Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 9/17/08
For what’s in the program take a look at tonight’s Evening Buzz.
Don’t forget to watch Erica Hill’s webcast during the commercials. LINK TO WEBCAST
And take a look at Anderson and Erica on our live web camera from the 360° studio. We’ll turn the camera on at 945p ET and turn it off at 11p ET. LINK TO THE BLOG CAMERA
Wondering why some comments are posted while others aren’t? Here’s a post that may help: LINK TO COMMENTS POST
We’ll start posting comments at 10p ET and stop at 11p ET.
Evening Buzz: Dollars & Votes
Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
Stocks took a beating again today on Wall Street. The Dow plunged nearly 450 points, on top of the 500 point loss on Monday. Asian markets, now open, are also getting hit. That $85 billion dollar bailout of AIG we told you about last night is not calming nerves. Tonight, CNN's Ali Velshi explains why it didn't work and what might happen tomorrow.
We're also on the trail in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin held their first joint town hall meeting, in front of a mostly friendly crowd. We'll share the highlights with you. Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama held a rally in Nevada tonight. We'll have those highlights, too. Nevada is a battleground state that could go red or blue, like many others this November. Tonight, we'll have the raw politics of the states in play.
And, don't miss our shot of the day. Wait till you see who's helping clean up the mess in Texas after Hurricane Ike.
All that and more tonight at 10pm ET on 360. Hope you can join us.
ON THE RADAR: Thursday
Lisa Ort
AC360° Producer
Meet the spouses…and other stories on our radar:
ON THE TRAIL: McCain and Palin hit the trail together with rallies in Cedar Rapids, IA and Green Bay, WI. Obama has a rally in Espanola, NM. Biden has rallies in Canton, Akron and Youngstown, OH.
RAW POLITICS: Meet the spouses of the VP candidates. Randi Kaye profiles Todd Palin. He’s been called Alaska’s “First Dude” but some say he should be called the “Shadow Governor” because he’s a powerful player in Alaska politics. David Mattingly profiles Jill Biden who has been married to Sen. Joe Biden for more than 30 years. How has she influence his personal and political life? What impact will she have on the campaign?
COUNTERING AL QAEDA HEARING: The House Armed Services Committee’s Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Lessons for Countering al Qaeda and the Way Ahead."
ED MCMAHON LAWSUIT HEARING: Ed McMahon is suing Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for allegedly botching two surgeries he had on his neck after a fall.
DREW PETERSON GUN CASE: There’s a hearing scheduled in the case against former police officer Drew Peterson. He was charged with possessing an unlawful assault rifle.
NASA FUTURE FORUM: As part of its 50th anniversary NASA is holding a series of forums to discuss the future of space exploration.
360 Webcast
David M. Reisner
AC360 Digital Producer
We promised you more interactivity and more behind-the-scenes action on AC360 and AC360.com.
Well, here it is!
Introducing '360 Webcast'
AC360's very own Erica Hill takes you behind the scenes during AC360's commercial breaks. It's a look you can't see anywhere else.
So here's what you do:
- Watch the show (...duh)
- Log on to AC360.COM (...I think you are already there!)
- Click on this link
- and stay tuned during commerical breaks for all the inside action.
It's a really fun new way of watching the show. Before guests walk off the set, they'll chat with Erica... Its a chance for us to get in any last minute questions, and give them feedback from the live blog. Take a look at last night's '360 Webcast' for some last minute tips Suze Orman gave during the break:
But wait, theres more!
Learn some of the 'inside TV' terms we use on the program, see how we search for stories, and learn just how we bring our nightly newscast to your living rooms and laptops.
So what are you waiting for!?!
Oh... right... '360 Webcast' will be on from 10p ET – 11p ET
Here another great examples of what happens on '360 Webcast' during commericials.
Turns out, the jokes are even funnier when you know whats been going on behind the scenes!
Check out this clip at around 3:35 in to see what i'm talking about. Who knew Beat 360 could be even funnier.
So make sure to watch tonight! See you online!
Sarah Palin's complex situation
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/17/art.vert.palin.jpg width=292 height=320]
Editor's Note: Sarah Palin’s biggest project as a small town mayor left tax payers holding a massive bill for a sports complex. We go inside her legacy in Wasilla, Alaska. Watch Randi Kaye's report tonight on AC360 10p ET.
Randi Kaye
AC360° Correspondent
Supporters call it Sarah Palin’s “crowning achievement.” Her “lasting legacy.”
I’m talking about the Wasilla Sports Complex, a $15 million project that then-Mayor Sarah Palin pushed through.
Did I mention it has an indoor soccer field and the seats for the hockey arena are heated??
Palin asked residents to approve a 25 percent sales tax increase to pay for the $14.7 million dollar bond needed to build it which they did approve by a margin of just 20 votes.
But the project ended up costing the city millions of dollars because of missteps taken by the town.
The problem was Wasilla started building on the land before it actually owned the title to the land.
You see, the Nature Conservancy was negotiating to sell the land to Wasilla or to a businessman named Gary Lundgren in 1999.
The town hadn’t signed the purchase agreement for all the land it thought it owned, but Lundgren had.
Beat 360° 9/17/08
Ready for today's Beat 360°?
Everyday we post a picture – and you provide the caption and our staff will join in too.
Tune in every night at 10p ET to see if you are our favorite!
Here is 'Beat 360°’ pic of the day:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gestures while discussing his decision to veto a state budget plan that was approved by the Legislature, during a news conference at the Capitol in Sacramento, California, Tuesday.
Have fun with it. We're looking forward to your captions!
Make sure to include your name, city, state (or country) so we can post your comment.
________________________________________________
But wait!… There’s more!
When you win ‘Beat 360°’ not only do you get on-air prime-time name recognition (complete with bragging rights over all your friends, family, and jealous competitors), but you get a “I Won the Beat 360° Challenge” T-shirt!
Good luck to all!
Update: Check out today's winner!
Erica’s News Note: Heading South
Erica Hill
AC360 Correspondent
It feels like the economic roller coaster we’ve been riding for so long has made it to the top of that scary drop and is perched there, teetering, ready for the dive. The big question, when will the final blow come? I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer, but it’s tough to watch the Dow drop nearly 450 points and not be a bit concerned. Bailouts can be scary, too. Yesterday’s AIG loan was the big talk in the makeup room last night. The consensus was a feeling of frustration at the continued bailouts with taxpayer money.
One studio crew member also wanted to know why we didn’t talk more about the vicious cycle he felt the government was creating. He mentioned the soaring deficit, tax dollars being used to continually bailout companies, and the decision to add pump more physical cash into the market when the US currency was already down. He said it seemed like everything the government was doing went against everything he learned in school.
And we cant forget about the good ol’ R word: recession. Despite the fact that 76% of Americans recently said they think the country is experiencing a recession, the money folks say we’re not. FULL POST
After Ike: Baptist Church now a Lion's Den?
David M. Reisner
AC360° Digital Producer
One of the most powerful images to come out of Hurricane Ike was from the town of Gilchrist, Texas. This was the town whose near total destruction could be summed up in this now iconic image... showing one house left standing in row after row of wasteland. (See Gilchrist,TX before and After Ike)
But of all the stories we heard during the storm, and all the images we have seen, there was one tale that I heard which I could not believe until I saw proof.
Today we have proof.
Meet Shackle, an 11-year-old African lioness as she lays on the altar at the First Baptist Church in Crystal Beach, Texas. The lion and her owner (who collects exotic animals) waded through Hurricane Ike flood waters to the church after they were unable to make it off Bolivar Peninsula prior to Ike's landfall.
Chuck Jones, who led a task force that landed on the peninsula east of Galveston put it best when he said "We're not going in there... We know where he [the lion] is on the food chain."
My trip to the bin Laden mansion
Peter Bergen | Bio
AC360° Contributor
CNN National Security Analyst
After al Qaeda blew up the USS Cole in October 2000 killing seventeen American sailors, I visited Yemen to check out Osama bin Ladens’s ancestral village in the Hadramaut region, in the south of the country. His father, Mohammed, left there as a teenager in 1931 to seek his fortune in what is now Saudi Arabia.
I traveled through Wadi Doan, a 100 mile-long valley in which the road is not much more than a rocky path. Black-robed women flitted like wraiths down the alleys of the wadi towns, avoiding eye contact with foreigners. Out in the fields, women harvested crops while completely swathed in black, wearing distinctive conical hats made of straw. Attempts to photograph the Hadrami women produced such a volcanic explosion of rage by my local driver that I abandoned the enterprise.
Will Bible study moms transform this race?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/17/palin.smile.jpg]David Brody | BIO
CBN News Senior National Correspondent
The Brody File has been told that there are plans underway to organize a “Faith Moms” rally for Sarah Palin when she takes on Senator Biden at the October 2nd debate in St. Louis. The McCain camp is not behind it. It’s being organized by a couple of unnamed (for now) Evangelical groups.
We’ve heard a lot of talk about “hockey moms” ever since Sarah Palin entered the race. And yes, Palin is attracting these strong, Independent fierce, “pit bulls with lipstick” for sure. But the enthusiasm and the “get out of your seats and do something” spirit looks to be coming from what we may want to call “Bible Study Moms”.
These moms are the millions across this country who are ecstatic that McCain picked a strong Christian woman as his running mate. These are the moms who go to their Bible studies in the middle of the week and send in checks to places like Concerned Women for America and other Christian organizations. Finally, these women will proclaim that we have our Hillary Clinton. These moms (who consider themselves politically astute) probably were not all that motivated to vote for McCain before Palin but now are jazzed and telling friends.
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