The Monday edition of AC360 found Anderson Cooper back from vacation and Keeping Them Honest about Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons is suspected of killing 4 police officers in Seattle this weekend. Joe Johns reported that Clemmons has a very long rap sheet and was pardoned from a 100 year sentence in Arkansas by former Governor Mike Huckabee.
The follow up discussion/interview was with Judge Marion Humphrey from Arkansas. He said of course in hindsight he regrets releasing Clemmons but says we are a nation who believes in forgiveness. Cooper got a bit feisty with the Judge when he couldn't get a straight answer to his questions.
Next up was Randi Kay's report on the Tiger Woods drama. I have absolutely no interest in this story so forgive me for not relaying the details.
Jeff Toobin and Christine Brennan (USA Today sports columnist) joined AC in the 360 studio to do the follow up. Toobin said that Tiger has a public relations problem not a legal problem. The media is not going to let this drop and I'm sure AC360 won't either.
The White House party crashers story was reported on by Ed Henry. Another story I'm tired of but at least Henry's slant on the story made it more than just idle gossip. It is important to know just how this couple has gained access to events attended by the President and other top ranking officials. I'd bet they aren't the sharpest crayons in the box so if they can get by the Secret Service then other, more dangerous, people can too.
Anderson did interviews with Kayla Williams (former Army Sgt.), Vernice Armour (1st AA female combat pilot) and Dr. Heidi Kraft (Navy psychologist) and discussed problems of military women serving in combat areas. The talk ranged from where you sleep and change clothing to feeling the burden of carrying the standard for other women. They also discussed feeling invisible as veterans. I enjoyed this segment, it's not something that I've seen a lot of time devoted to by the media.Anderson read the email that Chelsea Clinton sent to friends and family this weekend announcing her engagement to Marc Mezvinsky. Erica Hill did a follow up piece on Chelsea growing up in the public eye and also on Mezvinsky and his political parents. The wedding is planned for next summer.
Erica Hill and the 360 News and Business Bulletin:
• The Supreme Court has told a lower Court to reexamine its decision to release detainee photos
• H1N1 seems to be affecting fewer people in fewer States
• The Dow rallied late on Monday
• The 12 Days of Christmas costs more than $87,000 this year
• Roman Polansky remains in a Swiss jail
• Serena Williams has been fined $82, 500 for her outburst at the US Open Now onto a few random ramblings since I have no extras for you today.
When AC held up the letter about Clemmons' clemency did you notice that someone forgot his cuff links again?
Like may of you I spent my Thanksgiving weekend shopping and getting started on my Christmas decorating. When I got home from my Black Friday adventure I found my dear husband had hauled out the artificial Christmas tree and plopped it in its usual spot. I spent the better part of Sunday unwrapping ornaments and placing them on the tree. When I was done I just couldn't get interested in stringing the usual garland around the tree and decided to opt for something different. I have never, in my entire life, put tinsel on a Christmas tree. In fact I find it rather tacky and have always turned my nose up at it. But I, for some unknown reason, decided I could not live without tinsel on my tree this year. So off to Target I went this morning to buy 2 49 cent packages of tinsel. I now have tinsel on the dog, tinsel on the furniture and tinsel on the carpet.....but not that much on the tree. And I cannot believe how much time I have devoted to failing in my first tinseling attempt. So if any of you wonderful readers have tinsel tips I would be grateful for your help. At this point I am thinking that tinsel knows I have spoken badly about it for years and this is its retribution. ~Phebe
All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.