360 Interview: Elizabeth Smart and her father, Ed
Anderson Cooper | BIO
AC360° Anchor
An 11-year-old California girl snatched from the street in front of her house in 1991 had two children with the man accused of taking her and lived in a secret backyard shed, authorities said Thursday.
The 18-year mystery of what happened to Jaycee Dugard ended this week when a sex offender admitted to corrections authorities that he abducted her.
Since her kidnapping, Dugard has lived in her alleged abductor’s backyard, in a shed. All of this played out in a residential neighborhood.
We spoke to Ed Smart and his daughter Elizabeth. The Smarts lived through a similar nightmare, when Elizabeth was snatched from her bedroom in the middle of the night in 2002. She was found nine months later.
Anderson Cooper: Elizabeth from your own experiences, what do you think Jaycee is going through right now?
AC tweets from New Orleans
Anderson is anchoring from New Orleans tonight where he’s talking to locals about what the city is like today, four years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area.
Some residents continue to face challenges as the Big Easy tries to rebuild. Anderson will also meet up with New Orleans native James Carville for a tour of the city.
@andersoncooper: From ac: just landed back in new orleans. Its great to be back here. Four years since katrina. I'm meeting up with James Carville shortly.
@andersoncooper: From ac: just finished shooting a tour around new orleans with james carville. Its great to see the growth in the life of the city!
Program Note: Four years after Katrina, what is New Orleans like now? Some residents continue to face challenges as the Big Easy keeps trying to rebuild. Take a look at In Depth: After the Storm. And to learn about ways you can make a difference, visit Impact Your World.
Photo Gallery: AC and James Carville tour New Orleans
AC360°
Anderson is anchoring from New Orleans tonight where he reports on how locals are coping four years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. Some residents continue to face challenges as the Big Easy keeps trying to rebuild. Earlier today, Anderson met up with CNN Political Contributor and New Orleans native James Carville for a tour of the city. Check out this photo gallery of where they stopped.
Anderson and James Carville sit down at a Pascal Manale's restaurant in New Orleans.
Anderson meets a New Orleans resident who tells him she's glad he came back and shares her own story.
Outside of Pascal Manale's restaurant.
New Orleans Habitat and the Musicians' Village
AC360°
Anderson is anchoring from New Orleans tonight where he is reporting on how the city is rebuilding four years after Hurricane Katrina.
Tonight we look into the work being done by New Orleans Habitat - an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity – which builds affordable homes in partnership with sponsors, families and volunteers.
Since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Habitat has built 242 homes in Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes, and more than 46 homes are currently under construction.
One project under way is the creation of the Musicians Village - a site that will consist of more than 75 homes for musicians in the city who, because of Katrina, are in need of affordable housing. The project was conceived by Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis. Its centerpiece will be the Ellis Marsalais Center for Music, dedicated to the music education and development of homeowners.
Learn more about the Musicians Village and the work of New Orleans Habitat here.
Program Note: Four years after Katrina, what is New Orleans like now? Some residents continue to face challenges as the Big Easy keeps trying to rebuild. Take a look at In Depth: After the Storm. And to learn about ways you can make a difference, visit Impact Your World.
Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 8/27/09
Tonight the body of Sen. Ted Kennedy lies in repose at the John F. Kennedy Library. Thousands of people streamed past his flag-draped casket to pay their final respects; the public viewing will continue tomorrow.
We’ll also have the latest on the stunning ending to an 18-year cold case. In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped as she walked to her school bus stop in South Lake Tahoe, California. Yesterday, an FBI agent called her parents to tell them she’d been found.
Want to know what else we're covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
Scroll down to join the live chat during the program. It's your chance to share your thoughts on tonight's headlines. Keep in mind, you have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules.
Here are some of them:
1) Keep it short (we don't have time to read a "book")
2) Don't write in ALL CAPS (there's no need to yell)
3) Use your real name (first name only is fine)
4) No links
5) Watch your language (keep it G-rated; PG at worst - and that includes $#&*)
Evening Buzz: Kidnapped child found 18 years later
Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer
Tonight the body of Sen. Ted Kennedy lies in repose at the John F. Kennedy Library. Thousands of people streamed past his flag-draped casket to pay their final respects; the public viewing will continue tomorrow.
Earlier today, after a private mass at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, a military guard placed the senator’s casket in a hearse and the motorcade departed minutes later, snaking for 70 miles from Cape Cod into Boston, with crowds lining much of the route. The motorcade paused at Faneuil Hall, where the historic bell rang 47 times, once for each year Kennedy served in the Senate.
As the ceremonies marking Ted Kennedy’s life and accomplishments unfold, we’ll dig deeper into some of the questions his death has raised, including who will fill his Senate seat and who will carry on his work?
We’ll also have the latest on the stunning ending to an 18-year cold case. In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped as she walked to her school bus stop in South Lake Tahoe, California. Yesterday, an FBI agent called her parents to tell them she’d been found.
Authorities say a sex offender admitted he abducted Dugard, now 29. At a news conference just hours ago, we learned disturbing details. Since her kidnapping, Dugard has lived in her alleged abductor’s backyard, in a shed. Police say she gave birth to two children fathered by the sex offender. All of this played out in a residential neighborhood. How could no one notice what was going on in that backyard? That’s one of the questions we’ll be exploring tonight.
We’ll also talk to Ed Smart and his daughter Elizabeth. The Smarts lived through a similar nightmare, when Elizabeth was snatched from her bedroom in the middle of the night in 2002. She was found nine months later.
Anderson is in New Orleans tonight as the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches. Four years ago, the ferocious storm was hurtling toward the Gulf Coast. In the days that followed, chaos would erupt. As New Orleans fell apart, violence broke out. Vigilantes armed with guns roamed the streets. There were shootings, some of them fatal. The question tonight—why has it taken so long to investigate the killings? Wait until you hear what it took to get the wheels of justice turning.
See you at 10PM EST.
Saying goodbye to a neighbor
Kay Jones
AC360° Coordinating Editorial Producer
The streets were starting to fill up around 11: 45a.m. this morning, as residents of the Cape Cod area came out to pay their respects to Sen. Ted Kennedy's family as they brought his body to Boston.
I've spoken to many of the locals over the past few days and very few were willing to go on camera, but they were all willing to talk about their lives on the Cape, and their experiences with the Senator.
One woman I met last night told me that she and her husband are one of a small number of people who live here year round. She gave me a history of the area, including the street where the Kennedy compound stands and how the property was designed.
She actually laughed at me when I asked about the compound because she said it's really just four houses on land that is adjacent. She went on to tell me who owned what house and when.
I wish I'd had a tape recorder to get it all down because it was so fascinating, but unfortunately the notes I took now look like chicken scratch and I cannot begin to tell you who bought what house when.
Beat 360° 8/27/09
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:
President Barack Obama carries lunch purchased for his family from the Nancy's fast food restaurant in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
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.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 
After the Storm: New Orleans' economic rebirth
Sean Callebs and Jason Morris
CNN
While much of the nation struggles mightily to claw its way out of the punishing recession, New Orleans' rebirth is taking shape and bucking the national trend of an economic downturn. Visitors here will notice a steady flow of commercial and residential construction that is becoming a daily part of the city's life. In many ways, the billions of dollars that poured into New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina is providing a huge economic buffer.
We all know the horrible statistics from when Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped New Orleans off the face of the map. More than 1800 lives were lost, 80 percent of the city was left under water, and the devastation left an estimated $100 billion in damage.
For the locals, the recession was the storm, and the stimulus was the influx of billions of dollars of federal and private money that continues to pour in and provide an economic buffer. This American city suffered a dramatic blow. After Katrina, close to 80,000 homes had to be rebuilt, attracting legions of construction workers and contractors. The effort helped to create jobs, and keep the city's unemployment rate at about 7.2 percent, while the national average dipped to around 9 percent. And even though the value of houses has plummeted nationwide, home prices in New Orleans have actually increased by about 1.1percent from 2008 to 2009.
After the storm: Are allegations of vigilante killings true?
Gary Tuchman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent
Four years after Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, much of the aftermath is still shrouded in mystery. And that is what brought me to New Orleans this week for a story we are bringing you tonight.
In the days after the storm, doctors tell us they saw an inordinately large number of patients who were brought in to hospitals with gunshot wounds. Many of them were dead or ended up dying.
Because of the chaos in the storm’s aftermath, many autopsy records are incomplete or were never done. So officially, it’s not at all clear what was going on.
Well, one man who was shot twice and lived to tell about it has a theory.
An African-American man named Donnel Herrington says he was attacked by three white men who yelled racial epithets at him, with one of them shooting him in the neck and back. Herrington says the gunmen “were hunting black men.”
Go behind the scenes: AC361°
Gumby celebrates Isha Sesay's birthday
Anderson Cooper's birthday surprise
You asked, Anderson answers
