A Busy Monday For AC360

The two big stories of the day, and weekend, both originate in California. First up on Monday's edition of AC360 were the unfolding details in the kidnapping case of Jaycee Dugard. Dan Simon was at the Garrido home and shared still pictures of the interior of the tents that are in the backyard of the property. He also interview several people who had business dealings with Jaycee and Garrido.After the break Anderson Cooper interviewed Cheyvonne Molino, whose daughter was friends with Jaycee's two daughters, Angel and Starla. This woman said the girls were clean and they were well groomed. She did not believe that the young girls lived outside in primitive conditions. When Ms. Molino seemed to be going down the path of defending Garrido AC quickly called her on it by saying "Just one second....this is a man who allegedly kidnapped an eleven year old girl, repeatedly raped her for 18 years, and fathered two kids with her. So I wouldn't go too far down the road of defending this guy." Ms. Milino then backed down on her defense of Garrido and started in on Garrido's wife, saying she was a monster. When pressed by Anderson for details she really had no hard examples or facts.
The 'Digging Deeper' segment for the night was with Lisa Bloom, Juliet Francis (Clinical Psychologist) and Steve Hassan (mind control expert). The discussion centered around Stockholm syndrome, reacclimation and legal ramifications. Reynolds Wolf was next up with on-site reports on the California wild fires. There was talk of the two firefighters who lost their lives fighting the fire and of those who have chosen not to cooperate with the mandatory evacuations.
Erica Hill was at the 360 Bulletin desk with details of the hurricane that is approaching Baja, news of those horrible murders in the mobile home in Georgia, Disney buying Marvel comics and the rescued fishermen.
In the second report EH said the top US commander in Afghanistan said success there is achievable, with a revised strategy. The White House said Cheney is wrong on his facts about interrogation methods. Chris Brown told Larry King (interview airs Wednesday on LKL) that he doesn't remember hitting Rihanna and doing things like that is just not who he is. What a load of crap. If he thinks he's going to turn public opinion around by not taking responsibility he is a fool. And the former Miss CA is suing the pageant for dethroning her.This next report is just so sickening. Rumors are flying that Britain brokered a deal with Libyan to obtain oil for the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Tom Foreman reported that if it is true it is a mockery of justice and eventually the facts will be uncovered.It's hard to know if the news of the H1N1 virus is much ado about nothing or as scary as the media is making it out to be. College campuses are being hit hard right now and seem to be breeding grounds for the germs.
Dr. Gupta joined AC to answer viewers questions about the flu and the immunizations.

No 'The Shot' clip for you tonight, it was a hoax about Michael Jackson still being alive.


Here's a picture from the Inauguration that Julie found on Flickr today. It shows a lucky, and beautiful, make-up lady working on our favorite anchor.
So there you have it for a Monday edition of 360. Great mix of news and lots of it too. I keep wondering if Anderson will pop up in California to cover the wild fires, but with the Afghanistan trip looming maybe not. ~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.

Movin' On

AC360 was charged with emotion last week. Anderson's tour with James Carville made me think of the families who still to strive to get back to their beloved NOLA. As Anderson moved on to cover Senator Kennedy's funeral, I was reminded of those sad days when our nation buried John and Robert. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt a little ache in my heart at the final passing of "Camelot". Throughout the week, I was horrified by our systems failure and heart broken that a child could languish in our midst for 18 years in the hands of a monster. I don't know about you, but as my children left today, I hugged them a bit tighter and snuck in a few extra kisses.

I am hoping my post tonight starts your week off on a lighter note and gives you a little something to chuckled about. I've reached to the back of the vault to bring you a few of my favorites clips from the Mole, Season 2. Let's start by challenging ourselves with a little "Moley" puzzle.

MoleCollageA Jigsaw Puzzle

Enjoy the Clips:

The Mole-Damn Dam




The Mole - Fashion Sense



My All Time Favorite: The Mole - All Wet



Have a great week!

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.

Ted Kennedy Remembered

I got up this morning around 10ET to watch the funeral mass for Senator Edward Kennedy and didn't know until later that Anderson et al had been on the air since the crack of dawn.

John King was stationed in Boston...

while BPTOT was with Wolf and Anderson.


Between 3 former Presidents, several Senators, hundreds of people lining the streets in Boston and DC, and a burial at Arlington, if I didn't know better, I would have thought a President was buried today.

The outpouring of love and support for someone who as Obama eloquently put it "had personal failings in a public way" amazed me. I didn't know a lot about him before this week but I now see why he was re-elected Senator under 10 different presidencies. The touching stories of him reaching out to family, friends, politicians, and strangers are what made him the man he will be remembered for.

The two hour mass was poignant. I loved the beautiful rendition of Ave Maria. It sounded awesome on TV and I bet in the Basilica it was amazing. His son Ted Jr's story of his father helping him up a hill after losing his leg put tears in my eyes. Here is a clip of that if you didn't see it.



Also, it was sweet for the grand kids to do the Prayer of the Faithful. Here is that clip.

After the funeral mass was over BPTOT expressed their thoughts on the service.

The Gerg really summed things up well when he said "The outpouring of public support and rallying behind Senator Kennedy the last few days, people lined up on the streets. This isn't the dignitaries who came here to Boston. The stories, the anecdotes, I think have -- and the television coverage as well -- have insured that Teddy Kennedy will now enter the public memory, and I think the history books, as not only the greatest legislator of our time, as Barack Obama said, but also as a very fine human being, and a father and a friend to so many. I think it humanized him for -- in the public memory in ways that are very positive and that -- that will now -- I think he sort of has been etched in ways -- he was a little bit fuzzy as a figure. I think there's also, as Gloria said, the redemption story that's woven into this. It will also be remembered that he will give encouragement to everyone, whether you have cancer or personal failing, that you can still try, still climb that mountain. "

P.S...On a lighter note, I'm not a fashion aficionado but between all the pearl necklaces I saw the women wearing at the funeral (Michelle O the only exception with that humongous bow) and seeing Julia Child/Julie Powell wearing pearls in the Julie & Julia movie I saw today, pearls must be making a comeback.

And finally I'd like to thank Phebe for clippin' and cappin' for me tonight!

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.

AC360 Friday Edition

Anderson was back in NY tonight. Here's his tweet from early this morning: "From ac: boarding an early flight back to ny. Had planned on working in nola all weekend but will now be covering the Kennedy funeral."

Anderson began the program tonight with David Gergen and John King talking about the memorial for Senator Ted Kennedy. I didn't watch all of the memorial but did catch some of it and enjoyed Caroline Kennedy's story of seeing a star in the sky that was brighter and bigger than all the rest and while she knew it was Jupiter it was acting a lot like Senator Kennedy.

Next was breaking news on the story of Jaycee Dugard. The sheriff department admits to mistakes made when a deputy was sent to the Garrido's home but did not visit the backyard where the children were kept. The home is also now being searched to see if the Garridos are also connected to murders that occurred in the 1990's. Dan Simon had the Crime and Punishment report on the details of the investigation.

Anderson also spoke with Lisa Campbell and Allison Jacobs from the UC Berkeley Police Department who met Philip Garrido after he wanted to set up an event at Berkely. They noticed something was wrong after seeing the two young girls and contacted Garrido's parole officer which led to Philip and Nancy Garrido's arrest and the girls' release.

Next Anderson spoke with Brian Russell and Lou Palumbo about Jaycee reuniting with her family and how she will begin to readjust to life as well as how the system failed to find Jaycee sooner. Jeffrey Toobin also joined Anderson and spoke about the 29 felony counts filed against the Garridos as well as how the system that was set up to prevent this from happening failed to work.

Next up was breaking news that Michael Jackson's death has been ruled a homicide. Randi Kaye was there with the report that the coroner has confirmed Michael Jackson died of acute Propofol intoxication. At this point no charges have been filed.

Erica Hill had the Bulletin where she talked about the death of celebrity disk jockey Adam Goldstein who was also known as DJ AM, the wildfires in central and southern California and the Tropical Storm watch for the North Carolina coast.

Sean Callebs was next with a report on if the levees in New Orleans are prepared to handle another hurricane. Since the storm hit the Army Corps of Engineers has spent $3 billion on the levees and expects to spend more than $14 billion by 2013. Work is scheduled to be completed in 2011. However there are still old weak spots that are cause for concern. A major concern is the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet which the Army Corps of Engineers is hurrying to close.

Erica was then back with the second bulletin: the serial robber captured on video was back and robbed again, a New Jersey congressman has been assured that Libyan leader Gadhafi won't stay in New Jersey, and the world's oldest bartender retires.

I have one extra for tonight. This picture of Anderson on Bourbon Street was uploaded to Flickr today by Ed Ireson.

A quick reminder that Anderson will be on tomorrow morning at 10:00 to cover Senator Kennedy's funeral in Boston.

Have a great week everyone!

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.

Out to Lunch

Anderson returned to NOLA tonight, broadcasting from Musicians' Village with members of Habitat for Humanity, NOLA Habitat, and AmeriCorps looking on.

The most amazing/bizarre story of the day had to be the reappearance of a girl kidnapped 18 years ago. Randi Kaye gives the background story on Jaycee Dugard, who was just 11 years old when she was abducted. She is now 29 and has two children fathered by her abductor, and I'm sure everyone was thinking about that guy in Austria who kept his daughter in a basement... This is all beyond creepy.

And then Dan Simon joins in with excerpts from a jailhouse interview with the abductor. Anderson says the guy is "out to lunch" but I would have used far stronger terms (well, not on television, the FCC would object.) This is one of those stories that you just know is going to get weirder and weirder the more that we learn.

Anderson spoke with Elizabeth Smart and her father Ed earlier today. Hers was such an amazing story, and she seems to have handled the transition back so well... but it's impossible to even imagine what 18 years of captivity/brainwashing must have done to Jaycee. I know there are so many professionals who will counsel her and her family right now, and you just have to pray that she and her children can adjust to reality.

Tom Foreman reports on the funeral procession for Ted Kennedy as his body was brought from the family home to the JFK Library in Boston. Thousands of people are lining up to say farewell. David Gergen and John King, both of whom knew the senator, discuss his influence and legacy.

More of the interview with the Smarts.

Then some NOLA pieces. Gary Tuchman does a piece on the good ol' boy vigilantes who were protecting their property in the aftermath of Katrina. You know, I'm all for keeping your family safe, but there were people dying in that city, and all you're worried about is making sure you aren't robbed? Notice how no mention was made of them going around checking on their neighbors, making sure the elderly were taken care of, etc etc? A doctor said his hospital treated 62 gunshot wounds (rather than the normal 5 or 6) and about half of the people died. Certainly it's possible that some of them were looting, but were they stealing TV sets or food? Are we as a species destined to devolve into shoot-first-ask-questions... well, never... whenever there is a disaster of this magnitude? Sad.

(The joys of live TV and having a moth settle on the camera lens... that or Gary is about to be attacked by a bat!)

Anderson's tour with James Carville was fun, and of course they had to go eat somewhere wonderful. James joined Anderson for a live conversation afterwards, and they were joined by presidential and Katrina historian Douglas Brinkley.

Part 1 (the tour):

Part 2 (the interview):

(Sorry that took so long to load!)

Erica Hill has the 360 Bulletin: Tropical Storm Danny heading towards North Carolina; swine flu spikes on campus but is hitting young kids the hardest; blood and signs of a struggle found in the car belonging to the murdered model; Michael Vick playing first post-prison NFL game tonight; the President on a bike tour but not wearing a helmet, here's that clip:

The Shot: more music from NOLA.

Also, this came in from Julie:

CNN's coverage continues Saturday at 10 a.m. with Blitzer and Anderson Cooper anchoring from the service at The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston, with John King weighing in "on the ground."

So I guess Anderson has a red-eye out of NOLA tomorrow night. No rest for the wicked!

That's it for me tonight. The movers arrive at 8:00am tomorrow to get my stuff, so I must get back to packing it! Next week I will be 'reporting' from Los Angeles, couch-surfing with friends until I find a job and a place to live! Can't wait to get back to the City of Angels!

UPDATE: Anderson tweeted around 7:40amET:

From ac: boarding an early flight back to ny. Had planned on working in nola all weekend but will now be covering the Kennedy funeral.

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.

The Dream Shall Never Die.....

Wednesday's AC360 was almost entirely devoted to Senator Edward Kennedy. It's got to be tough to go last after a day of non-stop Kennedy coverage and yet keep it fresh. But 360 managed to do that with reports by Tom Foreman, Erica Hill, Joe Johns and Randi Kaye. And there were discussions with David Gergen, John King, Candy Crowley, Gloria Borger, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Douglas Brinkley, a Presidential Historian.


Thanks to Julie for finding the picture of Anderson, Barry Diller and Dominick Dunne taken at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in LA, circa 2004.

Anderson did a beautiful tribute at the end of the program for his friend Dominick Dunne. Dunne died Wednesday, of bladder cancer, at the age of 83. If you missed it here's the clip.

I found some irony in my night on Wednesday. While I watched 360, I participated in a phone-in Town Hall with my Congressman. The subject was health insurance reform (he made it very clear that we are reforming health insurance, not health care). I found it ironic because as I watched Teddy Kennedy's life examined in detail on CNN I was participating in a discussion of his greatest passion and dream.

I was given an invitation, by phone, yesterday and told that I would receive a call at 6:30 tonight. I was free to just listen to other people who had joined in the Town Hall, all by phone, or I could press 0 to get in the queue to ask a question. Periodically Congressman Mitchell would ask a poll question and, if you chose to answer, you would push a button on your phone registering your opinion/situation. While some of the people were very annoying (and probably Republican) most asked intelligent questions and were very well informed.

I'm not sure if this phone-in Town Hall has be utilized by other Congressmen/women, but for me it was a success. No yelling and arguing, no sitting on uncomfortable folding chairs for hours and no braving the sweltering Phoenix heat to hear the debate and register your opinion. If you ever have the chance to participate give it a try.





It is almost a given that if AC360 plans a road trip there will be a big breaking news story. Anderson Cooper is slated to broadcast live from New Orleans on Thursday and Friday nights this week. Senator Kennedy's body will lie in repose at the Kennedy Library in Boston on Thursday and Friday night is the wake, with the funeral on Saturday (wasn't that the original date for MJ's funeral?).
I think if NOLA hadn't been scheduled AC might have been in Boston on Thursday and Friday evening, but of course I'm just guessing. I did come across one conflicting bit of information today, about the NOLA broadcasts. The Times-Picayune (the NOLA newspaper) reported that AC360 will broadcast from New Orleans on Thursday, with no mention of Friday. We'll find out soon enough.

That's it for me this week. We've got a busy weekend in Casa Phebe, it's my daughter's birthday. I need to bake a cake, cook a big family dinner and get the presents bought and wrapped. Whew, I'm tired already. Have a great weekend everyone. ~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.

Bait & Tackle

The title of today's post was a given after watching 'The Shot'. Anderson Cooper has come up with another euphemism for the bits and pieces. But more on that later, first to the days news.Top story of Tuesday night was more discussion of the 'enhanced interrogation techniques' of the Bush administration. Tom Foreman brought us the days developments, including Dick Cheney's statement, which reignited the debate. Peter Bergen (whose opinion I trust slightly more than Cheney's) said clearly that the coercive interrogation did not reveal plots that were serious threats. But Peter didn't get the final word.....Foreman turned to Fran Townsend for that. Guess he didn't read my post last night about Fran being on my last nerve? ;) I loved the Strategy Session was with Paul Begala (♥) and Mary Matalin. A few of us were suggesting better Republicans than Townsend last night on Twitter and Matlalin made most everybody's list. Just in case you don't get my obsession with Begala here's one of his down home Texas truisms that made my night:

Anderson Cooper came down pretty hard on Matalin but she didn't budge in her defense of the Bush administration. Begala got another zinger in by mentioning that Cheney must have been a pacifist in his younger days since he didn't want to go into the military and received 5 draft deferments.The best thing about the Michael Jackson coverage is I get done blogging a little faster than if AC360 was covering real news. Tonight's segment had Randi Kaye again in LA and lasted for over 8 minutes. Other than that I know nothing.And in more tabloid news AC reported that Chris Brown did not receive prison time for beating his girlfriend Rihanna. Lisa Bloom joined Anderson to discuss the law and Brown's sentence.Swine flu, or H1N1, virus was all over the news on Tuesday. 90,000 deaths is a huge number and people really are taking notice. Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke with 360 on the latest details of the story and also answered a few viewers questions. He stressed getting the vaccine when it becomes available and good hygiene...primarily washing hands.Dana Bash did a charming interview with President Obama's great-uncle Ralph Dunham. They met up at a Town Hall where Dunham had gone to learn more about his great-nephew's health care reform bill.Drew Griffin had another installment in the 'After the Storm' series on Katrina. The story centered on NOLA police killing a mentally handicapped man, Ronald Madison, on a bridge just a few days after Katrina struck. The victims brother believes that the NOLA police murdered his brother and covered it up. The FBI is currently investigating the case, seizing records and conducting interviews.I cannot believe that 360 re-aired portions of LKL's interview with Kate Gosslin. So to recap we had Michael Jackson news, Chris Brown news and a segment on Kate Gosslin....but no discussion of the Afghanistan election results? Just who is running 360 and picking these topics?

Erica Hill read the 360 Bulletins on Tuesdays program and also shared a little story about some nudity that has captured the attention of New Yorkers. Here's 'The Shot':


I'm a little shocked at the content, or more like the lack of content, of Tuesday's 360. If Anderson Cooper, or anyone on the program, wastes one minute of time in NOLA on Thursday and Friday covering this tabloid nonsense I will be so very disappointed. Won't you? ~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.

MJ Should've Counted Sheep

Monday's edition of AC360 opened with actual news in the Michael Jackson case, with Randi Kaye reporting from LA. The MJ news was the lead story on most of the networks tonight, so I can't fault 360 for the coverage, and in depth coverage it was. I did have one question that crossed my mind when listening to the new information. Just because the doctor was on the phone (according to his cell phone records) does that mean that they can prove he was out of the room? Seems to me he could have started the IV and sat there kibitzing while Jackson supposedly slept. Doesn't excuse the huge doses of medicine but it does mean that maybe he wasn't as inattentive as the media is implying? Either way you look at it MJ is dead and nothing is going to change that. Speaking of the quantity of medication administered to Jackson on the night he died, here is the rundown: 10 mg Valium, 4 mg Ativan (2 separate injections, 4 mg Versed (twice by IV) and 25 mg Propofol. And to think I worry about taking 1/2 a Tylenol PM before bed occasionally because it makes me so groggy the next day.
The follow up discussion was with Dr. Drew Pinsky, Jeffery Toobin and Dr. Panchali Dhar. And the coverage concluded with a repeat of Dr. Gupta's report on Propofol in the operating room.Joe Johns reported on newly uncovered tactics employed by the CIA on suspected terrorists. I'm not sure why the tactics of the CIA don't make angry, they should. But I think I've heard so much of this that I'm beginning to be desensitized to it.
What I'm not desensitized to is Fran Townsend. Good God AC360 can't you find someone else to defend the Bush administration. Ms. Townsend ruined a segment with James Carville that I had been looking forward to all day.Erica Hill read the 360 Bulletins and also handled the story of Randy Jenkins, the millionaire who murdered his swimsuit model wife in CA and fled to Canada. Questions about how he managed to get on a reality show with his background of violence were also discussed.Sean Callebs took a look at the New Orleans school system and how Katrina actually caused an education overhaul that is very successful. Armed with Federal money and a staff of new teachers recruited from 'Teach for America' Paul Vallas has turned the district around.
My apologies to Mr. Callebs for not using his handsome face as my screencap for this report but I'm a sucker for pics of AC with storm clouds and FEMA trailers in the background.
At the end of the NOLA report Anderson Cooper reminded viewers that AC360 will be live from NOLA on Thursday and Friday this week.

I have two clips for you tonight. The first is Anderson providing the sound effects for the world's tallest dog.

And Monday's 'The Shot' was Heidi Montage 'singing' at Sunday night's Miss Universe pageant. Notice the butt ugly shoes when you're done focusing on the fact that she doesn't know the words to her song and she can't sing or dance.




I was really excited to come across an article from the upcoming edition of Home & Design, that features Candy Crowley's DC area home. Follow the link to read about her design philosophy and see pictures of the fabulous results. Enjoy.

Have a great Tuesday and we hope to see you back here soon. ~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.