Schwarzenegger's 'Love Child': Join the Live Chat
Tonight we have new details on Arnold Schwarzenegger's confession. He fathered a child with a member of his household staff. Last week, he and his wife, Maria Shriver, announced they were separating. Plus, the lady who's accused of talking for 16 hours on her cell phone on an Amtrak train lands on our 'RidicuList.'
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IMF head held in virtual isolation on Rikers Island
New York (CNN) - One hour of recreation a day. Veal patties and noodles for dinner. New York's well-known Rikers Island jail complex has been featured in films, television shows and documentaries, but life on the other side of the bars appears less than glamorous.
A number of well-known or infamous inmates have been at least briefly incarcerated there, from the late Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious to, more recently, former NFL receiver Plaxico Burress and rapper Lil' Wayne. However, many celebrities find the facilities in the Rikers Island complex a far cry from the surroundings they may be used to.
International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the latest well-known inmate at Rikers Island. He was transferred there on Monday after a Manhattan Criminal Court judge refused to grant him bail. Strauss-Kahn faces multiple charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault of a housekeeping employee at New York's Sofitel hotel.
Rikers Island, actually a complex of 10 different units located in the New York borough of Queens, dates to the 1930s, when the first facility - the James A. Thomas Center, formerly known as the Rikers Island Penitentiary - opened, according to the New York Department of Correction.
Once a 90-acre site, Rikers Island was enlarged to more than 400 acres using sanitary landfill, according to the department's website. It is an actual island, accessible only by a bridge from Queens, and its jails have a combined capacity of nearly 17,000 inmates.
FULL STORYArnold Schwarzenegger acknowledges having child with staffer
Los Angeles (CNN) - Maria Shriver and her children are "circling the wagons and are working through" the family crisis brought on by the revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child more than 10 years ago outside his marriage, a source close to Shriver told CNN Tuesday.
The former California governor is "way on the outside of the circle" and "rambling around" their huge house with none of his family around, said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The revelation, published first by the Los Angeles Times, came about a week after Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years announced that they were "amicably separating."
"After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," Schwarzenegger said in a statement obtained by CNN. "I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry."
Schwarzenegger fathered the child with a household staffer, the Times article said. He has provided support for the child since birth, the source told CNN.
The staffer told the newspaper that the child was fathered by her then-husband. She declined to comment after learning of Schwarzenegger's statement, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper quoted her as saying she recently retired "on good terms" with the couple after working for them for 20 years.
The newspaper said it was not publishing the former staffer's name or that of her child to protect their privacy.
Schwarzenegger's four children were told about their sibling only recently, with Shriver "methodically" talking to them, the source said. They were "well prepared" before it became public, the source said.
FULL STORY
Beat 360° 5/17/11
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!
Staff
Tom Foreman
Despite Jodie’s playful manner, Mel kept saying to himself, “Seriously. I starred in a movie called The Beaver. Why didn’t I just write a book called, ‘I’m Finished with Acting’?”
Viewer
Donna
"Look, Mel, look! It's your reputation! Call it, it might come back!!!"
Text 360°: Schwarzenegger acknowledges having child with staffer
Tonight on AC360°, Anderson speaks with HLN's Dr. Drew Pinsky about why powerful men living under the glare of the public spotlight are sometimes unfaithful to their wives.
Related: Schwarzenegger fathered a child more than 10 years ago outside of his marriage
Send us a text message with your question for Pinksy. Please include your name and where you live. Text AC360 (or 22360), and you might hear it on air!
Egyptian Saif al-Adel now acting leader of al Qaeda, ex-militant says
(CNN) - An Egyptian who was once a Special Forces officer has been chosen "caretaker" leader of al Qaeda in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death, according to a source with detailed knowledge of the group's inner workings.
Al Qaeda's interim leader is Saif al-Adel, who has long played a prominent role in the group, according to Noman Benotman. Benotman has known the al Qaeda leadership for more than two decades. He was once a leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a militant organization that used to be aligned with al Qaeda, but in recent years renounced al Qaeda's ideology.
Benotman told CNN that based on his personal communications with militants and discussions on jihadist forums, al-Adel, also known as Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, had been chosen interim chief of al Qaeda because the global jihadist community had grown restive in recent days about the lack of a formal announcement of a successor to bin Laden.
According to Benotman, this was not a decision of the formal shura council of al Qaeda, because it is currently impossible to gather them in one place, but was rather the decision of six to eight leaders of al Qaeda in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area. Al-Adel was already one of the top leaders of the group.
However, Benotman said, the choice of an Egyptian may not sit well with some Saudi and Yemeni members of al Qaeda, who believe bin Laden's successor should come from the Arabian Peninsula, a region that is holy to all Muslims. Bin Laden was from a wealthy Saudi family.
The presumed successor to bin Laden is his long-time deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is also Egyptian. Benotman, who has long been a reliable source of information about al Qaeda, said the temporary appointment of al-Adel may be a way for the leadership to gauge reaction to the selection of someone from beyond the Arabian Peninsula as the group's leader.
FULL STORY
Patrick Schwarzenegger: I love my family
(PEOPLE) - Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger are going through a rough time with the revelation that he fathered a child with another woman, but the couple's son, Patrick Schwarzenegger, has reiterated his loyalty to his family.
In a note posted on his Twitter account Tuesday, Patrick, 17, also acknowledged the difficulty of facing such a painful upheaval, particularly in the public eye.
"Some days you feel like s--, some days you want to quit and just be normal for a bit," he wrote, "yet i love my family till death do us apart."
Full story on People.comU.S. official: Bin Laden communicated with Yemen-based terror group
Washington (CNN) - Materials taken from Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan confirm that the al Qaeda leader communicated with the Yemen-based group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, according to a U.S. official familiar with the ongoing U.S. analysis of the documents.
It is not clear whether that group ever received the communications or if it acted upon them, said the official, who could not be named due to the sensitivity of the intelligence information.
The United States is still trying to determine if the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, American-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, was in direct communication with bin Laden. Washington considers the Yemen-based group a very active wing of al Qaeda. Several attempted bombing plots targeting the United States - including the unsuccessful Times Square bombing of 2010 and the attempt to blow up courier planes with explosives hidden in printer cartridges - were hatched in Yemen.
The search through bin Laden's materials, which were recovered after the al Qaeda leader was killed in a May 2 raid on his compound by U.S. Navy SEALs, has also found direct evidence that while in hiding in Pakistan, bin Laden was involved in planning attacks. The materials confirmed that bin Laden was encouraging direct plots to attack Americans and U.S. interests in Europe late last year, according to the U.S. official.
The source emphasized there were several threats at the time that led the United States to issue an October 2010 alert for Americans traveling in Europe.
Bin Laden was "aware, supportive and trying to motivate his operatives in Europe. He was pushing them," the source said.
FULL STORYLetters to the President: #848 'The first barrage'
Reporter's Note: President Obama is hearing the first 2012 campaign volleys from his Republican challengers. As I note in today’s letter, he better get used to it.
Dear Mr. President,
We live in an ugly world these days, and if you don’t already suspect that I suppose the rapidly rising 2012 race for the White House will convince you. I was reading some of Newt Gingrich’s comments about you, and I thought, “Well, there’s the first hand grenade in the hot tub!”
Related video: Gingrich says Obama is 'food stamp president'
Now, maybe you thought 2008 was tough. But John McCain was too much of an old pro to go for the jugular, and you were too much of a fast-rising star to present an easy target for his proxies. On top of which, much of America was enchanted by your message of being an outsider who will change politics as we know it.
But this is a different election. You are the president, the ultimate insider. Instead of the vague ideals that newcomers get to wave like flags, you will face the incumbent’s curse: You’ll have to talk about your actual policies, why they have worked, why they have failed, and what you will do differently in the next four years.
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Post by: Filed under: Letters to the President • Opinion • President Barack Obama |
Perry's Principles: More minority teachers needed
Editor's note: Education Secretary Arne Duncan is on a mission to recruit more diverse educators.
