One on One with the POTUS

After seeing several short clips of Anderson Cooper's interview with President Obama Monday's AC360 gave us the long version. The wide range of topics included the economy, slavery, don't ask..don't tell, Afghanistan and the Africa message. If you missed it you will find a copy of the interview at CNN's transcript page. If you don't have any success finding it there just drop us an email, we received a preliminary copy.
I'm sure many of you saw these pictures of Anderson, taken by Brent Stirton on the AC360 blog. We were lucky enough to get our hands on the high res versions, so click and enjoy.
All images by Brent Stirton / Reportage for CNN


The news of the couple murdered in Florida is just horrible. David Mattingly was on the story and said that the police seem to be wrapping up the case swiftly. I know few murders make sense, but this one in particular seems to beg for an answer to the question 'why them?'. This wonderful couple adopted special needs kids and used their money to give them the best care possible, in addition to unlimited love, acceptance and affection. What a terrible shame.Candy Crowley gave us the Raw Politics on the confirmation hearings of Judge Sotomayer. The light moment of the segment came when 360 played Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D Rhode Island) quoting CNN's Jeffery Toobin during the hearings. After a few laughs Toobin pointed out the big surprise of the day was no mention of same sex marriage, a normal hot button issue.Toobin hung around for discussion after Randi Kaye's report on the latest news in the Michael Jackson case. Discussion centered around if MJ's doctor will be charged and if so what level of charges could be brought against him. Also discussed was the rumored settlement being negotiated between Debbie Rowe and the Jackson family. This was a blockbuster night for AC360. First AC's interview with the President then Dr. Sanjay Gupta's powerful report on slavery in Haiti. Sanjay reported that there are no specific child labor laws on Haiti and these types of child slaves, called Restaveks, are a Haitian way of life. Gupta also reported that whips are sold in markets with the express purpose of whipping, beating and punishing these children into submission. With all the US aid that goes to Haiti I cannot image why we have not tried to influence the country to rectify this practice sooner. For more information please go to Restavekfreedom.org. Randi Kaye's 360 Bulletin:
-Security is tight around Christian sites in Iraq after a wave of church bombings
-President Obama has named a rural practice female doctor to be the next Surgeon General
-More talk about what the CIA/Cheney failed to tell Congress
-Four letter words actually make you feel better
-Three violent inmates have escaped from a maximum security Indiana prison
-A Southwest Airline jet emergency landed after a hole in the fuselage depressurized the cabin
-North Korea is denying a report that Kim Jong Il has pancreatic cancer
-Des Moines city council is being asked to lift the ban on all night dancing

The best 'The Shot' I've seen in ages. Got to love an animated, happy Michael Ware.

And another great moment that I couldn't resist clipping, the POTUS doing a little happy dance for his kids. Now if we could only convince him to give AC some dance lessons. ~Phebe






All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator. All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Mr. Cooper goes to Africa

I am looking forward to Anderson's interview with President Obama in Africa tomorrow and imagine you are too. It has been interesting following the various blogs and media publications about Anderson's interview. Just a few weeks ago, they were all questioning his ability to "get" the big interview. This week, they are carping that he "got" the first interview with the President as he visits Sub-Saharan Africa. In my opinion, President Obama couldn't have picked a better journalist to make this trip. Anderson has had an ongoing "affair" with Africa since he was a teenager. Did you know he was only 17 years old when he first traveled there? He graduated high school early and joined a program that took him to southern Africa. He traveled across Africa in a "13-ton British Army truck" during which time he contracted malaria and required hospitalization in Kenya. Describing the experience, Anderson wrote "Africa was a place to forget and be forgotten in."

The puzzle tonight is Anderson in Africa. I am not certain what the background story is for this picture but the look on Anderson's face is amazing.

AC in Africa Jigsaw Puzzle

If you don't "Twitter", you might be interested to know that Anderson sent several "tweets" about his trip. You can check them out on the AC360 blog along with some amazing pictures posted by Charlie Moore. I absolutely love the specials Charlie has produced for Anderson in the past and am anticipating an amazing program. Here are two tweets that I thought indicated the excitement Anderson felt when he arrived in Africa:

From ac: ghana is cool. Accra, the capitol is bustling with energy. Posters welcoming Obama are everywhere. It's great to be back in africa. 4:21 AM Jul 10th from TwitterBerry

From ac: just arrived in ghana. A lot of excitement here about Obama's trip. Everyone wants to see him. I'll be tweeting all weekend.

And one more just because it's sweet:

From ac: caught the president dancing a little infront of his kids and Mrs. Obama. It was a sweet moment, not in front of cameras.

We were lucky enough to be treated to a small segment of Anderson's interview today, the sound is strange but the content is good!



Thought you might also enjoy a clip from the video Anderson made to accompany the release of the paperback edition of Dispatches. In this segment, he discusses what he see's as the mission of AC360. It contains snipets of reports from the field. Glad to see Anderson back out there.




An Andercake and a very Happy Birthday to our own Ms Sapphire...have a beautiful Day!






All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator. All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Classic Letterman Interview

Thanks to several readers for letting us know that Anderson will be on Late Night with David Letterman on Thursday. The boy is going to be so jet-lagged...hmmm, that may make for a funny interview. Anywho, here is one of my favorite interviews with Anderson on Letterman's show talking about being jailed in Iran and opinions about his Mom writing about her sex life. I wonder if Gloria's new book, Obsession: An Erotic Tale, that was released a few weeks ago will be mentioned Thursday night. I've heard it's umm erotic.

Here's the classic clip from October 2005:

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.
All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Waiting for Monday's Show...with Hope

Hi, everyone! It's Tedi B. here subbing for Sapphire tonight. I'm gonna blog using the bullet point method tonight. It's Friday and I'm just ready for the weekend.

Erica is sitting in for Anderson again tonight.

Here we go....

-The Obama's touch down in Accra, Ghana. President Obama will speak with Anderson and others while there. He also met with the the Pope in Italy today

-Erica checked in with Anderson who is in Elmina, Ghana waiting to meet with Pres. Obama. Anderson also talked about different castles and dungeons where they kept slaves before their horrible journey to the new world. The Obama's will also be visiting one. Looks like a horrible place. See Clip of this below

-In "Breaking News" a Jackson insider speaks out. Randi Kaye reports on a former friend of Michael Jackson's who said he barely weighted enough and was out of shape... that he couldn't handle the reported 50 shows that were sold out.






-The custody of Michael Jackson's children continue to play out on July 20. Erica spoke with Jim Moret about the custody hearing. There is much speculation that their mother Debbie Rowe and the Jackson's will work out their own agreement. Joe Jackson continues to speak out and basically be a general "ass".







-In Uncovering America, Sanjay Gupta talks with Erin Brockovich about America's worst ecological disaster. Coal Ash was spilled into a Tennessee lake... more than a 100 times more of a spill than the oil from the Exxon Valdez. The effects of this are not really known but people around the lake are having health problems. How many people will have to die before the Valley Authority will admit there really is a problem with the spill?? That's always the way it is.

-Anderson is back and talking about the Cape Coast Castle where slaves were held before they went to the new world. Donna Brazile discussed her visit there.

-More news on the Polygamist Sect vs the Drug Cartel in Mexico. The Cartels are kidnapping their family members and now killing some of them because they spoke out against them.

Here are AC's Tweets for those that don't follow Tweeter....

*From ac: just arrived in ghana. A lot of excitement here about Obama's trip. Everyone wants to see him. I'll be tweeting all weekend.

*From ac: ghana is cool. Accra, the capitol is bustling with energy. Posters welcoming Obama are everywhere. It's great to be back in africa.

And before I go, my post title is in hopes of a great show on Monday! Have a great weekend.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Girl's Night at AC360

First story of the night was the drug abuse of Michael Jackson. Erica discussed the details with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, after Randi Kaye's report. Michael Ware's exclusive interview with Retired General Hamid Gul (former Pakistani ISI Director General), who is dubbed the Godfather of the Taliban, was extremely interesting. Ware discussed what it would take to stop the warring in Afghanistan with Gul and also took a look at the Taliban operations along the Pakistani border. Gul said Pakistan could get the Taliban to the table to negotiate a settlement in the fighting but they would need concessions from the US regarding India's aggression toward the Pakistanis. To learn more check MW's post on the 360 blog.Gary Tuchman reported on the deaths of two men who are residents in the Mormon enclave in the Chihuahua polygamist community. Both were killed by the Mexican drug cartel. Benjamin Lebaron and his brother in law hold dual citizenship (US & Mexican) and were killed gangland style, outside their home while their families looked on.
I'm a huge Gary Tuchman fan and usually enjoy his reporting, but this one really irritated me. Mike Watkiss did this story in Phoenix on Tuesday and because he knows the polygamist families so well he did it better. I watched Gary's report twice and couldn't figure out why he was in El Paso, it didn't seem to me that he even went into Mexico to gather information. Almost all the footage used was from Mike's report and/or from Bello, which is the parent company of KTVK (the station Watkiss works for). I'm not saying Tuchman or AC360 did anything wrong but I would have rather seen Watkiss talking with Erica and in the follow up Fred Burton, the counter terrorism expert. To see the Mike Watkiss report just follow the link. The 10th anniversary of a student uprising in Iran caused an upsurge in violence against the government. Reza Aslan joined Erica to discuss the similarities and differences of the two political actions. Reza noted the two movements are different in that the first one was stopped by simply firing guns at the students. The current movement has not been so easily quelled, to which Erica noted that technology is helping sustain the message. Reza said unequivocally that democracy will come to Iran, but it will be a long, slow process.Erica took a quick look at President Obama's G8 schedule and then Tom Foreman took a closer look at the newest opinion polls. Not a surprise that the POTUS numbers are down and people may be getting restless. I cannot understand how people can expect so much from the President in such a short time. Randi Kaye's AC360 News & Business Bulletin:
-Deadliest day in Iraq since US's withdrawal with more than 60 killed
-Swine flu will be back and the race is on to get a vaccine developed & manufactured
-Americans are still not spending.
-Staycation, frenemy and green collar jobs are the new words in Webster's
-Cemetery workers in Chicago dug up corpses and resold the plots
-PA swim club accused of racism
-Disney monorail monitors were at breakfast, not minding the trains during collision this week
-CA animal shelter wants TV's to keep their cats happy


I thought Thursday's AC360 was excellent, with a great mix of stories and not too much MJ coverage. Here's hoping that we get Ms. Hill back in the anchor chair on Friday night too. Ms. Sapphire is off on another vacation so Tedi B will be doing blogging duties here at ATA. And don't forget the AC special this weekend (see my previous post). I hope to have one of the ladies publish a recap sometime over the weekend.
Have a great weekend everyone and I'll see you back here on Monday....my new night (here's hoping I remember). ~Phebe

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

AC's Africa Trip & Weekend Schedule

Here's CNN's press release on Anderson Cooper's trip to Africa:

As President Barack Obama makes a historic visit to Africa, CNN’s Anderson Cooper sits down with the President for an extensive interview and joins him exclusively as he visits Cape Coast Castle, Ghana, the site of an overcrowded dungeon where slaves were held before they were shipped west. Interview topics will include domestic and international issues as well as the President’s own close connection with Africa and the significance of his trip for African-Americans today. CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join Cooper from Haiti, where he will report on the slave trade that continues to thrive in that country. The interview will air on Monday, July 13th and Tuesday, July 14th. Anderson Cooper 360° airs weeknights at 10pm ET on CNN.
On Saturday, July 18th and Sunday, July 19th CNN will air a special titled President Obama’s African Journey, anchored by Cooper, which will explore the President’s personal history in Africa, and First Lady Michelle Obama’s African lineage and how her ancestors came to the United States. In addition, Cooper will lead a discussion with African-American leaders about the significance of the President’s trip. The weekend special will air at 8 and 11pm ET. The special will also air on CNN International.




All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

As The Stomach Turns

Late Addition: Erica Hill is scheduled to anchor AC360 tonight, as Anderson travels to Africa.

I'm not sure how you saw tonight's effort by Anderson Cooper and crew, but to me AC360 seemed more a gossipy tabloid soap opera than a news program. I thought that LKL hit a new low in creepiness on Wednesday, when he interviewed Michael Jackson's former dermatologist, but AC360 wasn't far behind with its reports on MJ by Drew Griffin and Randi Kaye. I think it would be more newsworthy to wait until the official results of the autopsy are released or the courts make a decision about prosecuting doctors or awarding custody, etc. rather than this anonymous source crap that tells me MJ was bald, skinny and white when he died. What if that was your loved one being so violated after death by the press? Didn't AC say something on that very subject when talking about how the press intruded on he & his mother's privacy when his brother died? Personally, I've had enough and have decided to move on from the MJ coverage.So tonight we'll start with news of President Obama's trip to Italy and Anderson's discussion with David Gergen. The Gergenator said that in this trip abroad the President is facing a much tougher crowd than on his previous visits. He said that there was limited success negotiating with Russia and he doesn't expect any breakthroughs with China or India on the current leg of his trip.
Also discussed was the stubbornly high unemployment rate and the lackluster results of the stimulus package.I'd like to skip the Palin story too, not because it isn't news but because I dislike her so. At least the story is being covered by one of my favorites, Sean Callebs. (He must have been a very good boy to get rewarded with the Alaska trip instead of being in steamy, hot New Orleans, his usual territory.) Callebs interviewed Andree McCloud, a critic of the Alaskan governor and someone who has taken action by filing complaints and lawsuits against Palin. McCloud said "In December, during her inauguration, Sarah Palin said 'Alaskans, hold me accountable, and back attcha'. We did and what does she do? She quits."The news out of Afghanistan is not good. Since Monday 9 US service members have been killed. Tom Foreman outlined the danger zones on the maps and compared troop losses in Iraq with Afghanistan. The need for Afghan troops to mobilize and assist the US and NATO forces has become even more critical as the fighting intensifies.Next up David Mattingly reported on the murder of Steve McNair by his mistress. After Mattingly's report AC discussed the possible motivation of the girlfriend with a criminal justice professor. Please spare me, this was just a horrible segment.Erica Hill's News & Business Bulletin:
-Lisa Ling spoke to her sister, held in North Korea, by phone yesterday.
-Ethnic violence in North West China has killed 156 people, with 1,000 injured.
-A rare appearance by Kim Jong Il in public today to honor the 15th anniversary of his father's death.
-Mass. filed a lawsuit that challenges the Federal Defense of Marriage Act
-Leon Panetta revealed that CIA concealed information from Congress
-Bomb components were smuggled into Federal Buildings by government officials testing security
-US's largest dog fighting ring has been busted
-The Italian PM was accompanied to the G8 Summit by a former topless model, not his wife

The Shot & Beat 360 were just so-so, but Erica's discussion with AC about her birthday was worth the effort of clipping. Enjoy:

Julie and I have come across a few new to us pictures of Anderson taken while he was in LA. These first two were posted on Twitter and show AC up on the CNN roof with Don Lemon & Larry King.
These next two pictures are of AC posing with fans who were working in the media area surrounding the Staple Center. First guy is Ed Lozano, a free lancer and the second is Jason Kennedy, who works for E! Here's a fun shot of some of the AC360 crew. This one is not recent but just how old it is I'm not sure, nor can I remember where I found it. From left to right:Ella Perlis, Chuck Hadad, MaryAnne Fox and Kay Jones.
That's it for me tonight. Sorry to bitch so much, not sure if it's my mood or if the program was a disappointment for others too? ~Phebe

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.