Murder rocks small town
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[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/06/art.crime.mountvernon.jpg caption="A Mont Vernon police officer moves a barricade before leaving the scene of the homicide on Monday."]
Gabriel Falcon
AC360° Writer
A vigil will be held in Mont Vernon, New Hampshire this evening for the victims of a deadly home invasion that has shaken this small town.
Kimberly Cates was stabbed to death in her home early Sunday morning. Her 10-year-old daughter also suffered multiple stab wounds. She is in stable condition at a nearby hospital. Prosecutors have charged four teenagers from the surrounding area in connection with the attack.
Tonight’s vigil will begin at the Mont Vernon Middle School, where Cates’ daughter is enrolled in the 6th grade, said Mary Jennings, the superintendent of the SAU 39 School District.
Jennings said her classmates are doing as well as can be expected. “They have moments of extreme sadness,” she told CNN. “The staff has channeled their energy into positive action. They have made a mural for hospital room and they’ve made a giant card.”
The state's Department of Justice announced the arrests of the four suspects on Tuesday. Steven Spader, 17, and Christoper Gribble, 19, were charged with first degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
William Marks, 18, and Quinn Glove, 17, were charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, and armed robbery.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Will Delker said all four are being charged as adults. He also provided details about the nature of the crime.
According to Delker, the suspects chose a house at random to rob. The home is on an isolated, dirt road in this rural town that has a population of approximately 2,000.
“The allegations are that Spader wielded the machete and Gribble used the knife and each of them struck the victims,” Delker told CNN. He also indicated the charges against the teenagers may be changed or upgraded.
Interactive: Tracking Chicago's crime
Editor's Note: Anderson is reporting on the violence among youth in Chicago. He speaks to Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other public officials about what is being done to curb the violence. Tonight AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.
Chicago Police Department
Check out this interactive to explore reported crime in the city of Chicago. You can search by neighborhood, block, time period and offense. You can also filter the data to create customized reports of crime according to various criteria.
Polls: Americans divided over Afghanistan troop increase
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Paul Steinhauser
CNN Deputy Political Director
As the United States marks the eighth anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan, two new national polls suggest that Americans are divided over sending more troops to the war-torn country.
Half of the people questioned in an AP-GfK survey released Tuesday night say they oppose increasing American troop levels in Afghanistan, with 46 percent in favor. The four point margin is within the poll's sampling error.
A Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday morning also suggests a division, with 38 percent of respondents saying U.S. forces should be increased, 28 percent calling for a decrease and just over one in five wanting troop levels in Afghanistan to stay the same. The Quinnipiac poll indicates a partisan divide, with 54 percent of Republicans favoring an increase in troops compared to 24 percent support among Democrats. Four in ten Independents questioned back a boost in forces.
Video: Beating 'a call to action'
Program Note: Tune in tonight for more on the violence in Chicago. Anderson is there reporting on the problem tonight. AC360° 10 p.m. ET.
Latest Letterman controversy raises workplace issues for women
Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more from Terry O'Neill on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.
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Terry O'Neill
President, National Organization of Women
Recent developments in the David Letterman extortion controversy have raised serious issues about the abuse of power leading to an inappropriate, if not hostile, workplace environment for women and employees.
In the case of Letterman, he is a multi-million dollar host of one of the most popular late-night shows; in that role, he wields the ultimate authority as to who gets hired, who gets fired, who gets raises, who advances, and who does entry-level tasks among the Late Show employees.
As "the boss," he is responsible for setting the tone for his entire workplace – and he did that with sex. In any work environment, this places all employees – including employees who happen to be women -in an awkward, confusing and demoralizing situation.
Most women can attest to the fact that many workplaces are plagued with inappropriate behavior by men in power. The latest Letterman controversy sheds new light on the widespread objectification of women in the workplace.
We recently received a call from a man in Rockford, Ill., who wanted to get advice from NOW about what to tell his 16 year-old daughter who was confused by reports on the latest Letterman controversy. The father raised his daughter to be a feminist. He raised her to stand up for herself. He raised her not be objectified as a sexual object.
How to stop the violence?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/06/art.chicago.memorial.jpg caption="A memorial honoring the victims of the violence in Chicago, including Blair Holt."]
Ismael Estrada
AC360° Producer
I'll never forget the day I met Ronald Holt and Annette Nance. It was in the spring of 2007 and their son, Blair Holt had just been killed on his way home from school on a city bus.
CNN Correspondent David Mattingly, Photographer Derek Davis and I walked into their home to interview the grieving parents of their honor roll student who had plans to move on to college. Two gunmen got on the bus and started firing when Blair jumped in front of his friend to protect her. He was killed.
As they told us about their loss, the pain in their voices was gut-wrenching. In the end they made a promise - to do all they could to stop the violence that is killing so many school children in Chicago.
Financial Dispatch: Gold on record-setting run
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Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer
Gold continues to push higher into record territory amid concerns about a weak U.S. dollar, inflation and technical-based buying by large investment funds.
The December contract for gold rose $4.70 to settle at a fresh all-time high of $1,044.40 an ounce today. Earlier in the session, it traded as high as $1,048.20, topping Tuesday's intraday mark by $3 an ounce.
Gold, which is up 17% so far this year, has been supported recently by concerns about the dollar and bets that inflation will rise over the long term as the economy recovers and stimulus measures will have to be reversed.
Analysts expect the rally to continue and say gold could push past $1,050 this week and top $1,100 in the near future.
Sources: Administration considering safety net measures
Amid nervousness about states' economies and a growing unemployment rate, the Obama Administration is considering a series of measures aimed at putting many Americans back to work before the 2010 midterm elections, sources close to the process told CNN.
Pasadena to install more solar-powered trash cans
Nicole Santa Cruz
Los Angeles Times
Pasadena’s trash cans are about to get fancy.
Late Monday night, the City Council approved a work order to place 40 additional self-compacting solar energy trash cans throughout the city, in addition to the 12 the city already operates.
The city is joining Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Boston and Philadelphia in using the trash cans, called BigBelly Solar Compactors, according to the vendor’s website. The 40 receptacles will cost $146,550.
The trash bins, which first started appearing on Pasadena street corners in 2007, can compact 200 gallons of trash into one 60-gallon “neat” bag, said Gabriel Silva, the environmental programs manager with the city’s Department of Public Works.
Sanitizing and driving don't mix
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Michael Schulder
CNN Senior Executive Producer
Oh, did I have a close call this morning trying to stay germ free.
I had just dropped off the kids at school and was driving to work when I sneezed. I have a cold. So, at the next red light, I grabbed the hand sanitizer that is always by my side these days, plopped some on my hands, and rubbed. I was still rubbing when the light turned green, which forced me to grab the wheel prematurely. As I tried to grip the steering wheel my hands began sliding all over the place. I hadn’t rubbed enough. Thankfully I didn’t need to make a sharp turn. I could have crashed. At least it would have been a germ-free crash.
I did arrive safely at work. Thanks for asking. There’s sanitizer everywhere here in the CNN Atlanta newsroom. Most of it claims to kill 99.99 percent of germs. I don’t think about the .01. You can’t live your life that way. .02 percent maybe. But not .01.
My personal brand of sanitizer, the one I used in the car, is from Whole Foods. The label says: 62 percent organic alcohol. ORGANIC ALCOHOL. I thought, is this for real? Alcohol is alcohol. It’s made from … well, I actually don’t know what source is used for alcohol in hand sanitizers. So I decided to investigate.
Will 'SNL' skit sink hopes for Obama?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/17/snl.politics/art.snl.jpg caption="Fred Armisen plays Barack Obama on SNL."]
Ed Rollins
CNN Senior Political Contributor
Since its debut on October 11, 1975, "Saturday Night Live" has spoofed, ridiculed and hammered presidents and other political figures without regard to political affiliation or any other sensitivities.
The perfect parroting of Sarah Palin after her vice president nomination, by the immensely talented Tina Fey, started the downward spiraling of the governor. People started looking at her in a different light, and she was judged as a less serious candidate.
Saturday's skit portraying President Obama as a man who made a lot of promises and hasn't been able to fulfill many - if any - has been analyzed over and over with a constant rerun of the "SNL" clip.
In the comedy skit, the president is asked about unrealized campaign promises, including closing Gitmo, combating global warming, allowing openly gay people to serve in the military, withdrawing from Iraq, improving the status of the fight in Afghanistan, reforming health care and several others. On screen the response on a check list was: that each item was "not done."
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