Video: Oil Spill and Mental Health
Randi Kaye | BIO
AC360° Correspondent
Video: Uncovering the BP claims process
Chris Lawrence
CNN
What to expect from Petraeus' confirmation hearings
Ed Hornick
CNN
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/POLITICS/06/29/petraeus.hearings.expectations/t1larg.petraeus.jpg caption="President Obama selected Gen. David Petraeus to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal as top commander in Afghanistan." width=300 height=169]
The planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2011, along with with concerns over the progress of the counterinsurgency plan in a country described as a place "where empires go to die," will be front and center at Gen. David Petraeus' confirmation hearings Tuesday.
Petraeus was tapped by President Obama to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was relieved of his duties last week after the general and his staff were quoted in a Rolling Stone magazine article criticizing and mocking key administration officials.
But it's not just those comments that are making news - it's also conditions on the ground in Afghanistan.
PR blowup masks Afghan war's reality
David Frum
CNN Contributor
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/OPINION/06/28/frum.war.mcchrystal/tzleft.david.frum.ckennedy.jpg caption="David Frum: You win or lose wars by using violence to shape global public opinion " width=300 height=169]
"War is politics by other means," wrote the Prussian philosopher of war Carl von Clausewitz. The career and resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal drives home an updated and equally profound truth: "War is PR by other means."
Von Clausewitz's famous dictum was meant as a corrective to obsolete ancient ideas. Primitive warriors might fight for glory, or for booty, or to fulfill a divine commandment. Modern states must think about war and peace more rationally and pragmatically.
My update of von Clausewitz is also a corrective to an obsolete idea. In the modern media age, you no longer win wars by killing maximum numbers of the enemy. You win (or lose) wars by using violence to shape global public opinion.
162 cases of illness linked to oil spill reported in Louisiana
CNN Wire Staff
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/HEALTH/06/28/louisiana.oil.exposure/story.worker.jpg caption="Most of those who reported sickness were either workers on oil rigs or people involved in cleanup efforts." width=300 height=169]
Exposure to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in 162 cases of illnesses reported to the Louisiana state health department, according to a report released Monday. Of those cases, 128 involved workers on oil rigs or individuals involved in the oil spill cleanup efforts, the report said.
Among the most common reported symptoms were throat irritation, shortness of breath, cough, eye irritation, nausea and headaches, according to the department's oil spill surveillance report.
The weekly report gathers data from a surveillance network of doctors, clinics, emergency care locations and medical facilities.
Tropical Storm Alex nears hurricane strength
CNN Wire Staff
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/WORLD/americas/06/29/tropical.storm.alex/t1larg.alex.062910.jpg caption="Alex strengthens to near hurricane-force" width=300 height=169]
Tropical Storm Alex approached hurricane strength early Tuesday as it churned off the northwestern coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula in the Bay of Campeche, the National Hurricane Center said.
Alex was moving faster to the north-northwest, the Hurricane Center said at 8 a.m. ET, noting that the storm now was advancing at 12 miles per hour. At 5 a.m., the storm had been reported moving at 8 miles per hour.
The storm continued to move away from the massive BP oil catastrophe near the Louisiana coast in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the Gulf Coast from Baffin Bay, Texas, to La Cruz, Mexico. A hurricane warning means that hurricane conditions and tropical storm-force winds are expected in the forecast area within 36 hours.
Letter to the President #526: 'The home court advantage for Harvard and Yale'
Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/POLITICS/06/28/senate.kagan.first.day/smlvid.kagan.monday.cnn.jpg caption="Foreman: I’ve been watching the kerfuffle over your Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan; with some Repubs suggesting she’ll be too liberal, some Democrats suggesting something else, and some others suggesting it’s time for lunch. It’s all so silly." width=300 height=169]
Reporter's Note: President Obama went to Harvard Law School, so maybe he’s not troubled by the utter domination of the country’s highest court by those two schools. But in my daily letter to the White House, I raise a few questions.
Dear Mr. President,
I’ve been watching the kerfuffle over your Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan; with some Repubs suggesting she’ll be too liberal, some Democrats suggesting something else, and some others suggesting it’s time for lunch. It’s all so silly. It seems pretty likely that she’ll get more than 50 votes, they’ll order a black robe, and Bob’s-your-uncle here comes the new Justice.
Still, I can’t help but be troubled as I watch this when I think about the screaming, overwhelming, outlandish Yale-Harvard bias in it all. As others have noted, if this nomination is approved, every single member of the Court will have earned a law degree from one or the other of those schools. Now, I’m sure both institutions are admirably adequate, and as a graduate of Troy State, I should know. But what does this say about the rest of the nation? Is it truly possible that you could find no other reasonable nominee from the legions of other law schools in our land?
Vice president to assess oil spill efforts in Gulf area
CNN Wire Staff
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/US/06/29/gulf.oil.disaster/smlvid.oily.jpg caption="Vice president expected to visit New Orleans and Florida" width=300 height=169]
Vice President Joe Biden is expected to visit the Gulf area Tuesday to assess efforts to stop the massive oil spill.
Biden is expected to visit the command center in New Orleans and the Florida panhandle, the White House said.
Biden will also tour areas with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who has also been in the area recently.
His visit will be on the 71st day of the spill that President Barack Obama has called the nation's worst environmental disaster.
Beat 360° 6/28/10
Ready for today's Beat 360°? Everyday we post a picture 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:
Former President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J Clinton Foundation attends the TIME/FORTUNE/CNN Global Forum at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on June 27, 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Michelly Rall/Getty Images for TIME/FORTUNE/CNN)
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 360° Winners:
Staff:
Candy Crowley
"She's HERE?"
Viewer:
J. Roger in Edmonton
"I'll be cheering for Brazil now."
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