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.

Keep reading

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.
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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.

Keep reading

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.

Keep reading

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.

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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?

Keep reading

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.