Breaking News and All Things CNN's Year in Review

Benazir Bhutto

1953-2007

If you have been watching CNN or checking out CNN.com today you have heard about the breaking news in regards to the assassination of Pakistan's former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. CNN has planned special programming tonight to cover the breaking news

*Special Situation Room at 8PM EST
*Larry King Live hosted by Wolf Blitzer at 9PM EST
*Special Anderson Cooper 360 at 10PM EST
*Special Investigation Unit from Nic Robertson ~ Pakistan: Terror Central at 11PM EST



In addition we have received a press release informing us of CNN's coverage:

Throughout the day and evening on Dec. 27, CNN’s world-wide reporting includes coverage from Jim Acosta, general assignment correspondent; Peter Bergen, terrorism analyst; Arwa Damon, Baghdad bureau correspondent; Jill Dougherty, U.S. Affairs Editor; Wilf Dinnick, International correspondent; Ed Henry, White House correspondent; John King, chief national correspondent; Robin Oakley, European political editor; Keith Oppenheim, national correspondent; Nic Robertson, senior international correspondent; Richard Roth, United Nations correspondent; Barbara Starr, Pentagon correspondent; Ali Velshi, senior business correspondent and co-host of Your $$$$$; and Zain Verjee, State Department correspondent. More than a dozen CNN staff from around the world are being deployed to Pakistan to cover her death, funeral and aftermath of the assassination of Bhutto. Many will travel via the United Arab Emirates, the location of CNN’s newest newsgathering hub, and will arrive early Friday morning (ET) to support CNN’s Mohsin Naqvi, who broke the story this morning.

In addition, CNN.com is offering up-to-the minute reporting and analysis with extended coverage and extensive video, live and on-demand, from the scene, the immediate aftermath and file video of Bhutto from over the years. CNN.com also has created a special Hot Topic section at www.cnn.com/bhutto, which is a central resource for all of the coverage elements on the site, including the opinion editorial Bhutto penned for CNN.com in November 2007. CNN.com Live – www.cnn.com/live - offers users access to multiple live video streams including anchored coverage of all of the latest breaking news updates and analysis, and were available coverage from CNN Radio is airing one minute special reports at the bottom of the hour. CNN Newsource will provide its affiliates access to reports.

Back in September of this year before returning from exile, Ms. Bhutto appeared on CNN Situation Room for a one on one interview with Wolf Blitzer. Reading the transcript you can understand that Ms. Bhutto understood what could happen to her once she returned to Pakistan but was will to return and stand up for freedom and democracy. To read the full interview transcript, click here.

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It is that time of year again and like our sister blog All Things Anderson, it is time to do our first ever All Things CNN year in review and what a year it has been. If I added everything that happened this year with CNN and Headline News I would need a extra 365 days. This is a compiled list of some major stories and events that happened this year. So sit back and lets take a little stroll down memory lane with CNN and Headline News for the year that was 2007!

January

*President Gerald Ford's Funeral ~ January 3
*Rep. Nancy Pelosi becomes first female speaker of the house ~ January 4
*State of the Union Address ~ January 23

February

*Anna Nicole Smith Dies in Florida ~ February 9

March

*Lewis “Scooter” Libby found guilty of perjury ~ March 6
*Iran holds British sailors captive ~ March 23

April

*All Things CNN is born ~ April 4
*Don Imus under fire over racial and sexist comments ~April 6
*Dr. Sanjay Gupta Book Chasing Life is released ~ April 9
*Soledad O'Brien and Miles O’Brien co-host their final America Morning ~ April 13
*John Roberts and Kiran Chetry take over American Morning hosting duties ~April 16
*Mass shooting at Virginia Tech killing 33 ~April 16

May

*British girl Madeline McCann goes missing ~ May 3
*Rev. Jerry Farwell dies ~May 15
*Larry King celebrates 50 years in broadcasting in May
*Andrew Speaker cause TB scare in May
*Thomas Roberts leaves Headline News in May

June

*CNN turns 27 on June 1
*Democratic Debate moderated by Wolf Blitzer in New Hampshire ~June 3
*Republician Debate moderated by Wolf Blitzer in New Hampshire ~ June 5
*Duke Lacrosse lawyer resigns ~ June 15
*Prime News with Erica Hill extends to 2 hours ~ June 25
*Paris Hilton out of jail and on Larry King Live ~ June 27
*All Access Podcast celebrates 1st Anniversary in June

July

*Plane crash in Brazil – 200 dead ~ July 17
*Pipe burst in New York City ~ July 18
*YouTube Democratic Debate moderated by Anderson Cooper in South Carolina ~July 23
*Campbell Brown announces joining CNN ~July 23
*London/Scotland Terror Attacks ~ July
*Andrea Koppel leaves CNN in July

August

*Minneapolis Bridge Collapse ~August 1
*Paula Zahn has final broadcast on CNN ~ August 2
*I-Report turns 1 ~ August 2
*Miners trapped under ground in Utah ~August 6
*Earthquake in Peru ~August 16
*Christian Amanpour's series God's Warriors airs ~August 21-23
*Alberto Gonzales resigns as Attorney General ~ August 27
*Senator Larry Craig sex scandal breaks ~ August 27
*Michael Vick pleads guilty in dog fighting case ~ August 27
*Karl Rove resigns ~ August 31
*Toys from China are recalled in August
*CNN new website is uploaded in August
*Jessica Yellin joins CNN in August
*Sibilia Vargas leaves CNN in August

September

*General Petreaus Report about Iraq is released ~ September 10
*Anderson Cooper 360 reports live from Iraq ~ Sept 10-13
*Jack Cafferty Book - It's Getting Ugly Out There is released ~ September 10
*OJ Simpson arrested in Las Vegas ~ September 18
*Jeffrey Toobin Book - The Nine is released ~ September 18
*Thousands march for civil rights in Jena, Louisiana for the Jena 6 ~September 20
*Iran's Ahmadinejad visits America ~ September 24-25
*"Prophet" Warren Jeffs found guilty of being an accomplice to rape ~ September 25
*Benazir Bhutto sits for an interview with Wolf Blitzer ~ September 26
*Protest errupt in Burma (Myanmar) between Buddist priest and the military junta in September
*Abbie Boudreau joins CNN in September
*Gloria Borger joins CNN in September

October

*Olympian gold medalist Marian Jones admits taking steroids ~ October 5
*Howard Kurtz Book - Reality Show is released ~ October 9
*Cleveland school shooting ~ October 10
*Pakistan unrest – over 100 killed at rally ~ October 18
*California Wildfires ~ October 22-25
*Planet In Peril featuring Anderson Cooper, Sanjay Gupta and Jeff Corwin debut (October 23-24)
*CNN wins Emmy for political coverage ~ October 24

*CNN goes HD in October

November

*Situation Room and Lou Dobbs Tonight Switch Time Slots ~ November 5
*Robin & Co. becomes Morning Express with Robin Meade on Headline News ~ November 5
*Lou Dobbs Book - Independence Day is released ~ November 6
*Democratic Debate moderated by Wolf Blitzer, John Roberts and Campbell Brown in Las Vegas ~ November 15
*YouTube Republican Debate moderated by Anderson Cooper in St. Petersberg, Florida ~ November 27
*Hostage standoff at Clinton campaign office in Manchester, New Hampshire ~ November 30
*Fareed Zakaria joins CNN in November

December

*Omaha mall shooting ~ December 5
*CNN Heroes with Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour aired honoring everyday heroes ~ December 6
*Colorado church shootings ~ December 9
*Baseball steroid scandal is in the news with the release of the Mitchell Report ~ December 13
*Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in Pakistan ~ December 27
*Drew Griffin wins Business & Financial Emmy in December
*Wilf Dinnick joins CNN in December

Wow what a year for CNN and Headline News and the truth of the matter is there is still 4 more days left and alot can happen in 4 days. 2007 was quiet a year and 2008 is shaping up to be an even bigger year.

I want to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous 2008!!! I will talk you next year.

Impact Your World Special and Year in Review

CNN to Air First "Impact Your World" Special

CNN release a press release about this upcoming special.

CNN announced that the first special from its “Impact Your World” initiative will air on Monday December 24th at 10pm ET and be about the story of Youssif, the Iraqi boy who was set on fire.
Born in Baghdad only seven months before the start of the war in Iraq, Youssif knew only a world of unpredictable violence. And yet, his family described him as happy and energetic with dreams of becoming a doctor. All that changed in January when three masked assailants doused Youssif in gasoline, set him on fire and left a scarred and traumatized boy.

Rescuing Youssif, the first television special related to CNN’s ongoing “Impact Your World” initiative, not only documents Youssif’s recovery but reveals how the network’s global audience embraced the story and offered money and support to speed his treatment. Impact Your World – Rescuing Youssif will premiere on Monday, Dec. 24, at 10 p.m., with replays on Tuesday, Dec. 25, at 1a.m. and 4 a.m. All times Eastern.CNN’s Baghdad correspondent Arwa Damon first brought the story of Youssif’s plight to the world in August, reporting that treatment at a local hospital was second-rate and painful for Youssif. Youssif’s mother, Zaineb, movingly described how the dynamic personality of her son took a disheartening turn. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on Youssif’s medical progress and provides insight into his emotional and physical recovery.

Response from CNN’s global audience was immediate and overwhelming. Online, the story became the single most-visited non-breaking news story in CNN.com’s 12-year history, with nearly 4 million page views within two days.

News of Youssif’s plight surfaced two months after CNN developed its Impact Your World initiative, a multi-platform effort to empower its global audience to make a difference in response to the stories they see online and on air. Through Impact Your World, more than 13,000 people from around the world contributed more than $300,000 to the Children’s Burn Foundation, allowing Youssif and his family to fly to the United States for treatment.
In addition, plastic surgeon Peter Grossman donated his services for the half dozen or more surgeries Youssif required for recovery. For Rescuing Youssif, Damon and Gupta remained in close contact with Youssif’s family in order to monitor the boy’s medical progress at the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles.

The documentary follows Youssif’s family as they experience a series of ‘firsts’ as they traveled and arrived in the United States, from learning how to use a toaster to seeing the ocean for the first time. It shows a Youssif breaking out of his shell and becoming, once again, a happy and energetic boy. And it reveals the generosity and concern of thousands of CNN viewers and online users.

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You know one of my favorite things about the

holiday season is those Year in Review lists. Everyone has them and CNN does not disappoint. CNN.com has come out with it's Year in Review lists for the Top Stories of 2007, the Top Showbiz Headlines of 2007 and the Top Health Stories of 2007 in a timeline format.

When you visit the Top Stories you can also vote for your top 10 stories. The stories you feel had the biggest impact on you personally or the world as a whole. Once you have voted it will compared your top 10 list with the total top 10 voted stories so far. I got three in the same order as all the other voters.

I am hoping that the other sections of CNN.com will be coming out with their own year in review.