici Effect,” will be in the thick of the crowd with advice.

It’s not just college students feeling under pressure. At a town hall meeting today in California, President Obama listened to concerns about the enormous deficits California schools are facing. Mister Obama said his administration is pushing to spend more on education, but he also told Americans not to expect something for nothing; he said those demanding more money for schools should be willing to embrace reform, too.

What do you think? Is that a fair deal?

Meantime, First Lady Michelle Obama spent part of her day at a high school in one of Washington’s poorest neighborhoods, where she talked to students about the value of a college education and hard work. It was part of an outreach program to celebrate Women’s History Month. Mrs. Obama recruited 21 other prominent women - including celebrity athletes, actresses, Grammy Award-winning singers, and a former astronaut - to fan out to 10 other schools in the area. We’ll have more on Michelle Obama’s outreach efforts tonight.

We’ll also hear from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who sat down today with CNN Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi. Ali asked him about that loophole in the stimulus bill that allowed AIG to dole out billions in bonuses to the very people who nearly sank the company. Those bonuses, of course, are being paid for with your tax dollars. What did Geithner say? Find out in our report.

The nationwide outrage over those bonuses produced some results in Washington today. House lawmakers passed a bill aimed at recouping the money through steep taxes. The measure passed overwhelmingly, in a 328-93 vote. Will the Senate follow suit? Slapping huge taxes on AIG and its fat cats may feel like sweet revenge, but are we losing sight of the forest for the trees in this story? What do you think?

We’ll also take a closer look at Natasha Richardson’s tragic death. The 45-year-old Tony-winning actress died yesterday from head injuries suffered in a freakish skiing accident. How did a fall on a bunny ski slope result in such a devastating outcome? We’ll dig deeper on the medical minutiae of traumatic brain injuries. What do you need to know to avoid a tragedy like Richardson’s?

See you at 10 eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

Tonight, Anderson and Team 360 are in Detroit, our next stop on the Road to Rescue. All this week, we’re reporting on how Americans are coping with the economic crisis and finding ways to pull through it. On Day 3 of our special coverage, we’ll be broadcasting live from JB Bamboozles Pub & Grill in Warren, just outside Detroit.

Detroit was once the country’s 4th largest city, but has plunged seven places to 11th. Its population has fallen below a million.

Detroit has been absorbing hard knocks for decades. The near collapse of the automotive industry has been a driving factor. Detroit has long been shorthand for the Big Three U.S. car makers. In its heyday, it took on the nicknames Motor City and Motown. The recession is hitting all of Michigan hard; the state has had one of the highest unemployment rates for years. Locals know that tough times can always get worse. But the corollary is that they can also present opportunities.

Tonight, you’ll meet two local artists with big plans for transforming their corner of Detroit. Mitch Cope and Gina Reichert are determined to remake a gritty neighborhood on the city’s northside into a mecca for artists. Houses are dirt cheap; artists need a place to make art. Can these two facts produce a renaissance in one corner of Detroit?

We’ll also show you a thriving pocket of General Motors. It’s actually halfway around the world, in Shanghai, where sales are booming. In China, GM has been making an annual profit of around a billion dollars – money that’s kept the company out of bankruptcy for the last three years.

Just as we have for the past two nights, we’ll be taking questions from our live audience. Innovation consultant and author of “The Medici Effect” Frans Johansson is back with us tonight with advice for finding opportunities within these hard times.

Tom Foreman will have another report on the winners and losers of the recession – a round-up of which companies are thriving and which are reeling. It’s information that may help you plan your next steps.

There’s plenty of breaking news to cover tonight as well.

The AIG bonus fallout is getting even uglier. During a grilling on Capitol Hill today, the failed insurance company’s CEO, Edward Liddy, said his company has heard America’s outrage “loudly and clearly.” He told lawmakers that some executives have already started returning some of the money.

But the real bombshell was Liddy’s testimony that the Fed knew about the bonuses ahead of time – and agreed to them! It’s been a day of fast-moving developments on this story. Late this afternoon, Senate Banking committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told CNN’s Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer that he was responsible for slipping the bonus loophole into the stimulus package that permitted AIG and other companies to pay bonuses.

Why is that a big bombshell? Just yesterday, Dodd denied to CNN that he had anything to do with putting that loophole in there.

Needless to say, we’ll be digging much deeper into all of this tonight on 360.

We’ll also have the latest developments in the Natasha Richardson story. Her family has yet to release a public statement. The award-winning actress was seriously injured in a skiing accident two days ago in Canada. She reportedly was moved last night to New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital. Her mother, sister and other family members have been seen entering and leaving the building, though the hospital hasn’t confirmed Richardson is a patient. The 45-year-old wife of actor Liam Neeson fell during a ski lesson on a beginner’s slope. Richardson and her family are in our thoughts.

See you at 10 p.m. eastern.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

All this week, 360 will be traveling across the country, On the Road to Rescue. For the next five days, in five different cities, Anderson will report on how Americans hit by the economic crisis are finding ways to pull through. He’ll talk to people on the ground about their hopes, challenges and strategies.

The idea is to connect the big picture issues of the economic crisis to the snapshots on the ground - minus the partisan noise you’ll find elsewhere. We believe knowledge is power; the more information you have the more control you’ll have over your families’ futures.

Tonight, Anderson is in Los Angeles, where unemployment has surged four percent since October – to 12 percent. Anderson talked with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who wants the federal government to give nearly $7 billion in stimulus money directly to his city, bypassing the state government. Why? He fears state officials will use the money for deficit reduction rather than job creation. At the very least, he says, it will take longer for the money to reach his city if it has to wind its way through state channels.

Mayor Villaraigosa would use some of the $7 billion to buy “green trucks” built by a local company. Anderson will show us these electric trucks plus the port where some of them would be used. He’ll also examine Villaraigosa’s contention that giving stimulus money directly to cities will help speed recovery.

Anderson also goes to the frontlines of the battle against gangs. He’ll introduce us to Gregory Thomas, the co-founder of a local gang-prevention group in Watts, who hopes to use stimulus money to create jobs and job-training programs while hiring dozens of gang outreach workers. An estimated 400 gangs operate in and around L.A., and last year nearly half of all homicides in the city were gang-related.

A reverend who heads up the city’s task force on gang prevention told Anderson he’s convinced that even a small amount of stimulus money would have a big impact in Watts. As he puts it: ”I mean surely if we can still pay out bonuses to bankers on wall street, it seems to me we can use some of these dollars to invest in poor community’s that have been overlooked and over-passed for decades.”

Can the fight against gangs create jobs and helped fuel the recovery? We’ll dig deeper.

We’ll also spend some time tonight on the huge new wave of outrage that AIG has unleashed with its latest bonus payouts – to employees in the very division that nearly sunk the giant company. President Obama has told Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to use all legal means to stop the payments or get the money back. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is also taking action. But what can they actually do? Is there a way to get the billions of taxpayer dollars back?

We’ll also take a closer look at the Obama administrations plans to help small businesses. Plus, we’ve pulled together a panel of experts who say that recessions can actually be good for entrepreneurs. Remember the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention”? More on that tonight.

After L.A. we head to New Orleans, Detroit, New York and Miami. Should be a fascinating week.

See you tonight at 10 p.m. eastern.