Editor's note: Anderson Cooper speaks with talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw about the Casey Anthony trial and Anthony's behavior.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Crime & Punishment • Dr. Phil |
Editor's note: Casey Anthony broke her silence Wednesday as her trial wound down and there were more tears in the courtroom.
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Post by: Martin Savidge Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Crime & Punishment |
Editor's note: Anderson Cooper reports on Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich's controversial trip to Syria.
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Post by: AC360 Anchor Anderson Cooper Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Keeping Them Honest • Middle East |
Editor's note: Anderson Cooper speaks to Paul Begala, Dana Loesch, and David Gergen about negotiations over the debt ceiling.
Related: Obama pushes GOP on taxes in debt ceiling talks
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Filed under: President Barack Obama • Raw Politics |
George Anthony broke down in tears today on the witness stand as he testified about trying to take his own life after the remains of his granddaughter Caylee were found. Tonight on AC360°, Martin Savidge has the latest in the Anthony trial which looks like it is close to wrapping up in the coming days.
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Filed under: Live Blog |
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° |
Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama called on lawmakers Wednesday to overcome the "selfish" norms of politics and "do their job" in order to strike a deal on raising the federal government's current $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by the start of August.
People shouldn't get "spooked," but "the yellow light (is) flashing," he warned. "This is urgent."
Top economic analysts have warned of potentially catastrophic repercussions if the ceiling is not raised by August 2, including skyrocketing interest rates and a plummeting U.S. dollar.
The president blasted congressional Republicans for refusing to consider raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans as part of any deal. Congress needs to be willing to "take on their sacred cows and do tough things" while moving away from "maximalist positions," he said.
He said Congress should cancel upcoming summer vacations if a deal isn't struck by the end of the week.
"I want everybody to understand that this is a jobs issue. This is not an abstraction," he said. "If the United States government, for the first time, cannot pay its bills - if it defaults - then the consequences for the U.S. economy will be significant and unpredictable. And that is not a good thing."
Obama made his remarks during a wide-ranging news conference covering the state of the economy, the wars in Afghanistan and Libya, and hot-button social issues such as same-sex marriage. It came at a time of rising questions over Obama's ability to maintain control of the political narrative and boost public confidence in his stewardship in the run-up to next year's presidential election.
GOP leaders have shown no signs of yielding in their opposition to higher taxes as part of any grand bargain with the White House. Recent bipartisan talks led by Vice President Joe Biden collapsed over the tax disagreement.
"The president is sorely mistaken if he believes a bill to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes would pass the (Republican-controlled) House," Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said after Obama's news conference.
"A debt-limit increase can only pass the House if it includes spending cuts larger than the debt limit increase; includes reforms to hold down spending in the future; and is free from tax hikes," Boehner added. "The longer the president denies these realities, the more difficult he makes this process."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, insisted earlier in the day that Republicans will "refuse to let the taxpayers take the hit when it comes to reducing the debt."
The debate is "about holding Washington accountable for a change," McConnell said. "It's about refusing to subsidize the Democrats' irresponsible spending habits another day."
For his part, the president ripped Republicans for protecting "millionaires and billionaires," oil companies, hedge fund managers, and owners of corporate jets.
The wealthy, he said, can afford to pay higher taxes.
"You can still ride on your corporate jet. You're just going to pay a little more," Obama said.
FULL STORY
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Post by: Alan Silverleib, Tom Cohen Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • President Barack Obama |
(CNN) - Casey Anthony's father cried on the witness stand Wednesday in his daughter's capital murder trial as he was questioned about his slain 2-year-old granddaughter, Caylee, and his suicide attempt that followed the discovery of her remains.
Later in the day, Casey Anthony also wiped away tears as a grief expert testified that the reactions to grief vary widely, and that sometimes young mothers who lose their children engage in "risky behavior." Proceedings wrapped up for the day shortly after that testimony.
On January 22, 2009, the date of his attempt at suicide by drinking and taking pills, "It just felt like the right time to go and be with Caylee," George Anthony told prosecutor Jeff Ashton, his voice breaking. "... I just decided it was time for me to get away from all this, to spend time with Caylee."
He recalled calling his family members from a Daytona Beach, Florida, hotel room, in an effort to say goodbye, and writing a suicide note for his wife, Cindy Anthony, to read after his death.
Earlier, George Anthony squared off again with his daughter's defense attorney, bristling at questions from Jose Baez.
Casey Anthony, 25, is charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and misleading police, in Caylee's 2008 death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against her. She has pleaded not guilty.
Anthony's defense team is trying to discredit the prosecution theory that the Orlando woman rendered Caylee unconscious with chloroform, duct-taped her mouth and nose, and stored the body in her car trunk for a few days before dumping it in the woods.
The defense says Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool and that Anthony and her father panicked and covered it up. George Anthony has denied those claims.
Caylee was last seen June 16, 2008, although she was not reported missing until 31 days later, on July 15. The little girl's skeletal remains were found in December of the same year near the Anthony home.
"My emotional state, even through today - it is very hard to accept that I don't have a granddaughter anymore," George Anthony told Ashton.
FULL STORY
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Post by: Ashley Hayes Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow |
Reporter's Note: President Obama held a news conference this morning. Hopefully he is holding my latest letter to the White House this afternoon.
Dear Mr. President,
Once again, I have been given clear evidence of why I would make a terrible president. Not that I needed any more, but still…
I watched your press conference today and saw how, time and again, you went dancing around the edges of issues, never quite taking a stand while simultaneously never quite making it clear that you won’t, and I thought, “No way.” I just couldn’t do it. If I were in that position, I would feel compelled to just lay it all out there and let the chips fall where they may.
Related: Obama pushes GOP on taxes in debt ceiling talks
Gay marriage? War in Libya? The drop dead date for raising the debt ceiling? I’d be throwing my honest assessments out so fast that reporters would be asking me to shut up for a minute so they could file news bulletins on a half dozen subjects. By the time I was done everyone in the room would be asking if I’d decided re-election was just not in my future.
FULL POST
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Post by: Tom Foreman Filed under: Letters to the President • Opinion • President Barack Obama |
Editor's note: Anderson Cooper adds reality star Michaele Salahi to the RidicuList and surveys records by other "Real Housewives."
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Post by: AC360 Anchor Anderson Cooper Filed under: 360° Radar |
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