[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/08/24/art.nola.fourth.anniv.education.jpg caption="Eighth grade students at Carver School, a public school in New Orleans."]
Sean Callebs
CNN Correspondent
Katrina washed away so much in New Orleans. Neighborhoods, homes, and lives.
It also washed away a horribly under-performing public education system, but is now giving the city a rare opportunity: the chance to rebuild public schools from the ground up.
Spend some time with 14-year-old Donnell Bailey and it is possible to see signs of improvement from what was once a broken school system.
By his own admission, Donnell was a lazy student. He failed the fourth grade and didn’t focus at all on his future.
Now, after four years of reform, he’s done so well in public school he just earned a scholarship to a $17,000-a-year private school.
He credits the teachers who came to the city in the aftermath of Katrina.
“The expectations were higher,” Bailey said. “My teachers expected me to live up to those expectations. So, the drive that my teachers gave me, it really pushed me up to that level.”
A paper bombshell exploded today when a Houston court released documents showing that Michael Jackson died of lethal levels of the powerful anesthetic propofol.
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.
We’ll have the latest on all of this breaking news.
The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into harsh questioning of detainees during President George W. Bush's war on terrorism. We’ll dig deeper tonight.
Want to know what else we're covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
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Dr. Panchali Dhar
Before the Scalpel
Introduction
More than seventy million Americans undergo surgical procedures every year. By age fifty, the average person has already had at least three surgeries requiring anesthesia.
Don’t believe me? Think about it—even if you haven’t stepped foot in a hospital since you were born, you might have had your wisdom teeth removed by a dentist, a pesky mole whisked away by a dermatologist, or a broken arm set by a surgeon.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/24/michael.jackson.propofol/art.diprivan.fda.jpg]
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.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/24/michael.jackson.propofol/art.jackson.dancing.gi.jpg]
CNN
Singer Michael Jackson had lethal levels of the drug propofol in his blood when he died, according to court documents.
Los Angeles' coroner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran reached that preliminary conclusion after reviewing toxicology results carried out on Jackson's blood, according to an affidavit.
The drug Diprivan, known by its generic name propofol, is administered intravenously in operating rooms as a general anesthetic, the manufacturer AstraZeneca told CNN.
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 tonight at 10pm to see if you are our favorite! Here is the 'Beat 360°' pic:
White House staff hold the Obama family dog, Bo, as it arrives at the Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station on Martha's Vineyard on August 23, 2009.
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.
UPDATE BEAT 360º WINNERS
Staff:
Julia Calzonetti
Bo Obama is arrested on the front lawn of his vacation home.
Viewer:
Andrea Garrett
My collar looks fine. Worry about those shoes you’re wearing!
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[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/08/23/california.model.death/art.jasmine.split.jpg caption="Police were hunting for Ryan Alexander Jenkins after the death of Jasmine Fiore."]
James Poniewozik
Time
Ryan Jenkins, the reality-dating-show contestant suspected in the murder of his model ex-wife, turned up dead of an apparent suicide in a Canadian motel. I'd been loath to write about the story, because while Jenkins' appearance on VH1's Megan Wants a Millionaire (hands up, who heard of it before the murder case?) provided a news hook and flashy headlines, it seemed incidental to the actual crime. I didn't want to either trivialize the murder or feed into some sensationalistic idea that reality TV somehow turned Jenkins into a killer.
As the story went on, however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there wasn't as much "Did reality TV drive him to kill?" coverage as I would have thought there might be. I suspect that five or six years ago it might have been different—back when reality TV was in full-on pop-culture-craze mode and was therefore more of a go-to social bogeyman.
Brian Stelter in the New York Times did do an interesting story on the Jenkins case, raising the question about whether VH1, and other reality show makers, do an adequate job of psychologically screening their casts. That's an important consideration, for the networks and for the well-being of the people who do their shows. The unsettling fact is that unstable people with aggressive natures or visions of grandeur are drawn to fame, and thus, to reality TV.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/US/07/24/gitmo.detainee/art.guantanamo.bay.gi.jpg]
CNN
Interrogation or Torture?
The U.S. Justice Department released former top secret documents that outline interrogration tactics the Bush administration allowed to be used on al Qaeda operatives. Click below to learn about three of the tactics.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0902/torture_0216.jpg]
Bobby Ghosh
TIME
Former Vice President Dick Cheney and other members of the Bush Administration might have had a tense weekend. After months of delay and controversy, the Obama Administration is expected on Monday to declassify the 2004 CIA inspector general's report into the agency's interrogation program. Cheney, the most prominent of several Bush-era officials who have vociferously defended the program, faces either vindication or more vilification.
Over the past two days news reports have quoted unnamed officials as saying the IG's findings include instances where CIA interrogators used power drills and even a gun to threaten a detainee; on another occasion, as first reported by Newsweek, they allegedly staged a mock execution. If true, these tactics would go well beyond the coercive techniques permitted by the Bush Administration's legal counsel.