Pres. Obama Releases His Long-Form Birth Certificate & Deadly Storms in the South: Join the Live Chat
Tonight we have the Raw Politics of Pres. Obama's decision to release his long-form birth certificate. There's also Donald Trump's reaction that is far from dull. And deadly storms hit the deep south. We'll have a live report on where the weather trouble is headed next. Plus, Anderson reports live from London ahead of the royal wedding.
Want more details on what we're covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
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Evening Buzz: Deadly Storms Hit the South
It's been a deadly evening for storms across the deep south. There are at least 25 confirmed deaths alone in Alabama due to severe storms and tornadoes, according to the state’s emergency management director.
A major storm hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, knocking down trees, ripping off roofs and reportedly trapping people in their homes.
Farther north, in the town of Cullman, it's believed a tornado hit, ripping off the roof of the courthouse and damaging the hospital. A natural gas line has also ruptured.
The line of storms is heading east. A tornado watch is in effect for Atlanta, Georgia through 2 a.m. eastern.
We'll get a live report on the dangerous storm system from CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
Obama releases original long-form birth certificate
Washington (CNN) - The White House released copies of President Barack Obama's original long-form birth certificate Wednesday, seeking to put an end to persistent rumors that he was not born in the United States.
The certificate states, as Obama's advisers have repeatedly said, that the president was born at Honolulu's Kapiolani Hospital on August 4, 1961. Doubters insist Obama was born overseas - possibly in his father's home country of Kenya - and may be constitutionally ineligible to serve as president.
"We do not have time for this kind of silliness," Obama told reporters at the White House. "I've been puzzled at the degree to which this (story) just kept on going."
"Normally I would not comment on something like this," the president said. But the country has "some enormous challenges out there" that it will not be able to effectively meet "if we're distracted."
"We're not going to be able to (meet those challenges) if we spend time vilifying each other," he stressed. "We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts. We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers."
Obama released a shorter, legally binding "certification of live birth" in 2008, but failed to persuade members of the "birther" movement.
The administration had to make a special request from the state of Hawaii to get the long-form certificate released, White House legal counsel Bob Bauer said. Typically, the state only releases the shorter, computer-generated live birth certification when people request such documentation.
Obama's personal attorney, Judith Corley, picked up certified copies of the long-form document in Hawaii and brought them back to the White House Tuesday evening, Bauer noted.
FULL STORYTrump: 'I've done a great service to the American people'
(CNN) – Despite the long form birth certificate released by the White House Wednesday, real estate mogul Donald Trump said "I don't make up anything" when asked about his recent claim that the president's birth certificate was missing. Still, he is undecided about paying for the sleuths he sent to Hawaii.
In an interview airing Wednesday on CNN's "John King, USA," Trump said he can now recall investigators he'd sent to Hawaii to look into President Obama's birth.
"Would I pay them? I don't know," he said. "I can say this, let me just tell you, I don't make up anything…I have done a great service to the American people."
FULL STORYTrump 'deadly serious' about running, N.H. conservative says
Washington (CNN) – Donald Trump left one New Hampshire crowd with the distinct impression that he's running for president in 2012, according to a conservative activist present in the room for a closed-door meeting with the business mogul in Dover on Wednesday.
Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, told CNN that Trump appeared to be "deadly serious about running."
"Today they were talking to people about hiring staff," Hemingway said. "He was joking about how the lawyers make him say 'If I run' and that type of stuff. He is serious. He is going to run."
Hemingway was one of dozens of Republican activists, operatives and party officials summoned to meet with Trump as he made his maiden trip to the first-in-the-nation primary state as a potential presidential candidate.
Trump arrived in Portsmouth Wednesday morning and held a press conference at the airport before hitting the road for a series of meetings in the Seacoast area, including one sit-down with New Hampshire GOP Chairman Jack Kimball.
FULL STORY
Beat 360° 4/27/11
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!
Update: Beat 360° Winners:
Staff
Candy Crowley
“I wouldn't say I was a 'carnival barker' per se."
Viewer
Nancy, TN
"Damn you, Hawaii State Department of Health! "You're fired!"
AC361°: Sesay reports from London
Editor's note: AC360°'s Isha Sesay reports from outside Westminster Abbey.
Royal wedding shows Diana's influence lives on
London (CNN) - Just after announcing his engagement, Prince William told the world he had given Kate Middleton the distinctive sapphire and diamond ring belonging to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, as "my way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement."
The prince was particularly close to his mother, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997, and both he and his brother Harry know how much his wedding would have meant to her. William is even reported to have taken his fiancee to visit Diana's tomb at her ancestral home, Althorp House, in central England, in the run-up to the big day.
Royal experts say the second-in-line to the British throne has been closely involved in the planning of the wedding, which has other echoes of Diana.
FULL STORYOpinion: I don't care about the royal wedding
Editor's note: Dean Obeidallah is an award-winning Arab-American comedian who has appeared on various TV shows including Comedy Central's "Axis of Evil" special, ABC's "The View," CNN's "What the Week" and "The Joy Behar Show." He serves as the executive producer of the annual New York Arab-American Comedy Festival and The Amman Stand Up Comedy Festival.
(CNN) - There, I said it. I know the media keeps telling us we need to care - we need to know who designed Kate's dress, who was invited, who was snubbed, how many vols-au-vents will be consumed - but I don't care and neither do many other Americans I know.
Why? Because we are too busy following the exploits of our own royal family. We don't have time to keep track of events happening elsewhere, regardless if it's weddings or revolutions, because our media keeps us busy with tales of our own "American royalty."
While it's true that the divine right of kings did not bestow titles on our regals, they are the subjects of our obsession nonetheless and, I submit, are much more colorful than the British versions.
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