Editor's note: Anderson Cooper reports on the slow process for determining who was killed in the Joplin, MO tornado.
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Post by: AC360 Anchor Anderson Cooper Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Keeping Them Honest • Weather |
Editor's note: Anderson Cooper reflects on covering tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri, and offers a glimpse into his reporting process.
More AC361°: Tense moments behind the camera as sirens sounded
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Filed under: AC361° |
There's still anger in Joplin, Missouri over how officials are handling the identification of tornado victims. Families are desperate to see their loved ones in the morgue, but that hasn't happened yet. Tonight we learned of a new effort underway to stop the waiting. Plus, remarkable video of a brother searching for his sister just minutes after the tornado slammed into Joplin. And, in other news, a federal judge has ruled that Jared Lee Loughner is not mentally competent to stand trial for the mass shootings in Tuscon earlier this year, including the attempted murder of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Don't confuse that with the "insanity defense." We'll talk it over with CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
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.
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Filed under: Live Blog |
(CNN) - Tonight we’re talking to CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin about Jared Lee Loughner.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Loughner was not mentally competent to stand trial, but what exactly does that mean? Jeffrey Toobin wants to make sure we don’t confuse that with the increasingly popular “insanity defense.” The two are often confused and they aren’t linked. Jeffrey will explain in more detail tonight on AC360°.
And what is the threshold for being mentally competent? It seems that it changes from case to case, trial to trial. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the process of evaluating a defendant before a trial. This is all news you don’t want to miss tonight on AC360° beginning at 10pm ET.
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Post by: Leah Smith Filed under: 360° Radar |
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!
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Filed under: Beat 360° |
Reporter's Note: The president has asked for advice, so I write to him every day. On the other hand, I’ve seen TV evangelists ask for money and I never send any. Make of that what you will.
Dear Mr. President,
So the Supreme Court laid a smackdown on your Justice Department with that immigration ruling. In case you missed it (and I’m sure you did not, but still) they ruled in favor of an Arizona law punishing employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The court refuted your administration’s argument that this was purely federal business and that the states ought not dip their toes into that pool.
I’m sure this is frustrating for your team. But as you know, I’m a big believer in moving on from today’s disappointment to tomorrow’s challenge. And this was a real shot over the bow ahead of the legal wrangling over that Arizona law allowing cops to check the immigration status of people they have stopped for other offenses.
Sure, the court ruling today was about a specific law and the justices carefully explained why federal authority was not being usurped here. Maybe they won’t think the same arguments apply in the next case. But I would not bet on it.
FULL POST
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Post by: Tom Foreman Filed under: Letters to the President • Opinion • President Barack Obama |
Editor's note: The Missouri Dept. of Public Safety releases a list of those missing following the devastating tornado in Joplin, Mo.
Related: Digging through the damage, searching for the missing
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Weather |
Joplin, Missouri (CNN) - The sirens started to wail just as we began to broadcast.
Lightning and thunder had begun an hour earlier, and the entire town of Joplin was under lockdown.
"That means one has touched down," Melisa Carriger, whose husband had narrowly survived the Joplin tornado, nervously told me. By “one,” Carriger meant another tornado.
We knew severe weather was expected again in Joplin during AC360°'s live hour of broadcasting Tuesday night, but the sirens still put everyone on edge.
We had scouted out the safest location for the show and built contingency plans in case another tornado hit, but it was hard to know what was happening.
We were already on-air; Anderson told one guest in Joplin who had joined us by phone to head down to her basement for shelter, while producer Susan Chun talked directly with our control room back in New York City to get the latest from CNN's Weather Center.
I turned to Chris Carriger, who was about to talk with Anderson about how he narrowly survived the tornado in his bathtub, clinging to the faucets as his roof ripped off and his body lifted into the air. A police detective and National Guard vet who served four combat tours in Iraq, Carriger wore his combat name tag, "Lawdawg," the one memento he found after the tornado. He used his police radio to find out whether a tornado had touched down.
It turned out we weren't in a tornado’s path, but extreme weather was moving in fast. As we neared the end of the broadcast, it began to rain with 75 mile per hour winds. We quickly wrapped the end of the show and threw all of the gear in our cars.
Related: Rotating storm avoids Joplin
Moments of Tuesday's broadcast were frightening, but none came remotely close to the horror experienced by Joplin's residents.
Since we arrived Monday, we have seen first hand the destruction, but none of us can ever know what it really feels like to have lived through the tornado and, worse, to cope with all that it has taken.
FULL POST
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Post by: Alexandra Poolos Filed under: AC361° • Weather |
Editor's note: CNN's Ed Lavandera reports on one family's scramble to safety in the face of a tornado and the dog left behind.
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Post by: Ed Lavandera Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Weather |
Editor's note: Anderson Cooper speaks to Dee Ann Hayward's three kids about their search for their mom who disappeared in Joplin, MO.
Related: In Joplin, a push to find missing; reconnect families
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Weather |
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