Rescue efforts transition to recovery in hard-hit Alabama

Hopes of finding trapped survivors dwindled Friday evening in Alabama, the epicenter of storms that obliterated neighborhoods and towns and claimed scores of lives across the South. Gov. Robert Bentley, speaking in Birmingham, said the long road to recovery will now begin. "We've gotten past the rescue stage," Bentley said. "We have begun the recovery stage."

Earlier Friday, President Barack Obama toured rubble-strewn neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa, declaring the devastation brought by a series of powerful storms and tornadoes was beyond anything he had ever seen. The storms killed at least 326 people in six states and left entire neighborhoods in ruins. Obama promised expedited federal aid to states affected by the tornadoes.

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This Weekend's Programming 4/30/11

SATURDAY, April 30, 2011


PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT – Airs Saturday 12:00AM – 2:00AM and 9:00PM 10:00PM
Coverage from London of the royal wedding.

ANDERSON COOPER 360 – Airs Saturday 2:00AM – 4:00AM
Coverage from London of the royal wedding.

THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER – Airs Saturday 6:00PM – 7:00PM
Topic: Libya; Syria
Guest: Pete Hoekstra (R), former congressman

Anchor: Wolf Blitzer


CNN PRESENTS: THE WOMEN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN* – 8:00PM – 9:00PM and 11:00PM – 12:00AM

CNN NEWSROOM – Airs LIVE Saturday 10:00PM – 11:00PM
Live coverage of the White House Correspondents Association dinner.


SUNDAY, May 1, 2011


CNN PRESENTS: THE WOMEN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN* Sunday 2:00AM – 3:00AM

MASS OF BEATIFICATION FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II – Airs Sunday 4:00AM – 6:00AM

STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY – Airs LIVE Sunday 9:00AM – 10:00AM, NOON – 1:00PM

Topic: Battle Over the Budget
Guest: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Guest: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Topic: Conflicts in the Middle East
Guest: Stephen Hadley, former National Security Adviser
Guest: Jane Harman (D), former U.S. Representative

Topic: State of the Education System in the United States
Guest: Sen. Michael Bennet, (D-CO) former Denver Superintendent
Guest: Sen. Lamar Alexander, (R-TN) former Education Secretary
Guest: Steve Perry, CNN education contributor; founder, Capitol Prep. Magnet School
Guest: Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers

Anchor: Candy Crowley


FAREED ZAKARIA GPS – Airs Sunday 10:00AM – 11:00AM and 1:00PM – 2:00PM

Topics: Syria; Israel; U.S.-Middle East Relations
Guest: Martin Indyk, Brookings Institution
Guest: Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera
Guest: Elliot Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations
Guest: Fawaz Gerges, London School of Economics

Topics: Inequality, Tax breaks, College rankings
Guest: Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker

Anchor: Fareed Zakaria


RELIABLE SOURCES – Airs LIVE 11:00AM – NOON

Topic: International News Outlets Flock to Cover Royal Wedding
Guest: Emily Bell, The Guardian
Guest: Matt Frei, BBC
Guest: Ari Melber, The Nation

Topic: Birther Claim Coverage
Guest: Nia-Malika Henderson, The Washington Post
Guest: Chip Reid, CBS News
Guest: Terence Smith, former media correspondent, NewsHour

Topic: CBS News Announces Katie Couric’s Departure
Guest: Connie Chung, former CBS News reporter

Host: Howard Kurtz

CNN PRESENTS: A LARRY KING SPECIAL – UNTHINKABLE: THE ALZHEIMER’S EPIDEMIC **– Airs Sunday 8:00PM – 9:00PM and 11:00PM – 12:00AM



*CNN PRESENTS: THE WOMEN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN
Anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien looks at the parallels in the lives of Kate Middleton and Princess Diana. The documentary also explores the ways in which Prince William and his future Queen have honored the life and legacy of his mother – and are also forging a very modern royal marriage for themselves. Featured in the documentary are close friends of the couple on their romance, royal biographer Christopher Andersen, confidantes of Princess Diana, Arthur Edwards, longtime Sun newspaper royal photographer, and more.

**CNN PRESENTS: A LARRY KING SPECIAL – UNTHINKABLE: THE ALZHEIMER’S EPIDEMIC
CNN’s Larry King hosts a special on the sixth-leading cause of death across all ages in the U.S. that afflicts 5.4 million people, about which many Americans still know relatively little. King will be joined by people who have been touched by Alzheimer’s disease and will include interviews with former First Lady Laura Bush and California’s former First Lady and Alzheimer’s activist Maria Shriver; actors Seth Rogen, and Angie Dickinson; TV host Leeza Gibbons; football star Terrell Owens and son of President Ronald Reagan, Ron Reagan. Neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain what Alzheimer’s is and how this disease affects the human brain.

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

The Evening Reception

Britain's Prince Charles (R) walks with Prince William followed by his wife Kate (2L), the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall as they make their way to Buckingham Palace for the evening celebrations following Charles and Kate's wedding earlier in the day on April 29, 2011 in London. Getty Images

Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, departs Westminster Abbey after her marriage to Britain's Prince William, as they make their way to Buckingham Palace along the procession route, London, Friday, April, 29, 2011. AP Photo

These brave Syrian men rescue a wounded man under heavy gunfire.

Hard to get figures on wounded and dead from Syria. 40-60 dead. Deraa still seems to be center of all things horrible. Bodies in street. Syrian security forces fire on protesters in this video.

These brave Syrian men rescue a wounded man under heavy gunfire.

Hard to get figures on wounded and dead from Syria. 40-60 dead. Deraa still seems to be center of all things horrible. Bodies in street. Syrian security forces fire on protesters in this video.

Pope John Paul II and priestly identity

One of the themes of Pope John Paul II's pontificate was his insistence on the necessity of the priesthood and his personal and heartfelt encouragement to priests, both in positive spiritual terms and, occasionally, in correction and admonition.

At the time Pope John Paul II was elected to the Papacy, it was quite common to hear, even in official circles, that the shortage of vocations to the priesthood was a work of the Holy Spirit, encouraging the laity to take their full part in the ministry of the Church. The fact that this is heard much less today (although there are still some dinosaurs who persist in the error) is largely due to the consistent teaching of Pope John Paul II on its falsity.

I well remember during the first year of his pontificate, the Pope's Maundy Thursday letter to priests. This was the first of a series that continued almost every year during his reign.In that letter, there was a moving exhortation to priests who were weary or doubtful:

Dear Brothers: you who have borne "the burden of the day and the heat" (Mt 20:12), who have put your hand to the plough and do not turn back (cf. Lk 9:62), and perhaps even more those of you who are doubtful of the meaning of your vocation or of the value of your service: think of the places where people anxiously await a Priest, and where for many years; feeling the lack of such a Priest, they do not cease to hope for his presence. And sometimes it happens that they meet in an abandoned shrine, and place on the altar a stole which they still keep, and recite all the prayers of the Eucharistic liturgy; and then, at the moment that corresponds to the transubstantiation a deep silence comes down upon them, a silence sometimes broken by a sob… so ardently do they desire to hear the words that only the lips of a Priest can efficaciously utter. So much do they desire Eucharistic Communion, in which they can share only through the ministry of a priest, just as they also so eagerly wait to hear the divine words of pardon: Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis! So deeply do they feel the absence of a Priest among them!... Such places are not lacking in the world. So if one of you doubts the meaning of his priesthood, if he thinks it is "socially" fruitless or useless, reflect on this!

In his letter to priests for Maundy Thursday 1986 Pope John Paul II reflected at length on the ministry and life of the Curé of Ars. He addressed in particular the question of the priest's identity:

Saint John Mary Vianney gives an eloquent answer to certain questionings of the priest's identity, which have manifested themselves in the course of the last twenty years; in fact it seems that today a more balanced position is being reached. The priest always, and in an unchangeable way, finds the source of his identity in Christ the Priest. It is not the world which determines his status, as though it depended on changing needs or ideas about social roles. The priest is marked with the seal of the Priesthood of Christ, in order to share in his function as the one Mediator and Redeemer.

The movement to a "more balanced position" concerning the priesthood was undoubtedly due in large part to the inspiration, example, and encouragement given by the Pope himself from the very start of his pontificate.

NASA TV Shuttle launch time at kennedy space center

Endeavour was to begin its final journey into space today from the Kennedy Space Center just a little before 4PM local time today. Just before noon time at KSC NASA officials announced that the launch would have to be scrubbed for today.



Coverage of the launch, and now the postponment, can be followed in real time on NASA TV, or on the internet via NASA TV on the NASA.gov web site.

Today’s space shuttle launch of STS-134, scheduled to be the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour at 3:47 p.m. ET was put on hold and scrubbed for today. NASA cited issues with the shuttle’s APU heaters as the reason for the cancellation of today’s launch.







During its 2 week mission the Endeavour is scheduled to visit the International Space Station delivering an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 and an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, as well as some supplies.

The date for the next launch attempt, of what will be the second to the last shuttle mission for NASA, has not yet been announced.

Well yes, proud to be British today

It is thrilling to see things done quite with quite such splendid perfection. It occurred to me too that gazillions of people, including most of the population of a Britain, beaten down by whinging secular killjoys, spent at least a little part of today following a religious service and listening to good sacred music, being inspired by it, and not feeling that their rights had been infringed or that they had been offended.

To be perfectly honest, I have been rather busy and have several funerals coming up, so I actually forgot about it all this morning until phoning the Vicar General about something and having to be reminded that it was a "Bank Holiday". (Not having a telly does at least release you from the obligation of national hysteria.) Looking at the coverage later, I was impressed by the sheer excellence of the Liturgy, and the procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. I agree with Damian Thompson about the music and we should, I think, take our hats off to the dear old Church of England for the ceremony. Perhaps some advocates of happy-clappy liturgy might just join the dots after seeing what really inspires the general public?

As a priest, I do lament that the happy couple have been living together for some time before their marriage, and therefore have set a bad example to others. Nevertheless, the pastoral aim is always to encourage cohabiting couples to marry, and to celebrate when they do, so I think that is the right thing to do today. I will certainly be remembering them in my prayers. Ad multos annos!

You may remember from this blog before, that I take a keen interest in the cars that are used at weddings. Prince Charles was a good egg to lend his son a vintage Aston Martin to drive off in.

The Royal Wedding

Photographer: John Nowak
John Nowak (C) 2011 CABLE NEWS NETWORK. A TIME WARNER COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
We have the full review of CNN's coverage of the wedding at our sister blog All Things Anderson.
Here's an overview of the ceremony from the 7AM hour.




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