How a firenado forms
A fire tornado, also known as a "firenado," is a column of flames that resemble a tornado, containing smoke and flames. The fire rises and twists into the air and shoots out flames as it burns. Tom Foreman demonstrates how firenadoes form and describes the dangers of getting too close to one.
Adoption battle in court
It was a rough day in court today in Dickson, Tennessee for Dave and Kim Hodgin. They are the adoptive parents of a 9-year-old girl named Sonya, who desperately want her back. She was removed from their home and returned to her biological father after living with them for nearly 8 years.
Today the Hodgins went to court to ask the juvenile court judge to vacate the order which sent Sonya back to Omaha, Nebraska to live with her father. They also asked for visitation rights with her. The judge denied their request to vacate the order, ruling that Sonya will remain with her biological dad in Nebraska, at least for now. He did not rule on them being able to visit with her. That is under review.
Dave Hodgin, the adoptive father, spoke out after court saying “what happened in this court today is devastating for Sonya, Sonya doesn’t deserve the pain this court and DCS has given her. We will never stop.”
Many legal questions are involved in this particular case. Attorney and children's advocate Areva Martin and Carrie Gasaway, an attorney for Sonya's biological father, discussed the custody battle.
 |
Post by: Filed under: Adoption • Randi Kaye • Sonya |
American Journey: Anderson Cooper & Anthony Bourdain talk Mississippi
In the next episode of "Parts Unknown" Anthony Bourdain goes to Mississippi where he learns the difference between soul food and southern food. Anderson Cooper has family roots in Mississippi. He shared some of his memories about the state telling Bourdain "there's a memory there, there's a history there for good and for bad." Bourdain described the traditional southern cooking as "awesome," adding "the food is great."
Donald Sterling plans to fight to keep LA Clippers
Donald Sterling plans to fight the National Basketball Association's $2.5 million fine and lifetime ban. The scandal started when audio recordings of his racist rants were leaked on the TMZ Sports and Deadspin websites last month.
A source close to the situation told CNN that Sterling threatened the NBA with a lawsuit if the punishment that was handed down by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver just days after the recordings were released is not rescinded. Sterling contends that the league's punishment was enacted too quickly. The source told CNN the rejection was via a letter sent to the National Basketball Association.
According to Sports Illustrated, the letter says that Sterling has not violated the NBA constitution and the NBA has violated Sterling's right to due process. Sports Illustrated and USA Today reported that Sterling hired antitrust lawyer Maxwell Blecher to represent him. CNN reached out to Blecher and the NBA but did not hear back from either.
NBA Analyst for the Bleacher Report Ric Bucher debated the latest legal developments with CNN analysts Jeffrey Toobin and Sunny Hostin.
Earlier this week Anderson Cooper sat down for an exclusive interview with Donald Sterling and asked him whether he planned to fight to retain ownership of the LA Clippers. Watch what he tells Anderson.
Behind the scenes working with Edward Snowden
In June of 2013, journalist Glenn Greenwald unveiled to the world that an American had leaked documents from a secretive U.S. defense agency, the National Security Agency. The leaker was a man named Edward Snowden, who had worked at the NSA for four years and was hired through a contractor.
The stories published by The Guardian revealed practices never before revealed publicly about the America's surveillance programs, such as a metadata collection program on Americans' phones and the revelation that the NSA may have spied on world leaders.
After Snowden fled the U.S. an international manhunt began and it captured the attention of the world. Snowden taped an on camera interview with Greenwald and colleague Laura Poitras to reveal himself to the world as a self-described "whistleblower."
Glenn Greenwald's new book “No Place to Hide,” describes the behind-the-scenes story of how the journalist and his colleague Ms. Poitras met Mr. Snowden and what took place after. Greenwald spoke to Anderson about the book.
Family's home destroyed by wildfires
The San Marcos/Cocos wildfire fire remained "very active" for a third day in California. More than 3,000 acres has burned in just that fire alone. Many evacuations in the area remain in effect.
One family whose home was destroyed talked to Anderson about the rush to escape the fire. "I was at home in the house with the kids and got a call from my husband that he was coming up the hill and noticed a just little bit of smoke," said Amanda Sekerke. She, and her husband Stan rented a home in San Marcos where they lived for three years with their four children. Amanda, who's pregnant with their fifth child, said her husband told her to "get the kids in the car" and that they needed to get out of the area before the fire picked up. She was able to escape with their children, dog and two cats.
The Sekerke family returned to the site of where the house once stood. "There was nothing, so I imagine it must’ve been really hot to melt all the metal .. but it was just all gone, " Mr. Sekerke said. The wildfire destroyed the entire home and their belongings.
If you would like to help the Sekerke family they've set up a website for donations here: http://www.gofundme.com/97dois
